Spirit of the West

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Spirit of the West (disambiguation).

Spirit of the West
Rhino, Elektra
Past membersJohn Mann
Geoffrey Kelly
Hugh McMillan
Vince Ditrich
Tobin Frank
Matthew Harder
J. Knutson
Linda McRae
Daniel Lapp
Websitesotw.ca

Spirit of the West were a Canadian

Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.[1]

Early years

Geoffrey Kelly and J. Knutson had begun playing music together as a duo when Kelly's then-girlfriend Alison, at the time a theatre student, told them she had a classmate with a really great singing voice.[2] That classmate, John Mann, joined Kelly and Knutson as a folk trio called Eavesdropper,[3] and scored early gigs as an opening act for rockers such as Art Bergmann and Barney Bentall.[3] Early on their set predominantly comprised covers of artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Eric Bogle, Richard Thompson and Billy Bragg,[3] with original compositions gradually introduced into their set.[3]

After a gig on

roots music label based in Edmonton, Alberta.[5]

Stony Plain released Tripping Up the Stairs in 1986.[5] Following that album, Knutson left the band in August 1987 and was replaced by Hugh McMillan.[3]

1988's

Juno Award nomination, for Best Roots & Traditional Album at the Juno Awards of 1989.[6]

After that album's tour, McMillan took a temporary hiatus from the band in December of 1988 for personal reasons and to pursue solo interests.[7][8] He was replaced by Daniel Lapp and Linda McRae, but returned before the band's next album was recorded.[8] When McMillan returned, Lapp left the band in June of 1989 due to his wife becoming pregnant,[7] but McRae stayed on.[8] (As a result, Lapp never actually appeared on a Spirit of the West recording. He pursued a solo career, however, releasing a number of albums of experimental jazz/folk/electronic fusion.)

On the strength of "Political",

Warner Bros. Records signed the band in 1989,[9] and Stony Plain released a compilation, Old Material 1984–1986
, to close out their contract with the label.

In 1990, the band's major label debut,

signature song.[2]
(Despite its not being a single, a music video was released for the song.)

Evolution

As part of their tour to support Save This House, the band toured England with The Wonder Stuff,[11] and decided to bring in a drummer and experiment with a more rock-oriented sound — a need which became particularly acute after the bands played two shows on the same bill as Jane's Addiction.[3] After recording some song demos with guest drummer Darrell Mayes of the Colin James band[12] and then touring for part of 1990 with various session drummers, the band brought in Vince Ditrich, who appeared for the first time on the band's 1991 album Go Figure.[13]

Although the album retained many of the band's folk influences,[14] it was more hard rock than any of the band's previous efforts,[13] and this proved controversial among the band's fans. The album included a rock rendition of "Political", and at one show in London, Ontario, the audience presented the band with a petition demanding that they play the original version of that song.[15] Despite the controversies, however, it won them many new fans in the alternative rock scene.[3]

The band received a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Group at the Juno Awards of 1991.

MacRae also appeared on The Wonder Stuff's album

Will the Circle Be Unbroken" as a B-side for the Wonder Stuff's "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" single.[3][11] Over the winter of 1992-93, the band undertook the Hollow Bodies tour, performing material in their older acoustic style.[16]

In 1993, the band released their most successful album,

And if Venice is Sinking". 1995's Two Headed, in turn, garnered significant airplay for the single "Tell Me What I Think", and the band garnered a Juno Award nomination for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1995
. However, the album was not as successful on the charts, or as critically hailed, as its predecessor.

In the summer of 1995, the band toured with The Tragically Hip as part of the Another Roadside Attraction festival.[3]

Beginning in 1995, the band also performed a number of shows with

Bravo concurrently with the album's release.[18]

At the end of 1996, McRae left the band amicably to pursue a solo career, performing her last show on New Year's Eve of that year. She released a solo country album in 1997, and then formed the alternative country band Cheerful Lonesome.[19]

The remaining members recorded 1997's Weights and Measures as a four-piece at Martin Barre's studio in Devon, England,[1] working with Barre and members of The Wonder Stuff, Capercaillie and Fairport Convention to round out the studio effort,[20] and added Tobin Frank for their concert tour.[21] In the same year, a studio version of the song "Kiss & Tell", which had previously been released only in its live form on Open Heart Symphony, appeared on the soundtrack to the film The Hanging Garden.[22]

However, with the music industry's emphasis having shifted by this time away from alternative rock and back toward more mainstream pop-oriented performers, Warner Bros. put little effort into promoting the album, and dropped the band from their roster after the tour.[3]

Hiatus and revival

After Weights & Measures the band took a hiatus from recording and broad-scale national touring, although they continued to perform selected live dates on the summer

folk festival circuit and in major concert markets such as Vancouver and Toronto. During the hiatus, Mann, Ditrich and Kelly all released solo albums, Mann pursued acting roles, McMillan worked as a session musician and producer for The Town Pants, and Kelly and Frank recorded with The Paperboys
.

The band's first new album in seven years, Star Trails, was released on July 6, 2004 on MapleMusic Recordings.[23]

In 2008, the band released a 25th anniversary compilation,

CBC Radio 2.[24]
Concurrently with the release of Spirituality, Rhino also released remastered editions of Faithlift and Open Heart Symphony.

In 2009, Spirit of the West opened for Great Big Sea on the "Fortune's Favour" tour, finishing in Victoria, British Columbia on March 26.[25] On this tour, the final encore performances typically involved both bands performing together on various songs, including Spirit of the West's "Political" and Great Big Sea's "The Old Black Rum".[26]

In 2010, Kelly, Ditrich and Frank joined

Swaziland; the song also includes a vocal choir of children from Bulembu.[29]

Kelly underwent surgery in early 2012 and was unable to perform for several weeks; Harder and

British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame.[31]

Conclusion

In September 2014, Mann announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease,[32] but planned to continue performing with the band as long as he remained able to do so.[32] In concession to Mann's illness, the band began performing with an iPad mounted near the microphone in case Mann had difficulty remembering the lyrics, while Harder joined full-time to take over Mann's duties on lead guitar. Weeks after the announcement, Mann performed a concert featuring his solo material and that of Spirit of the West, which was broadcast by CBC Television's Absolutely Canadian in July 2015 as "John Mann Here and Now".[33]

The band's preparations for a 2015 concert at Massey Hall are profiled in Pete McCormack's documentary film Spirit Unforgettable.[34]

In December 2015, the band announced that they would perform a three-night run at the Commodore Ballroom from April 15 to 17 as their final shows.[34] Over the month before the final shows, the band undertook a small-scale final tour.[35]

As Ditrich was also in poor health with

Andy Maize and Craig Northey also participated in the Commodore shows as guests.[36][35]

The band remained informally active through private "Johnny Jams" as a form of music therapy for Mann,[37] and Kelly communicated the hope that Mann would remain healthy enough for the band to play occasional brief reunion sets in the future.[2] Following The Tragically Hip's announcement in May 2016 that singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with brain cancer but would undertake a tour with the band in summer 2016, Kelly was interviewed by both CBC Radio One's Day 6[38] and Maclean's[35] about his experiences performing with Spirit of the West under similar circumstances.

The band performed a reunion set at Spirit of Canada, a benefit concert for Alzheimer's awareness at the Commodore Ballroom on November 19, 2017. The concert's lineup included Odds, Barney Bentall, Dustin Bentall, Jim Byrnes, Kendel Carson, Jim Cuddy, Alan Doyle, Colin James, Sarah McLachlan, Ed Robertson, Shari Ulrich and Spirit: The Next Generation, an act consisting of the band members' children.[39] Before the show, the performing musicians participated in a group recording of the band's signature song "Home for a Rest" as a tribute to Mann.[40]

Mann died on November 20, 2019.[41]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart
positions
sales threshold
)
CAN
[42]
Spirit of the West
  • Release date: 1984
  • Label: Triniti Records
  • Formats: LP
 —
Tripping Up the Stairs —
Labour Day 64
Save This House 62
Go Figure 45
Faithlift 27
Two Headed 20
Open Heart Symphony 36
Weights and Measures —
Star Trails —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

Title Details Peak chart
positions
CAN
Old Material 1984–1986 —
Hit Parade —
Spirituality 1983–2008: The Consummate Compendium
  • Release date: July 15, 2008
  • Label:
    Rhino Records
  • Formats: CD
 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
sales thresholds
) 		Album
CAN
[44] 		CAN
AC
[45] 		CAN
Country 		CAN
Content
(Cancon)
[46]
1986 "The Crawl" — — — — Tripping Up the Stairs
1988 "Political" — — — 31 Labour Day
1990 "Save This House" 85 — — — Save This House
1991 "D for Democracy" 87 — — 1 Go Figure
"Political (Go Figure version)" 70 — — 4
1992 "Spot the Difference" — — — 9
1993 "And if Venice Is Sinking" 30 12 93 — Faithlift
1994 "5 Free Minutes" 55 29 — —
"6th Floor" — — — 3
"Sadness Grows" 52 — — 7
1995 "Is This Where I Come In" — 28 — 6
"Tell Me What I Think" 25 — — — Two Headed
1996 "Williamson's Garage" — 53 — — Open Heart Symphony
1997 "Soldier's Boy" — — — — Weights and Measures
2004 "July" — — — — Star Trails
2011 "Bulembu" — — — — Non-album single
2014 "Home for a Rest" — — — — Non-album single

Album appearances

Reception

  • In 1999, CFNY-FM ranked "Political" No. 524, and "Home For a Rest" No. 689, in its "Top 1002 New Rock Songs of All Time" chart.
  • In 2005, "
    50 Tracks: The Canadian Version
    .
  • In 2007, "Home for a Rest" ranked No. 8 on CFNY's "Top 102 Canadian New Rock Songs of All Time" chart.
  • "Save This House" is the theme song for Save Us from Our House, a combined relationship/renovation/reality TV show which aired in 2007 on the Canadian cable network W, and on HGTV in the U.S.
  • In 2010, Spirit of the West were the recipients of the National Achievement Award at the annual
    SOCAN Awards in Toronto.[47]
  • In 2022, "Home for a Rest" was voted British Columbia's favourite song by a local artist, in a Twitter competition organized by local CBC reporter Justin McElroy, beating Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe".[48]

References

  1. ^ a b "The little Celtic band that grew". The Globe and Mail, November 18, 1997.
  2. ^ a b c "Spirit of the West: An audio guide to their long, concluding journey". The Globe and Mail, April 15, 2016.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55022-992-9
    .
  4. Saskatoon StarPhoenix
    , January 17, 2002.
  5. ^ a b Greg Quill, "Spirit offers hope for future of folk". Toronto Star, February 11, 1987.
  6. ^ "Juno candidates announced". Vancouver Sun, February 2, 1989.
  7. ^ a b "Spirit of the West's Celtic counterpoint". Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Maybe you can hear them coming: Spirit of the West". Ottawa Citizen, April 6, 1990.
  9. ^ a b "Their own brand of feverish folk has Spirit moving". Edmonton Journal, March 17, 1990. p. B1.
  10. ^ "Songs to drink away those troubles". Calgary Herald, March 17, 2010. p. D6.
  11. ^ a b "Spirited folk-rockers show they still have lots to learn". Toronto Star, October 13, 1991.
  12. ^ Christopher Jones, "Revisit NOW's cover story on Spirit of the West from 1989". Now, November 21, 2019 (orig. March 16, 1989).
  13. ^ a b "Spirits aim to shake up Canadians". Toronto Star, June 30, 1991.
  14. ^ a b "High-Spirited group: B.C. folk-rockers pump up volume". The Province, June 27, 1991.
  15. ^ a b "That's the Spirit; No 'Home for a Rest' as Spirit of the West releases best-of double disc and hits the road". Toronto Star, July 16, 2008.
  16. ^ "Creative Batteries Boosted: Spirit of the West bounces back with tour, album". Ottawa Citizen, February 3, 1993.
  17. ^ a b "Going symphonic no strain for Spirit of the West; Former folkies' concert with ESO to premiere acoustic material for upcoming album". Edmonton Journal, May 6, 1995.
  18. ^ a b "Smells like clean Spirit Despite many musical leaps, Spirit Of The West's aim remains true". Toronto Star, June 8, 1996.
  19. Victoria Times-Colonist
    , May 2, 2012.
  20. ^ "Spirit of the West; Return to folkier roots means familiar pleasures for band's longtime fans". Edmonton Journal, November 25, 1997.
  21. Saskatoon StarPhoenix
    , November 20, 1997.
  22. Halifax Daily News
    , November 14, 1997.
  23. ^ "Spirit just goes on and on". Regina Leader-Post, August 12, 2004.
  24. ^ "Spirit of the West - 25th Anniversary · CBC Radio 2 - Concerts on Demand". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  25. Victoria Times-Colonist
    , March 26, 2009.
  26. ^ "A great Great Big farewell; Ottawa favourites, fans in high spirits at final show before band breaks for a while". Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2009.
  27. ^
    Canadian Press
    , February 19, 2010.
  28. canoe.ca
    , February 20, 2010.
  29. spinner.ca
    , November 29, 2011.
  30. ^ "Spirit Of The West Perform In Vancouver Without Geoff Kelly" Archived July 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Rockstar Weekly, March 17, 2012.
  31. ^ "No Spirit of the West, no St. Paddy's; Tradition Continues". The Province, March 11, 2014.
  32. ^ a b "Alzheimer's diagnosis takes centre stage for Spirit of the West frontman". The Globe and Mail, September 8, 2014.
  33. ^ "Spirit of the West's John Mann debuts special concert film". CBC News, July 4, 2015.
  34. ^ a b "Spirit of the West performs final concerts in Vancouver". CBC News, April 14, 2016.
  35. ^ a b c "On the Hip’s final tour, and enduring illness on stage". Maclean's, August 10, 2016.
  36. ^ a b "Spirit of the West gets a proper send-off with hometown finale". The Globe and Mail, April 15, 2016.
  37. ^ "Bittersweet farewell for Vancouver band Spirit of the West". CTV News, April 16, 2016.
  38. ^ "Spirit of the West's Geoffrey Kelly on farewell tours and Gord Downie". Day 6, May 1, 2016.
  39. ^ "John Mann benefit concert comes to the Commodore Ballroom on November 19". The Georgia Straight, September 27, 2017.
  40. ^ "'We got it in the can in the can': Alan Doyle spearheads bathroom recording to benefit John Mann". CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, January 13, 2018.
  41. ^ Lederman, Marsha (November 20, 2019). "Spirit of the West singer John Mann dies at 57", The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  42. ^ RPM Album Charts Library and Archives Canada
  43. ^ a b c d Music Canada certifications, Musiccanada.com
  44. ^ RPM Top Singles Library and Archives Canada
  45. ^ RPM Adult Contemporary Library and Archives Canada
  46. '^ Peak positions for Spirit of the West singles on RPMs Canadian Content chart:
  47. ^ "McLachlan, Nickelback Win Big At The SOCAN Awards". toronto.citynews.ca. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  48. CBC British Columbia
    . January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spirit_of_the_West&oldid=1220267998"