Enjoy your Canada Day holiday with Dr. Stompin’ Tom Connors.
“It’s Canada Day Up Canada Way”
It′s Canada Day, up Canada Way, on the first day of July
And we’re shouting hooray, up Canada Way
When the maple leaf flies high
When the silver jets from east to west go streaming through our skies
We′ll be shouting hooray, up Canada Way, when the great parade goes by
Oh Canada, standing tall together
We’ll raise our hands and hail our flag
The maple leaf forever
It’s Canada Day, up Canada Way, on the coast of Labrador
And we′re shouting hooray, up Canada Way, on the white Pacific shore
People everywhere have a song to share on Canada′s holiday
From Pelee Island in the sunny south to the North Pole, far away
Oh Canada, standing tall together
We’ll raise our hands and hail our flag
The maple leaf forever
It′s Canada Day, up Canada Way, on the long cold winters done
And we’re shouting hooray, up Canada Way
For the great days yet to come
Where maple trees grow, maple leaves when the Northern sun is high
We′re Canadians, and we’re born again on the first day of July
Oh Canada, standing tall together
We′ll raise our hands and hail our flag
The maple leaf forever
It’s Canada Day, up Canada Way, from the lakes to the prairies wide
And we’re shouting hooray, up Canada Way
On the St. Lawrence river side
People everywhere have a song to share on Canada′s holiday
From Pelee Island in the sunny south to the North Pole, far away
Oh Canada, standing tall together
We′ll raise our hands and hail our flag
The maple leaf forever
We’ll raise our hands and hail our flag
The maple leaf forever
It was May 2002 and I was a first-time homeowner. My dad taught me, “Never rent! Only buy. Put your money towards something.” So I trusted his advice and lived at home as long as could I possibly milk it!
Moving in to my new place took a day. I had a lot of help from family and friends. We probably had 10 or 12 people total. I packed up all my CDs and insisted that only I handle them. It caused me more than a little anxiety. I figured a few jewel cases would crack, but there were some special ones I took extra precautions with. Coloured jewel cases are hard to replace. The most precious CD case to me is the 1996 Deep Purple In Rock anniversary edition. The case comes etched with signatures and other text. Breaking one of those means either living with it, or trying to find another copy with case intact. I desired to do neither. In Rock survived the move intact. I would not be lying to you if I told you that this one little item was of more concern to me than anything else I moved that day. My stereo equipment came in second.
Some people say they have a hard time sleeping, their first night in a new home. I did not have that problem. After a full day of moving, I was wiped. But also eager to get going the next day and set up my new place. Against the better judgement of everyone who helped me move, the very first thing I did was set up my CD towers. Having those discs sitting in boxes really bothered me. I wanted them out, so I could inspect them and ensure they all survived intact, and I wanted them accessible. A long day of painting was ahead!
I cannot remember the first album I played in my new home. Strange, because normally I’d commit that sort of thing to memory. It was probably Kiss. I like to use Kiss for firsts. I do remember the first movie I watched. It was The Phantom Menace. I wanted my first movie to be a DVD, and I wanted it to be a Star Wars. The older Star Wars films would not exist on that format until 2004.
I set up the CD towers, put the discs back in their alphabetical homes, and was relieved that only a couple cases broke. I then painted around them. Priorities.
The funny thing about these memories is how much space I thought I had back then. I had so many empty closets. I didn’t have enough stuff to put on my shelves. To say things have changed would be an understatement. Due to lack of storage, there are CDs everywhere in random order. We need to hire a carpenter and get some proper CD shelving made for this place!
After a solid weekend of working, painting and assembling, I was settled into my new place. I had my first guests over that Monday. I loved my new place, but I did not have long to enjoy it. The following week, I was on my way to Prince Edward Island, determined to find the home of Stompin’ Tom Connors, and eat lobster at least once a day. Success on both counts. But I couldn’t wait to get home again. I had a new Deep Purple box set of official bootlegs waiting for me to finish listening. 12 CDs. I only had time to hear the first three discs before departure. And you can bet your last dollar that I picked up where I left off, with disc four.
Jen moved here in 2008. It’s cramped but we make due. Her illness set us back in the sense that we haven’t been able to move somewhere bigger. But it’s home. It’s our home. It has 20 years of memories. I’m proud to say that many of them are musical in nature.
It was eleven years ago this weekend that life changed forever.
On August 31 2008, I dressed up in a tux, gathered a hundred of our closest family and friends, and got married. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.
We didn’t get to celebrate ten years. At this time last year, Jen’s mom was terminally ill. We were at her bedside. I know what she would have said to us if she knew what day it was. “You guys go out, have a nice dinner, on me. Enjoy yourselves.” That’s just who she was. But we didn’t feel much like eating or celebrating.
I think “mum” would appreciate that this year, we are going to celebrate #11. We’re going to remember her, and we’re going to be thankful that we have each other. Making #11 our year to celebrate seems appropriate for us; we’re the couple that is 1) always late, and 2) rarely doing anything the “normal” way.
In order to do things right, I’ll be taking a break from mikeladano.com but we will all re-convene back here after Labour Day.
It’s a well deserved break! We have some general ideas but the plan is just to take it easy and go with the flow. I just bought a 2 terabyte external hard drive, so I’ll actually be able to take all my music with me, in the car and on the laptop. I couldn’t do that eleven years ago!
Here are some songs that mean the most to Jen and I. Turn ’em up and we’ll catch up again next week.
It started with Stompin’ Tom. I think I had told her that I had a stack of new movies, a huge bag of chips & a case of Red Bull, and was ready for the weekend or something. She responded, “Sounds like you’re ready for a Sudbury Saturday Night.” So right then and there, boom! She was speaking my language.
The Darkness – “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”
I was into The Darkness in a big way. As told in Record Store Tales Part 80, these guys were absolutely one of my favourites when we met. “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” was a major feature at the wedding reception.
Guns N’ Roses – “Patience”
This was one of Jen’s favourites from the reception. When it played, all the couples slow-danced together. She thought it was a really sweet moment, and a lot of those couples are still couples today!
The Beatles – “Revolution”
When I asked Jen to pick a song she liked, this was the first one she named.
Van Halen – “Why Can’t This Be Love”
Before we met, Jen actively disliked Van Halen (classic rock in general). Today this is one of her favourite songs. Rock radio had a lot to do with that.
Neil Peart – “The Hockey Theme”
Before I met Jen, I’d never heard this theme in my life. Today, I can name pretty much every Maple Leaf and dozens of other players too. I can’t believe she’s done this to me! But don’t you dare call me a “hockey fan”.
The Traveling Wilburys – “Handle With Care”
No story, we just love this song.
Johnny Cash – “In My Life”
I’m sure everybody plays this at their weddings, don’t they? We knew that, so we chose Johnny Cash’s version. Let me tell you, that was a really cool moment, in the church signing the registry to this song. I hope my buddy Tom appreciated that, being such a huge Cash fan. I was psyched for him to hear it at a wedding instead of the usual.
“Well, the cops have been lookin’ for the son-of-a-gun, That’s been rippin’ the tar off the four-O-one.”
I’ve learned a lot in the last week and a half. I think I have mastered this “driving the 401 to Toronto” thing. It really boils down to three easy steps:
Watch the signs and you won’t get lost.
Stoppy-starty traffic is perfectly normal.
Motorcycles can and will drive between lanes of stopped traffic.
See? Easy.
Timing is also fun. What takes 80 minutes on a good day takes 120+ minutes on another day. It’s like a guessing game you can enjoy with your friends.
OH! And last Saturday in Toronto, I dropped my brand new glasses into a pissy hotel toilet. Thankfully, it was my own piss.
When we have something to update you on, we’ll update you! Until then, keep watching the roads….
Well it’s Bud the Spud from the bright red mud
Rollin’ down the highway smilin’
The spuds are big on the back of Bud’s rig
They’re from Prince Edward Island
They’re from Prince Edward Island
Now from Charlottetown or from Summerside
They load them down for the big long ride;
He jumps in the cab and he’s off with the Pride Sebagoes
He’s gotta catch a boat to make Tormentine
Then he hits up that old New Brunswick line
Through Montreal he comes just a flyin’
With another big load of potatoes
The Ontario Provincial Police don’t think much of Bud
Well, the cops have been lookin’ for the son-of-a-gun
That’s been rippin’ the tar off the four-O-one;
They know the name on the truck shines up in the sun – “Green Gables”
But he hits Toronto and at seven o’clock
He backs her up again at the terminal dock
And the boys gather ’round just to hear him talk
About another big load of potatoes
STOMPIN’ TOM CONNORS – “Live” at the Horseshoe (1971 EMI)
Since this is the first Stompin’ Tom review ever here at mikeladano.com, we need to step back and take a quick look at the bio of a Canadian hero that may be completely unknown to most overseas readers.
Charles Tom Connors was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1936. A restless young Connors frequently hitch hiked and got into trouble down the east coast, and at one point wound up in Skinner’s Pond, Prince Edward Island. This is a place that has come to be associated with Stompin’ Tom over the years. I visited there myself in 2002, and saw his childhood home. I took a photo of the street sign of what is now officially called Dr. Stompin’ Tom Road.
Tom’s break happened while drifting through Timmins Ontario. Short on change for a beer at the local watering hole, the bartender told him he’d let him have the beer for whatever coins he had in his pocket, as long as he’d get up and sing a song or two. Tom got out his guitar and that turned into a 14 month stand. Before too long he had recorded eight singles.
Stompin’ Tom sang idiosyncratic Canadian songs. He was not interested in commercialism in music whatsoever. He stubbornly wrote and played often comical songs about the things he’d seen and done hitch hiking around the country. He became known as “Stompin’ Tom” by providing his own backbeat. Like a folk country Angus Young, he would pound his booted left foot on the floor, keeping time. He eventually had to provide his own “stomping board” because bar owners were complaining about damage to their stage. He would stomp right through the board periodically and have to replace it.
In 1971, a concert film called Across This Land With Stompin’ Tom Connors spawned the album release “Live” at the Horseshoe and became a part of Canadian history. The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto was a legendary establishment. Now with four studio albums and one Christmas record under his belt, the legendary Horseshoe set was recorded for posterity and became a television staple for years. This live album is culled from that show, though heavily edited for single-length LP time. The original set was 90 minutes and 30 songs. My dad showed me the special as a kid. I loved it.
When EMI issued the album on CD, they retained the original LP 12 song running time. Even the nicely packaged 1998 Man of the Land series edition is only 12 tracks. The album is a mix of originals and better-known covers.
Newcomers may find Stompin’ Tom’s nasal twang unpalatable, but when that left foot starts stompin’, it’s hard to resist. “Happy Rovin’ Cowboy” introduces Tom’s band to the crowd. He bills himself as from “the potato fields of Prince Edward Island”. Then it’s his hit about the “best man in Ottawa”, Mufferaw Joe. “Big Joe Mufferaw” is a Canadian folk classic and this version from the Horseshoe is definitive. According to the lyrics, Big Joe put out a raging forest fire near Smiths Falls with just five spitballs! Just stomp along!
“Come Where I’m At” is a “Newphie” phrase, and the song beckons you to come home to Newfoundland, “So don’t stay where you’re to, come where we’re at!” It’s not Yoda-speak, it’s just Canadian! Tom then covers “The Green, Green Grass of Home”. “Now it’s almost time I sung an American song,” begins Tom. “This here is a song that made so many singers famous, that I just thought if I turned my golden Prince Edward Island voice to it, I’d prob’ly become famous too!” Probably not — Tom does it with exaggerated twang and irreverent comedic flare. Then, he covers his friend “Gordie” Lightfoot, with “Spin, Spin”, another Horseshoe regular. This time his plays the song “straight” with due respect but still with the stomp. It’s a wonderful upbeat song so feel free to stomp along. “Muleskinner Blues” has one of Tom’s most legendary vocal hooks, and it goes something like “aw wha wha wha wha wha whoo”, though it varies! This is the kind of song that people loved Tom for.
The second LP side began with an ode to all the big drinkers at the Horseshoe, with “Horseshoe Hotel Song”. You can hear them hootin’ and hollerin’ and drinking along. He pokes fun at himself in the tune, claiming he can’t really sing, he’s just another getting slushed at the Horseshoe Hotel. They eat it up, loving every witty line. Another cover, “I’ve Been Everywhere”, is one that Tom could almost claim as his own, considering its hitch hiking subject matter!
The rest of the album is all original. “Sudbury Saturday Night” is a favourite that was later covered by Kim Mitchell. Sudbury is famous for its nickel mines, and Inco was the big one. So the lyrics go:
“Well the girls are out to Bingo, And the boys are gettin stinko, We’ll think no more of Inco, On a Sudbury Saturday Night.”
Once again, this version is definitive. The song is best heard with an audience hollering along. “Big Bus to Nashville” is a pleasant song that name-drops the Horseshoe, and features that boot stomping again. “Luke’s Guitar” is a story about a man who had to choose between his wife and his guitar. Again it has one of those classic Tom vocal hooks, and it goes something along the lines of “Clang-clang a-deedle dang a-deedle”. It’s hard to resist so don’t try and just go with it. Ending the album is “Bud the Spud” from the bright red mud, of Prince Edward Island. According to Tom this came by request about “150,000 times” that night. Because of the filming and recording of the live album, Tom was to stick to a strict set list and couldn’t do requests. However he went ahead and played “Bud the Spud” anyway, and it made the final album! Like several of the other tracks, this recording is definitive.
In the movie Wayne’s World, the character of Wayne Campbell, played by Canadian Mike Myers, claimed that people in the subburbs got copies of Frampton Comes Alive in the mailbox with boxes of Tide. Sadly that is not so, but in Canada, everybody should be issued a copy of this live album with their birth certificate. This album in my ears defines the country that I live in. Others may disagree and they are welcome to do that, but I believe that “Live” at the Horseshoe is a history lesson about the country that we live in as much as it is an amazing live album.
Here’s a Kim Mitchell two-fer for ya! Once again it’s Epic Review Time!
KIM MITCHELL – “Sudbury Saturday Night” (from Summer Dock Party, 1998 EMI)
‘Twas Thomas who alerted me to the existence of Kim Mitchell’s cover of “Sudbury Satuday Night”. He had heard about it from one of his customers, when Tom owned his own record store. Somebody came in and said to him, “I heard a new Kim Mitchell song on the radio. I don’t know what it’s called or where it’s from, all I remember are the opening words. ‘The girls are out to Bingo, and the boys are gettin’ stinko,'” he recited.
Tom immediately recognized that as the opening line to Stompin’ Tom Connors‘ classic song, “Sudbury Saturday Night”. He called me at my store to ask what Kim album it was on. I didn’t have a clue. I didn’t know he had recorded anything since 1994’s Itch.
He had. This cover appeared on the Canadian compilation CD Summer Dock Party. And what of it? How does one cover Stompin’ Tom? Well, for Kim Mitchell, it’s a harder rockin’ version of the song, complete with accordion and an electric guitar solo. I’ve grown to like it more over the years. It’s hard to overlook the sheer joy in Kim’s vocal. No matter how you feel about the sanctity of covering Stompin’ Tom, I think Kim’s version has plenty of merit.
Great cover…not-so-great CD cover though! What would Irish Jim O’Connel and Scotty Jack Macdonald say about that front cover? That sure doesn’t depict gettin’ stinko, or represent “Cause everything is wonderful, tonight we had a good fight,” to me!
3.5/5 stars
*I was surprised to find a completely different studio recording of this same song on Youtube. Further investigation is required.
KIM MITCHELL – Kimosabe(1999 Chinook)
I think Kimosabe is about separation. I read that Kim was going through a divorce around this time, and perhaps the lyrics reflect that. Additionally, there was another separation, as once again Kim parted with his long time writing partner Pye Dubois. The two had a falling out after 1989’s Rockland, due to Kim’s decision to record in Los Angeles, without Pye present, as he had been for all of Kim’s previous albums. The two reconciled for 1994’s Itch, but appear to have separated once again, because Kimosabe was written with Andy Curran (Coney Hatch) handling the lyrics rather than Pye. I don’t know what happened.
Nothing against Andy Curran, but without Pye Dubois, lyrics lose some of their poetry. That’s Pye, that’s what he brings to the table. Having said that, I think by now, most Kim Mitchell fans are looking for a catchy song to sing along to. Curran does fine. Kim himself wrote two of the lyrics himself (“Cold Reality” and “Over Me”, two of the best songs).
The opening duo, “Monkey Shine” and “Stickin’ My Heart” are both rockers. “Monkey Shine” is très bien; they’re not trying to re-invent the wheel on any of these songs. They’re just doing what they do well, and that’s providing some good Canadian party rock. These are “stock” kind of songs. Reliable, not particularly possessing personality, but getting the job done. TCB, baby.
“Cellophane” is a funky blues. At this point I’ll point out the groove of drummer Randy Cooke, one of my Canadian favourites. You may have heard him with Rik Emmett or the Four Horsemen among others. Kim’s very slick and lyrical guitar playing is in the spotlight of this outstanding track.
Things start to cloudy with “Two Steps Home”. Not that it’s a bad song, quite the contrary. But this is where the party stops. There’s a lot of feeling in this quiet ballad. As far as sheer songwriting goes, Kim should be proud of this one. Still, I feel the playing really shines brightly, guitar and drums both.
After a tune like that, I need a rocker, and Kim delivers with the title track, “Kimosabe”, a pun on the phrase “ke-mo sah-bee”, popularized in the 1930’s by The Lone Ranger. Strangely enough the lyrics also contain the German phrase “auf Wiedersehen”, proving Andy Curran doesn’t mind putting three languages together in one song.
My favourite song is “Blow Me A Kiss”. This outstanding track begins as a melancholy piano ballad, but transforms by the chorus into a bright, light rocker. I would rank this track among Kim Mitchell’s best solo songs, without a doubt. Randy Cooke really kicks this one in the ass.
“Cold Reality” also has a melancholy character to it. This one starts a ballad and stays a ballad, and speaks of getting over the end of a relationship. “Halleluiah baby, I am healing. This pain and rage I felt for years is finally leaving.” This is one that Kim wrote the lyrics for himself, and as I said earlier, it’s not poetry, but when he sings it, I can feel something, you know?
Back to something a little more upbeat, “Over Me” has a modern funky vibe to it, of the light-rock variety. Divorce seems to be the theme again, so we’re not hanging out in party rock land, but it’s musically upbeat and catchy. By the chorus, Kim’s singing, “One thing’s for sure, I’m going to get over you, just like you got over me,” and who can’t relate to that?
My least favourite song is the slinky blues, “Get Back What’s Gone”, featuring the great Canadian singer Lisa DalBello. In think this is a case of, “It’s not you, it’s me.” There’s nothing wrong with this well-executed blues, it’s just not clicking with me. It may with you, especially if you want to hear DalBello just sing some blues.
Album close “Skinny Buddah” is one of those lyrics where I just shrug and say, “OK, guys, whatever!” I have no idea what it’s about, but it’s a good solid rock song on which to close an album that I would consider to be a bit of a comeback.
Except it wasn’t. Kimosabe didn’t sell, and it would be eight whole years before Kim would release another album (2007’s Ain’t Life Amazing). That’s too bad. Given the chance, I think that this album could have introduced a new, “more mature” Kim, still fun, but now with a more serious side. The album could have delivered a couple of hits. Too bad that isn’t the way it turned out. Bummer.
One of the biggest thrills during the record store days was the last vacation I ever took from that place! I’ve always wanted to go to Eastern Canada, and see the ocean. I have always been drawn to the sea. I think this is because of my Italian side, it must be in my blood and DNA. We came to Canada in 1904 from Porto Empedocle, Sicily. It is a fishing village on the coast, and my great-grandfather Luigi owned a shop there around the turn of the century. My great-great grandfather Salvatore was from Amalfi, near Naples. If you ever see pictures of Amalfi, you might understand why I have always loved the sight of water.
In May 2002, I finally visited the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island. I got to see the ocean, the harbors and the lobster boats. We checked out a lot of cool sideroad shops, walked a lot of trails, and played with the vibrant red sand. We met some of the friendliest people we’d ever encountered. But there was no way I was leaving Prince Edward Island without doing three important things:
1. Eating lobster in some form every single day.
2. Visiting the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Odditorium, one of only two in Canada.
Obviously, I had to pay my respects to the boyhood home of one of the greatest Canadians (# 13) and folk musicians of all time, Stompin’ Tom Connors. In the end, I accomplished all three of my goals. Of the five days I spent on the island, I had lobster on every one of them, even having the bizarre McLobster on one of those days. As an added bonus, I found an interesting piece of guitar-shaped folk art, made by a fellow named Keirras Jeffery, that I had to buy. It looks awesome on the wall.
Photos of Stompin’ Tom’s eponymous road are difficult to find online, so I proudly present to you a selection of my holiday snaps, May 2002.
In the continuing saga of all the pets in the greater LeBrain clan, you may recall that Lil’ Shit was the most recent addition to the family. Bass clarinetist extraordinaire Kathryn Ladano recently acquired Daisi aka Lil’ Shit, below. I finally got to meet Daisi this past Canada Day weekend!
It was a great weekend full of bonfires and awesome Canadian scenery too.
Stompin’ Tom Connors – “It’s Canada Day, Up Canada Way”
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