Bruce Cockburn

After nearly 20 years, Bruce Cockburn is teaming up again for his next studio album with producer Jon Goldsmith, the man behind the boards for the singer-guitarist's biggest-selling album to date, 1984's "Stealing Fire," which spawned such hits as "Lovers In A Dangerous Time" and the MTV-regular "If I Had a Rocket Launcher."

"We hope to finish in April," says Toronto's Bernie Finkelstein, Cockburn's long-time manager and president/founder of True North Records. "We've already set the release date for July 11 and then he's going to go on a full tour with a band right across the world."

While Goldsmith went on to produce Cockburn's "World Of Wonders" (1985) and "Big Circumstance"(1988), and is called in to play keyboards from time to time, the pair haven't worked together in that capacity since the '80s, "I would say that it will be classic Bruce Cockburn," says Finkelstein. "It's going to be a great record. It's going to be his 29th record and it will be his second one this (past) year, so that's very productive for him."

Cockburn's latest album, the instrumental "Speechless," featuring three brand new tracks and one previously only available in Japan, came out Sept. 27 and has scanned 9,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan Canada. "It's doing very well," says Finkelstein.

The Ottawa native, who has received more than 20 gold and platinum certifications in Canada, is recording the new studio album north of Toronto, at a location Finkelstein would prefer to keep out of the media. He's heard all the songs.

"We never do full demos for Bruce," he says. "We're just happy when we get them voice and guitar."

The album will come out in the U.S. through True North/Rounder, the U.K. on Cooking Vinyl and in various other territories "pretty much simultaneously," says Finkelstein.

On another note, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS) announced today that Finkelstein will receive the 2006 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the Juno Awards in Halifax this April, which will no doubt see Mr. Cockburn emerge from the studio to honour the man who signed him to the record company in 1969 and started managing him in 1970. More Lowdown stories