Pretty Green - Pretty Green

I found a sealed copy of Pretty Green and was intrigued. It was on Nettwerk, the one-time indie darling label out of Vancouver that helped bring Grapes of Wrath, Sarah McLachlan, and Barenaked Ladies to the rest of the world. Okay, two out of three, but those early Grapes of Wrath records were pretty awesome.

So here was an album that was essentially new, but likely poorly stored who knows where, as the jacket is nicely wobbled even if in immaculate shape (it's a conundrum), but the record itself was in pristine shape. I had no idea what to expect, and I was kind of surprised at the lack of information out there on this one. Which was pretty much nothing. Even Nettwerk doesn't list this anywhere on their site. It's like it never happened.

But it did.

I'm on my second pass now, and this is really something. Especially as this was 1987, and here was a band doing alternative folk rock where the banjo and dobro were front and centre. Ed Blocki, the band's vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, had a voice that was pretty unique. The first track, "Kick the Bike," was kind of jarring the first time through, and it took me a couple of plays to sink in. It's like Mike Scott from The Waterboys and Bob Dylan were mushed together and this is what got squeezed out. Heck, Michael David Rosenberg, better known as Passenger, who was only a toddler when this album came out, sounds like Ed ... so who knows who's imitating whom.

This is not a shot. It totally works. The more I listen, the better it gets.

If there wasn't a date on the album, you could pass this off as a new alternative release.

Again, not a shot.

As much as music has changed, it hasn't changed at all ... not really. If you use traditional instruments and record them so they sound crisp and clean, they don't really age. Oh sure, there will be musical artifacts that will tie things to a time and place, but honestly, I don't have a place and time to associate this with. I'm sitting here listening to the album as a new release. Considering how many bands, from Fleet Foxes to The Lumineers and even those early Mumford albums, all mined the folk rock vein that Pretty Green was tapping into all those years ago, it really does feel remarkably current.

I've played this through a couple of times now, and each time I get a little more texture and find more to appreciate. There are no duds at all on the album. I am particularly taken with the interplay between Don Fraser's dobro playing and Chris Stevens' banjo on many of the songs, but man, the dobro work is just stellar. Drummer Peter Bourne, who is also credited with tambourine (which just goes to show it's harder to play than you think), is right in the pocket throughout. Nothing is overplayed; it's just what the songs needed.

I hesitate to pull out my favourites, but I will say there's something really cool about "This House Is Leaking," mainly because of the cello work of Anne Bourne. Who may or may not be related to Peter. That's the fun you can have with credits. (I got a nice note back from Peter when I dropped him a message about the album, and apparently Anne is his sister.)

Did I mention that the album sounds great? This is no doubt due to Greg Reely, the longtime Nettwerk resident engineer, mixer, and studio wizard. Much like Bob Rock at Little Mountain was a fixture of many of the albums recorded there, Greg was the guy Nettwerk used as their secret sauce.

Everything here is centred on Ed's songs, and I'm feeling like I've just discovered a great little secret, and there's no one to share it with. Which makes me sad. While there may not be a lot of information out there on the band, it is on iTunes and Spotify.

Do yourself a favour if you read this: have a listen.