Inner City Front Explained

Inner City Front is the eleventh full-length album by Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn, released in 1981 by True North Records.

Reception

In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Brett Hartenbach wrote, "Musically, moody synths, violin, and woodwinds on Inner City Front underscore the dark, reflective nature of the material, which like its predecessor, deals with the "paradox and contrast" in the human condition, from personal relationships to world affairs. Also, for the second consecutive recording, Cockburn eschews the folkier, acoustic leanings of his '70s work and places both feet squarely into the jazz and worldbeat rock that dominated the majority of Humans."

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Cockburn.

1. "You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance"
2. "The Strong One"
3. "All's Quiet on the Inner City Front"
4. "Radio Shoes"
5. "Wanna Go Walking"
6. "And We Dance"
7. "Justice"
8. "Broken Wheel"
9. "Loner"

Bonus tracks of the 2002 remastered version:

1. "The Coldest Night Of The Year"
2. "The Light Goes On Forever"

Personnel

• Bruce Cockburn – vocals, dulcimer, guitar
• Bob Disalle – drums
• Memo Acevedo – percussion
• Ruholla Khomeini – percussion
• Jon Goldsmith – keyboards
• Dennis Pendrith – bass
• Hugh Marsh – mandolin, violin
• M. Kaddafi – backing vocals
• Murray McLauchlan – backing vocals
• Kathryn Moses – reeds, woodwinds, backing vocals

Production

• Bruce Cockburn – producer
• Bernie Finkelstein – associate producer
• Gary Gray – engineer
• George Marino – mastering
• Bart Schoales – art Direction, photography
• George Whiteside – photography

Charts

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1981 year-end chart performance for Inner City Front!Chart (1981)!Position