For some, Bruce Cockburn needs no introduction. However, just as many (maybe more) are unfamiliar with the persevering Canadian singer-songwriter’s talents, a reality Tompkins Square’s Josh Rosenthal fully understands. Rather than leave this deficiency unaddressed, James Toth Presents… Imaginational Anthem Vol. XIII – Songs of Bruce Cockburn arrives April 5 on LP, CD, and digital. Featuring nine readings of Cockburn songs by an impressive cohort of contemporary indie artists including Jerry David DeCicca with Bill Callahan, Powers Rolin Duo, Wet Tuna, and the set’s curator in the duo Armory Schafer, the album is poised to enlighten newbies while satisfying longtime Cockburn fans.
In the notes to this worthwhile set, Josh Rosenthal lays out his reasons for following up Imaginational Anthem Vol. XII, a multi-artist tribute to the late guitarist Michael Chapman, with a similar goodwill gesture. In short, it pertained to a nagging disrespect to Cockburn through oversight from a listenership that’s clued into a younger, edgier, and more indie-aligned scene.
It bears mentioning that Cockburn is a certifiably huge deal in Canada, as knowledge of his artistry has also spread elsewhere. While never as big in the USA as he was at home, Cockburn’s songs were once heard on stateside commercial rock radio. But as the decades have passed, the guy’s stature has seemed to diminish even as he’s remained active.
Rosenthal puts the blame in part on the lack of championing from tastemaker musicians. It’s an assertion that resonates as accurate. I’ll add that Cockburn’s never been a darling of critics the way that some purely instrumental fingerpickers and folky singer-songwriters were and are. And unlike the recordings of those more celebrated names (say, Fahey, Jansch, Hardin, Cooder), Cockburn’s stuff pre-Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws was pretty scarce in the bins new or used, at least in more suburban areas of the USA.
This latest Imaginational Anthem volume utilizes a tried and true tactic, assembling a sharp enough roster (blending higher profile names with lesser knowns) that people will want to hear and purchase without being familiar with the musician getting the tribute treatment. Toth has assembled the lineup with focus rather than forced eclecticism, so that the contents unwind as a true album instead of like a disjointed mixtape. The course is set for success.
Vol. XIII opens with Eli Winter’s version of the fingerpicking instrumental “Foxglove,” a choice that establishes both an expansion and a true extension of the Imaginational Anthem series’ thematic template. Crisp, full-bodied and electric in Winter’s hands, “Foxglove” retains the beautiful aura of the original, which also opened Cockburn’s fourth album, 1972’s Night Vision.
Jumping ahead in Cockburn’s discographical narrative, Vol. XIII’s second track, Jerry David DeCicca’s “Forty Years in the Wilderness” plucks a sturdy tune from the 2017 album Bone on Bone. Roping in Bill Callahan on backing vocals, DeCicca’s version retains Cockburn’s approach (slowing it down a bit) while putting an individual stamp on it.
Really, none of the selections here are major departures from the structures Cockburn set in place, which is where the heart of the tribute really lies; Matthew “Doc” Dunn’s “Up on the Hillside” retains the bluesy flavor of the original (from ’71’s Sunwheel Dance) though Wet Tuna’s take on “Waiting for a Miracle” (notably covered by the Jerry Garcia Band) does get increasingly spacy as it stretches out.
“Fall” by Powers Rolin Duo eschews the vaguely Nick Drake-like atmosphere of the original (also from Sunwheel Dance) and deepens the emphasis on the guitars. Lou Turner’s stunning “Pacing the Cage” draws from Cockburn’s mid-period (’97’s The Charity of Night) a powerful song with an underlying prettiness in the guitar playing. Turner stays true to the tune, but adds marimba and excludes guitar from the scheme, a bold move given Imaginational Anthem’s steel string focus.
The series did undergo a thematic shift to pedal steel curated by Luke Schneider, Vol. XI, Chrome Universal. Schneider returns on the instrument here, lending a layer of richness to the Kyle Hamlett Duo’s record-closing version of “All the Diamonds” (which opened Cockburn’s ’73 album Salt, Sun and Time).
Sequenced between Wet Tuna and Kyle Hamlett on Vol. XIII’s second side are “One Day I Walk” (from 1970’s High Winds While Sky) by Armory Schafer, a version that’s more indie folk fragile by a few degrees, but pleasingly so, and “You Don’t Have to Play the Horses” (which follows “Foxglove” on Night Vision) by Jody Nelson, who goes it alone live in the studio and whips up just a hint of Jansch.
But altogether, James Toth Presents… Imaginational Anthem Vol. XIII – Songs of Bruce Cockburn does a fine job retaining the essence of its subject and broadening his appeal beyond the standard introductory mode of many tributes. This is one to savor, even if your shelf of Cockburn is already long.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
