Night Vision

Released: 1973
LP: True North 11
CD: ESD 80172; Columbia 48740

Tracks:

  1. Foxglove (1:29)
  2. You Don't Have to Play the Horses (3:50)
  3. The Blues Got the World... (1:52)
  4. Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long (4:14)
  5. Islands in a Black Sky (7:40)
  6. Clocks Don't Bring Tomorrow -- Knives Don't Bring Good News (6:49)
  7. When the Sun Goes Nova (2:43)
  8. Deja Vu (5:36)
  9. Lightstorm (2:34)
  10. God Bless the Children (4:18)

From: Option

His very early recordings are of a wimpy, sub-Gordon Lightfoot nature, and his later, jazz and pop-inflected material is pretty familiar. Here, Cockburn was developing into something more than your ordinary singer-songwriter, using his still-tentative voice on songs that draw upon down-home picking and blues. His banjo recalls Taj Mahal on De Ole Folks At Home, while the sincere simplicity of the arrangements mainly bass, guitar, and piano keeps this above color-by-numbers roots plundering, A few acoustic guitar instrumentals make for a nice balance, and the lyrics elsewhere are free of pretension. It's nice listening and instructive for those who only knew Cockburn by his more recent work.

Fairfield Woods

Douwe van der Zwaag