Last fall I stumbled upon Doug and the Slugs debut album, and was more than a little surprised at how good it was. My previously held belief that the band sucked had to be revisited and I had to admit I'd done the Slugs wrong. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was a fully slimed convert, but I was at least on the path to putting away my salt shaker.
After the barrage of "Too Bad" I don't really remember hearing anything else by the band until "Making it Work" started getting some airplay, and yeah, it was catchy and all but I didn't consider myself a fan so I never picked it up. Lo and behold buried between the 1980 debut and the '83 release Music for the Hard of Thinking the band dropped their 1981 follow up Wrap It! An album I honestly didn't know existed. Then again, that's not saying a lot as the amount of shit and silliness I don't know far outstrips any semblance of knowledge and meaningless trivia I have accumulated over the years.
So there I was riffling through the dollar bin and there was a really good looking copy of Wrap It! With all of the liner notes, and a pristine looking vinyl - the cover was creased on the bottom right corner, is the only reason I can think this was relegated to the cheap seats. I'm not complaining.Honestly I was kind of curious, but really didn't know what to expect here. The album kicks off with "Dangerous?" a song with a timing defying kick drum that seemed too fast to be maintained without getting a leg cramp ... but this is a record after all so they can work on it and get it right. Right out the gate this was different, but still kind of the same. The sound though ... IT WAS FAT. This has aged incredibly well. I have to give props to the band and Jim Vallance for that. The album was recorded at the legendary Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver, and the album was engineered by Mike Jones. This is a fantastic sounding record.
There are no duds here, but I can also hear why there were no obvious singles. The closest was "Real Enough" that featured backing vocals by The Nylons, and while it was released as such, didn't chart. Time and place I guess, as it was every bit as good as "Too Bad" and "Making it Work."
The band kept their sense of humour and the packaging is awesome as they take the back page of the insert to talk about The Package. My favourite bit, as this was still back in '81 was their little blurb about Jim Vallance, who at this point was best known for his early work with Prism, and he was at the start of his partnership with a young Bryan Adams.
The best producers and the ones who take sadistic delight in bossing wimpy musicians around but we found they cost too much (like S&M pain is an expensive pleasure.) Therefore we go for the gentle west coast soul with small town connections who'll form committees, organize meetings, and listen to the band's opinion because he's terrified of being sent home without having made it in showbiz or hockey.Estimated cost - $650.00
While most of the songs tend to be tongue in cheek and have a party vibe the album's closing track "River" really got me in the feels. What a great song and what a fitting way to close out a really solid album that seems to be the overlooked entry into the band's discography.
This was a great surprise, and I still can't get over how fresh this was still. The lesson here I guess is, if you're going to try and preserve something you need to (no, don't stop reading yet. Say it with me, you know you wanna) Wrap It!
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