© 1994 Macleans
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Canada seems to keep turning out a disproportionately large share of the world's singer-songwriters. From Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to Daniel Lanois and Jane Siberry, Canadian solo artists have long dominated the pop genre that consists of evocative stories told through songs. As four new albums reveal, the tradition is alive and well in the 1990s. Whether performed by such veterans as Sylvia Tyson and Colleen Peterson -- who, together with Cindy Church and Caitlin Hanford, have formed the group Quartette--or by mid-career artists including Connie Kaldor, or by such relative newcomers as Lennie Gallant and Jann Arden, some highly memorable songs are still emanating from this country.
Regina-born Kaldor has been writing and recording evocative adult songs for nearly 15 years. But it took a children's album, the 1988 Juno Award-winning Lullaby Berceuse, to bring her to national acclaim. After that, Kaldor released two fine albums, Gentle of Heart and Wood River, which demonstrated a growing confidence and artistry. And now her latest, Out of the Blue (Coyote/Festival), stands out as Kaldor's best to date. With their unflinching views of both the bright and darker sides of love, the songs are as fresh and clear as a big prairie sky.
In the folky I Don't Love Easy, Kaldor confesses that ``Love's not the soft petal to me/But the thorn in the rose.'' What a Mess Love Is, a bluesy jazz number, takes a similarly guarded stance. Yet both songs ultimately express a hopefulness that carries over to the rest of the album. Despite its sunny title, Hope in My Heart, a gentle piano ballad, avoids easy, saccharine solutions to despair. And the robust pop number I Am a Believer, with producer Roy Forbes (formerly known as folk artist Bim) singing harmony, exudes infectious joy when Kaldor sings ``I didn't believe it could happen to me/To be held so close and feel so free.'' A singer who unabashedly wears her heart on her sleeve, Kaldor offers refreshingly candid outlooks on love.
By contrast, Rustico, P.E.I., native Lenny Gallant tended in his first two albums, Breakwater and Believing in Better, to focus on social issues. But on his third recording, The Open Window (Sony), Gallant's first for a major label, the Maritime singer-songwriter shifts his emphasis to matters of the heart. Although he has been compared with Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp for his issues-oriented material, on his latest--a mix of folk-rock and country numbers--Gallant sounds more like a cross between Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers.
The romantic ballads, including Three Words and Embers, a love-on-the-rocks tale featuring producer Colin Linden's chiming guitar, are a cut above the usual contemporary love songs. And Gallant sings them in his woody baritone with great warmth and sincerity. But the songs in which he really soars continue to be those concerned with his Maritime background. The spirited title track, with its chugging rhythm and breezy melody, celebrates the rich musical qualities of East Coast life. And How Can I Trust the Captain is a rollicking tune about an impending shipwreck.
Gallant's most stirring number is Peter's Dream, a heartbreaking tale that conveys both a fisherman's despair over his lost livelihood and his ongoing spiritual connection to the sea. Although he clearly wishes to expand his horizons, Gallant is still at his best when writing moving personal accounts of life in the Maritimes.
Calgary's Jann Arden has expanded her horizons considerably since her debut album, 1993's Time for Mercy, which won her a Juno Award for best new solo performer. She co-produced her follow-up release, Living Under June (A&M/PolyGram)--due out early next month--with Ed Cherney, who has worked with Bonnie Raitt. Arden also hired John Mellencamp's drummer Kenny Aronoff and k.d. lang's bassist Mike Lent and then, to top it all off, sang a duet with Jackson Browne. All of which would be meaningless if she failed to come up with high-calibre songs. Happily, she delivers.
From the opening Could I Be Your Girl, Arden lives up to her billing as one of Canada's brightest new stars. A dark, romantic vision, the song uses gospel-like accompaniment to offset such sinister lines as ``love is a demon and you're the one he's coming for... he's every fear and every hope and every single sin.'' Similarly, Unloved, the stark duet with Browne, offers an achingly poignant view of a coldhearted world. But the most surprising song on the album is the giddy Wonderdrug, which expresses a happy-go-lucky attitude absent from Arden's previous work.
With talents like Tyson, Peterson, Church and Hanford, Quartette amounts to a female supergroup of Canadian country music. Chatham, Ont., native Tyson, of course, made up half of the legendary duo Ian & Sylvia before embarking on a celebrated solo career. Peterborough, Ont.'s Peterson, who started out with David Wiffen and Bruce Cockburn in the 1960s group Three's a Crowd, has enjoyed a successful stint as a singer-songwriter in Nashville. Alberta's Church, meanwhile, has sung backup for Ian Tyson and lead vocals in the Great Western Orchestra. And Hanford, an expatriate American now living in Toronto, is a fixture on the folk festival circuit.
Those strengths shine through on Quartette's tasteful self-titled album (Denon). Peterson's songs, specially the mandolin-flavored Neon Cowboy, about a young man's shattered dreams, are superbly crafted. And Tyson's Denim Blue Eyes, a touching tale about a rural family's move to the city, includes the lines, ``And he puts in his time on an assembly line/And each day I see how his soul is dying.'' Both Church and Hanford offer solid numbers about hard times and lost loves. But the real beauty of the 14-song collection is the harmonizing of the four singers, whose voices blend together like intricate embroidery.
Ultimately, however--despite the skills of the individuals involved and the fine, respectful performances in bluegrass, country and swing styles--Quartette's songs seem like quaint pieces of needlepoint. The album lacks the passion that animates the best songs. Still, Quartette approaches the vitality that has elevated other Canadian artists to the pinnacle of pop music.