Canadian Entertainment, Music and Catch All II

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by Architype

I was watching a video where they made a list of their top ten Canadian bands. Before I watched it, I made my own list.

Here's my top ten Canadian bands list, at least the ones I could think of, in no particular order (bands, not including solo artists) -

• The Guess Who
• Rush
• BTO
• Meltt
• April Wine
• The Band
• Klaatu
• Strange Advance
• The New Pornographers
• Arcade Fire

Good to see Strange Advance on there, as they are among my favourite musicians. They made a total of 4 albums, each one phenomenal. Their latest album, simply titled 4, came out in 2021, 33 years after their third one.

This band was on their list, I didn't remember them so I checked them out; a Canadian band from the '80s, from Niagara Falls Ontario, very retro '80s. Does anyone remember them?

Honeymoon Suite - What Does It Take (1986)
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This is one of their best songs, imo, though they are understandably better known for the video of "Wave Babies". "Lethal Weapon" is also a very good song by these guys.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Gresto

Good to see Strange Advance on there, as they are among my favourite musicians. They made a total of 4 albums, each one phenomenal. Their latest album, simply titled 4, came out in 2021, 33 years after their third one.

This is one of their best songs, imo, though they are understandably better known for the video of "Wave Babies". "Lethal Weapon" is also a very good song by these guys.

I'm not a fan of Honeymoon Suite but I did know their hits New Girl Now and Burning in Love.

Again, I love Strange Advance but top ten? No. Same as I wouldn't put the Partland Brothers or Spoons there, even though I'm a fan.

Another couple of bands I offer for consideration are Offenbach, Lighthouse and Five Man Electrical Band.

Where is Larry LeBlanc when you need him?

[Djeffery]

If we are going to talk Canadian bands with sales and profile of the last 30 years, Nickelback has to be on that list, as controversial as they can be.


On the country side, I've seen Prairie Oyster in concert, going back almost 30 years ago now. They weren't my thing as they were a little more traditional sounding and on the downside of their career at that point. Their fiddle player lived in London (Lambeth actually) and was previously a member of the Tommy Hunter band (also from London). Other Canadian country bands out around that time were The Rankin Family, The Poverty Plainsmen and the Good Brothers that had some profile. And then some up and comers in the mid 90's were Emerson Drive, Doc Walker and the Wilkinsons, leading into more popular bands of today like High Valley, James Barker Band and the Reklaws.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

If we are going to talk Canadian bands with sales and profile of the last 30 years, Nickelback has to be on that list, as controversial as they can be.

Totally agree. And even though I know little about them and have heard all the insults (songs all the same etc) their success worldwide can't be denied and I think I would have to reluctantly put them on the list.

Originally Posted by Djeffery

On the country side, I've seen Prairie Oyster in concert, going back almost 30 years ago now. They weren't my thing as they were a little more traditional sounding and on the downside of their career at that point. Their fiddle player lived in London (Lambeth actually) and was previously a member of the Tommy Hunter band (also from London).

That's what I liked about Prairie Oyster, that they weren't necessarily of the new country Shania breed which I'm not a fan of. But that's my personal bias.

And speaking of Tommy Hunter's band, how about the late great leader of the Travellin' Men, Red Shea (Laurice Pouliot). His contribution to Gordon Lightfoot recordings and concerts was tremendous. His brother Les Pouliot was a noted CBC writer and producer working on the Hunter Show as well as music specials like Burton Cummings.

Check Red out with Gord on the BBC in 1971, Red is on the right playing the acoustic. Jokes and introductions at 19:25

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[elly63]

I always thought Randy was BSing a lot of stories because they contradicted what Burt would say and this seems to confirm my past suspicions.

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[Architype]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

If we are going to talk Canadian bands with sales and profile of the last 30 years, Nickelback has to be on that list, as controversial as they can be.

On the country side, I've seen Prairie Oyster in concert, going back almost 30 years ago now. They weren't my thing as they were a little more traditional sounding and on the downside of their career at that point. Their fiddle player lived in London (Lambeth actually) and was previously a member of the Tommy Hunter band (also from London). Other Canadian country bands out around that time were The Rankin Family, The Poverty Plainsmen and the Good Brothers that had some profile. And then some up and comers in the mid 90's were Emerson Drive, Doc Walker and the Wilkinsons, leading into more popular bands of today like High Valley, James Barker Band and the Reklaws.

Nickelback would never make any kind of discerning critic's list, but I have seen them on some "worst bands" lists.


The Rankins weren't really country, they are classified as folk pop, or Celtic folk music. BTW, Molly Rankin has a band called Alvvays (indie / shoegaze / jangle), which I could also add to my favorite Canadian bands list. Sometimes these bands are short-lived, Alvvays hasn't put anything new out since 2022, and like a lot of others, perhaps it's a niche genre, but they are very good and creative musically, not just another commercial three chord band.

Alvvays - After The Earthquake
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[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by Architype

The Rankins weren't really country, they are classified as folk pop, or Celtic folk music.

I know, but sometimes a band gets classified by the radio they would get played on, and that was country back in the 90's. Also they won Country Group of the Year Juno awards 3 times as well as several Canadian Country Music Awards.

[ScreamingViking]

So many great Canadian bands, past and present.

Honeymoon Suite had some cringe-worthy videos, but I think I appreciate their music more now. I doubt many 'Muricans know them aside from that Lethal Weapon song, but I hope I'm wrong.

I find I appreciate Gordon Lightfoot more now too, though whether that's the music or my age I do not know. But to be positive, let's go with the former!

[Xelebes]

I typically lump the Rankin Family with country. Country doesn't need the blues to be country.

[rousseau]

The Boojums, from Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. Fun indie rawk with an eccentric video aesthetic that makes it look like they're an obscure band from the 1990s that nobody heard of.

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Yoo Doo Right from Montreal. Experimental, aggressively non-commercial. I can listen to guitar like this all day.

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The guitar player also makes much sought after effects pedals: https://mileendeffects.org/

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

I know, but sometimes a band gets classified by the radio they would get played on, and that was country back in the 90's. Also they won Country Group of the Year Juno awards 3 times as well as several Canadian Country Music Awards.

Yes, for convenience, but that still doesn't make it "country", there just isn't enough Celtic folk music to make up an award category I guess.

Originally Posted by Xelebes

I typically lump the Rankin Family with country. Country doesn't need the blues to be country.

I often think of Nfld. folk music as a kind of country music, especially because of the singing style, sentimentality, and song structure, and in those areas country is popular too. Ron Hynes (Sonny's Dream) was basically country, and the song was covered by various artists like Emmylou Harris, and Corey Hart, but is considered folk. Music often spans different categories, but artists try not to do this much because they risk being overlooked for airplay. Sadly, a lot of creativity is inhibited by artists trying to stay within the strict boundaries of a musical genre.

[elly63]

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[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by Architype

Yes, for convenience, but that still doesn't make it "country", there just isn't enough Celtic folk music to make up an award category I guess.



I often think of Nfld. folk music as a kind of country music, especially because of the singing style, sentimentality, and song structure, and in those areas country is popular too. Ron Hynes (Sonny's Dream) was basically country, and the song was covered by various artists like Emmylou Harris, and Corey Hart, but is considered folk. Music often spans different categories, but artists try not to do this much because they risk being overlooked for airplay. Sadly, a lot of creativity is inhibited by artists trying to stay within the strict boundaries of a musical genre.

I typically don't consider Newfoundland folk country music because it is music by townies and for townies. There is a reason why those in Western Newfoundland never really jived with it and instead went into country music itself (Ron Hynes, Roy Payne, Eddie Coffey.) Secondly, the song structure is entirely different. Country uses 4-bar phrases while Newfoundland folk use longer bar (usually 8-bar) phrases. Rankin Family use 4-bars. For comparison Broadway tunes are usually 8-bars and Blues itself is anything from 8, 10 to 12 bars.

Then there is the centrality to the dance music which is common between Tennessee and Cape Breton. While Newfoundland dance music does exist and there is some commonalities (the use of the jig), there is a sharp difference between their sung music and dances because there was a sharp divide as to where you could dance and where you couldn't and where they did meet, it was largely restricted to kitchen parties.

And lastly, how they originally performed their audiences are extremely common between Tennessee and Cape Breton, playing in barn dances and jamborees. Where as in Newfoundland folk, they are playing in pubs and coffeehouses.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

I typically don't consider Newfoundland folk country music because it is music by townies and for townies. There is a reason why those in Western Newfoundland never really jived with it and instead went into country music itself (Ron Hynes, Roy Payne, Eddie Coffey.) Secondly, the song structure is entirely different. Country uses 4-bar phrases while Newfoundland folk use longer bar (usually 8-bar) phrases. Rankin Family use 4-bars. For comparison Broadway tunes are usually 8-bars and Blues itself is anything from 8, 10 to 12 bars.

Then there is the centrality to the dance music which is common between Tennessee and Cape Breton. While Newfoundland dance music does exist and there is some commonalities (the use of the jig), there is a sharp difference between their sung music and dances because there was a sharp divide as to where you could dance and where you couldn't and where they did meet, it was largely restricted to kitchen parties.

And lastly, how they originally performed their audiences are extremely common between Tennessee and Cape Breton, playing in barn dances and jamborees. Where as in Newfoundland folk, they are playing in pubs and coffeehouses.

Interesting, sure there are cultural differences, but a lot of trad Nfld. music came from the outports, not from the townies necessarily. Much of Nfld. was settled by Irish, so a lot of Nfld. music is more similar to Irish music than anything else, but there are exceptions.

Here is an oddity. The Nfld. song, "Let me Fish off Cape St. Mary's", celebrated this year, is basically the same as "The Hills of Wyoming", by Gene Autrey. So much so, that you could say it was stolen. Part of the song, the bridge I guess, is different. A lot of Nfld. music is based on other folk tunes. In folk music the use of existing melodies was accepted.

"Let me fish off St Mary's", inducted in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, was written by Otto Kelland in 1947, but the music and melody is very similar to Gene Autry's "Hills of Wyoming" from 1937, from the film of the same name. In terms of music back then, the Wyoming song sounds more "western" than "country" in genre.

The Hill's of Wyoming - Gene Autry
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To compare, you can listen to Cape St. Mary's - sung by Stan Rogers here:
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[Gresto]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I find I appreciate Gordon Lightfoot more now too, though whether that's the music or my age I do not know. But to be positive, let's go with the former!

To my embarrassment, I only really got into Lightfoot a few years ago. Numerous terrific songs in his repertoire, and his warm baritone has to go down as one of the most distinctive voices in music.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Gresto

To my embarrassment, I only really got into Lightfoot a few years ago. Numerous terrific songs in his repertoire, and his warm baritone has to go down as one of the most distinctive voices in music.

If you watch music reactors on Youtube, one would think he had only three or four songs but he had a ton of hits. My definition of a hit is not a number but a song that got enough airplay that most people would know it.

Hard for me to pick a favourite, maybe Don Quixote or Knotty Pine.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by elly63

If you watch music reactors on Youtube, one would think he had only three or four songs but he had a ton of hits. My definition of a hit is not a number but a song that got enough airplay that most people would know it.

Hard for me to pick a favourite, maybe Don Quixote or Knotty Pine.

I liked albums from the early '70s. He was prolific, so choosing a favorite Lightfoot song is like picking a favorite Beatles or Dylan song.

"If you could read my mind, Canadian Railroad Trilogy, The Edmund Fitzgerald", are some of his best known songs. He has an unmistakable signature sound, I think of him in the same league as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, to mention great Canadian songwriters; he lists Bob Dylan as an influence, but the vocals are so different that it's hard to compare, even if the song writing is similar. Lightfoot's songs are melodic, energetic, accessible, and full of hooks naturally, so it was easy for him to become popular, well reviewed, and commercial at the same time. He had a "cool" factor, distinctive voice, and incredible skills, that most folk artists did not have.

This one came a bit later, and is lesser known, but beautiful.

Gordon Lightfoot - The Circle Is Small I Can See It In Your Eyes (1978)
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[elly63]

Originally Posted by Architype

This one came a bit later, and is lesser known, but beautiful. The Circle Is Small I Can See It In Your Eyes (1978)

I was thinking about that as a favourite. That came from a time where he had a chart "comeback" and coincided with a time when I was really listening to the radio (I'm not a big radio listening guy). Others from that time I liked were Daylight Katy and Race Among the Ruins.

I have to fact check myself, it wasn't like there was a real lull before those songs came out, he was having "hits" every year before that.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by elly63

I was thinking about that as a favourite. That came from a time where he had a chart "comeback" and coincided with a time when I was really listening to the radio (I'm not a big radio listening guy). Others from that time I liked were Daylight Katy and Race Among the Ruins.

I have to fact check myself, it wasn't like there was a real lull before those songs came out, he was having "hits" every year before that.

That one was on an album in 1968, but rerecorded as a single in 1978. "Summer side of Life", and "Talking in your Sleep" are two other favorites.

I'm pretty sure that "If You Could Read My Mind" is his finest song, but not the most "epic".

[elly63]

Frank Mills of Music Box Dancer fame had a hit when I was little that just about drove me mental.

The local radio station had a thing going that pitted two songs together where one would get more phone calls to play it again and be deemed The Champion and then they would play another song called The Challenger. Which ever was deemed more popular kept moving on against a new "Challenger"

His song kept moving on until near the end. I don't remember if it won or not but I think it came pretty close. If a song can depress and make a little kid sad his sure did the trick.

I didn't know it was him until the search engine years when you could look up old lyrics and songs you remembered and find out who performed the song.

Years later I ended up interviewing him but I think that was before my knowing he did the song. Unfortunately he had to get ready for his show and I had a deadline so it was a pretty quick hit but he was a lovely fella.

Mills worked as a pianist for CBC Television and recorded his first solo album, Seven Of My Songs, which produced the hit single "Love Me, Love Me Love". The song made its debut on the Canadian charts in October 1971 and early the following year peaked at #1 on the Canadian charts, number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 8 on Billboard′s Easy Listening chart

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