Big Circumstance

Big Circumstance

by Bruce Cockburn
Big Circumstance

Big Circumstance

by Bruce Cockburn

CD

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Overview

This was Cockburn's first release of new material in three years. It was a move away from the somewhat dated, overblown sound of his previous World of Wonders, toward a leaner, more guitar-dominated sound. Budgeting for album art seemed to be a little low, but luckily the collection of songs was of consistent high quality. As with most Cockburn albums, this is a mix of socially conscious, spiritual, and reflective songs. Cockburn had spent time in Nepal in 1987 and what he saw there found its way into some songs, including "Tibetan Side of Town" and "Understanding Nothing." Time spent in Germany soon after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union inspired "Radium Rain," while deforestation of the globe inspired "If a Tree Falls," the first single from the album. Cockburn is equally at home writing about matters of the heart, though his lyrics take a much more unconventional turn in "Don't Feel Your Touch," with lines such as "the night grows sharp and hollow as a junkie's craving vein" and "the night grows clear and empty as a lake of acid rain." Elsewhere on the album, in "Gospel of Bondage" he takes pains to differentiate himself from right-wing Christianity and express his different view of the faith. Unusually for Cockburn, he ends the album on a slightly humorous (albeit dark humor) note with "Anything Can Happen," a look at the temporariness of life, where "anything can happen" at any time "to put out the light." ~ Rob Caldwell

Product Details

Release Date: 06/06/2008
Label: True North Records
UPC: 0620638034729
Rank: 83684

Tracks

  1. If a Tree Falls
  2. Shipwrecked At the Stable Door
  3. Gospel of Bondage
  4. Don't Feel Your Touch
  5. Tibetan Side of Town
  6. Understanding Nothing
  7. Where the Death Squad Lives
  8. Radium Rain
  9. Pangs of Love
  10. The Gift
  11. Anything Can Happen
  12. If a Tree Falls [Acoustic]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bruce Cockburn   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica
Fergus Marsh   Chapman Stick
Jon Goldsmith   Autoharp,Keyboards,Electric Autoharp
Michael Sloski   Percussion,Drums
Judy Cade   Vocals (Background)
Mose Scarlett   Vocals (Background)
Hugh Marsh   Violin
Myron Schultz   Clarinet
Mary Margaret O'Hara   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Bruce Cockburn   Composer
John Naslen   Engineer
Jon Goldsmith   Producer
Peter J. Moore   Digital Remastering
Mike Colomby   Assistant Engineer
Bart Schoales   Art Direction
George Whiteside   Photography
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