MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: GORD DOWNIE - INTRODUCE YERSELF

Well, what to say? This was going to be a tough one no matter what, but I guess it helps to think of it as a last present. The temptation is to read way too much into the words, but certainly there are times that can't be helped. And Downie really did make this personal, with the songs often written as love letters to friends, family and unnamed folks that might be you and me. As usual for him, some are more literal and easy to understand, while others are virtually undecipherable without lots of listens and some major guesswork.


Some of it is just heartbreaking, not from anything related to his illness or mortality, but in those simple moments that define a life. In You Me And The B's, he sings about a conversation that has lasted four decades, that begins and ends with talk of his beloved Boston Bruins. It's noted that his brother plays percussion on the song, by joining him slapping a hockey stick on the ice. My First Girlfriend is pretty self-explanatory, without naming names (he never does that), describing that time in clear detail, like it was weeks ago.


Working again with Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene, who produced last year's Hip finale Man Machine Poem and Downie's Secret Path, these 23 songs are intimately recorded, mostly just the two of them, with few instruments, piano the most obvious. It's Downie's voice, telling the stories, that dominates, and it has the effect of a series of short stories. We follow along, learning about one important person after another. This isn't a Hip album, so don't expect volume and rock. On A Natural, we hear that classic Downie loud voice on the chorus, but it's one of the few times he lets loose.

These are memories, flashes of a life, the kinds of things that pop back into your thoughts absentmindedly, but one supposes, in sharp focus for Downie in the last few months. It's a gentle goodbye, to important people, including you the fan.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: KIM STOCKWOOD - SOMETIMES THE MOON

Known for her big personality and fun songwriting (Jerk, 12 Years Old), Stockwood has become a strong song interpreter in the last few years, at least on the rare occasions she steps forward with a new release. Her last one out, 2011's Back To The Water was a tribute to her Newfoundland home. This one started out as a selection of jazz-flavoured vocals, but a couple of other numbers popped up, making it simply a set of six enjoyable tunes, old and new, jazz, country and folk.

The big news here is a never-released song written by Ron Hynes, Sometimes The Moon. It dates back to the '90's, when Hynes and Stockwood met for the first time. He asked her to sing on a demo of it, and over the years their friendship grew, Stockwood describing him as a mentor. Her versions of his St. John's Waltz and Atlantic Blue from Back To The Water are among the best covers of his work. After his passing, Stockwood felt it appropriate to put that song on the collection, and even was able to use his guitar playing, from a recording of one of the many times the pair performed it live.

You can hear the the genesis of the standards project in other tracks, produced with pianist Bill King, who's worked with everyone from Janis Joplin to Linda Ronstadt to The Pointer Sisters, a stalwart of the Canadian jazz scene as well. His piano and her voice are the dominate instruments here, both digging into the emotion of these cuts. Stockwood's choices are surprising and charming, from a lesser-known Patsy Cline gem, Imagine That, to the Frank Sinatra oldie I'll Never Smile Again, written by Canadian Ruth Lowe, to the wartime heart-tugger We'll Meet Again. It's like walking into that perfect hotel bar fifty years ago, with the singer who feels your pain and lifts you up again. Not the Kim Stockwood you were expecting, then.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ALAN DOYLE - A WEEK AT THE WAREHOUSE

As the folks who have been coming out to his shows know, Alan Doyle has put together an awesome touring group, known as The Beautiful Band. On his latest, they are an equal part of the excitement, as the group pulled in on tour to Vancouver's Warehouse Studio, under the guidance of famed producer Bob Rock. To give full credit, the band is Kendel Carson on fiddle, Shehab Illyas on bass, Todd Lumley on keys, drummer Kris MacFarlane, and Cory Tetford on guitar.

The group's impressive energy is all over the insanely catchy Summer Summer Night, with Carson's fiddle leaping out of the chorus. Come Out With Me is a great opener, basically a song that says a good time will be had by all. The band can do it soft too, and Doyle's become quite a ballad singer, able to turn the party down for a love song like Fall.

The modern Newfoundland sound that Doyle helped popularize with Great Big Sea is still part of the show, with Bully Boys the big sea shanty here, with Lumley bringing the accordion out for the romp. Geoffrey Kelly from Spirit of the West lends his Celtic talents on whistle to Forever Light Will Shine to give it that flare. But really, this is a great big mix of styles that Doyle and the Beautiful Band do, more about that energy and positive vibe, and Doyle's personality. This album really captures what the band's live show is all about.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: IAN SHERWOOD - BRING THE LIGHT

Smooth-voiced, smart writing singer-songwriter Ian Sherwood has made his name over the course of five albums with his intimate material and personal live performances, able to draw you in and speak/sing directly to the listener. On his latest, the Nova Scotia artist adds some new layers to the music, quite literally, working with producer Daniel Ledwell (David Myles, Gabrielle Papillon). While the pair didn't go crazy, there's more going on for sure, from additional instruments to a wider sonic palette,

If anything, the treatment heightens the intimacy in the songs, with a little more drama to move the stories along, and a little more oomph, especially in the percussion. But still at their core, these are songs that hit you like a sucker punch time and again. "You show me the door, and I fall on my knees/because I don't want to leave," he sings, in the aftermath of another fight, a jarring and real description of that horrible feeling. Sometimes the lines are simply really good, the kind where you have to sit back and smile; "Don't waste your wishes and nickles on broken-down wells," he advises on Know The Darkness. Even with such quality emotional material, there's room for pop moments, and Ledwell's addition certainly helps rock up the cut I'm Not The Boy into a purely catchy number.

Sherwood's playing a few shows around the album launch, just back from Folk Music Ontario. He's doing a couple of house concerts in the Fredericton area Friday Oct. 27 and Saturday Oct. 28, at the Lansdowne Concert Series, and you can see about seats there by contacting Paul at pmm56@me.com or 506-457-0826.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: SLEEPY DRIVER - SUGAR SKULL

Fredericton's Sleepy Driver doesn't play live nearly enough (day jobs) but thankfully does release albums every couple of years or so, when singer/writer unleashes his latest bunch of cuts. This time out, it's his catchiest batch yet, with a focus on feeling good, and rocking out. Given Hicks' more serious, and often striking dark numbers from past albums, this seems to have been a conscious decision, and one that works well. Despite the title, Sugar Skull has a great mood to it all the way through.

The other five band members get plenty of time to show off too, from the harder rock side of the title cut, with its guitar and electric piano leads, to the plentiful pedal steel on several tracks from Dave Palmer. Believe/Belong is the only darker number, only because it's meditative, but for the rest of the set fun, either country-rock or straight-ahead rockers, the best of which is Radio Dial, with lots of NYC punk brashness. The albums out now, but the launch shows won't happen until Nov. 24 and 25 at the Charlotte St. Arts Centre in Fredericton.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ANNE MURRAY - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION

Haters are going to hate, but I have a lot of time for Murray, largely thanks to the recognition she gave to East Coast music, and the accomplishments she made for Canadian entertainers. Murray was a budding star in 1970, already known for success on the Halifax-made TV show Singalong Jubilee, when things got crazy. Her recording of fellow cast member Gene MacLellan's Snowbird became a huge worldwide hit, charting high on the pop, country and adult contemporary charts. It was the first gold record for a Canadian female artist in the U.S., and, get this, in 1971 was named the most-played song on the radio -- in the world. Yeah, pretty good for Springhill, N.S.

Along with Murray was a team of colleagues from back home whom Murray dubbed "the Maritime Mafia." It included MacLellan, producer Brian Ahern, Singalong host/producer Bill Langstroth (they would soon marry), her manager Leonard Rambeau and tons of the musicians. Their footprints were all over the Canadian music scene for years, especially Ahern, who went on to produce Emmylou Harris's first ten albums, and for many more artists. So that's a legacy that goes back to Anne, and her hits.

So,respect. As for this set, it's actually been awhile since a major Murray compilation, and not one since her retirement. She was completely involved in compiling the set, and it shows, as it is a thoughtful set that shows her many sides, especially if you opt for the 2-cd version instead of the basic one disc, all-hits set. Disc one has the obvious, including You Needed Me, A Love Song, You Won't See Me, Danny's Song, 20 chart hits in all. Disc two goes deeper, including several early Canada-only favourites such as Sing High, Sing Low, Robbie's Song For Jesus, and Cotton Jenny. There's a tip to her friend Glen Campbell, who signed her to a huge contract to appear on his U.S. TV show, helping make her a household name in the U.S. They recorded a duets album, and here we get a medley of I Say A Little Prayer/By The Time I Get To Phoenix. There are some of her many duets, including those with Emmylou, Bryan Adams and Michael Buble. Canadian artists especially have always loved to pay tribute to Murray by guesting with her.

There are a couple of live tracks as well, and Murray uses the opportunity to right a long-standing career beef. She includes a concert version of Put Your Hand In The Hand, a song she was the first to record. But the hit version in 1971 was by the then-unknown Toronto group Ocean, and it actually charted even higher that Snowbird. Murray is still mad about it, since it was a song MacLellan had given to her to record, but it languished as an album track. Capitol Records in the U.S. wouldn't put it out as a single, saying it wasn't the right sound for her. Oops.

Anne Murray was not a rock star, and never tried to be. She was caught a bit out of time, an old-school performer/crooner who more in common with the great pop '50's singers. She was so good, her talent couldn't be denied, and her songs stormed the charts and filled arenas, despite being called uncool. But the numbers don't lie, especially the numbers of fans, and there isn't a musician in Canada that doesn't owe her a debt.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: LITTLE STEVEN - SOULFIRE

When this came out a few weeks back, I ignored it, thinking I'd been burned on Little Steven's solo stuff in the past and aside from the odd track, hadn't ever been inspired. That "Ain't gonna play Sun City," that rocked, but it's been awhile. But lots has changed for the Springsteen sideman in the past couple of decades, including his star turn as an actor (The Sopranos), and his long-running, much-appreciated satellite radio show featuring great garage rock. In the liner notes, he admits it had been too long since he got to be Little Steven, and this time, he came prepared with a bunch of absolute great tracks.


He's always been known as the soul of the E Street Band, and that's because at heart he's a '60's soul man, in love with horns, backing singers and big glorious radio singles. The cut I'm Coming Back says it all, with everything you'd ever hope from him. It sounds like a song that could have made The River or The Rising, one to punch your arm in the air and love forever. But there's lots more than the E Street sound. "I Saw The Light" is a blast of Top 40, with more great horns, and a Cherry, Cherry/Tommy James and the Shondells swagger.

It's not all new meat here; Van Zandt goes back to the '70's to pull out a couple of his best-ever tunes, that he originally gave to his comrades Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes when he produced their first albums. I Don't Want To Go Home was the title track of their debut, and Love On The Wrong Side Of Town was a rare co-write with Springsteen, here getting the big Steven production. He's even ready to have fun, giving us a classic bit of doo-wop on The City Weeps Tonight, and his voice sounds perhaps the best it ever has. The great thing about being proven wrong in your assumptions as a reviewer and listener is that you're left with an excellent disc in return.