In 1966 Bruce Cockburn was asked to join an Ottawa band called The Children, which lasted for about a year. In the spring of 1967, he joined the final lineup of the Esquires before moving to Toronto in the summer to form The Flying Circus with former Bobby Kris & The Imperials members Marty Fisher and Gordon MacBain and ex-Tripp member Neil Lillie. The group recorded some material in late 1967 (which remains unreleased) before changing its name to Olivus in the spring of 1968, by which point Lillie (who changed his name to Neil Merryweather) had been replaced by Dennis Pendrith from Livingstone's Journey.
Olivus opened for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream in April 1968. That summer Cockburn broke up Olivus, intending to go solo but ending up in the band 3's a Crowd. with David Wiffen, Colleen Peterson and Richard Patterson, who had played with him in The Children. Cockburn left this band in the spring of 1969 to pursue a solo career.
He had made his first solo appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1967, and was the headliner when Beldin Arechavala cancelled in order to appear at Woodstock in 1969. In 1970 he released his first, self-titled, solo album. Cockburn's phenomenal guitar work and songwriting skills won him an enthusiastic following. His early work sparkles with rural and nautical imagery, Biblical metaphors, and a sense of delight in the belief that whatever happens here on earth, heaven is not far away.
Raised as an agnostic, early in his career he became a devout Christian. Many of his albums from the 1970s refer to his Christian belief, which in turn informs the concerns for human rights and environmentalism expressed on his 1980s albums. His references to Christianity in his music include the Grail imagery of 20th-century Christian poet Charles Williams and the ideas of theologian Harvey Cox, but they are so subtle and musical that they do not exclude nonbelievers.
Tracks
1. Going To The Country - 3:10
2. Thoughts On A Rainy Afternoon - 3:42
3. Together Alone - 2:42
4. The Bicycle Trip - 4:05
5. The Thirteenth Mountain - 4:45
6. Musical Friends - 2:54
7. Change Your Mind - 2:19
8. Man Of A Thousand Faces - 5:40
9. Spring Song - 4:19
10.Keep It Open - 1:40
Musicians
*Bruce Cockburn - 6,12 String Guitar, Piano, Bass Drum
*Michael Ferry - Tongue
*Dennis Pendrith - Bass
Bruce Cockburn releases
1973 Night Vision (Japan issue)
1977 Circles In The Stream (Deluxe Edition)
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