Old New Dylan

"Yeah, I've had a couple of complaints that Nothing But a Burning Light wasn't angry enough," Cockburn admits. "Someone said it sounded too much like Lawrence Welk. Tough shit. Nothing But a Burning Light is mellower than a lot of the stuff I wrote in the Eighties, but not as mellow as most of what I wrote in the Seventies. I notice a difference in the audience when I have a popular song like `Wondering Where the Lions Are' or `Rocket Launcher'; they expect the rest of my songs to be like that. But generally my audience puts up with pretty wide curves. These people are listeners -- I don't get a lot of radio play in general, so my popularity, such as it is, has been built up over time through live shows and word of mouth. Am I happier now? I don't know. What does that mean? I realize that it's a very fortunate position I find myself in."

BRUCE COCKBURN performs at 9:00 p.m. Friday at the Lincoln Theatre, 555 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, 673-3331. Tickets cost $15.

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