A Record a Week: John Denver - Poems, Prayers and Promises

SIDE 1.
POEMS, PRAYERS AND PROMISES
LET IT BE (Beatles)
MY SWEET LADY
WOODEN INDIAN
JUNK (McCartney)
GOSPEL CHANGES (Jack Williams)

SIDE 2.
TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS
I GUESS HE'D RATHER BE IN COLORADO
SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS
AROUND & AROUND
FIRE AND RAIN (James Taylor)
THE BOX

This is the type of album you don't want to put on when you are feeling a little down, as it may tip the scales towards a cry session. It is a beautiful piece of work, but the sombre tones could definitely bring you down a notch. On another note, it could provide good counterpoint in a romantic comedy in those musical interludes while the main character thinks about their screw-up. Well, that's a strange little window into the things that go through my head.

On another note, the song that has a place in my heart is Take me Home, Country Roads. It's a song my dad sang to us as kids and I still love to hear him sing it today. It's one of those songs that I heard him sing so many times, that I am far more familiar with his version of it than Denver's.

Denver's originals are great on this record and his covers are not too shabby, either. His Let it Be and Fire and Rain are particularly good ones.

Sunday Brunch: Maple Peach 'Cream' Delight

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup Soy Milk (or coconut milk for a thicker 'cream')
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil (or more to thicken)
3-4 tbsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla
2 tbsp Granola per cup
1 Peach, thinly sliced

In a blender, blend whichever milk while slowly adding oil. Add maple syrup and vanilla (more of oil or syrup can be added to thicken if desired). Put the mixture in the freezer to thicken while you chop up the peach and top with granola (1/2 peach per glass if served as shown).

Top the peach and granola with the blended mixture and freeze for 20 minutes. Enjoy a frosty maple treat!

A Record a Week: Death From Above (1979) - Heads Up!

SIDE 1.
DEAD WOMB
TO MUCH LOVE
DO IT!

SIDE 2.
MY LOVE IS SHARED
LOSING FRIENDS
IF WE DON'T MAKE IT WE'LL FAKE IT

I put the 1979 in brackets because the original release of this album was prior to the cease and desist letter that forced them to add drummer Sebastien Grainger's birth year.

I remember the time this album came to be, because the band I was in at the time was playing a boatload of shows with their other band. I was at the house where they lived and they invited me into the basement to hear a new project they were working on. A month or so later, I booked their first Canadian show at a small bar called the OPM Den. There were a grand total of about 35, maybe 40 people there.

This is a fast-paced album, exploring many facets of the loud dance-punk/indie sound. It comes in at a short 14 or so minutes, leaving you wanting more. This was released during an overlap while the duo were also performing in the live version of Jesse's solo noise-dance outfit Femme Fatale.

The beauty of this album lies in the fact that it sounds familiar to other music you like, but contains enough different elements that it also sounds completely unique. In my opinion, this was their best recorded album. The music they wrote was always good, but the production of this album really harnessed the energy of their live show, which was probably their most attractive element. The vocals have a slight distortion and a lot of emotion to them. The production on the later albums makes the music more commercially viable, while somewhat taking away from the energy.

The highlight for me (also awesome at their live shows) is 'Do It! (live)' If you ever have the pleasure of seeing it live, you will see Jesse finger-tapping the bass part with his left hand while he uses his right to play the vocal line on his vocorder. The album was re-issued on CD, but if you are a savvy searcher, you may still be able to find one of the two presses of the LP.

A Record a Week: Deadseraphim/Montcalm

SIDE 1. (DEADSERAPHIM)
IN LOVING MEMORY
BUT DUDE, YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT...ROLLERBLADES!
INSTRUMENTAL
THEIR BATHROOM'S NO GOOD FOR DOING COKE
MCAVITY, MCAVITY, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE MCAVITY
SURE THING COACH, HIKE!

SUDE 2. (MONTCALM)
SIX
FOUR
ONE
TWO

I came to know about Deadseraphim through their drummer, who emailed me to set up a show for them in Toronto. They never showed up for the show or even emailed/called me to tell me they weren't coming, which is a bummer. However, they had sent me a cd and it was really good. Later on, when we started up a distro, I made sure to carry this very record. It turns out that their van broke down and they only completed the West Coast part of their tour.

The Deadseraphim side of the record is mostly a thrash/punk/grind sound. The songs are fast and a little sloppy, but very energetic. The band did not last much longer than this and broke up, formed multiple other bands.

The Montcalm side is more of an original emo/screamo style. It's a mixture of bands like Orchid/Ampere/etc. Some songs have a slow melodic minor opening with fast paced music once it kicks in. It definitely has a very west-coast Ebullition-type sound to it. Montcalm was really good, but unfortunately only released this and one other split. One member went on to be in Ampere, but I am not sure what the others have done.

Sunday Brunch: Rhubarb Crisp

4 cups Rhubarb, chopped
1 cup Brown Sugar or Demerra
1 cup Flour
3/4 cup Oats
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Melted Earth Balance (or other vegan margarine)
2 tbsp Cornstarch
1 cup Lukewarm Water
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Sugar

In a measuring cup, put the cornstarch in the bottom and whisk while slowly adding the cup of water. Heat that with the cup of white sugar and vanilla in a small pot until all clear and pour over the chopped rhubarb in a baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon with the melted margarine until crumbly and crumble over top of the rhubarb.

Bake at 350 until the top gets lightly golden and the rhubarb bubbles up a bit (should be about 45-50 minutes)

A Record a Week: Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain

SIDE 1.
CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ
WILL O THE WISP

SIDE 2.
THE PAN PIPER
SAETA
SOLEA

This album is the first one I've heard by Miles Davis that has a real vibrant energy. Don't get me wrong, his immense talent always shows through, it's just that the more upbeat tempos aren't usually his style. There is also plenty of his type of jazz on this record. Infused with Spanish melodies, this album contains a larger selection of horns than a normal Davis record.

To me, the first few songs sound like backing music for a movie from the 40's or 50'swhere the dialogue might go something like 'We gotta go, see. Time is running short, see'. But then the second side sounds more like the score to a film detailing a victory by Alexander the great or some other ancient conqueror, with its horn-tooting melodies in major keys.

As someone who only has limited exposure to Miles Davis, this was a great record to experience the range of this vastly talented man.

Sunday Brunch: Lemon Loaf

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Vegan Margarine
1 cup Sugar
2 Egg Replacers
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Flour (all purpose/spelt best)
1 tsp baking powder
Dash Salt
Zest of a Lemon
Juice of a Lemon
1/4 cup Sugar (depending on size of lemon, may need more)

Cream the sugar and margarine together in a large bowl. Add in egg replacer and milk and stir until well-mixed. In a separate bowl, blend dry ingredients (including zest). Add to wet mix and stir until just mixed. Spread batter into a bread pan evenly and bake for about an hour at 350F (until sides get lightly golden). At about 50 minutes, stir together sugar and lemon juice over medium-low until sugar is dissolved. It should be sauce-like, so you may need to add more sugar, but do it slowly so you don't over-sweeten. When the loaf is done, set on a rack to cool and glaze with lemon sauce.