Search - Bruce Cockburn :: Circles in the Stream

Worth buying again? ABSOLUTELY!

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 07/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although it is a daunting task attempting to remaster a tape remastered just 8 years ago (the technology hasn'y advanced that much), still there is a definition to the instruments here that positively sparkles. The music has more presence and dynamic to it than it has ever had in any format.



This was a threshold recording for Cockburn, and he must have known that he, Godfrey, Boucher had to deliver the goods. They did. Hockey Night in Canada has nothing of the whallop of this CD. Recorded at Massey Hall in TO, the concert summed up Cockburn's early Christian based folk and romantic music and launched him into a more jazz inflected, mystical and social activist stance that he has cultivated with commitment over the succeeding years. You can't really pigeon hole him well, thank God, but there is that sense that nothing will be the same after this disc. And it wasn't.

Nearly every major song of his early work is present along with his unique blend of historical and contemporary efforts. No. 1 with a cross-bow bolt as he intones on "Love Song" says it all. What you notice throughout is his masterful technique, at times recalling Mississippi John Hurt, at times the Burgundian author referenced, at all times uniquely Cockburn. His voice was a lot more confidant by this point as well. SUN, SALT AND TIME, had been a major advance in his compositional and singing style that was enhanced by JOY WILL FIND A WAY. Those records are well represented and the fact that Cockburn still draws upon them in concert today indicates the role they played in his development. I was fortunate to catch him at this gig and many others in along Bloor, Yonge, Spadina, back in the day. Listening to this CD brings back all the first thoughts I had about this amazing man.

So, having bought the re-issue a few years back, is it worth buying again? Absolutely. It sounds better than ever. There is a nice essay and some terrific photos, but it's really the music, and that just rings out!"

"Is There Any Reason Why The People Dancing In The Back Can'

Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 02/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded during a live concert in '77, 'Circles In The Stream' is in my estimation the best live concert album/CD I've ever heard and an "ABSOLUTE ESSENTIAL" to any serious Bruce Cockburn collection.



Containing - 17 tracks - this highly original musical blending of folk-jazz-blues and rock influences along with a medieval melody or two, we are treated to a truly delightful listening experience featuring the very best of the early Cockburn years (which are by far my personal favorite). Filled with a compilation of songs from his first seven albums/CD's: 'Bruce Cockburn', 'High Winds White Sky', Sunwheel Dance', 'Night Vision', 'Salt, Sun and Time', 'Joy Will Find A Way' and 'In The Falling Dark', this CD is a wonderful trip down memory lane.



From the opening bagpipes to the finale; 'God Bless The Children' you will be in awe of the amazing musicianship, lyrical depth and soul of this French Canadian composer and musician. Much like the people dancing in the back spoken of by Bruce at the end of the concert, you too will continue to dance to this glorious music long after the concert's over."