This compilation contains four previously unreleased tracks. For me, the price if this record is justified by the new song, The Coldest Night of the Year. It has some Toronto references and in winter, some days feel like the coldest day ever. I don't like the cover.
In contrast to Humans, I like the photo on the jacket of Inner City Front. It gives Cockburn a tough guy look, surrounded with military men. He's smoking a cigarette and one wonders if he is a mercenary rather than a missionary. Despite the positive reviews, this album is one that did very little for me. I like it, but I think that there are far better Cockburn records.
The cover sticker states: Featuring b sides and alternate takes from Faith In The Future (2015), We All Want The Same Things (2017), and I Need A New War (2019).
1750 copies of this record were pressed for Record Store Day 2020. I got one after the fact, from overseas for a really excellent price. It'a r cnet arrival, so I have only listened to it once. I am fan, so I like it, of course.
Humans stands as one of Cockburn's most well-regarded records. What strikes me most about reading the review on Allmusic.com is this sentence: "Cockburn's marriage had fallen apart, he'd moved from the country to a gritty inner-city section of Toronto called Cabbagetown..." Perhaps "gritty" was once the proper adjective, but, like most areas of Toronto, things have changed. According to the latest Toronto Life Real Estate guide, the average house prices in Cabbagetown are:
The area is not gritty. In fact, this area is one of the most desirable locations in downtown Toronto. I did not live in Tdot in 1980, so I have no way of knowing if Cabbagetown was once gritty. The area I currently live in was not so long ago inhabited by drug dealers and street prostitutes. Much has changed. But, back to Humans.
The record is really fabulous, but I spend most of my time wondering why on earth they chose that photo for the cover. Was that the best they had? It's not quite as bad as the recent Tony Blair Christmas card, but it is close.
It was around the time that this record was released that I consciously became aware of Cockburn. I knew who he was before then, of course, and had surely heard some songs. But, I remember watching the New Music and there was a clip of him signing Tokyo. Bruce was wearing army fatigues and maybe a beret.
Just when I thought that Bruce had really dumped the religion, out he comes with Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws. The truth is that this album is my favourite Cockburn record, by far. I think it is extraordinarily good, even if I have to ignore nonsense lyrics like:
Love the Lord And in Him love me too And in Him go your way And I'll be right there with you
Of course, the song that everyone knows is Wondering Where the Lions Are. That's a great song, but there are other equally awesome songs on this record. Here's a live version of Lions.
The title of this record should really be Résumé. In any case, Resume is a collection of tracks that would probably only appeal to Cockburn completionists. If you have the other records, you don't need this one, becuase you already have all of the tracks. But, I am more than happy to have it in my collection.
I like this record, but I would consider it to be less interesting than the records that precede and follow it. But, I still like it very much. Highlights for me are A Montreal Song, Rainfall, Laughter, and Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in my Hand. I bought this record some place, though I forget where.
Circles in the Stream is a live double album. Speaking of live music and concerts, I should say that I have seen Bruce in concert several times. I can't remember how many times, but it includes shows with a full band and some solo shows. Once, I went with two friends, one of whom fell asleep at the show, I think during Peggy's Kitchen Wall. That was a very strange thing to see. There are some clips --of varying quality--of Bruce performing on Youtube. You should have a look. Here's an audio only version of Free to Be from this record.
In the Falling Dark is probably Cockburn's best album up to 1976. It is more sophisticated and satisfying. Also, he seemed to have made some effort to curb the overt Christianity of earlier songs. Well, that's apart from the rather peaceful opening number, Lord of the Starfields, which is an obvious prayer to a fictitious supreme being.
Lord of the starfields Ancient of Days Universe Maker Here's a song in your praise
For me, the best song on this piece of vinyl is Silver Wheels. Here are the first two verses:
High speed drift on a prairie road
Hot tires sing like a string being bowed
Sudden town rears up then explodes
Fragments resolve into white line code
Whirl on silver wheels
Black earth energy receptor fields
Undulate under a grey cloud shield
We outrun a river colour brick red mud
That cleaves apart hills soil rich as blood
By the way, if you like Cockburn, you should really check out the Cockburn Project, where you can find all of the lyrics and some notes about the songs.
My favourite Bruce Cockburn song is probably Arrows of Light, with Joy Will Find a Way finding its way into the top ten, or so. It's odd, because both are overtly religious and decidedly spiritual. The music appeals to me very much, even though the lyrical content of both songs is kind of stupid. Burn, an early political song, appears here, in the midst of songs of praise and a couple of songs that might better appeal to the non-converted. As time passed, Cockburn shed some of the religious sentiments and started to make some more obvious political statements. Still, that the two could live in harmony in his brain is surely a sign of cognitive dissonance. I think this album cover is a bit weird.
Of course, the title should really be Salt, Sun, and Time. The Oxford comma is a good thing. I say, use it. In 1974, Cockburn evidently discovered or "found" Jesus. Despite the creeping Christian sentiment, I still think these are fantastic songs. All the Diamonds in the World is one of my favourite Cockburn songs, despite the line: "Dying trees still grow greener when you pray." That's simply delusional thinking. In fact, there have been peer-reviewed studies that analyzed the efficacy of praying for the sick, and there was zero effect, because god does not exist.
In case you didn't already know, Cockburn is generally regarded as being a folk singer. I guess that's right, though this record has some jazz influences on it. The sound is fuller, darker, and perhaps a little more complex than the previous albums. Already, there are signs of Cockburn's rebirth as a Christian. In God Bless the Children, he sings:
With pain the world paves us over
Lord let us not betray
God bless the children with visions of the Day
I have never been able to reconcile Cockburn's obvious interest in social justice with the stupidity of religion.
They're losing their pawns in Asia There's slaughter in every square
My favourite song from this record is It's Going Down Slow, though I realize that Dialogue With the Devil (or Why Don't We Celebrate) is a big fan favourite. I like that song, but I am now sure I understand it. I also love the track Up on the Hillside. Sunwheel Dance is a really solid record. Did I mention that I have all of Bruce's releases on CD? That includes some promotional items, live releases, and some CD singles.
I've always loved this jacket photo, which wraps around the gate-fold. It says Canada in winter.
Years ago, I used to be a "human." In other words, I was a member (on various occasions for varying lengths of time) of the Humans mailing list, which is evidently one of the earliest mailing lists created to discuss a specific recording artist. I no longer have time for this chit chat, but it was interesting for a while. I don't even know if the list still exists.
High Winds, White Sky is a fabulous record, with lots of great tracks to choose from.
My copy of this record is a reissue, probably from the early 1980s. The original was a gate-fold. This, alas, is not. I am a big Bruce Cockburn fan, but I have to admit that this is probably his weakest album. I think he has said as much in interviews. The two tracks that received attention are Musical Friends and Going to the Country, on which you can already hear his unique guitar style. I do enjoy the other tracks, but I find that this is not a record that I play very often.
The electric drums are a mistake, the production is very dated, and the look is oh so very 80s. But, it's what one would expect from a New Romantic group. I certainly did not buy this record in 1982. I stumbled up it later, probably for a good price. I was never a big fan. The best comment I saw on one of these Youtube videos was: "This band was very popular in Poland in the 1980's."
When the change was made uptown And the big man joined the band
Imagine being able to wear a red leather suit and get away with it. I could not do it.
I own this record because I went through a major Springsteen phase (more on that later). Sadly, this record did nothing for me. Sure, there are backing vocal from Daryl Hannah, who was dating the Big Man at the time. Who knew she could sing? I had no idea she was dating CC. The best track is probably You're a Friend of Mine, a duet with Jackson Browne. Sadly, the official video on Youtube is totally distorted.
Sadly, Clarence passed away in 2011. I think it is awesome that his nephew, Jake, has joined the E Street Band.
I remember diving into a bin of records and saw this for $2. It was difficult to resist. I am not a Madonna fan, but I wondered what this crazy mashup would sound like. It turns out that the track is an offence to the memory of The Clash.
The most curious thing about The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 is that there was no Volume 2. Evidently, volume 2 was to include some live material, but that never happened, and perhaps it never will.
So, The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 contains 28 tracks spread over 2 LPs. I have it, just to be a completist. Note that nothing from Cut the Crap made the cut, because they did, in fact, cut the crap.
From Discogs: Reportedly "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by Mick Jones is about his relation to singer/actress Ellen Foley." Interesting Also from Discogs: "The initial copies came with a yellow card 10" stencil featuring the skull and cards design." OI picked up a used copy, so I don't have that stencil. That is sad.
OK, I will admit it: I was disappointed when this album came out. It seemed overtly commercial to me. Both Rock the Casbah and Should I stay or Should I Go struck me as average tracks and so I did not buy the record right away. When I finally obtained a copy of this record I noted, as so often happens, that there are much stronger tracks than the singles. I think I have made my peace with this record, but it does give me pause to note that this is the only Clash studio recording that I do not own on CD.
But, here is a funny story.
I remember listening to the song Rock the Casbah, either on the radio or on cassette (I often taped records to play on my portable cassette player, much like the one in the video below), and my dad said: "Are they saying what I think they are saying?" I was confounded for a moment, but then I said, the song is called Rock the Casbah. I realized that my dad had thought that they were singing "F%@# the Casbah. That should be listed on one of those misheard lyrics sites.
Side A is Rock the Casbah, a lesser Clash tune. Side two has Mustapha Dance. Side two might be better.
The song gives a fabulist account of a ban on Western rock music by an Arab king. The lyrics describe the king's efforts to stop his population from listening to this music, such as ordering his military's jetfighters
to bomb any people in violation of the ban. The pilots ignore the
orders, and instead play rock music on their cockpit radios. The
population then proceed to "rock the casbah" by dancing to the music. This scenario was inspired by the ban on Western music in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. [source]
The original Guns of Brixton appeared on London Calling, of course, which is perhaps the best record ever made. I know, sometimes, I give that credit to a different record. But, most of the time, London Calling is my favourite record of all time.
It's tragic when a favourite band falls apart. I have never come to terms with this record. It fails on almost every level. It's a true mixed bag. The big problem is that Mick Jones and Topper Headon are missing from the lineup. Why would any band fire Mick Jones?It really killed them. On top of that, the production choices on this LP are mystifying.
The only way to describe track 1 -- Dictator -- is total chaos. The production makes no sense. How did the band allow this track to leave the studio.
Dirty Punk is mostly excellent, and one of the better tracks on this record. I like the guitars.
We are the Clash is wildly inaccurate. It's, like, half the Clash. The track suffers from bad production. It could have been saved.
Are You Red..Y: Hmm, I'm not sure. It's not awful, but I think it could have been better. Again, some of the production choices are suspect.
Cool Under Heat starts off well enough and manages to stand out as one of the better tracks. One begins to wonder if this is a contractual-obligation record.
Movers and Shakers: At this point, I began to wonder why so many tracks have what sounds like soccer chants in the background.
This is England is the best track on the record, and possibly the only track anyone needs to know. this is top-shelf Clash. Did they build an entire record around only one good track? It's a bit surprising that this track wasn't the first track on side A.
Three Card Trick: Damn those drum machines. Topper would have improved this record, but I would rank this as one of the better tracks.
Play to Win: Evidently, even Joe Strummer hated this record, apart from This is England. That's probably accurate. This track is more chaos. It makes little sense.
Fingerpoppin': Is this what happens when you let a punk back have access to synths and a drum machine? I say that this song is not only a disaster, it's embarrassing.
North and South: This track sounds like bad 80s music. There may be a good song beneath the production mess.
Life is Wild has more soccer chanting. I suppose if someone gave me this record and said that it was a post-Clash record by Joe, I may have liked it better. As a Clash record, it fails. I really wish the music would have matched the cover image. That image suggests something that isn't there.
I don't see this record very often in the bins. I have a minty fresh copy from Europe.
This is the only song that matters from Cut the Crap. Well, We Are the Clash is just OK. The b-sides are Do it Now and Sex Mad Roar, which are not on Cut the Crap.
When Sandinista! was released, some of the reviewers made the point that had this record been pruned to make it a single or maybe even a double album, it would have been much stronger. I am in that camp. It would have made a really great single record and I think it could easily have been stretched to a double. Evidently, the band asked for fewer royalties to help fund a triple album.
Despite the fact that it might have been better with either 12 or 24 songs, rather than 36, there is something to be said for the vision of a really diverse three record set. They did what they wanted and it works.
I wish I had the 10" version of Black Market Clash, but I don't. I do have Super Black Market Clash on CD. This record is a compilation of some tracks that were not released in the USA (and Canada, by extension). Speaking of expensive records, I once saw a copy of Super Black Market Clash on 3 10" discs on sale for well over $100. It might have be more than $150. As much as I would like to have it, I didn't hand over the cash for The Clash.
