Jason Schneider

An excellent compendium of information on Canadian singer-songwriters and influential bands from the 1930s to the 1970s or thereabouts. The amount of new material you find in here may vary depending on how familiar you are with the various artists (Hank Snow, The Band, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, etc.), but regardless this is a very comprehensive overview of the whole music scene in those days. I hadn't realized just how interconnected the Canadian and American music scenes were, or at least how connected Canadians were.

The book is written in a very anecdotal style, which was kind of bumpy in the first chapter, or perhaps that was just me not being terribly familiar with or interested in the artists discussed (nothing against Wilf Carter or Hank Snow, but I've never heard them and so was not as emotionally invested in the material). But the book does pick up after that and there are tidbits galore, including the fact that Neil Young once worked as a bookstore stock boy (glee!!!!) and Kate McGarrigle studied engineering at McGill. I was quite impressed with that. It was also neat to see the genesis of such rockabilly standards as "The Way I Walk" and the origin of the song "It's Only Make Believe". Such little tidbits make the book really come alive.

I've also been able to appreciate a few artists more, namely Neil, The Band and Gordon Lightfoot (especially him, because I've only just started getting into his music now that I've been able to get past "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"). Reading this book is making me want to go on a Neil binge once I have access to my dad's CDs. However, one artist I appreciate less now is Ronnie Hawkins. I am sure he is a fine musician, but at the beginning of Chapter 2 a really offensive statement he made is quoted: "Addressing a woman he spotted in the front row in 2006, Ronnie Hawkins said, 'Honey, if you come backstage, I'll f*ck you so many ways, you're bound to like one of 'em.'" Perhaps I am a prude, but that was uncalled for. No matter how important he was in bringing The Band together or contributing to the music scene himself, that's a disgusting attitude to display toward women. Also, he was 71 at the time, and who knows how old the woman he was addressing was? Ew.

But anyway, forget about that part. It's easy enough to skim over. The rest of the book is excellent. Check it out if you're interested in Canadian music history, then flip through the discography at the back and pick out some tunes to listen to.… (mehr)