MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: KEIFFER MCLEAN - DRAMA IN THE ATTIC

A 2013 nominees for Young Performer of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, 20-year old McLean is from Regina.  This is his first full album after an EP earned him all the attention last year, and brings a fresh, fun approach to his acoustic tunes.  The instruments are outside the norm, with unique combinations and arrangements.  Opener Slow-Mo-Ocean starts with keyboard mixed with bowed double bass, before acoustic guitar and percussion turns it upbeat.  On the break between verses, a fun horn section of trumpet, trombone and tuba joins in.  The next verse adds a toy piano, before some wordless vocals against the trumpet take it into the air.  That's a lot in a folk song.

Several of the songs have a lo-fi feel, slightly over-recorded vocals give them a demo feel, bedroom music rather than studio clean stuff.  It adds to the intimacy, even with all those various sounds coming at us.  Lyrically the playfulness continues, at times recalling the sillier side of Beatles White Album era, or McCartney's fragments from Ram.  The lovely melodies only add to that.  McLean has some chops on acoustic as well, lots of nice finger work fills in the space before yet another fascinating part drops in, whether its a clarinet line or trumpet solo.  The words come thick and fast and interesting, all in all a wonderful listen.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: LEON RUSSELL - LIFE JOURNEY

A strange one, this.  After the big comeback fueled by longtime fan Elton John on 2010's The Union album, you would have thought Russell would go back to that winning sound.  Instead, he's done a record of orchestrated classics and odd covers, with little direction.  Russell's admitted to not having much of a plan as to how to proceed in his career, and this seems to prove that.  He meanders through old and weary numbers such as Georgia On My Mind and That Lucky Old Sun, tackles some Duke Ellington, and then out of nowhere thematically comes Billy Joel's New York State Of Mind.  It's a confusing listen.

The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma, who brings in his big orchestra for the classics, which sounds completely at odds with Russell's country boogie voice.  Sadly, that instrument is out of tune too, as Russell has now lost much of the (limited) range he once had, and most of the power.  He sounded much better on The Union.  The most enjoyable tracks here are without the orchestra, such as the uptempo combo take on Robert Johnson's Come On In My Kitchen, and some of the old spark on his own tune, Down In Dixieland.  Russell calls this a record of his musical journey through this life, but oddly, he's never taken the horns and strings path before.  There may be a point here, but I'm missing it.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ICON BEST OF CANADA THE 1980'S

The 80's: Good or bad for music, overall? Amid all the synths and bad hair, hair metal bands and cheesy videos, there were certainly some decent albums, albeit sometimes ruined by the glossy production and drum sounds of the time. Canada was a full player in the times, with superstars such as Bryan Adams and Rush leading the charge. Plus, we had our homegrown roster of stars filling up the airwaves, creating our own national memories.


This two-disc set does a pretty fair job arguing that the decade was decent. There are few big names here. Instead it's jammed with one, two or three-hit wonders, good bands that had a fair run at it, and remain pleasant memories in most cases. Yes, there are examples of all the above sins, especially the dated production, but as a collection it holds together as a strong listen.


The country's groups came out of punk and New Wave with a bunch of strong groups pushing boundaries. Martha & the Muffins had the big hit with Echo Beach, but there was also Spoons and Nova Heart, Blue Peter's Don't Walk Away, and Payola$ with Eyes Of A Stranger. Pop got an edge too, with The Northern Pikes' Teenland, The Pursuit Of Happiness' favourite I'm An Adult Now, and The Grapes Of Wrath All The Things I Wasn't. There was still rock and roll, and Kim Mitchell did that just fine, on Go For Soda, while Tom Cochrane & Red Rider were growing white hot with hits like Big League and Lunatic Fringe. Luba had her moment in the sun on the pop charts, represented here by Let It Go, while Colin James started a long career with Five Long Years.


Not to say it's all strong. I'll happily skip over the muted metal of Triumph, Helix and Prism, while Glass Tiger, Eight Seconds and Sheriff are still fluff. The ultimate Canadian moment comes at the end, with Bob & Doug McKenzie's Take Off, featuring Geddy Lee on vocals, a novelty but national treasures all the same. I don't have a lot of nostalgic feelings about the 80's, so this will do me just fine when they do crop up.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: CROWDED HOUSE - GOLD

Another of the benefits of the Universal/EMI merger is that more artists can show up on the Gold series.  These 2-CD sets put out by Universal contain generous best-of sets from their catalogue, and they know own the rights to the original Crowded House albums, up until the time of their first break-up in 1996.  Yes, the band reformed for two more albums in 2007 and 2010, but for me they have been disappointing, and rarely played.  If I want to relive one of my favourite bands, it's the late 80's - 90's tracks I want, and this delivers it in spades, 35 cuts over the two discs.

My only complaint is the sequencing, which seems to just be a random shuffling, certainly not chronological or flowing.  Two of their most glorious ballads, Weather With You and Four Seasons In One Day, open and close the collection, entirely the wrong places for mellowness.  I want to re-sequence this in the worst way.  Nothing against any of the songs however; from the brilliant and thrilling debut of Don't Dream It's Over to the mad rocking of later tracks Locked Out and Not The Girl You Think You Are, the craft of pop songwriting was not bettered in that decade.  Unabashed Beatles fans, you got both beautiful melodies and surprising studio moves with every song.  It was the ballads where Neil Finn could truly devastate though.  Infidelity is an open wound on both Into Temptation and Better Be Home Soon, while Distant Sun and Love You 'Til The Day I Die the desire for total commitment.  The intensity of that love grows only stronger in I Feel Possessed. 

Few bands could have so much fun, so much pain, and so much love in the space of a few songs.  Maybe that's why it was so hard to sequence such a collection.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE WEBER BROTHERS - WE

How can The Weber Brothers be better than the last time I heard them?  2011's Baddest Band In The Land was no mere brag, it was an explosion of roots rock that proved the Peterborough group to be the heirs to the great rock n' roll traditions, a modern-day equivalent of when The Hawks became The Band.  It was the most exciting album I'd heard that year, but that was then.  Now comes the new one, We, and The Weber Brothers have upped the stakes even further.

 

Bursting with ideas and influences, each of the ten songs here can barely contain the excitement and imagination of the group.  Solos fly, harmonies swell, and tracks take complete left-turns in the middle, with wonderful results.  Opener Long Days Done starts off as a piano boogie and ends with a surprise guest rap from guest PrufRock Shadowrunner.  Multi-part, dreamy harmonies drift through Before We Arrive, as if Neil Young joined the Everly Brothers.  Fuzzy psych-rock drives I Don't Need A Gun, as raw and loud as any punk track, while Early Or Late is straight doo-wop, right off the 50's street corner, complete with she-bop-she-bop answering vocals.  Simply put, is there anything this band can't do?  I want fifty copies to give to my music-loving friends.

CLASSIC EMMYLOU HARRIS ALBUM WRECKING BALL REISSUED AND ON TOUR

Right now in a rehearsal studio in Los Angeles, a classic is being re-born.  One of the landmark albums of the 1990's, one that has made a deep impact on roots and Americana, and the way we appreciate country music, is being polished and reconfigured, readied for the road starting Thursday, April 3.  The Wrecking Ball is swinging again.

Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball was released in 1995 to great acclaim, and rewrote the rules on singer-songwriter and traditional folk music.  Produced by sonic wiz and spiritual musician Daniel Lanois, the collection went deep into the soul of both artists, brooding and beautiful, a sound that brought old values into new musical landscapes.  It certainly challenged and changed Harris, who went back to songwriting thanks to this collection, and opened up her own sound.  It's pretty much the album to hear if you want to know what Americana and passion is all about.

In the last few years, Harris has teamed up with Lanois at various benefits, performing some of the Wrecking Ball numbers.  That includes Lanois' annual Harvest Picnic festival near his home of Hamilton, Ontario, promoting local organic farmers.  It's seen Harris join with Lanois' band, casual but solid shows, as true professionals can deliver.  They have a natural chemistry, and the open-air venue only heightens the natural beauty of the sound and material.  Now, Wrecking Ball is getting a brand-new release, expanded to three discs, a second CD of out-takes and unreleased songs, and a DVD documentary called Building the Wrecking Ball, a making-of piece with lots of special guests including Neil Young (who provided the title track), the McGarrigle sisters and more.  There's always been a heavy Canadian content to the album, from Lanois right through.

To mark the re-release, Harris and Lanois are hitting the road for a series of select concerts in North America and Europe, including a Canadian date at Massey Hall in Toronto, April 15.  Rehearsals have been going on for a couple of weeks, under the band leadership of Jim Wilson.  He's been Lanois' go-to bass player for nearly a decade, and has a growing solo career of his own.  I reached him in Los Angeles, well into the rehearsals, and he's already familiar with all the songs.  "We've done Wrecking Ball six times now, as benefit shows, including Nashville, and anytime we've done shows were Emmylou plays with Daniel, we do some of it.  But this time we're going to get it down, we're really going to practice, get our harmonies tight. we're doing the whole album, plus six or eight from Emmy's catalogue, and even a tribute to Phil Everly on a duet.  Daniel's going to play pedal steel on some.  Dan's going to open the show, then play with the band, then after a half-hour Emmylou will come on."

In other words, a dream show for fans.  It's not the biggest-seller in either of those artist's careers.  Lanois can point to producing U2, Dylan and many others, and Harris has had number one hits all over country radio, solo and with the acclaimed Trio recordings with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.  Artistically though, Wilson says this is holy stuff for both of them.  "Dan is very proud of it, and so is Emmylou.  I asked her one time what her favourite album is, and she said Wrecking Ball is the most important."

Wilson's a big fan too of course, and describes his role as a dream gig.  "It's really cool, Daniel's given me the gift of being kind of a musical director, and when things work great, it's just so awesome, I'll get smiles from both of them.  They give me total freedom, I don't copy what's on the record, Daniel wants the right feel.  And before I met Emmylou, I didn't realized how great a rhythm guitar player she is.  I always feel like she's the real deal."  Plus, Harris and Lanois have no ego when it comes to the musicians.  Wilson gets full billing on all the posters and ads for the concerts, as does drummer Steven Nistor.

"That first happened in Nashville," says Wilson about the billing.  I got there, and there were posters everywhere, with my name on it.  It's really nice that she gives us all this opportunity.  It's so cool, and such a great opportunity.  It's in all the newspapers here in L.A.., I'm getting all these texts and congratulations, I'm really honoured.  My dad's thrilled, because he's a big country fan.  Every time I hear Emmylou say my name, 'good morning Jim,' it's such a thrill.  She's so nice, she had us over to dinner at her house, just sitting around, I got to see her pictures of Gram Parsons, so amazing."

Wilson's name is getting around these days.  The former record store clerk got a big break when he handed a disc of his band Mother Superior to customer Henry Rollins.  He loved it, bringing them in eventually as the new players in Rollins Band, plus using Mother Superior as an opening act.  "We gained a European audience," says Wilson, "a big fan base in Spain, and then Lanois saw the group play at LA's Troubadour, came back stage and said hi, and he really felt it.  I talked to him at the parking lot after, he was on his motorcycle, and we said to stay in touch.  A couple of weeks later we were invited to his house.  For awhile we doing both, playing with Daniel and Henry, and finally Henry just felt like he'd had enough."

Since then Wilson's made his own solo album, and been on-call for whatever Lanois has going. He's toured with the classic band Sparks, and does production work as well, his latest project the new album coming out soon for Pearl Aday, daughter of one Meatloaf (Marvin Lee Aday).  He also has his beloved on-line vinyl radio show, Deep Nuggets once a week.  But another major development just happened, and it's a blast from the past.  It seems Mother Superior still has lots of famous fans, including Scott Ian, the singer for Anthrax.  For his birthday, Superior freak Ian asked Wilson to come and play in an ad-hoc band featuring friends Joey Vera from Armored Saint and drummer John Tempesta of The Cult, all huge Mother Superior fans.  It turned out such a blast, they've been given a record deal from Metal Blade to bring back Mother Superior.

But for the next month, he's riding the Wrecking Ball, and paying tribute to an album he loves.  "It's going to be fun taking it around the world," Wilson says.  The re-issue of Wrecking Ball is out Tuesday, April 8 on Nonesuch Records.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: RONNIE LANE AND SLIM CHANCE - OOH LA LA AN ISLAND HARVEST

Lane pulled a strange one when he gave up on The Faces, at a time when Rod Stewart's rocketing stardom was dragging that band into the forefront as well. But the long-time bass player (he was in Small Faces as well) had too many songs of his own, and little patience for Rod's solo flights. He wanted a band he could control.


On his own, Lane went in a completely different direction from the party-hardy rock and blues of The Faces. Instead, he went rural, embracing his own kind of folk music, melodic fare accentuated with fiddle, mandolin and acoustic instruments of all sorts, even tuba bass at times. It would have fit in today in fact, with your Mumfords et al. It does actually, sounding fresher now than it has since first released.


This double disc set cherry-picks cuts from his rather poor-selling 70's sets, adding some alternate takes and unreleased numbers to spice it up, plus a lengthy set recorded for the BBC with his band Slim Chance. It's lovely stuff, Lane sounding a bit like George Harrison vocally, and bringing a warm, communal vibe to all the music. Perhaps it wasn't such an odd plan after all, just not celebrated much at the time. It's well worth checking out.