Old Enough to Forget

When I was a kid for a long time (kid time) my record collection was one album - Dynamite . Then it doubled when I bought Canadian Mint . Of course my memory is a tad flawed, but it wasn't until '75 I bought Four Wheel Drive as my first real album and I had those K-tel records for what seemed like forever. Dynamite and Canadian Mint were indelible records. For a generation who grew up on these weirdly edited hits and oddly sequenced collections we owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Philip Kives who managed to make Winnipeg Manitoba the centre of the musical universe ... for a little while.  I was feeling a tad nostalgic the other day and decided to see if I could find my musical Rosetta Stone records. Apparently there are others like me, and when I asked about them Bob pointed me to a section that was set aside for K-tel compilations.  Oooh. While it wasn't a huge section it did yield not one, but two very nice copies of Dynamite at two very different price points ... and I ...

I was too young to remember The Poppy Family, although over the years some of their songs, "Which Way You Going Billy?" and "Where Evil Grows" have become part of the great Canadian musical tapestry.  To me though Susan Jacks was the lady who sang, "I Thought of You Again" a song that appeared on Canadian Mint a K-Tel compilation that also included "Where Evil Grows" and "Seasons in the Sun" songs that were connected although at the time I had no idea. I never really thought much of Susan Jacks outside of this one song. I never forgot the song, but it was just part of a memory from another time. When I heard of her passing a couple of years ago it made me sad.  A few months ago my wife and I went to Victoria to hang out for the weekend and go for the world's most expensive high tea at The Empress Hotel. It was also a weekend where an atmospheric river savaged the southern coast of BC. Vancouver was hit pretty hard and my buddies ba...

Oh boy here we are with the twelfth instalment of Stylus Over Substance. What was supposed to be the short bite sized impressions of stuff I didn't feel like waxing all nonsensical over and wasting too many words.  I've not always been successful, or coherent. Does it really matter? Probably not, you're either in, or you're out. It's all good. Sometimes it's better. I'm still working my through the piles of records I got for Christmas, and the additional pile I just got for Father's Day will eventually get my attention. Sit back, put your feet up, let's celebrate the fifty five other entries that came before, and get to the next five. Howard Jones - Action Replay (1986) Martha and The Muffins - Trance and Dance (1980) Terry Jacks - Y'Don't Fight the Sea (1975) Barney Bigard & "The Pelican Trio" - Barney Bigard & "The Pelican Trio" (1978) The Alpha Band - Spark in the Dark (1977) Howard Jones - Action Replay (19...

Finding this was a great surprise and for a dollar I wasn't going to pass this one up. This is the Goldfish Records version (not sure if there is a difference is between the Bell Records pressing) and is dated 1973 and produced by Terry Jacks for Poppy Family Productions Ltd. "Seasons in the Sun" was huge, and preteen me was a huge fan. Funny how time can turn turn on some songs. Mention this song now and you're more likely to get a roll eyes and a groan. I guess there are songs that just have an expiration. Kind of like trying to listen to Bobby Goldsboro sing "Honey" or around Christmas trying not to throw up in your mouth when "Christmas Shoes" comes on the radio. Still, "Seasons in the Sun" deserves a better fate. But, more on that later I was more excited to hear the rest of the album. Was it full of cheese? The first thing that stood out was the production and how crisp and intimate the recording is. The songs are forward, and while...