21 March 2021 - Dream Warriors - My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style

Captial Q and King Lou were just a couple of friends from Toronto who came together to sample an old Quincy Jones song that was a television theme song.  I suspect it is this song that caused "Soul Bossa Nova" to be the theme for the Austin Powers movies, although Mike Myers is Canadian, so he'd probably have seen the Canadian game show Definition.  

And now you know where the chorus for this song comes from.  And why the song has such a long title.  

In case you were wondering about Definition, here's a 1982 episode.  YES, that's the guy from Card Sharks. 

20 March 2021 - Len - Trillion Daze

Every one knows that Len is a one hit wonder.   That doesn't mean they didn't release other music, or even that "Steal My Sunshine" was their first single.  The Canadian band preceded that huge hit with this single, and a video that features some sweet snowboarding.  

"Trillion Daze" is much less hip hop and much more straight-ahead rock with punk sensibilities.  I like this incarnation of the band.

19 March 2021 - The Weakerthans - Sun In An Empty Room

We have featured The Weakerthans before.  "Tournament of Hearts" is absolutely the greatest song ever written about the uniquely Canadian sport of curling.  

The single that followed that great song was this one, a working man's anthem from a working class band.  The band, proud of their hometown of Winnipeg, filmed this video there.  Together, they make a fitting tribute to life in the middle of Canada. 

18 March 2021 - Loreena McKennitt - The Mummers' Dance

Who would have thought that an song that sounds like a traditional Irish folk composition would be a top 20 hit?

And yet, that's exactly what happened to Canadian Celtic singer Loreena McKennitt in 1997.  A tribute to the mummers' plays of spring, it is an odd but sweet song, bolstered by her sharp soprano vocal.  It would be her only hit outside of her native Canada, as she did take a hiatus from music following a deep personal tragedy in 1998 - but she has returned to music and is still releasing new material.  

17 March 2021 - Spirit Of The West - Home For A Rest

Spirit Of The West aren't a band most Americans have heard, but were wildly successful with their Irish-tinged music in their native Canada.  So, this article is going to hit a certain number of you more in the feels than others.

That statement should sound familiar, and yeah, this story doesn't end better.

In 2014, the band's frontman, John Mann, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  He continued with the band as long as he could, but it clear he was not long for the music industry.  He passed away in 2019, at the age of just 57.  

This song was an anthem of the band from 1990, but wasn't released as a single until 2014, when it was released in a limited manner on Record Store Day.  In the wake of the announcement of Mann's illness, it was quite a bit more poignant than the drinking song it was originally intended to be.  

The first time the band played at the famous Massey Hall was on June 6, 2015 - and it was one of their last shows.  Mann actually forgets the lyrics for a bit during the song - but the audience had his back.  It is one of the greatest moments in Canadian music history.

16 March 2021 - Cowboy Junkies - Misguided Angel

This song was recorded straight to 2-track in a Toronto church, as was the rest of the Trinity Sessions album - although one of the songs was recorded on a 2nd day, despite the mythology of the song.  Famously, they ran out of time during the recording session - which famously featured Margo Timmins singing into a PA - and had to bribe a security guard to let them stay long enough to record this unrehearsed song - which they recorded in ONE TAKE.

This is the DEMO. And it is beautiful.

Of course, the Canadian band is best known for a cover they did, which you can heard today over on Totally Covered.

15 March 2021 - Robbie Robertson - Somewhere Down The Crazy River

When Robbie Robertson of The Band went solo, no one expected such a soulful song like this to come out of him.

And yet, this sultry masterpiece is exactly what he came up with.  But it happened accidentally.  As Robertson was playing with chord progressions, he was telling a story, which producer and fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois secretly recorded.  The chorus and backing vocals by Sam Llanas of The BoDeans were added later.

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the video.  There's three people in the video - Robertson, Llanas, and Maria McKee, who at the time was wrapping up her time with Lone Justice and embarking on a solo career. McKee herself sings some background vocals on other Robertson songs on his debut album, but her appearance her is solely visual.