I am pleased to present the best quality copy of this video available. It’s complete and in stereo!
You can read a review of the first Deadline mini-album (from which “Donna (Do You Wanna)” was the single) right here. From Sarnia Ontario, this quartet was primed for the big time but failed to launch. You can tell from this video that they spared no expense in looking and sounding like pros.
This video was recorded from MuchMusic’s Start Me Up program, in early 1993.
From M.E.A.T Magazine
DEADLINE – Tangible Vibe (1996 Deadline Productions)
When we last checked in on this old Canadian indi band, it was on the 1994 EP So This is Limbo, which I rated a 2.75/5. I haven’t played Tangible Vibe, the full length followup, in quite a few years. I remember liking it back in 1996, when hard rock was all but dead and we were forced to seek out other kinds of rock music. Will I still like it now?
“Another Low” is a pretty simple pop punk track, not the kind of thing I usually listen to. It’s fast with heavy guitars and poppy vocals. What stands in for a guitar solo is a simple melody. It’s more annoying than likable. “Frustrated” is more entertaining, taking the tempo back to a radio-ready pace. Seems that I still like this one! You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a new single by Sum 41. Hopefully you’ll forgive me for liking it. Back then we didn’t call this stuff “pop-punk”, we called it “alt-rock”.
I recall liking “Living Proof” which sounds very much like Green Day. It’s still a catchy little tune, that just it needs identity. There’s certainly no reason it couldn’t have been a hit. On the other hand, I remember not caring too much for “Headtrip”. Its seemingly pro-drug message didn’t appeal to me and I didn’t think the song had much individuality going for it. My feelings haven’t changed too much although I do appreciate the great vocal performance and guitars, but it could have been half as long.
Then and now, I love the title track “Tangible Vibe”. Almost Monkees-like, it’s a soft rocker with a heavier chorus. I really like the recurring guitar melody. Maybe I shouldn’t say Monkees-like, when I have heard Weezer do songs similar to this. It’s a standout and now that I have re-discovered it, I plan on playing it a lot more. Equally good is “Kill Me Slowly” which again is firmly in pop-punk territory, with vocal harmonies.
As back in 1996, “Mary” bores me. It feels like it’s a repeat of ideas from previous songs. Such is the problem with these simple melodies. Sure they’re catchy, but you run the risk of ideas that sound too similar. There’s nothing wrong with it, but we’ve heard it before. “Amore di Gatto” (“Love Cat”?) is a beautiful classical guitar intro to the dark song “Circus”. This song has more in common with Deadline’s early hard rock roots than modern pop rock. It’s mournful with with the strong melodies still intact, and a tricky guitar solo to boot. It has the most emotion on on the album, and remains its best song.
“I Don’t Even Like You” is fast and fun; the drums are played with brushes and the guitars are acoustic. It’s one of the shortest songs, which good because novelty songs are best kept short. “Friend In Me” was the “hit”, and it’s the exact same version as on the So This is Limbo EP, which is great. Closer “Go With the Flow” is another Green Day copycat, unfortunately. It’s the early, heavier side of Green Day, but still the comparisons are unavoidable.
Shame. A really great EP could have been made from the best songs on this album.
3/5 stars
Review dedicated to Scott the Skeptic.
DEADLINE – So This is Limbo (1994 Deadline Productions)
Ahh, the 90’s, how I do not miss thee. When I think of the 90’s, I remember how bands I liked simplified things to fit in better with the new alt-rock hordes. Guys like Deadline initially showed a lot of promise. They combined diverse elements and showed potential for future growth. Then they cut down the guitar solos and streamlined everything to its melodic basics.
I like So This is Limbo, (a five song EP) but it is safe to say that I do not like it as much as their self-titled debut. Its five songs all fit into a soundalike form. The first two (“Friend in Me” and “Going With a Smile”) are so similar that they both feature harmonica parts as one of the hooks, bouncy basslines, and a simple guitar melody where a solo would go. That’s not to say they’re bad songs. They’re good for what they are: happy-go-lucky 90’s pop rock. “Friend in Me” got a bit of airplay at the time, and it’s the best song here. The second best is “Going With a Smile”.
MuchWest interview with Deadline by TDM and “Galactic premier” of video
“Laundry Day” is a little darker, but “You know it’s laundry day again,” isn’t the kind of chorus that really gets my angst out. This one has a guitar solo too, and it’s a gooder. Too bad that the song isn’t as good as the solo. The pop-punk of “Darkest Hour” is better. Why did singers always use distortion on their voices in the early 90’s? It’s too bad. “Darkest Hour” isn’t bad at all. The last song is the dreary “Better Things to Do”, which kind of leaves the EP on a downer note.
It’s too bad really because I know they can do better. They did do better, on the Deadline EP. Would they redeem it on the Tangible Vibe album? I remember liking it back then, but I haven’t played it in a long time. That’s the next review. As for So This is Limbo?
2.75/5 stars
DEADLINE – Deadline (1992 Deadline Productions)
Old school adherents of the classic Pepsi Power Hour may remember the video for “Donna (Do You Wanna)” by Sarnia Ontario’s Deadline. This self-titled mini-album was not their first release, they did have an indi cassette before this. Their 1992 CD debut was impressive quality for the period. “Friction Addiction” (heard in re-recorded form on Raw M.E.A.T 3) is a cool, innovative hard rock number with a funky lead vocal. The guys were all musically and vocally talented: the Wood brothers Tim and Tom (vocals and drums respectively), Paul Albert (bass), and Shawn Meehan (guitars). “Friction Addition” was exactly the kind of song that could have become a hit in 1992. It was still upbeat, good-time hard rock, but with modern elements that the 1990’s demanded.
“Donna” sounds like an outtake from Extreme’s first album, a bit dated now. It’s a nice shuffle complete with harmonica blasts, and fans of that old time hard rock will still like it. The juvenile lyrics however are way below the quality of the music and playing. “Nothing Left to Lose” is a somber ballad, a cross between Europe’s “Tomorrow” and Dokken’s “Alone Again”. Bassist Paul Albert is credited as the pianist on the track.
“Imagine That” is one of those early 90’s Ugly Kid Funk Metal™ tracks. Paint a visual picture and you’ll probably be pretty close. Regardless of the dated sound, it is still a pretty fun song. Following that is the less-funky “Do You Believe”, a fun hard rocker that even quotes “Bomehian Rhapsody”. How 1992! Once again, Extreme comparisons are apt. Slaughter too, especially vocally. “Set Your Sails” is the “inspirational” track. You always had to have one of those, didn’t you? As such it’s upbeat and plenty good. The tricky guitar solo reminds me of Richie Kotzen in style.
The CD ends with the jokey acoustic jam, “I Hate Workin'”. It has that old Van Halen vibe of the “drunken party” in the background, and the singalong chorus. Their hearts were the right place, but the song is a bit on the corny side. Still, for a first CD? Not bad at all.
After this the band released an EP called So This is Limbo and an album called Tangible Vibe. These releases had a marked change of direction. Guitar solos were chopped and songs shortened; as the 90’s progressed so they did, right into pop punk. Both are pretty good releases, but we’ll have to look at them another time. Deadline, the debut, scores a respectable:
3/5 stars
Incidentally, this CD will not rip on any machine. No computer will play it, only an actual CD player. I have had that problem with a few Canadian made CDs from the early 90’s.
From M.E.A.T Magazine
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