Bruce Cockburn's acoustic folk stylings get a boost from an occasional backing band that stays true to the rustic charm of his early music. His fourth album sparks up his looser side with the playful "The Blues Got World . . ." and the nocturnal blues of "Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse All Night Long," where Cockburn clinks along the bar like a clean-cut Tom Waits. "You Don't Have To Play the Horses" uses a banjo to fuel the Middle Eastern drone that lies under the blues. The seven-plus minutes of "Islands in a Black Sky" feature more of Cockburn's frighteningly good guitar picking that evokes an ominous wilderness and a blast of warmth amid the cold Canadian winter nights. "Clocks Don't Bring Tomorrow—Knives Don't Bring Good News" settles into a muscular but soft rock gait. Cockburn's versatility lets him slip between genres and would eventually lead him to radically alter his music. However, fans of his acoustic-based music should seek out any of his early- to mid-'70s albums, as they're all of consistent quality.