March 2003

But having such a CD collection does merit some mention, I suppose, and it is only fair and sporting that I take up the challenge, posed by my friend Morna, all the way out there in sunny Edmonton "Home of the Oilers, Eskimos, and awfully cold winters", to list my top 10 CDs.

What surprised me is that I really hadn't considered this question before, not even in passing. There are certain CDs and certain groups which I keep returning to (notwithstanding the new Sam Roberts CD, which is too new to my collection to be fairly judged but is in heavy rotation at the moment) and so I thought I would honour the spirit of the request by picking a top 10 list with the following additional criterion: only one CD per group; if a group would merit more than one listing, mention that in the explanation for the pick and adjust that group's location in the top 10 accordingly.

Again, this is new turf on which I tread, so pardon me if I waffle a little. I think it is probably easier for me to start with the groups in the top 3 and work my way down, but any way I slice it, it's going to be really hard, and break my twenty minute rule. Oh, and while I stall, I didn't get any fluorescent orange lava bombs again this year. Being 3 times 3 times 3 is highly overrated.

But yes, let's get on with it. Although it is easier to start at number 1 and work down, I would hate to break the long-standing tradition of counting backward to 1 and thus cheat my nine readers of their inevitable tension.

10. Stavesacre-Absolutes (Tooth and Nail, 1997)
If you had told me even 10 months ago that I would put Stavesacre on a top-10 list, I would have thought you were crazy. I like the group, sure. A little heavy rock every now and again stokes my engines. But this particular release, with its ruminations on the meaning of life and faith simply gripped me by the throat and refused to let go. I have it on both cassette and CD, cassette for the car, and CD for in the house. One song, "Sand Dollar" is especially beautiful and haunting; I am half-inclined to record it in a simple, acoustic arrangement as part of the February EP I am secretly recording to be made available sometime between now and next February (I guess that's not much of a secret now, is it? Hmmm...). Other recommended listening: (Stavz-a-ker); Friction; Speakeasy.

9. Roger Whittaker- The Roger Whittaker Christmas (Tembo, 1976)
Roger Whittaker is the most amazing mellow vocalist ever. I only wish I could sing like him. I really wish I had a way of getting CDs of my parents' LPs from the early to mid 70s of Whittaker's best material. Most of the CDs of his are later, not-so-classic stuff. But his best material, some of which is on this Christmas album, is simply timeless.

8. White Heart- Freedom (Sparrow, 1989)
This is the album which showed me there was rock music I could like which wasn't either annoyingly trite or really personally damaging. I was a tender 13 year old boy, trying to find my own identity, musically, and with this album I had a rock album which was simply riveting, lyrics which were interesting, and a tape that none of my friends at school had; instant status symbol. At any rate, Gordon Kennedy remains one of my favourite three guitarists, technically (with Eric Clapton and Phil Keaggy). And this album remains one of my favourite White Heart releases. Other suggested listening: Don't Wait For The Movie; Power House; Tales of Wonder; Redemption.

7. Adam Again- 10 Songs (Brainstorm Artists International, 1988)
It's hard to pick this Adam Again release over Dig (which has two of the best AA songs on it) or Perfecta (which has the most consistent vibe). However, this is a classic album, and one which I am embarrassed to admit I nearly ignored because of some infelicitous choice of music for a preview compilation produced by Word Distribution in Canada in the late 80s. If it were possible, the compilers picked the worst and most annoying snippets of music out of context, making the album sound boring and uninteresting. Having now listened through it dozens of times, I see how wrong I was. *sigh* The biggest shame is that lead singer/principal songwriter Gene Eugene dropped dead of a brain aneurism a few years ago, leaving a trail of what if's behind. Anything by Adam Again is worth a listen, their rendition of "Angels We Have Heard On High" gaining special mention.

6. Starflyer 59-Leave Here A Stranger (Tooth and Nail, 2001)
Mmm. This is the tastiest monophonic record to come down the pike since the Beatles and the Beach Boys were working monophonic wonders. Produced by Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos (more about them later), this album takes the typical Starflyer themes of ennui and self-doubt, mixes them up, and layers them into a lovely thick sonic painting. The magnum opus of this lovely gallery is "I Like Your Photographs", which clearly shows that Starflyer has moved from being a My Bloody Valentine copy to a creative force on parallel with the Beatles themselves at times. Recommended listening: Gold, The Fashion Focus.

5. Daniel Amos-Motor Cycle (Brainstorm Artists International, 1993)
This is the second Brainstorm release on my list (there's three in all) and I think this is an appropriate time to eulogize one of the best indie labels ever. Brainstorm never had much by way of money or roster, but the groups it had-- Daniel Amos, Adam Again, Undercover, Level Heads, 4-4-1, SFC, DigHayZoose-- were certainly groundbreaking and trendsetting in their own rights in many ways.
But I digress.
Daniel Amos is one of the few Christian bands from the early seventies (forming in, if memory serves, 1972) that were, as of 2002 still actively making new and relevant music with the best of them. Mark Allan Powell in his excellent Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music calls Mr. Buechner's Dream their best, but I would have to disagree. Many would call the Alarma! Chronicles their best, or Darn Floor, Big Bite. But over and above all of these is the CD which literally lifted my spirits through a very draining second semester of my first year of university, the Motor Cycle. It bears more than a passing resemblance to a Beatles album in many ways, but is charged thoroughly with a spirit of infectious joy of living-- this in an album dedicated to 'our dear dead dears'. Truly, paradoxes make the best art, and this album is living proof of that premise.

4. The Beatles-Abbey Road (Apple Records, 1969)
I know, I know. Sgt Pepper is the landmark recording of the Beatles, and the best album ever made, blah blah blah... but I have that disc and frankly, it doesn't move me the way that Abbey Road does. The second side of Abbey Road, where the songs flow into each other, seems to fulfill the promise which Sgt Pepper gave by having no breaks between the songs, because here the songs actually flow and tell a story of sorts. It is also clear that the Beatles were truly a group here, unlike the White Album where it was more a collection of individuals. And while "Her Majesty" is a throwaway song, most groups can only dream of putting together an album as rich and varied as this one. Other good ones: Help!; Sgt Pepper; Magical Mystery Tour.

3. Luxury-Luxury (Bulletproof Music, 1999)
This is one of the very few CDs I gave a 5/5 to in a review. This album simply has every detail in perfect place. It was clear, after I hunted down Luxury's other albums that they were just spaceholders compared to this one. It sounds as though the group finally found its voice and put all the pieces in place with this one. Hints of Radiohead, the Beatles, and other such notables appear, without Luxury sounding derivative or boring. Ironically, the record company which put out the album bit the biscuit about one month after the album was released, essentially killing one of the best albums that label ever released, and certainly one of the best albums I have in my collection, keeping it from reaching the much larger audience it deserved. Also worth a listen: Amazing and Thank You; The Latest and Greatest.

2. Undercover-Devotion (Brainstorm Artists Int'l, 1992)
This is the album where Undercover let it all fly. Musically inventive while rocking the speakers out of your stereo, this is simply one of the best rock albums of 1992, period. Lyrically, the songs create vibe and mood, expressing everything from joy to wonder to longing to fear, but always with a trippy wah-wah ambiance to the guitars and bass. I'm running out of superlatives to describe how amazing this album is; let's just say it was a close battle between this album and the overall winner of this competition. Other Undercover albums of special note: Forum; Balance of Power; Branded; I Rose Falling.

1. Havalina Rail Company-Russian Lullabyes (Jackson/Rubio, 1997)
Simply and plainly said, HRC is possibly the best band in North America right now. Maybe not the most technically proficient, maybe not the most musically aware, but this is a group whose whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Russian Lullabyes best exemplifies HRC's musical direction; a concept album that says, "I wonder what Russian music would sound like" and then goes off to achieve it without having done its homework. Sparse at times, thick and sludgy at others, Russian Lullabyes is one of those albums which needs to be heard by about 100 000 more people than have heard it, and I fully intend to expose as many people as I can to it. Other top-notch albums by Havalina: Havalina Rail Company; Space, Love and Bullfighting; America; The Diamond In The Fish, A Bullfighter's Guide To Space and Love (in fact, HRC's only false step was their Stryper cover on the all-too-forgettable Sweet Family Music compilation).

Groups and artists almost making this list included The Choir, The Miscellaneous, Dogs of Peace, DigHayZoose, Radiohead, Eric Clapton, Kevin Clay, and a host of others.

OK. Now that's out of my system... for this month. My opinions may change (where's that Sam Roberts CD again?)