Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Back in 1980 I first discovered the music of Bruce Cockburn with this album and was immediately delighted by the way he fashioned a mix of rock, jazz and roots influences. Little did I know at the time that many of these raw, emotional, bittersweet songs were penned during the turmoil of his marriage break up. The gentle "You Get Bigger As You Go" reports on his recovery from the relationship break up whilst "Fascist Architecture" looks at the barriers that can be built up during a relationship and "What About The Bond" examines the spiritual consequences. Other songs like "Tokyo" and "Grim Travellers" are more like reportage and reveal a fresh style of song writing that Cockburn has greatly exploited to the present day. The album also contains one absolute classic song, the hopeful reggae influenced "Rumours Of Glory". Many people rate this as Cockburn's finest album and who am I to disagree? Digitally remastered, it's sounding better than ever.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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