Dart to the Heart

1. Listen for the Laugh

2. All the Ways I Want You

3. Bone in My Ear

4. Burden of the Angel/Beast

5. Scanning These Crowds

6. Southland of the Heart

7. Train in the Rain

8. Someone I Used to Love

9. Love Loves You Too

10. Sunrise on the Mississippi

11. Closer to the Light

12. Tie Me at the Crossroads

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Bruce Cockburn is Canada's version of Richard Thompson, a brilliant folk-rock guitarist who also writes smart, acerbic lyrics about the twisted ways of modern society and modern romance. Never as vicious or as funny as Thompson, Cockburn is a more restrained, less obvious talent, but rewarding just the same. Dart to the Heart, free of political abstractions and filled with personal musings on love, is his best since 1985's World of Wonders. The first single, "Listen for the Laugh," is a boisterous hornªpowered rocker that insists good-naturedly that the surest sign of love is not sighing but laughter--and very specific sort of laughter, like "a chain saw in a velvet glove." That's a good description for Cockburn's guitar work, too, for he keeps it buried behind his deep, sleepy vocals, but if you listen closely you can hear just how his picking chews up chords and sends notes flying in all directions. --Geoffrey Himes

Tracks:

Listen for the Laugh
All the Ways I Want You
Bone in My Ear
Burden of the Angel/Beast
Scanning These Crowds
Southland of the Heart
Train in the Rain
Someone I Used to Love
Love Loves You Too
Sunrise on the Mississippi
Closer to the Light
Tie Me at the Crossroads

Amazon.com

Bruce Cockburn is Canada's version of Richard Thompson, a brilliant folk-rock guitarist who also writes smart, acerbic lyrics about the twisted ways of modern society and modern romance. Never as vicious or as funny as Thompson, Cockburn is a more restrained, less obvious talent, but rewarding just the same. Dart to the Heart, free of political abstractions and filled with personal musings on love, is his best since 1985's World of Wonders. The first single, "Listen for the Laugh," is a boisterous hornªpowered rocker that insists good-naturedly that the surest sign of love is not sighing but laughter--and very specific sort of laughter, like "a chain saw in a velvet glove." That's a good description for Cockburn's guitar work, too, for he keeps it buried behind his deep, sleepy vocals, but if you listen closely you can hear just how his picking chews up chords and sends notes flying in all directions. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Mellowness from a mellow guy.......2006-02-15

If Canadian, Bruce Cockburn has ever released a weak collection, I've yet to hear it. He holds a position similar to Australia's, Paul Kelly: respected within his own country, revered as a musician's musician. Their work is varied, always with lyric interest, topical, tight and well considered. The common comparison is the Dylan, Thompson pairing, similar folk rock grooves, and three to four decades of production. But it is immediately apparent that the first mentioned pair fare less well as singers than writers. Bruce's vocals express a dry world weariness that is entirely appropriate for his ecological concerns. These are politically astute, but have the least reach, a common fault of sermonizers. His love songs are every bit as richly nuanced as anything from Dylan or Thompson. His heart is in the right place, and though neither pious or smug, a little humour might elevate the texts. I've retained,'Dragon Jaws', 'Talking Timbucktu, and this one('Dart') and though each has its own temprament, there's not a lot between them. The early,'Sunwheel Dance' had an easy bucolicism that immediately converted me to Cockburn country. David Wiffen, an old cohort, covered,'Up on the Hillside' with Cockburn on guitar on his great,'Coast to Coast in 1973, which is where I disovered Bruce. Pity Wiffen couldn't sustain his music career and cover more of Cockburn as his rich baritone enhances the colour of Cockburn in an engaging way.(I see Wiffen has a late career CD,'South of Somewhere', in 1999) When Cockburn visited these shores in the late 70s, about the time of his first Oz distribution,'In The Falling Dark', he filled a sizeable auditorium and pleasured us with a marathon set from his already, prolific catalogue. How his fingers danced over that cobalt blue acoustic guitar! A remarkable musician who seems able to draw from a limitless well.

Darted to the Heart of this Bruce Superfan.......2005-08-02

Dart to the Heart is one of my absolute favorite Bruce Cockburn Albums - and rates with my all-time favories Charity of Night, Circles in the Stream, and High Winds/White Sky.

Where the music wasn't what the record company wanted (said Bruce at a conference I attended, "I don't think they were looking for love songs, but that's what they got..."), Bruce delivers one poetic emotional notion after another. Highlights are "Pacing the Cage," ("I never knew what you all wanted - so I gave you everything... All that I could pillage... All the spells that I could sing..."), "Southland of the Heart," ("When you're hands are full of thorns but you can't quit groping for the rose"), "Closer To the Light," ("starred at the ceiling till my ears filled up with tears... Never got to know you - but suddenly you're out of here..." "Another step deeper into darkness - Closer to the Light")

Not a song on the list that isn't real, expressive, honest, and compelling.

Where I had a crush on Bruce after listening to "You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance," I am in unabashed musical LOVE after listening to 'Dart.' Thank you, Bruce. You truly showed me what music should sound like.

His 25th Album.......2004-12-16

(twenty fifth album)

One of the funniest things about this album is that a well-known right wing talk radio host used the intro to "Listen for the Laugh" as bumper music for his show. I used to chuckle long and hard every time I would hear that come on because if the two of them had ever sat down to compare notes on ideology they would find that they are about as far apart as one can get on the political spectrum. I assume the right wing radio host was having his production company pay for the use of the tune, so maybe Bruce didn't mind.

Me and the twins use this CD as our aerobics CD. They like to wiggle around and squirm up and down and exercise to it while I stand in their room and kind of look on and grin. I tap my toes a bit, but that is about as much exercise as I care to be involved with. Stout men such as myself tend to perspire rather profusely and for that reason I don't like to exert myself unless absolutely necessary. The twins are so wiry that they never sweat no how, so for them it don't matter.

The robot-generated text from Amazon states that, "Bruce Cockburn is Canada's version of Richard Thompson," but shouldn't it be the other way around? Cockburn can be more subtly vicious and a great deal more funny as Thompson, Cockburn is in fact a more restrained and less obvious talent, but a great deal more rewarding.

They ought to rope in those robots if you ask me. Mama got angry when she saw what the machine had written and if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. I best sign off here as she is starting to fume.

Tell me if there is better.......2003-08-05

If I have a complaint about Bruce Cockburn's collection of music, it is that it is too political for my tastes. The fact the I lean toward conservatism might make listening to some of his music a bit hard to swallow, although I do appreciate his dedication to his principles. From purely a musical standpoint, Dart to the Heart is a great change of pace for Bruce Cockburn. I just finished recording a few tunes onto cassestte for a friend of mine. I chose the two instrumentals, Train in the Rain and Sunrise on the Mississippi, as well as Love Loves You too and Tie Me at the Crossroads. Those tunes are awesome, as is the rest of this set. Bruce Cockburn, polically motivated or not, has always impressed me with his awesome guitar work and incredible songwriting ability. If you want thoughtful, introspective music that speaks to your soul, then give this a listen. It is one of the mainstays on my cd player and one I am proud to introduce to my friends.

This Dart Missed My Heart (and Mind).......2001-06-16

In contrast with earlier albums like Humans and Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws, Dart the Heart presents a different, more emotional side of Bruce Cockburn. No one can doubt that he is a talented, interesting songwriter, but this album disappoints me for three reasons.

First, Bruce abandons his usual acoustic guitar in several songs, opting for a hard and sometimes obnoxious electric sound. It is certainly important for artists to experiment, but a great joy of Bruce's other albums is his the cool, natural sound emanating from his acoustic guitar as his fingers dance over the strings.

Second, Bruce's melodies on this album are trite and predictable. He sounds unusually western on All the Ways I Want You and Love Loves You Too. Again, it seems that his tunes and chord progressions are not the previously intriguing and unpredictable sounds that make him unique on his other work.

Finally, his lyrics are less mystical, more boring. His Dylanesque poetry on other albums makes him more complex than this album.

Tracks:

Listen for the Laugh
All the Ways I Want You
Bone in My Ear
Burden of the Angel/Beast
Scanning These Crowds
Southland of the Heart
Train in the Rain
Someone I Used to Love
Love Loves You Too
Sunrise on the Mississippi
Closer to the Light
Tie Me at the Crossroads

Customer Reviews:

bruce does pop.......2002-11-06

dart to the heart is bruce cockburn's pop album. it uses more horns and electric guitars(strictly as sound effects, they're never very prominent in the mix)than any album before it. there is also more variety to this album, as it features rockers, country numbers, blues instrumentals and folk songs in separate moments, as opposed to in a potent, stripped down mix. this is both a blessing and a curse. while an interesting context can make up for a flawed song, it detracts from the lyrics, which are normally bruce's stongpoint. in other words, his focus is in the wrong place here. what's more, his attempts at country tend to fall flat on their faces(cockburn is best when he's making music with a little class) and there are no blues lyrics, which is wasted potential in my view. very mixed bag, only for harcore fans. having said that, scanning these crowds is a fantastic song, up there with bruce's best.

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