Old Enough to Forget

I've sort of slept on this one for decades. Oh don't get me wrong I bought this when it came out. I actually got  Diamond Sun first and then worked backwards to the band's debut. It was "I'm Still Standing" that jumped out of the speakers the first time I heard it. I've always been a sucker for an acoustic intro, in this case a simple 12 string chord progression that suddenly blows up into a fantastic rock song. The album was good and I pulled "I'm Still Standing" off a couple of times to populate mix tapes. I gave the record a couple of cursory spins, enjoyed it and then put in on the shelf.  I recently found the album and figured, "Why not?" I must have been in a receptive mood when I dropped the needle: "Holy shit, this is awesome." I said. Then someone asked,  "Tell me are you a fan child?" And I said, "Yeah, I am tonight." - with apologies to Mister Marc Cohn  Glass Tiger was one of those band w...

Well that didn't take long. I had mentioned didn't have the last Toronto album* when I was writing about the band's previous album Get It On Credit ,  (posted September 17, 2025) and sure enough when I was rummaging through the discount bins at Krazy Bobs there it was ... along with a baker's dozen other albums that came with me. I know there was one more album under the Toronto banner,  Assault & Flattery that was attributed Holly Woods & Toronto. Aside from Holly Woods, keyboardist Scott Kreyer was the only other member as Sheron Alton and Brian Allen were no longer in the band, so for me Girl's Night Out is the last album by the classic line up that dropped an album a year from 1980 to 1983. A blip on the radar but they left an indelible mark on Canadian rock. I know I've taken some pot shots at the band in the past and have been lukewarm to their albums as a whole. They always had a great single, and while I'd enjoy the albums they just never see...

Back in '86 Glass Tiger seemed to come out of nowhere with "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)." The song was infectious and benefited from the Adams effect. Bryan Adams was pretty much the king of the world and it seemed like even a passing association with Mister Adams was like receiving a blessing from the Pope. Bryan sang maybe two harmony lines on the song, but it was enough. The song was huge, and it pulled the album along with it and for over a year the band pulled singles from the album. I'll admit my reaction to the album initially was a bit more complicated. To me they belonged in the same boat as Duran Duran and Platinum Blonde. That boat needed to be towed out to sea and used for target practice. I was torn though, I liked the songs I heard on the radio. True, "Don't Forget Me" was worn out, but the singles were so strong. Often you're lucky to pull off one or two highlights on an album, this album was chock full of solid songs: ...

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 y...

Normally I don't buy a record I already have on CD, but I found this copy in a clearance bin because there was a scratch or something that made it unworthy of being in the regular rack. When I looked it over, it seemed pretty decent, although there was a little scuff on one side. I figured after a good clean it would likely play just fine - and it did. Sitting listening to this again has been like catching up with an old friend. I do get some grief on occasion for my love of Bryan Adams albums from some of my more discerning friends - then again I also like Nickelback - so to them they're justified in their assessment of my lack of musical taste and inability to adhere to the accepted tenets of good taste. Whatever. Once upon a time there was a skinny kid with a really high voice who took over Sweeney Todd from Nick Gilder and wrote songs with his partner Jim Vallance that showed up on albums by Prism, and BTO, although to be fair by that time those bands were no longer in ...