Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002 [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Bruce Cockburn

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 15, 2002)
• Original Release Date: January 15, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B00005U59T
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,291 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Over a recording career that spans three decades, Canada's Bruce Cockburn has established himself as a passionate social advocate, a deft guitarist, and an adventurous musical spirit. Though nobody would characterize him as a singles artist, this collection of tracks originally earmarked for (and often ignored by) radio presents his often earnest, occasionally elliptical song craft at its most accessible. Cockburn's rhythmic insistence and airy arrangements--punctuated by jazzy violin and saxophone--redeem "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" and "A Dream Like Mine" as more than sloganeering, though the stridency of "Call It Democracy" belabors the message at the expense of the music. Bookended by two new cuts, this anthology anticipates a reissue series of Cockburn's catalog through his new association with Rounder Records. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Warmest Day Of The Year, January 15, 2002

By	"turquoisebee" (Santa Fe, NM United States) - See all my reviews

My favorite songwriter/poet/musician is a guy named Bruce Cockburn. He's been a major influence in my life for 32 years. He has a new "Best Of" album out, and it's a great introduction.

The album includes a wide range of styles that cover a wide range of recording time. From the bliss of Wondering Where The Lions Are to the leftist politics of Call It Democracy to the spiritual dark night of the soul of Pacing The Cage to the sexual honesty of Lovers In A Dangerous Time to an absolutely perfect personification of the tantric idea of the juxtaposition of opposites in Tokyo and Night Train. And of course, because it's Bruce, it also contains some absolutely smokin' love songs, such as Last Night Of The World and the new Anything Anytime Anywhere. And there are the credo songs, the searingly honest Mission Statements of a truly spiritual being, like Waiting For A Miracle and A Dream Like Mine.

But it's another of the new songs that makes it worth the money. The song is called My Beat, and it's nothing more than a first-person narration of a bicycle ride around Bruce's new neighborhood in Montreal.

I simply LOVE this song! Part of it is the subtle presence of Hugh Marsh's violin after so many years away. Part of it is the absolutely *perfect* match of Bruce's voice with guest artist Patty Griffin's. But most of it is the fact that, in a tough year, this is one seriously HAPPY song.

It reminds me, in a strange way, of an old favorite Far Side cartoon. The scene is Hell, and two devils are watching this guy walking past, pushing a wheelbarrow. He's got this cool smile on his face, and is whistling as he works. One devil is saying to the other, "We've got to watch this guy...he's got a bad attitude." :-)

The sights Bruce passes on his bike ride are not all pleasant:

Past the derelict mattress
and the overgrown pavement
...
Past graffiti-bright buildings
and the junkyard alarm bell
and the screaming police cars
...
Past the drunk woman reeling
with her bag of provisions
Down through the tunnel
with the stink-fuming bus

But somehow it's Ok. And it's more than Ok, because "it's all present tense."

On to the bike path
where it's something like freedom
and the wind in my earring whispers
Trust what you must

Lovely. I can't, off the top of my head, think of a better song about the Zen-like magic of being totally into Now. And strangely enough, Now is eternal:

Ancient and always
The wheel's ever whirling

Today I'm riding
Tomorrow I walk
Step through forever
into this very moment
The heart is pumping
and the heart rocks

Mine too, Bruce. Thanks. Again.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Anytme, Anywhere, May 7, 2003

By	Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Bruce Cockburn's "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere" is an outstanding single-disc anthology that collects enough first rate material to make the argument that Cockburn's name ought to be mentioned with the rock and roll elite of his era, despite his relative obscurity. Many people harp on Cockburn's leftist lyrics, but the same argument could be made against, say, U2, and Cockburn never wrote anything as silly as that U2 lyric about a fish riding a bicycle. The bottom line for any rock artist: is the music any good? And Cockburn's selections on this recording are very good.

The chronology starts out in the late 70s, fortunately, since that means it contains Cockburn's biggest single, "Wondering Where the Lions Are." It then moves through the 80s and 90s, hitting such high points as the angry "If I Had a Rocket Launcher," the danceable "Lovers in a Dangerous Time," the enviro-rant "If a Tree Falls," the sweet ballad "Waiting for a Miracle," and the ominously-titled "Last Night of the World." As with any artist who hasn't had a lot of singles chart success, some might quibble with a few of the selections, but every track included is at least solid.

Overall, a very generous sing volume anthology that greatly enhance's Bruce Cockburn's musical legacy.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tip of the Iceberg, August 3, 2004

By	B. Niedt (Cherry Hill, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This CD is a smart purchase if, like me, you have always admired Bruce Cockburn's work, but have been too stingy to purchase more than an album or two from his prolific catalogue. It's also a good introduction to those not as familiar with his body of work. It is, however, rather limited in its view, almost by definition. Being a "singles" collection, it focuses more on the commercially-tooled songs from his albums of the last 25 years, so it doesn't completely represent all sides of the artist. Still, there are memorable songs here, starting with "Wondering Where the Lions Are", his only U.S. Top 40 hit, from his breakthrough 1979 album "Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws"; all the way up to "The Last Night of the World" from his wonderful 1999 release, "Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu." All the previously-released songs are bookended by two new songs, "My Beat", and "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere." Cockburn has always written songs that make no secret of his political, environmental and spiritual views, and at times his lyrics do get a little preachy. But that's always redeemed by the excellence of the music in which it is presented. It's nearly impossible to adequately encapsulate an artist's 30-year career on one CD, but this one does a better job than most, and it's a pretty good way to get Cockburn a space on your CD rack. Buy this one, then if you want to expand your appreciation of this fine Canadian artist, buy the above-mentioned CD's, then try "Stealing Fire", "The Charity of Night", and "Nothing But a Burning Light".