Sunwheel Dance (Deluxe Edition)

Even early in his career, Canadian folk singer Bruce Cockburn worked in a variety of genres, though the tones here are all authentically acoustic. Elements of jazz, folk, blues, English traditional, and country are filtered through Cockburn's gentle sensibility, which has the feel of a warm fire on a cold winter's night. The gentle, forlorn quality of "Fall" is alone worth hours of investigation. Cockburn's guitar work is seriously underrated, and it's in fine form for the soothing flow of the instrumental title track. His music has allegorical, spiritual, and mystic sides. "Up on the Hillside" employs slide guitar and harmonica for a modest blues. "Life Will Open" features a beautifully cascading guitar. Cockburn adds dulcimer, mandolin, and piano where appropriate, hitting on a barroom shuffle for "It's Going Down Slow" (which adds John Savage on drums). The deluxe edition has two bonus tracks: a solo version of "My Lady and My Lord" and the solemn "Morning Hymn."