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Bruce Cockburn signing the Rumours of Glory boxed set RUMOURS OF GLORY - Box Set - Sneak Peak 1-5

26 October 2014 -

Part 1: Sneak peek: an exclusive glimpse at Rumours Of Glory by Bruce Cockburn (Pt. 1)

Announced early in September, True North Records is proud to release Rumours Of Glory, a 9–disc audio/video companion to a new autobiography by Bruce Cockburn that has been curated by the artist himself.

A lot has gone into making this collection truly unique, which is why we're giving our fans and subscribers an exclusive behind–the–scenes glimpse at just what to expect from the box set; in the weeks leading up to the release, we're sharing stories and previews of the collection that you won't see anywhere else.

In addition to 9 discs of audio and video — 8 discs of music and his first live concert DVD — the collection features all–new custom artwork and a special 90–page booklet, each packed with exclusive and never–before–seen photos of Cockburn, his personal journals and realia from throughout his historic career.

And if that weren't special enough, each booklet is hand–numbered and has been personally autographed by Bruce Cockburn — the troubadour spent some time signing booklets recently in Winnipeg, MB after performing to launch the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in September.

We're very proud of Cockburn and his career, and we've put together a truly special box set to celebrate. If you haven't already, pre–order and reserve a copy of Rumours Of Glory box set for you or the Cockburn fan or your Christmas list.

~ from True North Records

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Part 2: Sneak peek: an exclusive glimpse at Rumours Of Glory by Bruce Cockburn (Pt. 2)

Bruce Cockburn -Rumours of Glory box set

As you may know, Cockburn donated his personal archives to McMaster University in Hamilton, ON last year, including notebooks, musical arrangements and even gold records and a few of his guitars.

"These are my tools, my rough drafts, my mementoes and my trophies. Together, they form the roadmap of my working life," Cockburn said at the time. "I'm pleased they will have a safe and permanent home in a place where they may be useful to others."

We tasked graphic designer Bobby Foley to spend time at the University over the summer in preparation for the box set, researching Cockburn and photographing items from the staggering collection — including his personal journals, photos that span his career and assorted curios like sheet music, handwritten lyrics and more. These are reflected in the original artwork throughout the package — from glimpses of Cockburn in the studio to original lyric drafts, we're confident this box set provides a peek into Cockburn's world that you've never seen before.

Of course, we owe many thanks to McMaster University, and the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collection at the Mills Memorial Library. The exhibit is a must–see, and with Rumours Of Glory, Cockburn fans can get a sense of the journey that's reflected in the collection, a visual companion to a career like no other.

~ from True North Records

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Part 3: Sneak peek: an exclusive glimpse at Rumours Of Glory by Bruce Cockburn (Pt. 3)

In addition to 8 discs of audio — 7 discs of music that follow the narrative of Cockburn's memoirs and a disc of rare and unreleased material — the collection features his first–ever concert DVD, directed by Joel Goldberg and brought to you by the producers of Pacing The Cage, the 2013 Cockburn documentary.

[If no video below - Click here to watch "If I Had A Rocket Launcher" from the DVD]

We asked Goldberg to share his experience working on the DVD for this glimpse into the box set, read his thoughts about filming Cockburn on tour in the U.S. in 2008:

"After working on the documentary Pacing The Cage for four years, we found that there was a lot of amazing performance material left on the editing room floor. The performances — from Bruce's Slice O Life tour in 2008 — were incredible, highlighting his intricate guitar work and performance abilities as well as presenting a nice representation of his catalogue of work throughout the years. And it was just Bruce on stage, solo, acoustic … live!

"Working with Anjay Feldano and the editors at Scarlett Street Films we decided to go black and white for the performances, with the venue locations separated by the 'on the road' Super 8 mm film shots from the documentary. We felt that the B&W captured the energy and intensity of Bruce's performances and gave a consistency to the look and feel of the film, and the Super 8 shots heightened the feeling of travel that happens between venues … it gave the performances a feeling of intimacy for the viewer, almost that Bruce is doing a special performance for them from the screen.

"We made sure that whenever possible to have close up shots of his guitar work, which is unbelievable at times. You shake your head when you realize that this symphony is coming out of one guitar, and you lose any sense of number of cameras, etc. and just marvel at Bruce's talent. I’m very happy with the results. It was an honour to work with Bruce, Bernie [Finkelstein] and True North on two of the most important projects I’ve ever been connected with."

~ from True North Records

****** Bruce Cockburn -Rumours of Glory box set

Part 4: Sneak peek: an exclusive glimpse at Rumours Of Glory by Bruce Cockburn (Pt. 4)

The crux of the box set itself are the 8 discs of music within — 7 discs from Cockburn's catalogue (sequenced by their appearance in his coming autobiography) and one disc of rare and previously unreleased songs. The entire collection was remastered together by Peter Moore at The E Room in Toronto from July–September 2014 to ensure that all 8 discs played together beautifully as one.

For this glimpse into the box set we asked Moore to share his experience working on the audio and the lengths he went to ensure optimal audio clarity and transience, read his thoughts:

"Every effort was made to find the highest quality sources — we went back to the original source material for everything. A lot of the rare and unreleased music was in really rough shape, we had to bake and repair some of the original audio tapes before we could use them.

"It's like archaeology in a way; there's so much information you can get off of audio tapes, but you need really high resolution conditions to capture it all. I'm using the world's best A/D converters at high bit rates so the end result is even ready for high–quality digital music stores — better than 4 times CD quality.

"I knew when it was finished that it sounded pretty good; the two people I was most concerned about were Bernie [Finkelstein] and Bruce, and they were pretty pleased. Sometimes when you go back to old catalogue stuff you have a lot of problems, but this worked out really well ... it was a lot of work, but then this isn't just a simple assembly of music, it's probably one of the better retrospectives of Bruce's music that exists anywhere."

~ from True North Records

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Part 5: Sneak peek: an exclusive glimpse at Rumours Of Glory by Bruce Cockburn (Pt. 5)

True North Records is proud to release Rumours Of Glory, a 9–disc audio/video box set companion to the coming memoirs by Bruce Cockburn — widely available this coming Tuesday, October 28.

We've been sharing exclusive stories and previews of the collection with our e–mail subscribers since the set was announced early last month; in recent weeks, we've taken a closer look at the 8 discs of audio — newly remastered together for this collection to play beautifully as one — and the new live DVD by the producers of Pacing The Cage, the 2013 Cockburn documentary.

And for this, our final glimpse at the box set before its release, we're excited to share with you a limited–time, exclusive stream of 14 of the rare and unreleased songs in our collection!

Now listeners around the world can visit CBC Music (click above) to hear intimate demo versions of their favourite Cockburn gems, selections from rare Canadian film soundtracks and much more. These 14 tracks represent the 8th disc of audio in our collection, and you can hear them for free until the box set hits stores on October 28. CBC Music is streaming 14 of the rare and previously unreleased tracks. Stream until Oct. 27.

All of us at True North Records are proud of this box set, our sincerest thanks to everyone that has placed their pre–orders so far. If you haven't already but want to, use this link to pre–order and reserve a copy of Rumours Of Glory before its release on Tuesday.

Please note: if you ordered the box set bundled together with Bruce's new memoir of the same name, your order will arrive closer to November 4 in accordance with the publisher's release date. Rest assured, however, that they are likely already en route to you.

~ from True North Records








News Index

This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.