Description
The second live album by the Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bruce Cockburn
– simple entitled Live – was released on True North Records in 1990. The album was recorded August 14th and 15th, 1989, live at Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada, featuring Bruce Cockburn on guitars supported by Fergus Jemison Marsh on Chapman Stick and Michael Sloski on drums and percussion. Live recording by the Comfort Sound Mobile Recording Unit engineered by John Naslen with Doug McClement, assisted by Scott Campbell and Jon Erickson, with Jon Goldsmith producing for True North Productions. Mixed by John Naslen assisted by Mike Columby at Manta Sound in Toronto, Canada.
In twenty years of recording and touring, Bruce Cockburn has established himself in the hearts and minds of his fans, speaking honestly, sometimes grimly, exposing the harsh realities of unjust policies toward Native Americans («Stolen Land»), Central America and the Third World («Nicaragua» and «Call it Democracy»), and his own human longing for healing and wholeness in God («Rumours of Glory», «Broken Wheel», and «Wondering Where the Lions Are»).
Al these are here, representing the width and breadth of the work of this intelligent, thoughtful, at times controversial artist. It’s not always a comfortable journey through this «World of Wonders», but having looked honestly at the hardships and difficulties, one is freed to delight in the beauty that survives still. Up to the point of Cockburn’s last live recording, 1977’s ‘Circles in the Stream’ (as yet unavailable in CD), his songs of nature, marital bliss, Christian belief, often shaped by folk music simplicity, were easily palatable to the contemporary Christian music fans. It was the albums of the ’80s that found Cockburn struggling for meaning and purpose, after a divorce, several revealing exploratory trips to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and numerous refugee camps and war zones, and the implications of these questions about the changing meaning of real life on his faith. It is expressed best here in «Broken Wheel»: “No adult of sound mind/ Can be an innocent bystander/ Trial comes before truth’s revealed/ Out here on the rim of the broken wheel/ Bleeding wound that will not heal/ Lord, spit on our eyes so we can see/ How to wake up from this tragedy.”
While Cockburn finds answers to the dark, perplexing side in a life lived in honest and compassionate action to do justice and free the oppressed, many would prefer to turn a blind eye. And when all else fails he’s not above covering Monty Python’s «(Always Look On) The Bright Side of Life», Eric Idle’s comical song used on the now-infameous crucifixion scene from ‘Life of Brian’.
Over the years, Cockburn fans who’ve been able to catch his rare tours have been treated to a variety of bands and musical approaches. Here he is stripped back to his barest in years, accompanied by Fergus Jemison Marsh on stick (an instrument designed to incorporate the ability to reproduce bass, rhythm and lead parts simultaneously, often using MIDI technology to create the sound of other instruments), and Michael Sloski on drums. You hear the rich potential of this trio in «Tibetan Side of Town», where again we are reminded that Cockburn is an extremely capable and emotionally satisfying guitar player, while Sloski and Marsh prove that additional players would just add clutter.
In the fourteen tracks here, only one comes from last year’s ‘Big Circumstance’, that dominated the shows on the tour. What appears is a cross-section of memorable songs from the last fifteen years, although a full double-disc release could have included personal favorites like «Tokyo», «(If I had a) Rocket Launcher» and «Radium Rain». But then, listening to the bluesy jam in «To Raise the Morning Star» and hearing lyrics like “Singing for the yellow and the brown and the black/ For the red and the white people too/ Dovetailing strong points with the things we lack/ singing for people like me and you,” makes it hard for a real fan to complain. So who’s complaining. [Brian Q. Newcomb, CCM, August 1990]
CD re-issue, 2002
Any reader who has attended one of Bruce’s masterful performances at Greenbelt will know that Bruce is quite capable of transfixing an audience with just the wizardry of his guitar and that rough hewn voice. Yet as this album, recorded at an Ontario entertainment complex in August 1989, shows, give him hand picked sidemen (Fergis Jemison Marsh, chapman stick/BVs; and Michael Sloski, drums/percussion/BVs) and you get the full breadth of dynamics these wonderful songs deserve. Nearly half of the songs on this set are drawn from his classic mid-‘80s albums ‘World Of Wonders’ and ‘Stealing Fire’ and the sleevenote’s observation that the collection has “a strong political edge” is a breathtaking understatement. The righteous anger heard here on the bonus track «If I Had A Rocker Launcher» or his withering denouncement of the greed and blindness of the International Monetary Fund «Call It Democracy» are amongst the most highly charged political songs ever commercially released. If such impassioned pleading for the poor and oppressed are a little strong for your sensibilities (one can’t imagine what the smug Republicans of the Nashville CCM scene would make of «Call It Democracy») there are other themes and textures here. Take «See How I Miss You» with its dazzling, rapid-fire fingerpicking from one of the GREAT guitarists or a fluid version of «Rumours Of Glory» with a shuffling rhythm which, oddly, the sleeve claims to be a reggae beat. There is a definite reggae groove though on «Broken Wheel» played with slashing guitar chords and sharp, jagged rhythms while his spiritually quizzical «Wondering Where The Lions Are» is again captivating. Only the familiar crowd pleasing closer «Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life» fails to thrill this reviewer. Having just been reminded on TV’s The 100 Greatest Films just what a wretched and mediocre movie The Life Of Brian actually was, to have this facile debasement of crucifixion agony used by a professed Christian as his happy song is for me deeply disappointing. But with so many magnificent moments on this beautifully remastered package, this is still an essential purchase. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, January 2003]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/bruce-cockburn-live-deluxe-edition/303506472)
CD tracklist:
01. Silver Wheels – 6:11
02. World Of Wonders – 4:39
03. Rumours Of Glory – 6:03
04. See How I Miss You – 4:00
05. After The Rain – 3:58
06. Call It Democracy – 3:37
07. Tibetan Side Of Town – 7:47
08. Wondering Where The Lions Are – 5:19
09. Nicaragua – 5:04
10. Broken Wheel – 5:01
11. Stolen Land – 3:14
12. To Raise The Morning Star – 7:47
13. Maybe The Poet – 4:17
14. Always Look At The Bright Side Of Life – 2:51
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD, with the CD edition featuring three additional tracks; “Tibetan Side Of Town”, “To Raise The Morning Star”, and “Maybe The Poet”. The CD was later re-issued as a Deluxe Edition featuring one extra live track; “If I Had A Rocket Launcher”. Available at Bandcamp: https://brucecockburn.bandcamp.com/album/live-deluxe-edition
CREDITS. Produced by Jon Goldsmith. Recorded Live at Ontario Place, Toronto; August 14th and 15th, 1989. Live recording by Comfort Sound Mobile, Toronto. Engineered by John Naslen with Doug McClement, assisted by Scott Campbell and Jon Erickson. Mixed by John Naslen assisted by Mike Columby at Manta Sound, Toronto, Canada.
Musicians: Bruce Cockburn (Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Bodhrán, Wind Chimes, Vocals), Fergus Jemison Marsh (Chapman Stick, Backing Vocals), Michael Sloski (Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals).
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