A thoroughly enjoyable weekend is
winding down. I finished almost all my Christmas shopping on Friday, went to a fun party
on Saturday and earlier today my beloved Miami Dolphins won their game. Life is
good.
Disc 807 is….Are You Ready
Artist: Blue
Rodeo
Year of Release: 2005
What’s up with the Cover? Despite the fact that band name
looks like it was painted by the same guy who did the art on the Mystery
Machine from Scooby Doo, the green on this cover feels restful to my eye. It reminds me of
those unused country roads I used to walk down when I lived in a small town, but
no longer see now that I’m a city boy. “Are you ready to move back to the
country?” asks this album cover. Hell no, but that doesn’t mean I can’t
appreciate a pretty painting of it.
How I Came To Know It: Sheila introduced me to Blue
Rodeo back when we were first dating. “Are You Ready” is just us buying their
latest album when it came out, as we are wont to do.
How It Stacks Up: We have 13 Blue Rodeo albums, which is all of
them with the exception of last year’s Christmas album (which is not going to happen). “Are You Ready” is
an OK record, but far from my favourite. I’m going to put it 11th.
Ratings: 3 stars
“Are You Ready” has its moments but it took a little
too long to heat up. Half the time I was having a great time, and the other
half I found myself thinking fondly of other Blue Rodeo albums I liked better.
The album is a return to Blue Rodeo’s more
traditional mix of rock and country after a bit of experimentation with horn
flourishes on 2002’s “Palace of Gold.” The songs are the usual mix of Jim Cuddy
crooners for the lovelorn and the stoner rock of Greg Keelor. Unfortunately, the
opening track “Can’t Help Wondering Why”
didn’t inspire, and was so perfectly in the pocket of their sound it felt derivative
of earlier efforts. The second (and title) track is a stoner rock song by
Keelor, which again just felt like it was mailed in by a bar band doing a Blue
Rodeo tribute gig.
By the time I got to the album’s single, “Rena,” (buried three songs in) I was ready
to write this album off. Fortunately, while “Rena” isn’t the greatest song Blue Rodeo has ever done it does have
a pretty guitar hook and Cuddy’s voice sounds easy and relaxed. I wouldn’t go
so far as to say “Rena” is a
favourite for me, but it began to redeem my opinion of the album.
I always think I’m more into the Jim Cuddy folksy
side of Blue Rodeo, but on every album Greg Keelor wins me over and reminds me
he is every bit as important to the band’s success. On “Are You Ready” that
Keelor moment is “Phaedra’s Meadow.”
This is a haunting song with an echoing production that musically mimics the
isolation we all feel in our own thoughts from time to time. It is a song about
jealousy that is wrapped up in fey imagery that makes you think the singer is
about to be abducted by elves. Nothing so exciting happens – he walks into a
meadow to clear his head. This is a song for anyone who has ever wanted to explode
with anger, but instead made the far wiser decision of just taking a long walk
in the woods and cooling off.
“Phaedra’s
Meadow” cooled off my anger at wanting the first half of the record to be
better, and I think it was a big part of why I enjoyed Side Two so much more. “Stuck on You” is a pretty song that
feels like Keelor is channeling Gordon Lightfoot (this is a good thing) and on “Finger Lakes” Cuddy lands a perfect
balance between dutiful resolve and idealistic romance.
After one last overlong and overblown track
attempted to make me start disliking the album again (“Tired of Pretending”) the album won me over one more time with one
of my all time favourite Blue Rodeo songs: “Don’t
Get Angry.”
“Don’t Get
Angry” is Cuddy at his mournful best, as he sings a song about a failed
love affair. Ostensibly Cuddy’s character is asking his ex to not dwell on what
went wrong or why the relationship ended. However, as you listen you realize
that the song is really about his own failure to move on, not hers:
"If you see some picture of
us
Lying on the bed
Some old memory haunts you
Gets stuck inside your head
Don't get angry about it
And wish we'd never been
Don't get roped into a corner
And try changing everything
Don't get paralyzed with fear
And stand there wondering what to
do
Just forget it girl, and I will
too"
This isn’t advice, this is a confession. He’s
calling her thinking he’s going to give her emotional support, but really it’s just
to tell her he’s still a mess.
Cuddy’s vocals on “Don’t Get Angry” are soft and strong in equal measure. He doesn’t
reach for big notes like he does on early classics like “Try” but because he sings with such honesty he doesn’t have to.
Two thirds of the way through the song, they start
adding harmonica to the song and it is the perfect poignant expression of a guy
trying to be cool but about to lose it and start balling. “Don’t Get Angry” is like one of those drunken phone calls
to your ex to tell her you miss her, if you were actually able to say everything perfectly.
Despite its poor opening (and lack of proper
punctuation) “Are You Ready” had mostly won me over by the time it ended, and
reminded me that even a weaker Blue Rodeo album is still pretty damned good.
Best
tracks: Phaedra’s Meadow, Finger Lakes, Don’t Get
Angry
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