Breakdown in Paradise was aptly titled. When the band signed to Mushroom records, the little label that signed Heart and put out their first two records (although they'd later write "Barracuda" as a diss track to their former label) their next two records
Dreams, Dreams, Dreams and
Lights in the Valley would go platinum in Canada. Then in '79 Mushroom Records head Shelly Siegel died and the label started to flounder, and Chilliwack kept plugging away hoping for the best. When the album finally dropped in December of 1979 the label no longer seemed to be capable of marketing or pushing singles to radio.
There must have been some word of mouth no doubt as I remember the album and I liked "Communication Breakdown" and always thought it was a hit. There were enough copies printed that it's not a hard album to find. Who knows how many copies, maybe the record keeping sucked and the album actually did better than what was reported on the charts. Regardless, the band would survive, but the Chilliwack's bad luck in labels would continue and when Solid Gold Records went tits up in 1985 it ended the careers of more than a few Canadian bands.
Anyway,
Breakdown in Paradise was one of those records that mostly worked. The opening track is probably still my favourite song on the album, and the second track "Trial By Fire" was a ballsy rocker that was a taste of things to come on the band's later albums. The blistering solo is pure "Too Loud" and the groove is pretty infectious. The weirdly clunky "148 Heavy" is a song I remembered from back in the day. The almost disco like groove with Bill's near falsetto are really engaging. It's a song that shouldn't work, but it's really cool. Go figure.
Side two, a side I'd just finished listening to was enjoyable and instantly forgettable. I mean, it's strange, I literally just finished it and I can't remember what I heard. So, I'm playing it again. There are only four songs, it won't take long. Just hang on a bit.
So I'm jotting down notes while the songs are playing, and the opening track "So Strong" had some really cool elements to it but it sort of went in one ear and out the other. "Last Time" has some strong "Arms of Mary" vibes going on. Decent song and Bill's voice is so good, but it just didn't click. Sort of a trend as the last couple of songs played through. Even the piano ballad that closes out the record really seemed to be going for the epic finish. It actually gets close, and frankly if I had a lighter I'd probably burn my thumb. While it's playing I'm totally engaged. Chilliwack was always a band that (to me) had some great singles, and over time they amassed a pretty impressive body of work, but their albums while enjoyable just never seemed to stick the landing.
Ab Bryant debuted on bass on this one, with guitars by John Roles, Brian MacLeod and Bill Henderson. Brian would also play drums on all but three of the album's tracks that were done by Bucky Berger before he left the band. Brian also provided the keyboards. But wait, there's more: He also sang lead vocals on "Let it All Begin." Drummer Rick Taylor who managed to get his picture on the back cover didn't play on the record and by the time Chilliwack was ready to record again the band had been reduced to the trio of Bill, Brian and Ab.
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