Background
Released in 1981 by True North Records and distributed by CBS, Mummy Dust is a Canadian-exclusive album that includes four previously unreleased songs, specifically "Loner", "Red Brother Red Sister", "Dweller By A Dark Stream", and "The Coldest Night of the Year", the latter of which was released as a single. According to Cockburn's manager Bernie Finkelstein, the tracks on Mummy Dust were consist of favorites of his and Cockburn.
Compared to Resume, a compilation released the same year outside of Canada, Mummy Dust shares "The Coldest Night of the Year", "Silver Wheels", and "Laughter", with all remaining tracks being otherwise unique. The song "Loner", which is exclusive to Mummy Dust, was previewed live in 1980, whereas Cockburn debuted "The Coldest Night of the Year" live in January 1981.
The studio version of "Loner" was recorded in March 1980 and "The Coldest Night of the Year" was recorded in March 1981. Both "Red Brother Red Sister" and "Dweller By a Dark Stream" date back to 1976 during the In the Falling Dark sessions, but had remained unreleased in a studio form up until Mummy Dust. "Red Brother Red Sister", a song that had first appeared on Cockburn's 1977 Circles in the Stream live album, is set to a slow shuffle rhythm with lyrics centered around the plight of indigenous Canadians that was perpetrated by white colonists. Cockburn later reworked "Loner" for his Inner City Front album released the same year.
The remainder of Mummy Dust comprises seven songs from Cockburn's discography, with one dating back to his self-titled debut album recorded in 1969.
