Various Artists - Have Not Been the Same - Vol. 1: Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die

Reviewed by Grant Stovel, host of Lunch Box, Alberta Backstage Series, and Notes From Home

This album is the marvellous musical companion to a tremendous book - the recently-released tenth-anniversary edition of Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995. The album is a tribute of sorts - a delightful collection of nineteen songs which are originally from the era covered by the book, as performed by contemporary Canadian artists.
    
You'll find some classic songs originally from the Tragically Hip, Skydiggers, Grapes of Wrath, Sloan and the Northern Pikes in the mix, along with plenty of less ubiquitous, but equally seminal music - such as songs written by the Rheostatics, Eric's Trip, Mary Margaret O'Hara, the Inbreds, Mecca Normal, and Al Tuck.
    
The eclectic playlist features performances by artists as diverse as Great Lake Swimmers, Geoff Berner, the Burning Hell, Jill & Matthew Barber, Hidden Cameras, Cuff the Duke, Snailhouse and Veda Hille.
    
A couple of the most compelling selections are from Alberta artists - Mark Davis and Lorrie Matheson pair up to perform a Deja Voodoo song, and Corb Lund contributes his version of a gem from the Jr. Gone Wild songbook. The collection was lovingly curated by one of the book's three authors, Michael Barclay, with all proceeds from the project going to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
    
Oh, and perhaps the sweetest part is that the title features the words "Volume One"!...

January 20, 2012