Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Made In Canada: Our Rock 'N' Roll History














I've always been a homer for Canadian rock music. With the torrent of (mostly) American and British rock 'n' roll cluttering our radio airwaves, it was still difficult to hear Canadian rock on a regular basis. And that's despite the CRTC (Canada's version of the FCC, which regulates our airwaves) and its Canadian Content Rules, which stipulate 35% Can-Con. I used to listen to a ton of Classic Rock station Q107 back in the 80s. And it would always be a pleasant surprise to hear something from a Canadian artist or group.

How Pleasantly surprised I was, to learn of this series of collections, which came out in 1990. Originally, there were 3 volumes, all released concurrently. I bought all three on cassette. A year later, a fourth volume appeared (though I don't think I ever saw it). Sadly, a few years after that, they would be gone. Today, they're very rare to find (or so it seems). Amazon lists the Volume 2 CD for a ridiculous $89.99 (down from $99.99).

But being a lucky bastard, you get it for free. Same as the other volumes. It should be noted, however, that whoever compiled these albums made a mistake with one of them: The Five Canadians was actually a garage band from San Antonio, Texas who tried to get in on the British Invasion bandwagon by alleging a name from the Commonwealth. Besides, the Five Americans was already taken.

Some of these tunes can be pretty treacly, especially the songs from the singer-songwriter 70's (you just have to laugh out loud at The Bells' "Stay Awhile"). But there are enough gems here to keep a Canuck homer happy.

Enjoy.


Made In Canada Vol. 1 (The Early Years)

1The Beau MarksClap Your Hands2:01

1960



2Bobby CurtolaFortune Teller2:45

1962



3Pat HerveyTears of Misery2:06

1963



4Jackie ShaneAny Other Way2:34

1963



5Ritchie Knight & The Mid-KnightsCharlena2:29

1963



6Shirley MatthewsBig Town Boy2:34

1963



7Terry BlackUnless You Care2:03

1964



8Robbie Lane & The DisciplesFannie Mae2:37

1964



9Chad Allan & The ExpressionsShakin' All Over2:40

1965



10Little Caesar & The ConsolsMy Girl Sloopy2:54

1965



11Barry AllanLovedrops2:24

1966



12The StaccatosHalf Past Midnight2:12

1967



13The Guess WhoFlying On The Ground Is Wrong2:39

1967



14The Poppy FamilyWhich Way You Goin' Billy3:24

1969



15MotherlodeAnd When I Die3:23

1969



16MashmakhanAs The Years Go By3:05

1970



17King Biscuit Boy w/ CrowbarCorinna, Corinna4:29

1970



18Steel RiverTen Pound Note2:58

1970





Made In Canada Vol. 2 (Into The 70s)

1The Original CasteOne Tin Soldier3:35

1969



2Edward BearYou, Me & Mexico2:50

1970



3R. Dean TaylorIndiana Wants Me3:45

1970



4Tranquility BaseIf You're Lookin'2:38

1970



5Joey GregorashJodie2:51

1971



6LighthouseOne Fine Morning5:16

1971



7CrowbarOh What A Feeling4:39

1971



8The BellsStay Awhile3:22

1971



9The StampedersSweet City Woman3:22

1971



10April WineYou Could Have Been A Lady3:19

1972



11A Foot In Cold Water(Make Me Do) Anything You Want5:09

1972



12Dr. MusicSun Goes By3:51

1972



13Keith HampshireThe First Cut Is The Deepest3:44

1973



14CopperpennySitting On A Poor Man's Throne5:11

1973



15Gary & DaveCould You Ever Love Me Again3:23

1973



16Ian ThomasPainted Ladies3:30

1973



17Andy KimRock Me Gently3:26

1974



18Bill AmesburyVirginia (Touch Me Like You Do)2:45

1974





Made In Canada Vol. 3 (Eclectic Avenue)

1The PaupersIf I Told My Baby2:11

1965



2David Clayton Thomas w/ The BossmenBrainwashed3:34

1966



3King BeezzGloria2:48

1966



4The Five CanadiansWriting On The Wall2:15

1966



5The Guess WhoIt's My Pride2:41

1966



6The Stitch In TymeGot to Get You Into My Life2:22

1967



7The British ModbeatsSomebody Help Me1:55

1967



8Grant Smith & The PowerKeep On Running2:57

1967



9A Passing FancyI'm Losing Tonight2:47

1967



10The Lords of LondonCornflakes and Ice Cream2:46

1967



11The Ugly DucklingsGaslight2:49

1967



12Bobby Taylor & The VancouversDoes Your Mama Know About Me2:51

1968



13NucleusCommunication4:40

1969



14Luke & The ApostlesYou Make Me High5:13

1970



15CatWe're All In This Together4:49

1970



16Five Man Electrical BandSigns4:03

1971



17ThundermugAfrica3:18

1972



18KlaatuCalifornia Jam3:02

1974






Made In Canada Vol. 4 (More Great Stuff)

1The Beau-MarksClassmate2:05

1961



2Little Caesar & The ConsolsIf (I Found A New Girl)2:01

1963



3David Clayton Thomas (& The Shays)Boom Boom2:24

1964



4The Big Town BoysIt Was I2:21

1965



5Ugly DucklingsNothin'2:28

1966



6The PaupersIf I Call You By Some Name2:52

1966



7MandalaOpportunity2:59

1967



8Kensington MarketI Would Be The One2:35

1968



9OceanPut Your Hand In The Hand2:55

1971



10ChilliwackLonesome Mary3:00

1971



11SyrinxTillicum (Theme For The TV Show Here Come The Seventies)1:51

1971



12Terry Black & Laurel WardGoin' Down (On The Road To L.A.)2:59

1972



13Ken TobiasI Just Want To Make Music2:32

1973



14FluddCousin Mary2:43

1974



15Terry JacksSeasons In The Sun3:27

1974




8 comments:

Anonymous said...

many thanks for these--criminal that they're not in print!!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, thanks for these. Bought the one with the Luke and the Apostles song on it way back when. Only wish there were more bands on the series from outside of Ontario. "Made in Ontario: Their Rock 'N' Roll History"? West coastin' it. (Ah well, there are four volumes of Vancouver rock history out there.)

Son of Spam said...

Yeah, I know what you mean:

I'd have preferred a more pan-Canadian thing happening.

That being said...

There's Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, featuring one Tommy Chong.

Anonymous said...

Just digging around a bit I see that the history of Vancouver rock vols. 2 thru 4 are out there. Try Cueburn, Twilight Zone and Ocanadarm and search "Vancouver".

Vol. 2 has Little Daddy and the Bachelors, an early Tommy Chong band.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a million! Some great memories.

waxhound said...

Hi People

Yes, unfortunately, this is a rather mediocre snapshot of music from Canada, and one of the bands isn't even from Canada! (The Five Canadians, from Tejas, USA).

If you want to score some cool Canadian garage and psych 45 reissues search for Ugly Pop. Just reished Northwest Company, A Passing Fancy, and Bent Wind on vinyl!!

If you want cool Canadian garage mp3s, search for Wyld Canada (4 volumes out there), compiled by true garage fans, with an eye to quality both technical and musical.

If you want great Canadian rockers from the 50s and early 60s, search for "Early Canadian Rockers." There's a whole series of them issued by the Dutch Collector Records label, including two (2!) double volumes of instrumental madness.

If 70s and 80s punk is your flavour, search out the Smash The State series, and check out Joey Sh*thead's label Sudden Death. There are also some tasty reissues of the best Canadian 7s on Ugly Pop, on vinyl.

Don't be fooled by this major label Flavor Aid! There was (and still is) great rock'n roll in Canada.

Marc (Canada)

Catnomo said...

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Catnomo said...

please reupload this