LONG BEFORE Sting got his Calvin Kleins in a tangle worrying about Amazonian rainforests and the like, Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn was penning passionate, intelligent songs about worldwide environmental matters and human rights issues. And even before Lady Di discovered land mines as a photo opportunity waiting to happen, Cockburn was well on the case as far back as 1988 he was in Mozambique investigating the post-war problem of land mines and the dangers they posed.
His personal explorations into these areas have resulted in pointedly trenchant songs like Radium Rain , Fascist Architecture , and If A Tree Falls . To this day, Cockburn remains actively involved in a range of environmental causes he s currently honorary Chairman of Friends Of The Earth and is an observer for the charity Oxfam.
His new album The Charity Of Night the 23rd since his 1970 debut and his first for Rykodisc continues in this venerable tradition with potent songs such as The Whole Night Sky and The Coming Rains . All worthy stuff, no doubt, but doesn t he ever get a tad weary of this kind of subject matter and feel like writing the occasional throwaway lyric?
The answer, not surprisingly, is emphatically, no.
I figure if you re going to put words to music, they might as well say something meaningful, he opines. I doubt if it would occur to me to write something that meant nothing. It s just life, really. I move around and I see these things and they have an effect on me and I put them into songs. They might be sexual things, spiritual things, political things or environmental things.
So, what in Cockburn s opinion, is the biggest danger facing mankind today?
The degradation of the environment is the prime concern, because if that goes, everything goes. If there s no drinking water, no sufficiently breathable air and no food because the ozone layer is gone and ultra-violet has affected the crop yields then we re in big trouble.
There has been some progress, he continues. There ve been local successes where, say, a patch of forest has been saved or a source of pollution gets stopped. But in general, things don t look encouraging and soon we re going to pass the point of no return. It s still possible to turn it around but it has to happen soon.
organic textures
Ostensibly a folk artist, Cockburn s style has developed over the years to encompass rock, reggae and jazz. The Charity Of Night brings together most of these influences and features guests of the calibre of Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur, Ani DiFranco and vibes virtuoso Gary Burton.
I ve got roots all over the place but they don t go very deep, he explains. The music that first made me want to play was the early rock and roll Elvis, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. But it wasn t very long after I took guitar lessons that I got introduced to jazz and at one point I thought I would end up being a jazz musician. The influence has persisted and comes and goes depending on the season. With this album it s a little different in that I play it myself rather than drafting in other people to do it. Now that I m old, I don t care whether anyone laughs at me for trying to play jazz.
With a deep, resonant drum sound, fleshed out with meaty, organic guitar textures, The Charity Of Night at times recalls Emmylou Harris ground-breaking, Daniel Lanois-produced Wrecking Ball album.
It might not be all that much of a co-incidence, Cockburn suggests when I put it to him. We mixed the album in Daniel Lanois studio, down in New Orleans. The sound is pretty distinctive, I guess, but it s a combination of things. It has a lot to do with the way the guys are playing and the ears of the personalities involved.
Meanwhile, despite his prolific recorded output, the live arena is where Cockburn s passion shines brightest and he still gigs and tours incessantly. It also keeps him up to date, bringing him into contact with newer artists and musical styles, as he explains.
Lately I ve become aware of a lot of exciting singer/songwriters, especially women like Shawn Colvin and Ani DiFranco who I ve gotten to be pals with. She was a real revelation. It was like the first time I d heard Bob Dylan I was blown away.
The truth is, I don t sell millions of records, he concludes. So the live thing is important when it comes to making a living. The venues have improved over the years and we ve all gotten a bit spoiled with better PAs and other technological developments. But there s not many people left who know how to mike an acoustic guitar, so there s a trade-off. n