BRUCE COCKBURN Vinyl Records and CDs

Bruce Cockburn has been one of Canada's major stars for the past thirty years. A literate singer-songwriter, he has broken through to American audiences a number of times: baby boomers turned 1979's "Wondering Where the Lions Are" into a hit, "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" made heavy rotation on MTV and AOR radio, and the alterna-rock generation went for "Call it Democracy" in a big way. For the past decade, Cockburn's sound can be likened to Daniel Lanois-produced Dylan or Robbie Robertson. His records are beautifully crafted, and each one has at least a couple stand-out tracks that feature exquisite musicianship. His spoken word pieces, however, don't equal his alternately personal and topical songs. His work is greatly admired by Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, and T-Bone Burnett, and all three have recorded with him. Cockburn deserves such distinguished company.