Search - Bruce Cockburn :: Joy Will Find a Way

An Overlooked Gem

03/14/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Joy Will Find a Way," is the CD that introduced me to Bruce Cockburn, way back in 1976. My best friend played it for me, and I was absolutely blown away by the poignant and sometimes mystical lyricism ("Hand Dancing," "Lament for the Last Days," "Joy Will Find a Way"), his unique melodies and harmonies("Arrows of Light"), and his signature incredible accoustic guitar playing ("Skylarking"). This album is still one of my B.C. favorites. Although it never received the widespread approval or achieved the consistency and power of some of his later works, it is a gem. If you like the mournful and meditative side of B.C.'s music, you will love this album. I recommend it highly."

One of Cockburn's best

03/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As good as his later work has been, I've always found Bruce Cockburn's first 10 albums, all spanning the Seventies, to be his most enduring, and JOY WILL FIND A WAY is one of his finest from that period. His song lyrics here have a spiritual sensibility without sounding contrived and his musicianship is as fine as always. The arrangements on some songs can nail you, particularly on "Lament For The Last Days," when two women's voices suddenly emerge from nowhere singing a descant as Cockburn softly sings of fire and brimstone. Sounds like it shouldn't work, but it does. A fine, fine album all around."

Everyone slips up at some point...

Trevor | Vancouver, BC | 10/15/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"and even someone as consistent as Bruce Cockburn occasionally puts out a weaker album. In my mind, this is one of them. It's not horribly bad by any stretch, but it's simply quite boring at times. Bruce falls almost completely into the folk side of his music here. Don't get me wrong, I love that facet of his style, but it's got to be balanced with the other elements to make it work really well! As a result, the songs are ponderous, laid-back, and, yes, beautiful in some places (the aforementioned harmonies on "Lament", the fingerpicking on "Skylarking", the choir on "Burn", and the longing chorus of "Starwheel"). But there's an inescapable sense of wanting the album to finish because you have things to get done, like listen to another one of his albums! The writing also seems a bit more contrived than some of the other albums; it doesn't weigh as heavily in importance. Still, there are some very nice songs (I have 15 of Bruce's albums, none come close to being horrid), but I would recommend a lot of his other work before this one."