Bruce Cockburn: Slice O Life


Have any of you heard Bruce's latest CD? I just received my copy today and haven't been able to stop playing it.

I've been following his work live in concert and on recordings for over 40 years and simply marvel at his playing and writing. He's traversed a lot of different themes over the years delving into such topics as religion, politics, ecology, heroes and anti-heroes but there's never a dull moment with the man.

This is a Live Solo recording (2 CDs) from performances in 2008 that really capture his incredible skill and versatility. If you are new to Bruce, he is a guitar master and poet with a wonderful command of descriptive word imagery.

There's an odd section on disc two called "soundcheck" that I really enjoyed because it's off stage and lets you hear the man with his hair down having some fun while setting up his equipment for the concert. Maybe by being an acoustic guitar player myself, I'm biased toward an opportunity to hear a master warming up before going onstage?

I'd love to know if any of you have heard this set yet and whether you were as impressed as I was. There are some incredibly beautiful songs and arrangements on this CD set that differ in interesting ways from his prior studio work.

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Showing 2 responses by taylor514

I'm also a BC fan and recall his early 70's concerts when he played solo in a chair with the percussion instruments on stands next to him.

I recommend that BC fans also pick up "Waterwalker", the 1984 canoe documentary by Bill Mason. BC did the soundtrack for this film. There were rumours that the soundtrack was to be released on CD. Wonderful guitar work.

I will definetly check out the new CD.
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You will enjoy the DVD. Bill Mason was a wonderful man and was well respected in the paddling community. I was fortunate to have met Bill many moons ago while working in an outdoor shop where he was friends with the owner. The soundtrack is classic BC on acoustic guitar. For some reason, the soundtrack was signed over to the film company and never released.