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The Top 100 Canadian Albums, part 2

had a roommate named Mark in the early 1980s who was in desperate need of money. So I bought about 50 albums off him at $2 a pop; at least five of them were Bruce Cockburn LPs.

Continuing with the book The Top 100 Canadian Albums by Bob Mersereau. Not only did I own a fair number of these albums, but many of them also played a significant part in my life, often in a relationship with my significant other (S.O.) at the time.

41.Not Fragile, Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)
42.The Best of the Guess Who, The Guess Who (1971) – One of the very few singles – i.e, 45s – I ever bought was Laughing b/w Undun. And then I really got into the group when it started with his heavier sound. And they endeared me forever when the group was invited to sing at the Nixon White House, but requested, apparently by Pat Nixon, not to sing American Woman. But the most intriguing song on the album was one I did not know previously, Hang On to Your Life whose lyrics end with stark spoken text from Psalm 22:
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint:
my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my
jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Didn’t quite know what to make of it, but, in my period of questioning my whole belief system at the time, it was quite significant to me.
43.Let it Die, Feist (2004)
44.The Last Waltz, The Band (1978) – Always made me a little sad, this soundtrack of the end of the band. Though they would re-form in part, it was never the same.
45.Night Train, Oscar Peterson Trio (1963) – my father was really into Oscar Peterson, a black jazz pianist. I never knew he was Canadian until I read the book.
46.Down at the Khyber, Joel Plaskett Emergency (2001)
47.Harvest Moon, Neil Young (1992) – The title track was “our song” for the S.O. and me. Remember dancing around the living room to the video. Still makes me cry. And there are other great songs here, such From Hank to Hendrix and One of These Days. Actually, I enjoy this album more than Harvest.
48.Cuts Like a Knife, Bryan Adams (1983)
49.L’Heptade, Harmonium (1976)
50.Teenage Head, Teenage Head (1979)
51.High Class in Borrowed Shoes, Max Webster (1977)
52.Hejira, Joni Mitchell (1976) – Joni getting all jazzy. I was still with her, too, but it didn’t sound like her old stuff, and her fan base was peeved.
53.Bach: The Goldberg Variations, Glenn Gould (1955 and 1982) – I got this only about a decade ago, after I was told, “You MUST own this record.” So I do. But I’m not all that familiar with the 1982 iteration, except what I know from a recent PBS-TV special about Gould’s life.
54.Fogarty’s Cove, Stan Rogers (1977)
55.Wheatfield Soul, The Guess Who (1968) – #2 on the coolest title list.
56.Si on avait besoin d’une cinquième saison, Harmonium (1974)- the author notes that a lot of the French-language albums appeared on the list between #101 and #125.
57.Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws, Bruce Cockburn (1979) – I had a roommate named Mark in the early 1980s who was in desperate need of money. So I bought about 50 albums off him at $2 a pop; at least five of them were Bruce Cockburn LPs. As the author of the book noted, 13 different Cockburn albums got votes, but this is the only one that reached the top 100. It probably made it because it has the hit, Wondering Where the Lions Are. #9 on the coolest title list.
58.Frantic City, Teenage Head (1980)
59.Hymns of the 49th Parallel, k.d. lang (2004) – A wonderful concept: lang performing the songs of her fellow Canadians, including Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Bruce Cockburn. Here’s Cohen’s Hallelujah.
60.Hot Shots, Trooper (1979)
61.Robbie Robertson, Robbie Robertson (1987) – My good friend in the record business told me this story. She was trying to promote this album to a radio station manager. She says, “It’s Robbie Robertson from The Band, you know The Last Waltz.” No recognition. “Used to back Dylan.” He’d heard of Dylan, but it was still a tough sell. The problem was that he was only about 24 and only knew the music that came out the previous 8-10 years. Very sad commentary on the state of commercial radio at the time. Great album, especially American Roulette.
62.The Trinity Session, Cowboy Junkies (1988) – A well-crafted mix of new and cover songs, such as Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane. I do have to be in the mood to listen to it; otherwise, it’ll put me to sleep.
63.Ron Sexsmith, Ron Sexsmith (1995)
64.Nothingface, Voivod (1989)
65.Come on Over, Shania Twain (1997)
66.Everything I Long For, Hayden (1995)
67.Outskirts, Blue Rodeo (1987)
68.Joyful Rebellion, k-os (2004)
69.Sit Down Young Stranger/If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot (1970)
70.Love Junk, Pursuit of Happiness (1988)
71.Jaune, Jean-Pierre Ferland (1970)
72.Somewhere Outside, The Ugly Ducklings (1966)
73.Electric Jewels, April Wine (1973)
74.Sundown, Gordon Lightfoot (1973) – when some of my friends got rid of their vinyl, they offered them up to me. This is one of them.
75.Left and Leaving, The Weakerthans (2000)
76.Clumsy, Our Lady Peace (1997)
77.Harmonium, Harmonium (1974)
78.Share the Land, The Guess Who (1970)
79.Greatest Hits, Ian & Sylvia (1970)
80.Steppenwolf, Steppenwolf (1968) – First and best Steppenwolf album. Not only does it have Born to Be Wild and The Pusher, but it also contains my favorite political rant, The Ostrich. I discussed this album more fully here.
81.Ladies of the Canyon, Joni Mitchell (1970) – When I was preparing to be in a production of Boys in the Band in Binghamton in 1975, I went to a party with most of the cast. Someone played Side 1 of the LP, and when it was over, another cast member declared it to be “boring,” an assessment I did not share; I mean it has the beautiful For Free on it. Still, I think playing side 2 first might have been more strategic, since it included, in order, Big Yellow Taxi, Woodstock, and The Circle Game.
82.Bud the Spud and Other Favourites, Stompin’ Tom Connors (1969)
83.Shine a Light, The Constantines (2003)
84.Shakespeare My Butt, The Lowest of the Low (1991) – #2 on funniest album title list.
85.Clayton Park, Thrush Hermit (1999)
86.Smeared, Sloan (1992)
87.Living Under June, Jann Arden (1994)
88.The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Joni Mitchell (1975) – This was the transitional album between the commercial Court and Spark and the jazzy Hejira. I was visiting my friend Jon and his S.O. Debby. She was a big fan of Joni but was very disappointed in this album. I said, “Well, then give it to me. I like it.” I think my enthusiasm for her made her keep it to give it another chance. The first song, In France They Kiss on Main Street, might have fit on the previous album. But the next song, The Jungle Line, heavy with African drums – here’s just a snippet – would definitely not. #4 on the coolest album title list.
89.Bad Manors, Crowbar (1971)
90.Official Music, King Biscuit Boy with Crowbar (1970)
91.Lightfoot!, Gordon Lightfoot (1966)
92.Mad Mad World, Tom Cochrane (1991)
93.Rufus Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright (1998)
94.Face to the Gale, Ron Hynes (1997)
95.Hobo’s Taunt, Willie P. Bennett (1977)
96.Cowboyography, Ian Tyson (1986) – #1 on coolest album title list.
97.Favourite Colours, The Sadies (2004)
98.The Way I Feel, Gordon Lightfoot (1967)
99.A Farewell to Kings, Rush (1977)
100.We Were Born in a Flame, Sam Roberts (2004)

Bob Dylan is 70

Feel as though I should come up with a list of my Top 10 Dylan songs done by Dylan himself. This is harder than it might seem because, often, someone else’s version tops his, in my mind.

A couple books (that I have not read) have come out about Bob Dylan recently, Sean Wilentz’s “Bob Dylan in America,” and “Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus, Writings 1968-2010” by Greil Marcus. Dylan will turn 70 today, which also, I read in Jon Friedman’s Media Web column for MarketWatch.com, marks “the 50th anniversary of his arrival in New York City’s Greenwich Village folk scene. He was a star when John F. Kennedy was our president.”

I’ve been writing a bit about him already this year, from a reinterpretation of his lyrics to cover versions of his songs.

But I feel as though I should come up with a list of my Top 10 Dylan songs done by Dylan himself. This is harder than it might seem because, often, someone else’s version tops his, in my mind. I actually like his “Blowin’ in the Wind”, but it’ll always be a Peter, Paul and Mary song; ditto the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Willie Nelson doing “What Was It You Wanted”, even Joan Baez’s “Simple Twist of Fate”, and any number of others.

Links to the best videos I could find:
10. The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar – obviously from Bob’s overtly Christian period, I think I liked it as much because of its relative rarity – it was a non-album B-side of a single before it showed up in collections and the CD version of Shot of Love – as for that fascinating “church as bride” imagery. Not a great recording, I know.
9. Subterranean Homesick Blues – and I might like this more for the classic flashcard video than the song itself.
8. Hurricane – Bob was political from his early days, but this return to that issue, specifically addressing the trumped-up murder charges against Ruben ‘Hurricane’ Carter moved me.
7. Ballad Of A Thin Man – I’ll be honest: when I first heard Yer Blues on the Beatles’ white album, I had NO idea about the reference to “Dylan’s Mr. Jones”. Finally hearing it gave me a greater appreciation.
6. Summer Days – as I have noted, the Love and Theft album came out on September 11, 2001, but though I’d pre-ordered and purchased it, I didn’t listen to it until several days later. And when I did, it gave me such joy. No song more than this one.
5. Stuck Inside A Mobile With A Memphis Blues Again – I was initially attracted to the sheer length of the title, as well as the song’s merits. Couldn’t find a decent version online; this is the 2:22 intro from the movie about Dylan, “I Am Not There”
4. Highway 61 Revisited – if only for the dialogue between God and Abraham, it’d be worth it. This is a cartoon video someone put together.
3. Like A Rolling Stone – it’s anthemic. Love the Al Kooper organ.
2. I Want You – the very first Dylan song I ever owned, not from a Dylan album or single but from a Columbia compilation album The Best of ’66.
1. Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35 – from that Salvation Army intro to “everybody must get stoned”. Can’t resist.
***
The entire Highway 61 Revisited album.

S is for Songs from the classics

This swing version of the Lizst rhapsody was a major influence on several aspiring arrangers, including Billy Strayhorn and Billy May.

When I was 11 or 12, I took piano lessons for a little over a year. I wasn’t very good, though I did practice. I will say that it was useful for singing. My piano teacher was Mrs. Hamlin, the organist at my church at the time, who was like family; her parents were my godparents, and her sister’s son was my parents’ godson.

One day, I was laboriously trying to play the Bach Minuet in G, which, incidentally, I had danced to in second grade. Mrs. Hamlin said, “It’s like A Lover’s Concerto by the Toys.” At that very moment, I had no idea what she was talking about, though, of course, now I do.

Actually, I first owned A Lover’s Concerto as a cover version by the Supremes on their I Hear A Symphony album, which also contained their version of Stranger in Paradise from the 1953 musical Kismet, which poached Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor.

As it turns out, there are a LOT of pop songs that are based on classical music. Some are very obvious, such as Nut Rocker by B. Bumble and the Stingers, based on Tchaikovsky’s “March of the Wooden Soldiers” from The Nutcracker, or a couple songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy, and Night on Disco Mountain by David Shire, the latter based on Mussorgsky.

Others may be more subtle. The J. S. Bach piece O Sacred Head, Now Wounded could be the musical inspiration for American Tune by Paul Simon.

Here’s a lengthy list of songs from the classics, which, of course, are in the public domain, and, as such, are not subject to copyright restrictions. This list is slightly shorter but is more in-depth. There are a half dozen songs here, but there are samples of each version.

The one example I found on no list was The Hungarian Rhapsody #2 by Liszt (heard here) which “was also the basis for a popular song, ‘Ebony Rhapsody’ by Sam Coslow and Arthur Johnston, introduced in the 1934 film Murder at the Vanities. In the film, it was played by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, who also recorded it. This swing version of the rhapsody was a major influence on several aspiring arrangers, including Billy Strayhorn (who later became Duke Ellington’s composing partner) and Billy May (who later recorded ‘Ebony Rhapsody’ with Nat King Cole).

ABC Wednesday – Round 8

The Top 100 Canadian Albums

Blue, Joni Mitchell (1971) – Just about a perfect album. Even she admits, “there’s hardly a dishonest note in the vocals.”

One of my birthday presents was the book The Top 100 Canadian Albums by Bob Mersereau. He got about 600 Canadian musicians, broadcasters, retailers, roadies, instrument makers, festival operators and more to vote for their top 10 albums. In the intro to his revised edition, he notes the complaints. “Where was Anne Murray? The New Pornographers? Hank Snow?” There were also complaints about regional or language bias.

Mixed in with the stories were others compiling best-of lists, by geography (Manitoba, Quebec, e.g.), genre (blues), and other breakdowns. A guy named Terry O’Reilly even developed a list of Top Ten Funniest and Coolest Album Titles, some of which will be noted.

What I realized is that, not only did I own a fair number of these albums, many of them played a significant part of my life, often in a relationship with my significant other (S.O.) at the time.

1.Harvest, Neil Young (1972) -This was an album from my college days, but it’s not my favorite Neil album. I thought Alabama was too much like Southern Man from After the Gold Rush, and the strings on A Man Needs a Maid were pretentious. Neil’s own ambivalence about his commercial success with the album and the single from it, Heart of Gold, plays into my feelings as well. But there are some great songs here, most notably The Needle and the Damage Done.
2.Blue, Joni Mitchell (1971) – Just about a perfect album. Even she admits, “there’s hardly a dishonest note in the vocals.” From All I Want to A Case of You (covered by, among others, fellow Canadian Diana Krall), to the melancholy seasonal classic, River (covered much later by James Taylor, a one-time beau). I had a very good friend who has since died who knew lots about music and was a big Joni fan, yet she inexplicably failed to hear the Jingle Bells variation in this song; strange.
3.After the Gold Rush, Neil Young (1970) – Probably my favorite Neil album, though I, like the author, believes that Southern Man just doesn’t fit thematically. It had the Top 40 hit Only Love Can Break Your Heart. But my favorite is the minor hit When You Dance I Can Really Love, which I recall dancing to with my college S.O. in my dorm room. Another standout is Oh Lonesome Me; you can’t really appreciate the quality of the melancholy cover until you hear the jaunty Don Gibson original.
4.Music From Big Pink, The Band (1968) – I’m sure I didn’t hear this album until after hearing the Band’s eponymous second album. So this one always felt a little more raw, less polished. Still, it had great songs such as the Dylan-penned or co-penned Tears of Rage, This Wheel’s on Fire, and I Shall Be Released. Chest Fever, which I heard first covered by Three Dog Night, is also here. The best known song may be The Weight, which appears in the movie Easy Rider, but not on the soundtrack, for contractual reasons. My college S.O. lived in Bearsville for a time and took me by Big Pink at least once. #8 on the coolest title list.
5.Fully Completely, The Tragically Hip (1992)
6.Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (1995) – This was, in my mind, the breakup album for me and my S. O. at the time. Although Ironic bugged me, because it was mostly coincidental, not ironic, I listened to it quite a bit at the time.
7.The Band, The Band (1969) – Now this is my favorite The Band album, quite possibly top 20 island records. Turned onto this in high school by a friend I’ve known since kindergarten. Rag Mama Rag and Up on Cripple Creek were minor hits but The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was probably best known, in part because of the Joan Baez cover. My favorite song though, is the last, King Harvest (Has Surely Come).
8.Funeral, Arcade Fire (2004) – hmm. This list was compiled before Neon Bible (2007), and Best Album Grammy winner The Suburbs (2010) were released; wonder where they would fare in a newer iteration of this list? BTW, I just ordered The Suburbs with a gift certificate I got for my birthday.
9.Moving Pictures, Rush (1981) – never owned any Rush. Yeah, I know it’s a sin. The only Geddy Lee I have is him singing “take off to the great white north” on a Bob & Doug McKenzie album.
10.American Woman, The Guess Who (1970)
11.Songs of Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen (1967) – Don’t own, but I do have a number of albums covering his songs, especially Judy Collins: Suzanne, Sisters of Mercy (also covered by the duet of Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris), and my favorite Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye (also covered by Roberta Flack).
12.Reckless, Bryan Adams (1984) – and no Bryan Adams in my collection
13.Five Days in July, Blue Rodeo (1993) – I do own an earlier Blue Rodeo album, but nothing from this list.
14.Twice Removed, Sloan (1994)
15.Up to Here, The Tragically Hip (1989)
16.Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Neil Young with Crazy Horse (1969) – It has one of my favorite Neil songs ever, the handclap-driven Cinnamon Girl, which I played repeatedly in college, and those two nine-minute-plus songs, Down by the River and Cowgirl in the Sand.
17.2112, Rush (1976)
18.Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell (1974) – Commercially, the height of Joni’s popularity. She recorded this album with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express. In August of 1974, my college S.O., my friend Uthaclena and his S.O at the time drove from New Paltz to Saratoga to see Joni and the L.A. Express; let’s say that the trip was NOT a good time. After my S.O. and I broke up, the song Help Me helped doom a rebound relationship. And still, I love this album. From the plaintive Free Man in Paris to the rocker Raised on Robbery to the goofy Lambert, Hendricks & Ross tune Twisted, featuring Cheech & Chong.
19.Whale Music, Rheostatics (1992) – don’t know.
20.Acadie, Daniel Lanois (1989)> Now this is a fine album by a guy who’s been the producer for U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball), and Peter Gabriel (So), among others. The songs are in both French and English, occasionally even on the same track. I’d say it was in the folk genre except that it would be far too limiting. My favorite song is The Maker. The last song, Amazing Grace, features vocals by Aaron Neville.
21.Day for Night, The Tragically Hip (1994)
22.Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1979). For whatever reason, after the first four solo albums, I stopped buying Neil records – save for the greatest hits package, Decade. And while there are a number of good songs, notably Pocahontas, it’s the first and last related songs that sold me. #7 coolest title.
23.Gord’s Gold, Gordon Lightfoot (1975) – I’m sure I had had this Gordon album at some point, but apparently not anymore.
24.You Were Here, Sarah Harmer (2000)
25.Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Sarah McLachlan (1993) – #3 on the coolest title list.
26.Road Apples, The Tragically Hip (1991) – every July 1, Canada Day, I play this album. Why this one? Because I so associate it with Canada, and other Canadians I’d play on their birthdays.
27.Gordon, Barenaked Ladies (1992) – I have the greatest hits, but not this collection.
28.You Forgot it in People, Broken Social Scene (2002)
29.I’m Your Man, Leonard Cohen (1988)
30.Tonight’s the Night, Neil Young (1975)
31.Decade, Neil Young (1977) – Initially, I wondered about this essentially greatest hits, which covers his Buffalo Springfield and CSNY periods, as well as the solo stuff. But it does have music that at that point had not been released on any album, or at all. Among my favorite songs are the last two, the previously unreleased Campaigner — “even Richard Nixon has got soul” and a previously unreleased version of Long May You Run, which namechecks the Beach Boys’ Caroline, No.
32.Miss America, Mary Margaret O’Hara (1988)
33.Surfacing, Sarah McLachlan (1997) – This is one of those album where I heard the airplay of the singles, notably Building a Mystery, liked it, bought it.
34.One Chord to Another, Sloan (1996)
35.Songs of Love and Hate, Leonard Cohen (1971)
36.Cyborgs Revisited, Simply Saucer (1989)
37.Ingenue, k.d. lang (1992) – This album was very important in the relationship between me and my S.O at the time. I knew k.d. lang from her days as a country artist, even had/have the LP Angel with a Lariat on vinyl. So I’m telling S.O about the new k.d. album, that she’s singing that song Constant Craving that seemed to be constantly on the radio. Something clicked, and suddenly, she bought and read about all things lang. The album also features Miss Chatelaine and my personal favorite, Season of Hollow Soul. Breaking up, the division of the lang music was one of the greatest points of dispute.
38.Melville, Rheostatics (1991)
39.Love Tara, Eric’s Trip (1993)
40.On the Beach, Neil Young (1974)

This is getting long; the other 60 next week.

Robert Johnson QUESTION

Eric Clapton, formerly of the aforementioned Cream, recorded a whole 2004 album of Robert Johnson songs.

I recently noticed that tomorrow would have been the 100th birthday of Robert Johnson. Don’t think you know him? I suspect that, if you listen to music, you probably do. He’s the guy who over a reasonably short period wrote and recorded a number of songs that became staples of rock and blues artists.

Probably the first Johnson song I heard was Crossroads by Cream a song a/k/a Crossroads Blues.

There’s also The Rolling Stones’ Love in Vain and Travelling Riverside Blues by Led Zeppelin. One standard is Sweet Home Chicago, here performed by Robert Lockwood Jr. Here’s a list of Johnson songs. My favorite may be Walkin’ Blues by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band; unfortunately, I can’t find a direct link, though if you follow this link, you can join some website for free for a week, which will let you hear it.

Eric Clapton, formerly of the aforementioned Cream, recorded a whole 2004 album of Robert Johnson songs called Me and Mr. Johnson. A version of a song from that album, They’re Red Hot.

This week’s cover story edition on Coverville features the songs of Robert Johnson, including a couple I’ve mentioned.

What are your favorite Robert Johnson recordings or covers?