VARIOUS ARTISTS
Only in Canada, Eh 77-81: Volume 1
Punk History Canada
· Factoid: The Calgary-based organizers of the Punk History Canada website release 23 tracks that could be a soundtrack to the site, featuring bands like Thunder Bay’s The Negatives, Victoria’s House of Commons, and Calgary’s near and dear Hot Nasties.
It’s all in the snare drum, right? That hard-assed, hollowed-out ringing snap whirls back to the old rooms, the union hall on 17th Avenue, the burnt-down Calgarian, the pre-condo National Hotel, and even the front window of Sound Exchange on First Street. Yep, that snare drum sound, along with the throbbing, simple bass line and choppy vocals, are sound bites of an era when anyone could start a band now and learn to play later.
What these songs don’t display in musical mastery, they make up for in attitude, attitude, sheer glorious attitude, that somehow survives the transition from vinyl to disc and from almost 30 years ago to today. For the bands it was never about making a ton of cash and T-shirt royalties; it was about making a ton of music with your friends and hoping the cover charge would cover your beer tab.
Of course there’s D.O.A. and Teenage Head here, and we’re still proud of ’em, but there’s also great tunes from band’s like Regina’s The Extroverts and Calgary’s Animal Kingdom (featuring one of Doug Smith’s earliest recorded incarnations) that deserve a chance to once again ring out of your speakers and shine, shine, shine.
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