Album Notes

Over a recording career that spans three decades, Canada\'s Bruce Cockburn has established himself as a passionate social advocate, a deft guitarist, and an adventurous musical spirit. Though nobody would characterize him as a singles artist, this collection of tracks originally earmarked for (and often ignored by) radio presents his often earnest, occasionally elliptical song craft at its most accessible. Cockburn\'s rhythmic insistence and airy arrangements--punctuated by jazzy violin and saxophone--redeem \"If I Had a Rocket Launcher\" and \"A Dream Like Mine\" as more than sloganeering, though the stridency of \"Call It Democracy\" belabors the message at the expense of the music. Bookended by two new cuts, this anthology anticipates a reissue series of Cockburn\'s catalog... --Don McLeese