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Jeff Elbel + Ping - No Outlet

I knew of Jeff before I ever heard Jeff, and over the decades (yes, DECADES) I’ve heard a lot of music he’s been involved in creating. Somewhere along the way, I grew quite fond of Jeff, and I even like his music. I consider him a friend - one I almost met in person once. If I have the date right, I missed my chance to rub shoulders with near greatness on November 16, 2002, when The Lost Dogs performed at Regent College in Vancouver. It was a wonderful little theatre. Theo Obrastoff was there that night - along with a cheap blue guitar he has since wisely hung on a wall after getting it signed by the guys (the best part is it can no longer be played) - promoting Come As A Child or Not At All , a tribute to his late son Andy. Jeff was there as well, opening the concert with a few solo acoustic songs I really enjoyed. Later, I’m pretty sure Derri played Jeff’s Gibson acoustic during The Lost Dogs’ closing set. The memory I have of Jeff, and the time we almost met, goes something like th...
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Nik Kershaw - Radio Musicola

I was going through some old posts and stumbled upon a couple of pieces I'd written about Nik Kershaw. Yes I read my own stuff on occasion just to see what I was thinking at the time. I have found that I am more often than not full of shit. It's like I don't know what I was thinking. This must be what it's like for you when you read my posts. Sorry. But, honestly it's just the way it is. Sometimes I surprise myself. Take this post, this isn't the way I wanted to start, but now that I'm typing I am sort of mesmerized as the letters start filling in the white space. If you have no idea what's happening, I feel the same way. Let's see where this goes. I had somewhat boldly proclaimed that "Wouldn't It Be Good" was merely the tip of the iceberg when considering the depths of his talents. A bit of hyperbole, but since there are no take backs, only retractions, I'll stand by the comment, and Nik was without question as ambitious as he wa...
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April Wine - Animal Grace

After the abomination that was Power Play ... oh, it wasn't that bad ... it just wasn't that good either. I waited for April Wine to release a new album, and sure enough, in '84 April Wine dropped Animal Grace . The classic lineup of Goodwyn, Moffet, Greenway, Lang and Mercer was still intact, and all was right in the world. Animal Grace marked the end of an era. Although at the time I had no idea this was it. I'd grown up with April Wine being a key contributor to the soundtrack of my life, and I just figured that was how it would be. Funny how you don't know it's the last time until you have the ability to look back and realize it was where things ended. Goodwyn and Mike Stone crafted new sonic territory for the band. This was April Wine, but this was the '80s version of April Wine. Right from the opening track "This Could Be the Right One," April Wine was changing with the times. It was familiar, but it was new. Cementing the new sound for me ...
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The Arrows - The Lines Are Open

Sometimes my younger self likes to play games with old me. The games aren't always fun. I'm young enough to remember the things my body used to be able to do. Like the time my buddy Max taught me how to Alley-Oop dunk a basketball. "You just jump to where you want the ball to be ... it'll be there." Nowadays I'm lucky I don't kill myself if I misjudge the curb walking off the sidewalk.  Anyway, today I pulled out The Arrows album The Lines Are Open , and younger self piped up, "Hey, let's play a game." I shrugged my acceptance. "Tell me what I remember about this one before you play it." Okay, that wasn't too hard, and it wasn't an embarrassing physical challenge like trying to touch your toes. Fine, I'll play. The Arrows, The Lines Are Open . This one came out in '85 or '86. It had two killer songs, "Heart Of The City" and "Talk Talk." They were very '80s and slick as snot. I don't ...
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Headpins - Line of Fire

Headpins were a blip on the musical landscape in the early '80s. They started as a huge blip, then a big blip, and then a blip, and then they were gone. Like all bands, there's always a story within the story, and it changes depending on who gets to narrate. I can't speak to any of that, so I won't. It's a bit weird to sit here behind a keyboard plonking away with nothing more than an opinion and memories, trying to describe what the album meant to me back in the day and the impact it had over the years. Spoiler: Headpins were never among my favourite bands, but they had more than enough stellar moments to be part of the conversation. They were just never at the table. So the impact was negligible. Awareness, though, that's something else entirely. I knew who they were. This is a horrible way to start, as it's definitely getting off on the wrong foot. I can recover from this, don't worry. I do this to myself all the time. I just pretend I missed a turn a...
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Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - On Tour With Eric Clapton

I'd never heard of Delaney and Bonnie until relatively recently. It was like they didn't exist, and then one day they did. Their names would pop up in articles and they would be name dropped by other musicians who were a big deal in the early '70s. It makes sense that they flew on the periphery of my musical radar as they were only active for a couple of years (1969 - 1970) and their recorded output actually outlived the band. I found a stained copy (I hope that's coffee) of the record in a box of records my buddy Paul was getting rid of. The vinyl was in surprisingly good shape. My gain, his loss. More than he knows. On Tour With Eric Clapton was recorded in 1969 in England, with at least one song recorded in Croydon, and by all accounts is the duo's crowning achievement, capturing them with an all-star cast of supporting musicians. Delaney & Bonnie had great friends. This would be their best selling album and it would be certified gold in the US. Who were the...
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The Dave Clark Five - Across Canada

By rights The Dave Clark Five should be mentioned in the same sentence as The Beatles and Rolling Stones when it comes to the best bands to ever come out of England. There was a time Dave Clark had managed to do what his contemporaries had failed to do. Control their publishing. From the earliest days of the Dave Clark Five, Dave Clark was the band's manager, producer and publisher. Every song, whether he was part of the song's creation or not, he was listed as co-writer and publisher. While The Dave Clark Five was in name a band, it was Dave Clark and four salaried employees. However, as time marched on, and make no mistake it marches along whether you keep in step or not ... The Dave Clark Five slowly faded from the public eye. When the burgeoning market for CDs was starting to take hold, and bands were re-issuing their back catalogues Dave Clark was being a hold out waiting to cash in on the CD boom ... meanwhile The Beatles who held out for a while started releasing their m...
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