Performer Notes

Personnel: Bruce Cockburn (vocals, acoustic, electric & resophonic guitars, dobro); Bonnie Raitt (slide guitar); Colin Linden (mandolin); Joe Macerollo (accordion); Janice Powers (keyboards); Gary Burton (vibraphone); Rob Wasserman (bass); Gary Craig (drums, tambourine, percussion); Bob Weir, Ani DiFranco, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin, Bob Weir, Maria Muldaur (background vocals).
Recorded at Reaction Studios, Toronto, Canada.
Personnel: Bruce Cockburn (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, resonator guitar, dobro); Bonnie Raitt (slide guitar); Colin Linden (mandolin); Joe Macerollo (accordion); Janice Powers (keyboards); Gary Burton (vibraphone); Gary Craig (drums, tambourine, percussion); Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin, Ani DiFranco (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: John Whynot.
Recording information: Bob Weir's Studio; Electro Magnetic Sound; Reaction Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; The Record Plant, Sausalito, CA.
Illustrator: William Sienkiewicz.
Photographer: Malcolm Burn.
Translators: Marcel Moussette; Jane Macaulay.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Marcel Moussette; Jane Macaulay.
Arranger: Jonatha Brooke.
Poetic images are scattered like stars across the sky in Bruce Cockburn's 23rd album, particularly images of darkness and light. In these songs, lights sweep through the dark, shapes appear in the near dark, shadows form. "Ice cube in a dark drink shines like starlight/Starlight shines like glass shards in dark hair," Cockburn sings on "Night Train." Cockburn likes to pin down visceral images that can make his songs universal. On "Pacing The Cage," he sings, "I've proven who I am so many times/The magnetic strip's worn thin/And each time I was someone else/And everyone was taken in."
THE CHARITY OF NIGHT features an amazing core band that includes vibraphonist Gary Burton, drummer Gary Craig and bassist Rob Wasserman. Dropping in as guests are the likes of Ani DiFranco, Bonnie Raitt and Patty Larkin. This is surprisingly fresh material, not at all familiar-sounding, but Cockburn's longtime fans won't be disappointed. As usual, he conveys a palpable sense of integrity, an intense belief in what he's singing about and a seamless merging of the spiritual and the political.

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (1/31/97, p.58) - "...this politico-romantic masterfully evokes night as a cloak of comfort and corruption both. And if he throws murderers and land mines into the mix, it makes his juxtaposed joie de vivre more vital." - Rating: A-

Musician (3/97, p.93) - "...these are less songs than sprawling mood pieces, conjuring a sense of immense natural forces at play. The stately vibes and authoritative upright bass of guests Gary Burton and Rob Wasserman help the mission greatly, but the main focus for once is Cockburn's amazing guitar playing..."

Album: The Charity of Night
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Night Train
2)	Get up Jonah
3)	Pacing the Cage
4)	Mistress of Storms
5)	Whole Night Sky, The
6)	Coming Rains, The
7)	Birmingham Shadows
8)	Mines of Mozambique, The
9)	Live on My Mind
10)	Charity of Night, The
11)	Strange Waters

Album: The Charity of Night
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Night Train
2)	Get up Jonah
3)	Pacing the Cage
4)	Mistress of Storms
5)	Whole Night Sky, The
6)	Coming Rains, The
7)	Birmingham Shadows
8)	Mines of Mozambique, The
9)	Live on My Mind
10)	Charity of Night, The
11)	Strange Waters