Chalk Circle - As the Crow Flies

Chalk Circle - As The Crow Flies (1989) Chalk Circle is probably best known for their single "April Fool" that came out in 1986. I always paired it in my head with Eight Seconds "Kiss You When It's Dangerous, I'm not sure why, but I did. They were both infectious songs, and I was going to buy the albums ... spoiler ... I never did get them. Over time I'd forget the songs, but I always remembered the bands. Not that long ago I found Almacantar by Eight Seconds, but Chalk Circle would elude me for a long time. 

Then during the great sale of '23 when my favourite, and now closed, record store decided to sell everything in the store for a toonie, I found a pristine copy of As The Crow Flies. For you kids who weren't there, by '89 (earlier, but whatever) CDs were the shit, and vinyl was dead ... the fact this was still pressed was in some respects an anomaly. Not that I'm complaining. But for those who go on about the warmth of vinyl you should know that Chalk Circle recorded this one at Manta Sound and it was a full on digital recording ... they make a point of highlighting the Mitsubishi equipment it was recorded on. Which was fine by me.  It is a great sounding record. As to Chalk Circle the band would release three albums, and as the '80s came to an end, so did the band.

This album didn't initially get me in the feels. After the first time through I wasn't feeling it. I'm not sure if I wasn't in the mood, or what but I just couldn't get into many of the songs. Heck, I had read the liner notes and seeing Jane Siberry's name as a vocalist on "Blue Heaven (Antigua)" got me kind of stoked. It was disappointing. Heck, even the bitch slap delivered to Jimmy Swaggart on "Moralist" is musically knackered, which is the real sin here. There were some bright spots, "Sons and Daughter" was pretty solid, and featured Hugh Marsh on violin. Same goes with the pseudo jazz infused "Fairytales and Fiction" which is quite good. It was decent and all, but the first time through didn't exactly wow me, but there was something that warranted another spin, and then another. The more I played, the better it got

I found myself revising my opinion of the album. While I may not have been completely full of shit, I certainly did need to flush what I'd dumped in the bowl. Admittedly me spending time on an album well and truly past it's expiration date is kind of like watching old fights on TV and hoping for a different outcome. One could argue a listener shouldn't have to work so hard to eek out some enjoyment. Then again, half the fun is discovering stuff, and having it connect.

I know it was the '80s and a lot of band's were mining in the same vein, but my goodness it's like the guys took the best parts of Talk Talk, Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen and (going back a tad farther) The Icicle Works and put them in a musical blender. Oh, if that sounds cool ... it should. This is so good. I'm actually hard pressed to recreate my initial sense of ambivalence.

One of the things that didn't help the first couple times through was the plodding first cut "Cover Your Eyes" that starts out really slow ... REALLY slow, and then it finds a second and third gear ... it is a solid track, but as an opener it just felt like a misstep. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. If the band had set the hook early it may have changed the pace of the album. Regardless, the album gains momentum, and there's a lot of groove and swagger and the whole band in right in the pocket. Chris Tait was the primary lyricist as well as lead vocalist and guitarist. He's got a great feel, and there is some really nice fret work on the album. The other guys in the band were top shelf. Derrick Murphy on drums, Brad Hopkins on bass and vocals, and bringing in the rest of the kitchen sink on keyboards, saxophone and vocals was Tad Winklarz.As a bonus, Hugh Marsh plays violin on a couple of tracks. "Sons and Daughters" being one of the songs he played on.

The band released a hell of an album, really. There was a great balance between the organic elements and the straight ahead rock elements that were still carrying the remnants of the band's '80s influences. This is where it gets bittersweet, because this album really felt like it was showcasing a band who was getting ready to transition into the '90s. Except they didn't. 

Maybe if they'd taken a more circuitous route ...

Author's (yeah, a tad presumptuous, but blogger sounds too much like booger) note: Well, this was a really long and more rambling than usual entry. Oh well it is what it is. I suppose the condensed version would read something like, "I listened to the album, and the first time through I didn't really think that much of it ... but I gave it another spin, and then another and another and discovered a really great album that just kept getting better."

Last note: "April Fool" was on The Great Lake, not on As the Crow Flies ... now if you've been following this at all, which is unlikely I actually wrote about The Great Lake e.p. HERE but that was written after I did this piece, but I posted this one later.