Author: John

I enjoy travel, sports, music (a dedicated site at http://therealcanadianmusicblog.com/) and anything else that jumps up at me for the moment, which is why I blog. There will be lots of travel posts, pictures and our videos as well as a smattering of sports and humour. I enjoy promoting Canada and am unabashedly a proud Albertan

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #97

Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

We have now got to 97 on the list, “Crying Over You” by Platinum Blonde. The band formed in the early 80’s and had a string of hits on Canadian airwaves. They had minimal success in the USA, so my readers from anywhere but Canada will find them to be a new band. The song featured here was their one and only number 1 in Canada. It was taken from their 1985 album “Alien Shores”. The album spawned (see what I did there) 4 singles and is likely the pinnacle of their success. It included their only charted single in the USA, “Somebody, Somewhere” which reached 82 on the Billboard Top 100 and 23 in Canada.

The band is still touring and had released an album of new material in 2012.

Without further adieu, the number 97 Canadian hit of all time, “Crying Over You”.

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Beer Review – Big Hill Blonde

Alberta, Beer Reviews, Canada, Entertaining Trails

Next on my list of retirement beers is an entry form the Fitzsimmons Brewing Company of Airdrie, Alberta. The beer, Big Hill Blonde, is a feisty ale, with great colour and all the taste one can handle. a beautiful summer beer. Unfortunately, no one took credit for gifting me this one, and I forgot to take a picture. So congratulations to the anonymous donor, you did a great service to beerkind.

For more information, their website is here;

https://www.fitzsimmonsbrewing.com/beers-1

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

What I’m Reading – “The Kill Room” – a Review

Book Reviews, Entertaining Trails

New feature, we will see how this goes. It is pretty much dependent on whether or not I have the time to actually read a book.

First up, a mistake. Picked this one up without realizing it is a series of 14 published and 2 pending publication this fall. This is number 10 in the series. You have likely seen or read some of these yourself. The Bone Collector comes immediately to mind.

Jeffery Deaver is definitely prolific and has created a very interesting character in Lincoln Rhyme, a wheelchair bound detective. The Kill Room was published in 2013 and continues with a new case for him to work on. All the regular characters are in the novel and, as usual, he has created a unique protagonist with some unusual quirks. Without giving much away, the pursuit is engaging, and the reading is easy. There are not many side issues to distract the reader from the core story, and it is easy to keep up with the narrative. All in all, an enjoyable summer book that you can put down and go back to without losing the story. I intend to continue the series, but will start at the initial work and carry on from there.

In conclusion, please support your local bookstores. If you live in the Cranbrook, BC area, please do your book shopping online at www.huckleberrybooks.ca or visit them in person at 16 9Th Ave S in Cranbrook.

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #98

Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

At 98 is a signature song from former Sweeney Todd singer, Nick Gilder. The track is Hot Child In The City.

Sweeney Todd had a big hit in 1976 with Roxy Roller. After that success, Nick left the band, going solo and signing a record deal in the USA. That deal spawned the featured song which hit number 1 in both Canada and the USA. Unfortunately, he never realized much further success, never again hitting the top 40. He did have success as a songwriter as well, penning hits for diverse artist as Pat Benatar and Bette Midler.

The MapleList Number 942 – Malajube

Canada, Canadian Music, Maplelist, Music Trails

Today’s MapleList group is Malajube, our first Francophone member, at number 942. Canada is officially a bilingual country, French and English. The province of Quebec is at the centre of Canada’s Francophone culture.

Malajube was formed in the early 2000’s in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. Their first album was released in 2004 and received instant rave reviews and became staples of the Quebec radio scene. The album is titled “Le Compte complet” and is worthy of a listen.

Prior to going on hiatus, the band consisted of:
Julien Mineau – Vocals, lyrics and guitar
Francis Mineau – Drums
Mathieu Cournoyer – Bass
Thomas Augustin – Keyboards and vocals

On the awards front, the band was short-listed for the 2006 and 2009 Polaris Music Award and has garnered 3 Felix Awards, the Quebec Music Awards.

I have chosen a live version of a very catchy alternative tune, “Montreal -40°C”. Enjoy, great song.

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #99

Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

At 99 we present “We Run” by Strange Advance. A Vancouver new wave band, they formed in 1982, and were almost immediately nominated for a Juno (Canada’s Grammy) as most promising band. “We Run” was taken from their album, “2WO” and released as a single in 1985. It reached number 28 on the RPM pop chart. The band never made any inroads outside of Canada and essentially went dormant after releasing their 3rd album in 1988. . Fun fact, they were mostly a session band and apparently had never played live as a group prior to 1985.

The Big Day – Beer 2

Beer Reviews, Entertaining Trails, Europe, Poland

The second retirement gift I sampled came courtesy of Jesi, thanks. The beer she chose for me is Poland’s number 1 beer, Zywiec. This is a pilsener, light on the palate and smooth. The colour is golden, and overall very refreshing. A very good beer, worthy of further investigation. Another brewery that needs closer inspection.

Top 10 Bucket List Items – Number 8

Bucket list, Dusty Trails, Retirement

Number 8 is likely the easiest entry on my list, retirement. It is easy as I did the deed on July 15, ending a working life of over 50 years. The bulk of these years were spent in the transportation industry and ended in a role in finance. This item was key and is intimately related to several other wishes on my list.

I currently have no regrets over leaving the workforce and will remember and cherish the many people that have become friends, and are still friends over the years.

As crazy as this sounds, employment has opened our eyes to many new things. We have lived in Winnipeg, St. Albert, Okotoks, Saskatoon, Martensville and Calgary. We have made many friends and acquaintances and experienced many things with the help of these friends. We intend to spend time revisiting these places and people at every opportunity.

I read a quote that makes absolute sense, “There really are two lives we live. The first life and then the second life when we realize we only have one life.”

See you soon.

Photo by ArtHouse Studio on Pexels.com

The MapleList Number 121 – Faber Drive

Canada, Canadian Music, Maplelist, Music Trails

The next installment of The Maplelist is Faber Drive at number 121. This group hails from Mission, British Columbia. The band formed in 2004, the current members being lead vocalist Dave Faber, lead guitarist Jordan Pritchett, bass guitarist Jeremy Liddle and drummer Seamus O’Neill. They were discovered by Chad Kroeger of Nickleback and were signed to a record deal with his 604 label. They have released 3 albums on that label, “Seven Second Surgery” in 2007, “Can’t Keep A Secret” in 2009 and “Lost In Paradise” in 2012. Their initial release was an independent EP, “Faber”, that was released in 2006.

The band had some early success, being nominated for a Juno in 2008 as “Best New Group Of The Year”, and won the same category in the Canadian Radio Music Awards.

They faded from sight in about 2014, but have recently been recording, releasing 2 demos in 2020. Good band, a comeback would be welcomed.

To give you a flavor for their sound, I give you the SOCAN number 1 song award winning tune “Tongue Tied”, followed by the very energetic “G-Get Up And Dance”.

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #100

Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

The first entry into our top 100 is Honeymoon Suite and their song Love Changes Everything.

Back in the hair band days of the 1980’s, Honeymoon Suite was formed. The year was 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band’s name and the place share a connection, very witty. They had a string of hits in Canada throughout the 80’s and even had some traction in the USA, highlighted by performing the title track for the movie Lethal Weapon.

Love Changes Everything was released in 1988 and is on their album Racing After Midnight. The song reached number 9 in Canada, 13 on the US Rock and 91 on the US chart, all by Billboard. The band is still recording, it’s latest release was in 2019.

Get ready to rock to a live version of the tune, live is always best.