Old Enough to Forget

Since finding Teaze Live in Japan a few years ago, I had been on the lookout for this one. Not that it was hard to find once I made up my mind that this was coming home - I just wasn't convinced I needed to add it to my collection. Part of the issue was the live album. Yes, it was enjoyable, and it was definitely one of those albums I had been curious about since my teen years ... but it was also sort of uneven, and the songs just weren't that memorable, which I still find strange because I really do like the album, and I was listening to it again the other day. One Night Stands , though, just looked cool, and it had the benefit of having Myles Goodwyn's name stamped on the back cover. April Wine was one of those bands that always had a song on the radio growing up, but during my formative years between 1978 and 1981 the band was on a tear: First Glance , Harder ... Faster , and The Nature of the Beast . Right in the middle of their commercial peak, Teaze were touring with...

Back in January I wrote about The Northern Pikes' excellent album Forest of Love . It was an album I bought because I thought it might be interesting (I also found it cheap which was a plus), and I was intrigued by Kevin Kane's inclusion in the line-up. I suppose if I were a proper fan I wouldn't have been so surprised at how good it was. Time to Time came out in 2023 and featured the same lineup: Jay Semko, Bryan Potvin, Don Schmid, and Kevin Kane. I went to the band's site, looked through the merch store, and saw that their latest album Time to Time was available as an autographed limited edition. In one of those "Go on, take my money" moments, I sent a message through the site and, in short order, found myself trading notes with Don  Schmid . Within literally a few days, a package arrived at my door with the record. Turns out Don lives practically down the road from me, which kind of cracked me up. Time to Time had been waiting to be played for a few mon...

Most of this was written in real time as I listened to the record for the first time. I have, of course, gone back in time to edit and add more after the fact. Why not? At the moment I'm about two tracks in. I just dropped the needle and sat down. The first track, "Intro," is exactly that. It was a cool, sort of techno-influenced piece that segues into "Forever," which was pretty good. Having the song end with a tape effect is a nod to a past that doesn't exist. I suppose if you can replicate it digitally, why not? "Like I Used to Be" is pretty cool. The song features what I have to assume are Matt and Kim trading vocals back and forth. The song is a mid-tempo alternative electronic piece with a lot of '80s-flavoured programmed percussion. I like it. Very retro ... or is this called Lo-Fi? "I'd Rather" Oh, here we go. A nice fat thuddy beat. At the risk of exposing my limited range in defining or understanding genres, I suspect th...

When I found Boys Brigade , it seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It didn’t matter. The immediate drawing card was seeing Geddy Lee’s name on the back as producer. The band was on Anthem Records, and honestly, even before hearing anything, I was assuming it was going to be good. Good it was. So good, and it was also a memory jogger too. “Melody” got modest play back in ’83, and it was a delightfully quirky song that was everything cool about the early ’80s. Oddly, whenever I hear the song, it feels a bit like Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers’ “Here Comes My Girl” - they really sound nothing alike, there’s just something about the atmosphere and delivery that makes me think of Petty - and I’m being sort of petty even comparing them. Heck, if I’m going to go all in, I may as well say that Boys Don’t Cry’s “I Wanna Be a Cowboy” sounds like they heard “Melody.” Whatever, none of this jibber jabber takes away from the song - it’s one of the highlights on the record (there a...

Once again I doth findeth myself on the receiving end of an earful of baffling wonderment and wtf-ishness. For the purists who grew up with ELP, I realize this album was released overseas in the fall of 1971, but over here it was 1972, and if you were here in North America then it was 1972 for you too. As far as I'm concerned, this is a 1972 release, as that’s what was stamped on the centre of the record. Here we have a live album that astounds with the sheer scope of what this trio was trying to accomplish. Recorded live at Newcastle City Hall on 26 March 1971, the little hall's capacity for an all-standing audience is apparently around 2,600 people. I suspect they played to a full house. With only two albums under their belt, their self-titled debut and Tarkus, proposing a live album only a year or so after arriving on the scene was pretty ballsy. What they wanted to record was their arrangement of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s piano pieces, which he penned to describe...

A few years ago I wrote about Emotions in Motion and relayed a story about “The Stroke” and my friend Gord that I’m going to repeat here for those who missed it the first time. This is as good a place as any to start, so here we go. One of my more shameful recollections involves my buddy Gord (I always blame Gord for shit like this), who was in town visiting. We decided to hang out at the Dairy Queen. We were goofing around and generally acting like teenage idiots when in walked David Mainse, the guy who used to be on 100 Huntley Street here in Canada. Of course, there was a jukebox in the Dairy Queen, and while poor Mister Mainse sat there eating his lunch, we played “The Stroke” over, and over, and over. Please note the restraint I’ve shown in avoiding a needless masturbation joke ... it was hard. Yeah, not a proud moment, but at the time we thought we were hilarious. Yes, I know I missed my chance to work in a Dilly Bar reference, but I can’t think of everything. More to the poin...