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Title: One of Cockburn's Best
Review: Charity of Night presents one of the most coherent pieces in Cockburn's long, respected career. The CD continues in the vein of his more recent, eclectic musical efforts, but the tracks work together to create a collage that finds its focal point in the title track. Musically, there are few weak links here; lyrically, this CD is Cockburn's most poetically satisfying in years. There is an appealing, hard-edged intensity to many of the songs (especially "Strange Waters" and "Get Up, Jonah") that is often tempered by works that sooth troubled waters ("Pacing the Cage" and "Charity of Night"). The CD serves as an appropriate introduction to Cockburn and, to his long-time devotees, as a satisfying complication of his work. If you feel that modern life too often lacks substance, then Cockburn's art may be an antidote: the well-crafted, masterfully played music of an authentic self.
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