Back in March, I said that the Klassic Kwote well had run dry. I just remembered this one that I had to share.
In summer 2003, we carried Electric Version by the New Pornographers on our front chart. One customer thought he was tremendously clever with this question, asked in loud bellow:
“The NEW Pornographers? What was wrong with the OLD pornographers? I didn’t know there were new ones! HA HA HA! Haaaaaah..ha ha! Didn’t get the memo! Hah…”
Rush and The Tragically Hip 2013 postage stamps – Canadian Recording Artists series
Package of 10, $6.30.
I went down to the post office to pick up my latest CD treasure from Discogs, when I noticed these beauties: the new 2013 Rush, and Tragically Hip postage stamps! Had to have ’em. The budget didn’t allow for the Guess Who set (apparently their best seller). I’ve never heard of Beau Dommage, but apparently they are “considered the Beatles of Quebec and French music” (Canada Newswire).
I love the little details. The “Stereo 1” on the Hip package. The “Side A” and Anthem Records serial number on the Rush. It’s the little things like these touches that make these stamps fun to keep in package, safe in my collection!
For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy these cool postage stamps. I’ll try to pick up The Guess Who next week.
5/5 stars!
Are you a Tragically Hip fan? Then read on.
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Movie (2006 Alliance Atlantis)
Directed by Mike Clattenburg
The story goes that Ivan Reitman, who produced Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (aka “The Big Dirty”), wanted to do a movie that would re-introduce the characters and target them to a new audience. He preferred the flavour of the earlier seasons and steered the movie in that direction. This is sort of a good and bad thing.
The movie is out of continuity with the TV series, unfortunately. There are characters and events in the movie that would never be referenced in the series. Lahey loses the roof of his car in both the movie and the TV series, but in different ways. You’ll notice Trinity is played by a different actress (Lydia Lawson-Baird), and her character is slightly different in tone as well.
Remember those movie trailers where the Boys are auditioning actors to play themselves? I think it’s best to think of this movie in that context: It’s the Boys playing themselves, in a movie based on themselves. Even though we’re talking about fictional characters in a mockumentary movie.
The plot: Ricky and Julian go to jail (again) and are about to be released (again). No fair! cries Ricky, who wants to play in the jail hockey tournament against the prison guards, captained by Donny. The rivalry between Ricky (a goalie) and Donny (Gerry Dee) result in a few classic exchanges:
Ricky – “Suck it, Donny.”
Donny – “You suck it. More.”
Ricky – “What kind of comeback was that? I said ‘suck it’ and you just added ‘more’ to it.”
Donny – “Because it’s more, you suck it more.”
Out of jail, Rick goes home to Sunnyvale trailer park, only to find that things have changed. Lucy’s got a new job. “An awesome new job,” according to Sarah. “She workin’ at Horton’s again?” asks Ricky. Nope, it’s not a coffee shop, it’s a “gentlemen’s club”. This “gentlemen’s club” is owned by Sonny (Hugh Dillon, of the Headstones), and he’s banging Lucy.
Julian, also out of jail, has an idea to get rich “without getting caught”: Do small crimes. Steal change! Ricky, on the other hand, has met a lot of really “smart” guys in jail, and they all say “the big dirty” is the way to go: one big crime, and you’re retired. The two ideas are combined and a plan is set in motion. Will Ricky still be able to play in the hockey tournament?
In addition to new characters like Sonny and Donny, look for cameos by Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Gordon Downie (The Tragically Hip). The soundtrack kicks ass, featuring Helix, April Wine, and lots of The Tragically Hip. I always think of this movie now when I hear the songs “Bobcaygeon” and “38 Years Old”. Hell, Julian even goes to see a movie called “The Dark Canuck” in the film.
I really enjoyed Trailer Park Boys: The Movie even if it’s not quite pure Trailer Park Boys. It sort of attempts to recapture what worked in the early seasons (you can tell by casting Trinity as a younger girl) and by and large, it works. Sonny works as a replacement antagonist, a role that Cyrus often filled on the show. All your favourite regulars such as Philadelphia Collins, Jacob Collins, and Officer George Green are here. Lahey is suitably drunk, and Randy as shirtless as ever.
This actually works pretty well as a way for newcomers to get into the show. It distills what worked best in the earlier years, into a two-hour package that stays funny and doesn’t wear out its welcome. Bonus features include the music video for “I Fought The Law” (featuring Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson!), and lots of alternate takes.
5/5 stars. Two smokes, let’s go.
“I could easily fuck over 10 pieces of chicken”
RECORD STORE TALES Part 212: Top 3 Rock Star Crushes
I was quite legendary at the Record Store for my celebrity crushes. I talked before about about Dayna Manning — she was but one on my list of fantasy girls.
3. MARIA DEL MAR (National Velvet)
T-Rev and I were given tickets to see Helix at Stages, in 1996. Opening was a new band fronted by ex-National Velvet singer Maria Del Mar. You might remember National Velvet’s hit, “Sex Gorilla”. Her new band was good, and after the show Maria came and sat down next to us! Gasp! She was really loaded. T-Rev and I handed her business cards for our stores and encouraged her to visit, call, sell albums there on consignment, anything!
Unfortunately, it seemed to us that she preferred the sharp Austrian looks of Peter the Rocker, who also attended the show. Maria wouldn’t leave him alone. She never called us either. At least Helix were good!
Tastes as sweet as “Sex Gorilla”
2. NICOLE HUGHES (Scratching Post)
A couple friends of ours opened for this band in 1998. I drooled all over the stage looking at singer/guitarist Nicole Hughes. That red hair. The leather skirk, playing that guitar. Oh yeah. I was in love. I admired every magazine cover she appeared on. One of the girls at work used to try to bug me by commenting that Hughes’ mouth was “too big”.
I never had the guts to speak to her at any of those concerts! Nothing more than a “great show, eh.” I was given copies of their two albums for my birthday one year. Imagine my horror at finding that I didn’t really like them. I sold them off before I quit the store.
Scratching Post’s only really good tune, “Bloodflame”
1. TALENA ATFIELD (Kittie)
I was never a Kittie fan. I’m not denying their talent, I’m just not a fan of that sound. I’ve never bought any of their albums. I only like a couple tunes. But as far as I was concerned, I did like Talena Atfield, the bassist! After she left Kittie, I found her on MySpace and sent her a message. Something lame like, “Hey, I manage a record store, you should come in if you’re in town,” or whatever. The response was brief, but positive – she called me cute! Well didn’t I go and tell everyone at the store about that?
So, they made fun of me for yet another rock star crush, but it turned out OK in the end. Now I’m married, and it’s fun to look back of these rock crushes. Mrs. LeBrain used to like Trent Reznor, so I know I’m OK! (She says she likes her men short.)
Next time on Record Store Tales…
Long-forgotten Dandy drama
ROCK AID ARMENIA – Smoke on the Water: The Metropolis Sessions (2010 Edel CD/DVD set)
When some of the biggest names in both British and Canadian rock combined together to re-record “Smoke on the Water”, as a mega-collaboration charity track, I don’t care who you are: You gotta listen! Originally released as “Smoke on the Water ’90” on The Earthquake Album, it didn’t garner the attention of, say, a Hear N’ Aid, but it’s definitely a noteworthy track. The Earthquake Album contained just the radio mix, which was an edited down version lacking Paul Rodgers. This package on the other hand is a CD/DVD combo set including all 4 versions of “Smoke ’90” and a documentary.
The region 0 encoded DVD is 40 minutes long, and filled with incredible behind-the-scenes footage and candid interviews. First, an explanation of the cause: rebuilding a children’s music school in Armenia, destroyed in a 1988 earthquake. Then, the musicians arrive! Roger Taylor (Queen) is first in the door. Can’t do anything without the drums! He shows off his considerable chops while warming up. Chris Squire (Yes) is next, who reveals that all egos have been dealt with in advance of the recording. Brian May turns up with a broken arm (skateboarding accident) to offer his support; he would return to record after the arm has healed. The recording takes place over five separate sessions. One benefit of this arrangement was that it enabled Ritchie Blackmore to show up, without having to see Ian Gillan!
Oh, to be in that room…
Soon to arrive: Tony Iommi. Paul Rodgers. Bruce Dickinson. David Gilmour. Alex Lifeson. Two keyboardists: Keith Emerson and Geoff Downes. Even Bryan Adams sings some backing vocals, after he turned up just to check out the recording studio! (Gilmour can’t help but take a stab at Rogers Waters during the interview segments.) Incidentally, I found it cool that Rodgers recorded his vocals with a hand-held mike.
I’ve always been a fan of this version of “Smoke”; in fact this was the first version of that I ever heard, 23 years ago. The band was dubbed Rock Aid Armenia. They got together in late ’89, and recorded this updated sounding cover. Gillan, Dickinson and Rodgers handled the lead vocals, in that order. It’s great to hear Iommi playing those chunky chords again. Chris Squire’s bass work is fairly simple, but perfect.
The CD includes an updated 2010 remix that cuts down a lot of Keith Emerson’s cheesey keyboards. Emerson stated that he wanted to put his own stamp on his parts, based on ELP’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”. He probably wouldn’t be happy to be mixed down on this version, but his keys always stood out like a sore thumb to me. The 2010 mix adds in a lot more previously unheard guitar fills instead. Other extras include a previously unreleased version of the song, with an entire Ian Gillan vocal take.
This is a great little-known recording, and I’m glad an obscurity like this has finally been reissued properly.
4/5 stars
Footnote: In 2011 and 2012, Gillan and Iommi followed this with a single and compilation album under the name WhoCares; also featuring Nicko McBrain, Jon Lord and Jason Newsted!
BRIGHTON ROCK – Brighton Rock (1985 Flying Fist EP)
I first turned onto this band in the 10th grade. MuchMusic kept playing the video for “We Came to Rock”. It had a pop rock vibe to it, but the singer erased any accusations of being pop. The screams! The unholy screams! Yeah! That was definitely hard rock territory!
The singer’s name is Gerald McGhee and the band is Brighton Rock. There’s a connection to the Record Store Tales, which is that later on McGhee started a music distribution company called Isotope Records and we used them as a supplier once in a while. My boss told me that Gerry still had the hair. (According to M.E.A.T Magazine he was also one of two Canadian singers to audition for Motley Crue in 1992, the other being Sebastian Bach.)
The selling feature of this band for me was the incredible voice of McGhee. I’d never heard screaming like this before! I remember my highschool classmates couldn’t handle it, the screams were too much for them. But it’s not gratuitous; McGhee throws in screams strategically at key points to blow you to the wall.
Not that McGhee is the only talent in Brighton Rock. Also notable is guitarist Greg Fraser, who ended up in Helix in 1993, and today fronts the Frase Gang with Brighton Rock bassist Stevie Skreebs.
Before they released their excellent debut album Young, Wild and Free, Brighton Rock completed a four song EP, which is what we’re talking about today. It’s no Young, Wild and Free, but we’ll be talking about that album (and Take A Deep Breath) in the weeks to come. The EP Brighton Rock is a less-honed taster, but something I’d sought to own for a long time. It’s never been released on CD, and contains one song (“The Fools Waltz”) that isn’t on any Brighton Rock album. Bob had this on cassette when we were kids, but I finally recently picked up a sealed vinyl on eBay for dirt cheap.
Brighton Rock and their debut album contain the same opening song: “Young, Wild and Free”. This early version is musically identical but lacks the oomph. Michael Wagener produced the album, and no doubt helped by his incredible work with Accept, got way more intense screams out of McGhee. The EP however is produced by somebody named Steve Vaughan (with one track by Jack Richardson).
The second track is “Assault Attack”, which as the title implies is a combat zone of hooky guitars and thunderous toms. Miles away from the ballady stuff like “One More Try” that the band would later become known for. Song three is “Barricade”, which has a really cool and tricky sounding guitar solo by Greg Fraser. It’s a heavy rocker., but the closing song “The Fools Waltz” eases up on the pace a tad. It would be a stretch to call it a ballad. It’s more like a Canadian radio rock song.
Of note: the Brighton Rock EP is the only release with original keyboardist Martin Victor.
3/5 stars
sHEAVY – The Electric Sleep (1998 Rise Against Records)
Last time, we talked about the “moment of epiphany” when I first heard this band. This is my favourite album by Sheavy, choice band from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Electric Sleep is an intense listen, throbbing and bottom-heavy, but it’s especially striking for its similarity to early Black Sabbath. My buddy Tom often said that this seemed like it should have been the next Sabbath album, as if Ozzy never left in 1979. I disagreed, as I found it to be more the mold of earlier period Sabbath. It doesn’t matter; if hearing a band that sounds pretty much exactly like the original Black Sabbath offends you in any way, then don’t listen to Sheavy.
The album opens with “Virtual Machine”, and Steve Hennessey’s distorted computerized yowl is mesmerizing. The riff detonates, it’s a keeper, and Sheavy have kicked me in the buttocks with the first track. “Velvet” abruptly changes the landscape to something more acoustic, atmospheric. A Sabbath analog would be a song like “Solitude”, for example. But then “Destiny’s Rainbow” arrives to kick your posterior again once you’re getting too comfortable.
“Electric Sleep”, the title track, recalls “Hand of Doom” from Paranoid. “Born In A Daze” has a groovier feel. You know how Sabbath kind of got a bit groovier on Never Say Die? Songs like “Junior’s Eyes”? Maybe Tom’s right, and maybe this album does sound like a followup to Never Say Die at times.
My favourite song is the stormy “Automaton”. This one actually reminds me of early Queensryche lyrically, when they were still singing about computers and robots and other cool stuff:
If all the secrets they’ve been hoping to find,
Unlock the programs buried deep in my mind,
And am I human or just a robot slave?
They sent me here so their world I could save, yeah-ahh!
Musically, “Automaton” is also the least Sabbath-like. The riff is swift, stout and precise, but not very Iommi, which is fine. And there’s a cool slide guitar hook that recurs in the song which helps give it a unique sound. This one’s a winner: my favourite Sheavy song, period.
That’s a hard act to follow, but Sheavy do so with the mournful “Savannah…Flights of Ecstasy”. In his best vintage Ozzy delivery, Hennessey laments the loss of someone close:
She forgot to breathe,
She forgot it was make believe,
Can’t avoid her eyes,
Never cared for long goodbyes.
If I had to compare this to a Black Sabbath song, it would actually be “Lonely Is the Word”, from Heaven and Hell. Hennessey’s Ozzy stylings aside, musically this has the same kind of vibe…until it gets heavy and riffy close to the end. Then suddenly it’s Vol. 4.
“Saving Me” gets the heads banging, but “Oracle” is something else. Beginning with a didgeridoo (an instrument that Black Sabbath definitely never used), it’s obvious that this song is a carbon copy of “Black Sabbath” itself. The riff is the same “devil’s triad”. Throw in some cool Jimmy Page “Dazed and Confused” wah-wah guitar licks on top and you have an idea of what this mash-up sounds like.
The album closes with “Stardust” and “Last Parade”, a duo of heaviness 15 minutes in length total. “Stardust” itself is loaded with guitars, no less than eight players are credited on it!
I think if this album wasn’t so derivative of the original Black Sabbath, it would be worth 4.5 stars due to the sheer quality. However, I think I have to knock off half a point simply because you can play “name that Sabbath song” for several tracks. Although Uncle Meat says the same is true for moments of Black Sabbath’s new album 13, I’m going to give Sheavy…
4/5 stars
SLOAN – peppermint (1992 murderecords EP)
I’m not a big fan of early Sloan. I rarely listen to the first album Smeared (haven’t played it in years despite having two great singles on it). I don’t really get into Sloan until their second album, the magnum opus Twice Removed. I didn’t like them back then in 1992 at all; Sloan were the enemy. A bunch of glasses-wearing short-hairs who pouted and didn’t play a lot of solos. The antithesis to what I liked; and the Canadian embodiment of the kind of thing that was killing off my kind of music like a cancer!
So there’s that. Listening to the peppermint EP today (I even hate that the title is all lowercase) still doesn’t do much for me. “Underwhelmed” is an outstanding song, but this early slower version is just a patch on what it would later become. I do like its lyrics, even though it contains these lines:
She skips her classes and gets good grades,
I go to my courses rain or shine,
She’s passin’ her classes,
While I attend mine.
Taken out of context, kind of lame; but the song is actually quite clever lyrically and one of their finer achievements.
Patrick Pentland’s “Sugartune” is catchy but not outstanding. “Pretty Voice”, sung by Jay Ferguson is also one of the better tunes. This one did not make the album Smeared for whatever reason. It’s the first really fast upbeat song, and it has a bit of a tasty guitar riff to it. It’s just recorded so damn muddy, as is all of peppermint. And that’s my biggest obstacle to liking this EP. It boils down to the sound.
Even though the band themselves are noisy and enjoy guitar squeals and feedback at this early stage, it’s not captured on tape. Instead there’s this dull roar of 90’s sounding guitars, without a lot of distinction. I can hear bits and pieces of coolness and even genius, but only buried under the morass of the mix.
I even dislike the 90’s-indie cover art. Boring.
2.25/5 stars
LEE AARON – Lee Aaron (1987 Unidisc Music)
Lee Aaron: Canada’s “Metal Queen”. It is a name she will never live down despite the credible jazz career. Try as she did to distance herself from the Metal Queen tag, Lee’s seems to embrace it more recently, even throwing a funky jazz-tinged version into her sets, as a mash-up with “Mysterious Ways” by U2! And it works!
In the late 80’s, Lee (aka Karen) was less comfortable than today with being the Metal Queen, and her 1987 self-titled disc is possibly the best example of this. All shades of metal were dropped; what was left is a mainstream pop rock record co-written with professionals such as Marc Ribler and Joe freakin’ Lynn Turner.
Growing up in Canada, you basically had two mainstream choices in female rock singers: Lita Ford, or Lee Aaron. That was all MuchMusic would play. OK, sure the odd Joan Jett track too, after her resurgence with Up Your Alley. That was it. Otherwise the Pepsi Power Hour was pretty much devoid of regular female rock heroes. There were the odd flashes in the pain — Vixen, Madame X — but Lee and Lita were the only two to get regular play year in year out. Lee of course had the trump card labelled CanCon in her deck.
I got this album for Christmas 1987, and I was so disappointed. The sound — plastic, turgid, processed, synthetic, with hardly any guitars. The songs — commercial pop designed to get played on the radio and not a hint of metal to be found anywhere. John Albini (now blonde all of a sudden?) is still her guitarist and co-writer, but there’s much less guitar on this album. There are also some truly awful, awful songs on here, most notably “Don’t Rain On My Parade”. I won’t tell what that rains smells like, but it don’t smell good.
The single/ballad “Only Human” is a decent song, very soft, but not too far off from stuff the Scorpions would do later on! (Lee actually sang backup vocals on “The Rhythm of Love” by the Scorps in ’88.) The best track is actually the pop keyboard rocker, “Powerline”. The guitar is not as dominant as the keyboards, but it does at least have some guitar. It has Joe Lynn Turner’s melodic sensibilities and songcraft, hooks galore, and a smashing chorus.
But then you get tripe like “Goin’ Off the Deep End”, “Dream With Me”, and…ugh. There was just no way, as a 15 year old, I was going to let anybody catch me listening to those songs. People might have thought I’d stolen my sister’s Tiffany tapes or something.
Turns out that Lee, despite that powerful voice, just wasn’t cut out to be a Metal Queen. She’s doing great as a jazz singer, and I think that’s just fine.
1/5 stars
HELIX – 30th Anniversary Concert (2004 EMI)
Helix will be turning 40 in 2014! When I talked to Brian Vollmer back in September, he wasn’t interested in taking a look back this time. Helix did glance back for their 30th in 2004, and this DVD was one of several celebratory releases.
The Helix DVD, the 30th Anniversary Concert, is one of the best rock videos I’ve seen. This band has so much history, and most of it was onstage that night, July 17 2004.
Vollmer decided to celebrate the 30th in style. Traveling to nearby Brantford and taking over the beautiful Sanderson Centre, Helix unveiled a setlist that honored their entire history, and guested nearly every band member from 1974 to 1990!
There were a few conspicuous by their absence, such as longtime bassist Daryl Gray, and a few that we knew couldn’t turn up (the then-missing Mike Uzelac, the late Paul Hackman). However, Brian Vollmer (only remaining original Helix member) proceeded to reunite members of the original 1974 Helix, which had never even been recorded before! From there we go to the lineup responsible for the first two albums (sans Hackman and Uzelac, replaced here by current Helix alum Rainer Weickmann and 1976 bassist Keith “Bert” Zurbrigg, wearing trademark tux). Brian Doerner is introduced as Canada’s greatest drummer, and while Neil Peart and Gary McCracken might disagree, he’s definitely up there. His brother Brent literally steals the show. Singing such lost classics as “Billy Oxygen” and “Crazy Women”, Brent still has that rock star quality. His guitar playing was stellar that night.
Other members from back in the day turned up: Leo Niebudek on drums, and then, finally…Greg “Fritz” Hinz, all the way from sunny Florida, behind the skins to celebrate Helix’ late 80’s heyday.
Not to be overshadowed, the 2004 Helix lineup returned to the stage for some more hits. “Archie” Gamble is a fantastic drummer, it should be noted, spinning his sticks while creatively keeping the time. The addition of a female vocalist, Cindy Weichmann, allowed the band to perform 1976’s “You’re A Woman Now” for the first time ever with a female vocal, just as it was on the album.
The nucleus of this DVD are the six tunes from the 70’s that rarely, if ever, get played today. As great as the hit 80’s material was, the 70’s stuff is what makes this DVD different from any other Helix product you can buy.
There are generous bonus features: interviews with Brian and his ever-supportive wife Lynda, candid scenes of rehearsals and Brian trying to get this monster concert together. There are interviews with fans who traveled all the way across the country to see this one show. Best of all are the clips of the old band members, now short-haired, meeting up again for the first time in years. “I’m Brian Drummer and I play Doerner,” says the drummer as he arrives. As Brian stands next to his twin brother Brent, Fritz says, “I never could tell you two apart”. It’s like watching someone’s family reunion video.
If you are a Helix fan, you have no excuse for not owning this. If you are only a casual Helix fan and want to check out some of their best stuff, this is the DVD package to get. Not only do you get the hits, but you get the history, and that’s not something to be ignored for a band that turned 30.
5/5 stars
This stuff below taken from the Wikipedia page, but I don’t care; I wrote the Wikipedia page.
All songs written by Brian Vollmer and Paul Hackman except where noted.
Bonus Features
Special guests: Everyone on “Rock You”
Chapter 7, “Buff’s Bar Blues”
Chapters 8-11
Special guests: Cindy Wiechmann and Cheryl Lescom – backing vocals on “You’re a Woman Now”, Cole G. Benjamin – keyboards on “Billy Oxygen”
Chapters 12-14
Chapters 15-22
Special guest: Ray Lyell – vocals on “Wild in the Streets”
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