Category: Music Trails

The Charts This Week – October 9, 2021

Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails, Saskatchewan

Number 1 on the CKUA album chart is Andy Shauf and the album is “Wilds”. This is his latest release and is a follow up to his successful record of 2020, “The Neon Skyline”.

The song I have chosen is titled “Jaywalker” and is available at all the regular streaming sites.

An interesting song, pay attention to the lyrics, no animals were injured. Andy is from Saskatchewan, which makes me happy as an ex-Saskatchewanian, also because he is Canadian and at number 1.

Please support community radio, CKUA is donation driven and is one of the best radio stations on the planet. They are well known for their support of Canadian music and trend towards the independent artists. Their fall fundraiser is on now until November 7. If you are so inclined, pledge some support their way. Their website is below.

http://ckua.com/

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Canadian Artists Online – Lisette Xavier

Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

Lisette Xavier is an artist I have written of in the past. She has been a fixture on the Calgary music scene for many years now, and I figured it was time to catch up. My last article was in 2014 and is available here, if you are interested.

Her latest work is the featured tune “Rise Up”, with was released in February 2021. Catchy tune, well written and a pretty cool video. I’ve always been impressed with her vocals and she keeps one interested throughout. Nice job!

If you choose to do so, the song, and her past catalogue are available at all the usual places, Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp, Tidal and Google Play.

You can go directly to her sites on her webpage.

Lisettexavier.com

Canadian Artists Online – Amy Allred

Alberta, Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

A new feature as I will be showcasing Canadian artists that I run across on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter etc. My first article is focused on Lethbridge, Alberta country artist Amy Allred.

Amy was a vocal major at Hillsong College in Sydney, Australia. Upon returning to Canada, she continued her quest in music, but appears to have hit a roadblock with Covid. She writes and performs her own music and is a fixture on the Southern Alberta music scene.

I found the song below on YouTube, where she has her own channel. She has a clear concise vocal and wrote the song, “You Had To Go”.

Please visit the links below and check out her music

YouTube

Website

Instagram

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”.

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 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.

Happy Birthday Jim Kale

Canada, Canadian Music, Music Trails

Guess Who bassist Jim Kale turned 78 on August 11. He is an original member of the Guess Who, going way back to 1962 when they were known as Chad Allan and the Reflections. He was with the band until 1972 and even co-wrote American Woman. During a reunion tour he discovered that the band name had never been trademarked. He registered the name and began touring as the Guess Who with a string of new members, and occasionally with Gary Peterson on drums, also an original. Yes, they still exist and record, just not with the Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman. Jim is now retired from the band.

The video is from 1970, and of course, American Woman.