Here's some rare footage for your entertainment. It's Strange Advance in Montreal, from their 1985 tour. In the past a couple of clips from this have been up, but subsequently disappeared. Now you can see a hour's worth of them in action. I think this was also aired on MuchMusic at the time. It's rare both because it's a mid '80s TV broadcast, and because Strange Advance toured only a couple of times.
A reunited version of the group played several gigs in 2019, but any plans they might have had to go on the road this year were obviously cut short by the pandemic.
I had an idea for a post today, but in one sense it was a repeat of an older post. So instead watch this, which is more fun. If you're Canadian and old enough you probably remember this, as it aired on Canadian TV frequently for a long time. Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing "The Log Driver's Waltz."
Going about my business this afternoon I heard a song I know I haven't heard in 20 years, if not more. "Notorious" was the single released off Loverboy's 1987 album Wildside. Co-written by Mike Reno with the late Todd Cerney, Jon Bon Jovi, and Richie Sambora(something I didn't know) it sounds like an attempt at producing another "Hot Girl's In Love." And it's "nah nah nah, nah nah nah notorious" line in the chorus was probably intended for having an audience sing along live.
Not having heard it in so long I found myself wondering half seriously if the guys in Loverboy even remember the song. Of course they might not want to. Although "Notorious" did generate some airplay it didn't help Wildside, which became their first album not to go platinum, and the group soon broke up over tensions between Reno and guitarist Paul Dean. Like some other bands that got lumped into the arena rock/AOR category they presumably just ran out of steam, not being pretty enough or having the right sound to keep up with the hair metal bands popular at the time. In fact it could be seen as ironic that Bon Jovi and Sambora co-wrote "Notorious," since Bon Jovi probably sucked up market share that would previously have bought Loverboy albums.
See what you think. Here's the promo video for the song.
Given the number of celebrity deaths in recent days listening to this Rush tune seemed quite appropriate, although I didn't actually decide to listen to it for that reason. But of course it's not just the famous who have just left us. Hopefully you aren't facing a loss as you read this.
If you've been paying attention to coverage of the death of Keith Emerson you probably know by now that he committed suicide. This was apparently prompted by health problems in his hands that were increasingly effecting his ability to play. Emerson had problems in the early '90s, but seemed to have gotten past them. But that was 20 years ago, when he was 50.
It made me think of this Rush song, one of their lesser known pieces, from 1982's album Signals. Ironically Rush themselves are currently trying to figure out their future as health problems make the rigours of touring hard on Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. We're going to be seeing this hit more and more rockers in the next few years.
It's been a long time since I've done one of these. Whirring away in the player today is Primeval, the fifth album by Canadian Celtic fusion band Rare Air, released in 1989. Primarily an instrumental group, they combined various instruments, including bagpipes. I actually saw them play in Place Riel on the University of Saskatchewan one lunch hour, probably circa 1987. Quite funky.
A quick look on Amazon indicates this one may still be in print, along with their albums Hard to Beat and Space Piper.
It seems walking was actually a good thing for my sore knee. I did take a Tylenol before I went out, but I think just walking around did the most good. It didn't bother me enough to effect my pace today.
It's a peril of aging. If you're a singer, especially the typical untrained pop music singer, there's a good chance your range will decrease with age. If you've gone to see some of the longer running acts you probably have seen singers who can't reach the high notes in their older material. Some acts will play their songs in a lower key to help the singer, radically rearrange them, or even skip some material at all.
But there's one band that might not face this problem. It being Christmas season, CBC Saskatchewan just played a version of "The First Noel" by the Crash Test Dummies. Remember them? If you do you likely remember Brad Roberts very distinctive low voice, which Wikipedia describes as bass baritone. Can a singer who sings in that range actually lose his high range? Presumably, but listeners are probably less likely to notice when they sing in that range.
Chances are the name Les Pavelick won't be familiar to most visitors. Unless you're of a certain age and from the Canadian Prairies the name Metro isn't likely to be much more familiar. But he was another element of my 1970s childhood. Pavelick died Tuesday at 71. The kind of humour that Pavelick presented as Metro is hard to find these days, and of course many are no doubt quite happy about that. You can judge for yourself. "Big Bad Steve" is a parody of the classic country tune "Big Bad John."
It would be fascinating to know what processes bands go through when deciding to release singles. Rush's 1990 album Presto produced 3 singles: "Show Don't Tell," the opening cut, "The Pass," and "Superconductor." But if I'd had a say in the process, I would have tried to convince them to release "Available Light," the album's final track.
I really think this track could have been a hit. For that matter it's a Rush tune that might actually do someone quite well if they covered it. Unfortunately a hamfisted cover of "Tom Sawyer" is much more likely to be in some artist's plans.
So Rush is going to be indicted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The only thing good I can see about it is the Rush fans who for some reason think this is important won't keep going on about it. Being in the so-called Hall of Fame won't make peoiple who don't like Rush like them, or make their music sound even better. So why should anyone care?
As you sit there thinking about what nasty thing to say to me for not thinking this is the most important thing to happen in music, EVAH! you can listen to one of my favourite Rush tunes. Surprise, it's not "Tom Sawyer!"
Remember this one? If you remember hearing it in the '70s, you're old. "Good Friends" was released in 1971, and in a way it sounds like kind of a throwback for 1971. Susan Jacks sounds a bit like Connie Francis, and the tune has a feel like the kind of weepies Francis was known for. Then there's that bassline, which sounds to me like it came from a polka tune, and is kind of odd for a pop tune in the aftermath of hte more melodic bass playing people like James Jamerson and Paul McCartney popularised.
According to Wikipedia the two Poppy Family albums remain unreleased on CD or digital download. Weird. There must be an interesting ownership story involved. And perhaps at this point there's another problem, namely that the multitrack and master tapes don't exist anymore or can't be found. So if you've got this on vinyl you should treat it well, as you might not get another chance to own it.
It's been a while, hasn't it? Current in the old Sanyo is Steelteeth, the 1997 album from Toronto's Change of Heart. Ian Blurton brought the group to an end after touring behind this one, going on to form Blurtonia and later C'Mon. This cassette is an example of the problematic nature of cassettes. It's lacking in high end compared to others I own, and it sounds like the alignment is off given that the stereo image is a bit wonky.
If you do it means you're getting old, friend. Frankly I'm surprised I remember it given that the Canadian TV show it was associated with debuted when I was four.
For some reason I decided to search YouTube last night for stuff by UZEB, and came across the above, which I remember watching on the CBC, probably within a few months of it being filmed. Great version of this tune, featuring guest percussion from the late great Don Alias.
I don't know about you, but I always wondered what Parks Canada was thinking using this piece of music in their 1980s ads. I like it(nice Minimoog lead), but it's hardly the kind of thing you'd think would attract people to parks. It sounds more appropriate as a sci fi, spy, or mystery TV theme. And of course I'll ask the obvious question, does anyone know what music is?
Not much to say here. I just happen to like this tune and felt like posting it. You can hear it in stereo if you switch it from 360p to 480p mode on the YouTube player. But if you want to own a physical copy good luck. This came off of FM's 1985 album Con-Test, which to the best of my knowledge is long out of print. LIke all sorts of albums I'm skeptical the original master tape exists anymore, and even if it does it likely would require FM themselves to rerelease it. Of course if you really want it you could go hunting online for an mp3 rip. And while I'm at it I'll say "too bad" to anyone brought here by a search for the later British group FM. Cameron Hawkins and Nash the Slash used the name first.
One of the greatest jazz musicians to come out of Canada has died. Oscar Peterson died in his Mississauga, Ontario home Sunday at 82. Born in Montreal Peterson came out of that city's music scene in the early 1940s. When famed jazz promoter Norman Granz heard a Peterson live broadcast while taking a taxi to Montreal's airport in 1949 he was so impressed he made the cabbie head for the location of the broadcast. He signed Peterson to perform at a concert at Carnegie Hall on the same bill as various jazz greats of the era. Peterson's US debut proved a success and the start of a decades long career as one of the best known pianists in jazz. Although he suffered a stroke in 1993 that disabled his left hand Peterson continued to perform into the 21st Century, and leaves behind a recorded legacy of dozens of recordings with a wide range of artists.
