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Speechless | 
 enlarge | Artist: Bruce Cockburn
Label: Rounder Records
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $11.49
You Save: $6.49 (36%)
New (36) Used (11) from $10.00
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 14053
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 613250
UPC: 116613250296
EAN: 0116613250296
ASIN: B000ASDG80
Release Date: September 27, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: *BRAND NEW, FACTORY SEALED*
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| Tracks:
| • | Foxglove | | • | Train in the Rain | | • | Water into Wine | | • | Elegy | | • | Mistress of Storms | | • | Rouler Sa Bosse | | • | Salt Sun and Time | | • | Islands in a Black Sky | | • | Rise and Fall | | • | Sunrise on the Mississippi | | • | King Kong Goes to Tallahassee | | • | When It's Gone, It's Gone | | • | Deep Lake | | • | The End of All Rivers | | • | Sunwheel Dance |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
So pronounced is Bruce Cockburn's reputation as a celebrated singer-songwriter that it's easy to overlook the fact that Cockburn is also an exceptional guitarist. Speechless should change all that. A collection of previously recorded and brand new instrumental tracks, the album puts the spotlight squarely on Cockburn's brilliant acoustic guitar playing. Despite its absence of words, Speechless is highly expressive. Ranging from some of his earliest numbers to three recent compositions, the album showcases the breadth of Cockburn's eclectic guitar style. There's a strong cinematic quality to much of the album, whether it's in pieces from the 1970s like the haunting "Islands in a Black Sky" and the cascading "Water into Wine," or else in 1990s instrumentals such as the emotional "When It's Gone It's Gone" and the ambient "Mistress of Storms."
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great acoustic guitar September 24, 2007
Patty Carr (McKinney, Texas USA)
This is my first cd of his. This is all acoustic guitar. I was in Canada recently & someone there told me of his music. Great CD! Have not heard his other CD's, but this one is very good!
 A few really great tracks January 19, 2007
rattmead (San Diego, CA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It turns out that Cockburn is somewhat of a fingerstyle guitar virtuoso. Certain tracks on this CD hold up to the best of the genre (Kottke, Emmanuel, Dykes), but there are also some tracks that were just acoustic filler on some of his earlier albums. None of the tracks has vocals. Some of the tracks feature instruments other than guitar. This album starts strong and ends strong, but would have been a little better with fewer of the slow tempo tracks in the middle. Nevertheless, I'm glad I bought it. Very listenable.
Nice. Like Leo Kottke with more melody and feeling. July 7, 2006
Eric J. Anderson (Ankeny, Iowa)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Bruce Cockburn is a wonderful guitarist. He plays electric guitar, but he shines on the six string acoustic. I never much cared for his improvised electric guitar solos, but I don't recall any of those on this disc.
Bruce recorded a jazzy electric instrumental, Radio Days, for the Inner City Front album, but this does not appear on Speechless -- probably for the best. Also missing is a sentimental favorite of mine, Deer Dancing Around A Broken Mirror from his live Circles In The Stream record. Strangely, the short but sweet instrumentals from his Christmas CD are also missing.
Bruce recorded three new tunes for this album. I've heard them, and if you have Bruce's back catalog, these new songs are not sufficient to justify the CD purchase.
If you are new to Cockburn, I would still recommend going back to the beginning, and picking up his 1970s and 1980s albums, starting with Dancing In The Dragon's Jaws, which has no instrumental pieces, but does have some ravishingly beautiful acoustic guitar playing nevertheless. Then you'll have most if not all of the older songs that appear on this CD.
I love Bruce Cockburn, but I think his guitar playing is best appreciated in the context it originally appeared -- as a backing instrument for his vocals, and occasionally as a solo voice on instrumental pieces. Bruce's instrumentals are better in small doses, sandwiched in between his other fine songs.
Still, this is fine work, and if you only want "speechless" Cockburn, this album is just the ticket for you.
Speechless February 25, 2006
R. Russell (Bowling Green, KY USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful CD if you enjoy guitar. It is very calming after a long day and the 'Deep Lake' track is especially relaxing.
something great for the new year January 10, 2006
R. Smith (harlingen, texas)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
All in all, `Speechless` is an excellent album but it is still slightly disappointing because Brucie's new distributors do seem to be a little too keen to run the fanbase for all its worth. After downloading a number of the `bonus tracks` from I-Tunes, that drove the point home that Rounder Records really are just in it for the money. (Before any of the Cockburnistas come after me, I own 99.9% of BC's official catalogue so I know of what I speak.)
With all that said, Bruce Cockburn is easily one of the best guitarists out there so the music is still top form. This would be a great introduction for someone who perhaps isn't bowled over by introspective lyrics or is more inclined to the `giants` of jazz or folk guitar (Pat Metheny or Bert Jansch spring to mind) Secondly, even though it's tagged as an instrumental album Cockburn is speaking very clearly through his guitar. The older pieces such as Foxglove, Rouler Sa Bosse and Islands In A Black Sky hold together well and the `new` tracks prove that he hasn't lost any of his old form. A worthy addition to yours or a friends collection.
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