Bruce Cockburn - World of Wonders

Bruce Cockburn is an artists' artist. One whose conviction and seriousness seem overwhelming and to be honest a little intimidating. He always seemed like a guy who had a sense of humour but kept it in a shoe box one the shelf in his closet lest he use it and undermine his own sense of purpose.

As a teenager my first exposure to him was when he hit it big with "Wondering Where the Lions Are" a song that is intricately structured. I saw him perform the song on Saturday Night Live, and I remember thinking, "Wow, he's on T.V." followed closely by "Man, I can't stand that song." It was true, it was right up there as a tweofer along with Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" as songs I could appreciate the grandeur and scope of, but couldn't stand.

Then there'd be other songs, and for whatever reason I never forgot his appearance on The Alan Hamel Show (that later devolved into The Alan Thicke Show, and would later be rebranded into the Don Heron Show, before being euthanized), where he played Rumours of Glory, a song I kind of liked, but didn't understand. 

Fast forward to the summer of 1983, and I'm at a barbecue with my family, and one of my dad's friends was a huge fan of Bruce Cockburn and was playing The Trouble with Normal, and it was decidedly less folk and like Dylan before him, he was moving beyond the limitations of his country folk roots and embracing technology and adapting to the times. It would be the first album I would buy, and I did like it, but tended to focus on the accessible songs, like the title track and the hauntingly beautiful "Candy Man's Gone." However for Bruce it was the start of his run through the '80s where he'd release hit after hit, mining the rich vein of political discontent and activism married with intricate pop. Songs like "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" and "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" brought him to the head of the class, and from a musicianship perspective, he wasn't flashy but man that boy could play.

Over the last little while I picked up a copy of The Trouble with Normal, and that was the album I was going to spin - but when I found World of Wonders it was the album I didn't have, and it was also what I considered to be the height of his commercial run, as he'd continue to record, but like so many artists before him he'd been allotted a certain amount of time in the spotlight and then it was off to the next new thing. He never went away, most of us just moved on.

So here I am playing this through and actually making a real effort to pay attention. The vinyl copy I found was in great shape, and had the liner notes, and true to form Bruce had everything in Canada's two official languages.

While this was a mid '80s record and took advantage of the technology of the day, this was still very different than most of what I was listening to at the time, and frankly it's pretty cool that there was enough room for songs like "Call it Democracy" to get radio play was a feather in his hat. The cynic would just blame it on a lack of depth in the Canadian market and that with the Cancon regulations just about anyone here could get on the radio. Horseshit, I say. Good is good. Period.

The album was produced by Jon Goldsmith, who also played keyboards. Michael Sloski played drums, and Chi Sharpe was on percussion. Fergus Jemison Marsh was on bass and stick and his work is stellar throughout this album. Hugh Marsh was on violin. It's weird to think that Bruce Cockburn was pushing 40 when this came out, and that after 15 albums was developing as an artist.

The fact that Mr. Cockburn (notice the honourific, which denotes my respect) could blend in deeply moving melodies and intricate arrangements coupled with what can only be categorized as his poetry is a pretty darned cool.

Now, I'll admit that a spoken word songs like "Lily of the Midnight Sky" and "Dancing in Paradise" are interesting challenges to the listener. "Dancing in Paradise" in particular is an ambitious piece that I sat reading the liner notes to while it was performed. It is a darkly condemning piece that highlights our own complacency in how we view the contradictions of poverty and excess, that applies now more than ever, "and they throw away money on spectacular shows, to show the world the right likes the right music."

As the album closes with the strangely optimistic "Down Here Tonight" a song I really like, I feel like I've been put through a bit of an emotional wringer. There are some really great songs here, and while I am still partial to the songs I can tap my foot to, I have to admit that despite the heavy nature to many of the songs they are good songs. Bruce wears his ideology on his sleeve, and while I may not fall in step with a lot of his views, I respect the man and his convictions.

This is an album I respect more than I like if I'm being honest. I suspect Mr. Cockburn would appreciate that more than me trying to blow smoke up his skirt. But this is also an album that I am pretty happy to have, and there are a number of songs here I really enjoy and there's enough optimism in Bruce's writing to avoid being too depressing. Now if there was only a way to Bruce could have taken the shoe box out of the closet and incorporated some humour into the darkness that would have been really cool.

Maybe he did, and I was looking at this all wrong.

However, if I'm left with anything here is is that despite everything we do live in a World of Wonders.