The Top Canadian Albums of All Time [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : The Top Canadian Albums of All Time



Mr MidFi
10-18-2007, 01:42 PM
Well, it's not really the list I would have picked...but here it is.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/268022

PeruvianSkies
10-18-2007, 01:47 PM
Wow, I guess there are at least 100 reasons why to love Canada...I think those are good choice, not sure about the order, but good choice.

Swish
10-18-2007, 02:02 PM
Well, it's not really the list I would have picked...but here it is.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/268022

I guess they might be considered in the top 100, but 8th? Makes me question the taste of those judges, or their sanity at the very least.

Swish

jim goulding
10-18-2007, 02:05 PM
Personal favorites are In The Falling Dark by Bruce Cockburn, Maria by Jane Siberry, and Modern Cool by Patricia Barber. Blue, also, but I think that was recorded in the States.

Swish
10-18-2007, 02:10 PM
Personal favorites are In The Falling Dark by Bruce Cockburn, Maria by Jane Siberry, and Modern Cool by Patricia Barber. Blue, also, but I think that was recorded in the States.

...all Canadian, and that appears to be the only criteria for inclusion on the list...along with having a rather decent record.

Swish

jim goulding
10-18-2007, 02:38 PM
Doth I offend thee? Those mentioned are Canadian. Does having a good record PLAYER count?.

Swish
10-18-2007, 02:43 PM
Doth I offend thee? Those mentioned are Canadian. Does having a good record PLAYER count?.

You mentioned that Joni's 'Blue' was one of your top picks, except it was recorded in the US. My reply was that the list was the top 100 records from Canadian artists.

Hitting the sauce a bit early today?

Swish

Davey
10-18-2007, 04:13 PM
Hitting the sauce a bit early today?

Well, as a matter of fact, yes. Can't believe you'd have a problem with that http://www.msnemotions.org/massuploads/emoticon/1051-beer.gif

That Daniel Lanois album is better than anything on the list besides Neil and Joni and the Band. The Band wasn't really all Canadian, eh?

kexodusc
10-18-2007, 04:21 PM
Arcade Fire? Who the hell are they?
(edit: oh...someone beat me to it)

jim goulding
10-18-2007, 05:59 PM
Swish- Who me? Actually, I just misunderstood the opening and then I misunderstood you. Peace.

ForeverAutumn
10-18-2007, 06:01 PM
I can't wait to see the full 100. I hope that Billy Talent is nowhere near that list!!!

Personally, I would have picked Road Apples over Fully Completely.

Jagged Little Pill, or any Alanis Morisette for that matter, would not have made my list. Although I can't deny her popularity, just give me a CD 80 minutes full of fingernails on a blackboard please.

For Blue Rodeo, something earlier like thier debut, Outskirts, or Diamond Mine would have been better choices. I'm surprised to see 5 Days win a popularity contest. The production quality is so bad that I'm surprised anyone can stand to listen to it...I can't.

Sloan in the top 20 is as ridiculous as Arcade Fire being there.

Very nice to see Rheostatics get a nod and both of the Rush albums deserve a spot.

I'm suprised that I don't see any Barenaked Ladies. Gordon, Stunt, or Maroon should definately be in the top 20.

And not that Neil Young doesn't deserve high recognition, but three Young albums and no Gordon Lightfoot? I don't agree with that.

musicman1999
10-18-2007, 06:16 PM
Well, as a matter of fact, yes. Can't believe you'd have a problem with that http://www.msnemotions.org/massuploads/emoticon/1051-beer.gif

That Daniel Lanois album is better than anything on the list besides Neil and Joni and the Band. The Band wasn't really all Canadian, eh?

While Levon Helm is an American, The Band came together and spent their formative years as Ronnie Hawkins backup band, The Hawks, here in Canada.

bill

Ex Lion Tamer
10-18-2007, 07:18 PM
Personal favorites are In The Falling Dark by Bruce Cockburn, Maria by Jane Siberry, and Modern Cool by Patricia Barber. Blue, also, but I think that was recorded in the States.

I'm pretty sure that Patricia Barber is not Canadian...from Chicago I believe.

PeruvianSkies
10-18-2007, 07:29 PM
I'm pretty sure that Patricia Barber is not Canadian...from Chicago I believe.

She was definitely born in Chicago.

jim goulding
10-18-2007, 09:48 PM
Then she definitely would'na been on that list, huh? WTF was I thinkin. Must have been those mind altering drugs. My boo-boo.

Swish
10-19-2007, 04:19 AM
Well, as a matter of fact, yes. Can't believe you'd have a problem with that http://www.msnemotions.org/massuploads/emoticon/1051-beer.gif

That Daniel Lanois album is better than anything on the list besides Neil and Joni and the Band. The Band wasn't really all Canadian, eh?

...many personal episodes of premature imbibing have resulted in some of my most embarrassing posts on this site. And I got no problem with those either, as they provided fodder for other members who were sorely in need of fresh meat for skewering.

Swish

SlumpBuster
10-19-2007, 09:42 AM
Sloan in the top 20 is as ridiculous as Arcade Fire being there.

Very nice to see Rheostatics get a nod and both of the Rush albums deserve a spot.



I love Sloan! 4 Nights at the Palais Royale is a classic live record, IMHO. Although I do have to acknowledge that they are probably "best worst" as in how comedian Brian Posehn declared CC Deville of Poison the "best worst" guitar player ever.


Plus, just wanted to note that on the beginning of Tragically Hip's Live Between us Gordon thanks the Rheostatics for having opened for them stating, "We are all richer for having seen them." I always loved that opening.

ForeverAutumn
10-19-2007, 10:06 AM
I love Sloan! 4 Nights at the Palais Royale is a classic live record, IMHO. Although I do have to acknowledge that they are probably "best worst" as in how comedian Brian Posehn declared CC Deville of Poison the "best worst" guitar player ever.


Plus, just wanted to note that on the beginning of Tragically Hip's Live Between us Gordon thanks the Rheostatics for having opened for them stating, "We are all richer for having seen them." I always loved that opening.

I don't mind Sloan, I think that they deserve to be on the list. I just don't think that they are Top 20 material over acts like Gordon Lightfoot, Barenaked Ladies, April Wine or Kim Mitchell. Just a personal opinion.

I only saw the Rheostatics once and only the first few songs of their set. The Rheo's didn't hit the stage until about 12:30am and I was with a bunch of fuddy duddy's who didn't want to stick around to see them. :prrr:

ForeverAutumn
10-19-2007, 10:12 AM
...many personal episodes of premature ejaculation have resulted in some of my most embarrassing moments. And I got no problem with those that a little viagra can't fix.

You mean like this?

:ihih:

There were things I could have done with the words members, sore and fresh meat, but as a Lady I chose restraint. :)

Rae
10-19-2007, 12:07 PM
http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?p=186328#post186328

~Rae

3-LockBox
10-19-2007, 12:09 PM
OK, I'll play devil's advocate here...

Those are good albums and all that, but the repetative nature of the top 20 strikes me as kinda funny, like it was an American who picked the top-20 acts or something. Is this list indicative of a real Canadian's top-20? I'm not buying it.

Lists are for dicks.

Jim Clark
10-19-2007, 12:56 PM
Umm, I'd put the Arcade Fire in the top 10. They'll be in my top ten this year and I'm not limiting my selections to Canadians : )

Any list with no mention of Men Without Hats is just plain wrong...

I have no credibility to lose.

jc

3-LockBox
10-19-2007, 01:13 PM
Any list with no mention of Men Without Hats is just plain wrong...

I have no credibility to lose.



Is that why you include an Australian band on a Canadian list?

You card, you...

audiobill
10-19-2007, 02:01 PM
Okay.

As a Canadian I'll weigh in.

Where are the following???

Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Sessions

Max Webster's High Class In Borrowed Shoes

Teenage Head's Frantic City

Robbie Robertson's s/t

and we musn't forget Stopmpin Tom Connors' Bud the Spud and Gordon Lightfoot's Gord's Gold (I feel your pain ForeverAutumn!!!) Yet, I do agree with Jagged Little Pill belonging in the top 20 and with Arcade Fire; whether you like them (I do) or not, they're "classics".

What gives, eh???

audiobill

P.S., I'd also include up-and-coming bands, in the top 100, such as Wolf Parade, Broken Social Scene, Feist, Metric, The Constantines, Martha Wainwright, and the Great Lake Swimmers

RoyY51
10-19-2007, 02:30 PM
I'm also a bit taken aback by the exclusion of Gordon Lightfoot. After all, wasn't he the first Canadian superstar musician? Didn't he really put Canadian music on the world-wide map? Don't all the other acts mentioned owe a dept of gratitude to Gordon for plowing the way?

Methinks that whoever put this list together has yet to hit forty.

musicman1999
10-19-2007, 02:47 PM
Is that why you include an Australian band on a Canadian list?

You card, you...

You are thinking of Men at Work, Men without Hats are indeed a Canadian band, Montreal i think.


bill

3-LockBox
10-19-2007, 03:48 PM
You are thinking of Men at Work, Men without Hats are indeed a Canadian band, Montreal i think.


bill

I say I say its a joke son...

just tryiing to busy Jim's balls.

Rae
10-19-2007, 04:50 PM
I'd also include up-and-coming bands such as The Constantines

Gotta agree with you there. I was just listening to Shine a Light last week, and thinking that it has aged incredibly well compared to most other albums that came out around the same time (2004, I want to say?). I really played the **** out of it when it was new but was almost stunned to come back to it and realize that it was such a tour de force. Just incredibly soulful, lyrically complex, clamorous yet hooky... rarely have I heard such a moving, sustained paeon to youth & the living city (I would guess that it's Toronto in this case? But I don't know where they're from). I picked up Tournament of Hearts a few years later and was enamored with it as well at the time although it hasn't held up as well (not as thematically cohesive, and there are a few real clunkers on it too). Have they done anything since then?

~Rae

Feanor
10-19-2007, 05:14 PM
Well, it's not really the list I would have picked...but here it is.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/268022

I actually own ... umm :blush2: ... two of these albums: Mitchell/Blue & Cohen/Songs. Both bought back in the day on vinyl.

Well, maybe three if I can include "Best of the Band".

Feanor
10-19-2007, 05:19 PM
I'm also a bit taken aback by the exclusion of Gordon Lightfoot. After all, wasn't he the first Canadian superstar musician? Didn't he really put Canadian music on the world-wide map? Don't all the other acts mentioned owe a dept of gratitude to Gordon for plowing the way?

Methinks that whoever put this list together has yet to hit forty.

I actually have two or three Lightfoot LPs from back in the day, (early '70s).

Two words come to mind when the thought of playing them comes to mind:

pee
yook

Rae
10-19-2007, 05:33 PM
I actually have two or three Lightfoot LPs from back in the day, (early '70s).

Two words come to mind when the thought of playing them comes to mind:

pee
yook

pls define yook.

~Rae

SlumpBuster
10-19-2007, 06:12 PM
I don't mind Sloan, I think that they deserve to be on the list. I just don't think that they are Top 20 material over acts like Gordon Lightfoot, Barenaked Ladies, April Wine or Kim Mitchell. Just a personal opinion.


Ah! To your opinion, I shall concede, as it is wise and just.

Seriously, though, if we're talking about top 20, I'll agree that Lightfoot and Ladies are higher. Not really familiar with April Wine and Kim Mitchell, though.

Oh, and I really might be stepping in it here, but I really do love Men Without Hats. No joking no kidding. Totally underrated. Whenever I hit my vinyl haunts, I'm always looking for Pop Goes the World. No luck yet.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AiHGIyVJwJg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AiHGIyVJwJg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Feanor
10-19-2007, 06:54 PM
pls define yook.

~Rae

NOT Ukranian.

ForeverAutumn
10-19-2007, 08:16 PM
OMG! How could I forget Saga? I wonder where/if they sit on the top 100?

Colin James?
David Wilcox?

audiobill
10-20-2007, 08:06 AM
Gotta agree with you there. I was just listening to Shine a Light Have they done anything since then?

~Rae

No, Rae. The Constantines haven't done much since then. I see them touring quite regularly in southern Ontario. They're mostly from Guelph, Ontario, which has quite a cool university/music vibe. Guelph is only one hour from Toronto.

Shine a light on this list, man.

Bill

Rae
10-20-2007, 05:52 PM
NOT Ukranian.

Mind -> Blown.

~Rae

Jim Clark
10-21-2007, 04:23 PM
Oh, and I really might be stepping in it here, but I really do love Men Without Hats. No joking no kidding. Totally underrated. Whenever I hit my vinyl haunts, I'm always looking for Pop Goes the World. No luck yet.




Yeah, that makes two of us! If I ever find doubles, I'll let you know.

jc

Mr MidFi
10-22-2007, 07:07 AM
Umm, I'd put the Arcade Fire in the top 10. They'll be in my top ten this year and I'm not limiting my selections to Canadians : )

Any list with no mention of Men Without Hats is just plain wrong...

I have no credibility to lose.

jc

I haven't quite formed a list in my head yet, but I expect Neon Bible to appear in my top 5 this year.

jim goulding
10-22-2007, 09:13 PM
Kate and Anna McGarrigle (self titled on Warner Bros records)

ForeverAutumn
10-23-2007, 06:20 AM
Kate and Anna McGarrigle (self titled on Warner Bros records)

Wow. A very interesting bio from Wikipedia. Some of the highlights are reproduced below. Rufus and Martha Wainright's mom! I've never heard of them. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any songs or samples on-line.

Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle are sisters who write and perform together. ...Their careers in music began with the 1960s folk combo Mountain City Four, in conjunction with Jack Nissenson and Peter Weldon.

Their songs have also been covered by a variety of other artists, including Maria Muldaur, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Billy Bragg, Chloé Sainte-Marie and Anne Sofie von Otter. ... Most of their French songs have been co-written by Philippe Tatartcheff, with occasional input from Kate McGarrigle's son, Canadian-American solo artist Rufus Wainwright. Rufus and his sister Martha Wainwright, also a singer, are the children of Kate and her former husband, singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III.
...

They provided backing vocals on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds's 2001 album No More Shall We Part.
...

They appear in the 2006 Leonard Cohen tribute film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. Cohen, like them, originates from Montreal.

jim goulding
10-23-2007, 07:02 AM
Linda Ronstadt did a cover of Heart Like A Wheel which was written by Anna and is sung on this album as a duet with both girls trading parts. It'll plum tear your heart out. Here's a line from it . . "a heart's like a wheel- if you bend it, you can't mend it".

Ex Lion Tamer
11-24-2007, 01:48 PM
Well I wasn't going to dump on any choices for this list - but after re-visiting this thread and seeing that Sloan and Arcade Fire are the only bands singled out for criticism for being included on the list, I can't hold my tongue.

I'm much more appalled by not one but two albums by The Tragically Hip in the top 20 than by including Arcade Fire or Sloan, but than I don't subscribe to the much held Canadian belief that "The Hip" are the greatest band ever. Just about as overrated a band, in these parts, as I can think of. Have they sold anything outside of Canada? After 20 some odd years in the business and who knows how many albums, how can they still be our little Canadian secret?

I don't know how it can be argued about the impact of The Arcade Fire and Funeral on music and to not include them in a list like this would be rediculous. And when The Hip gets the kind of attention outside of Canada that almost all of the acts on that top 20 list have received, maybe I'll start paying attention.

Look, I don't mean to dump on anyone for enjoying The Hip, but what makes them better or more deserving of inclusion on a list like this than The Arcade Fire? ...And maybe flavour of the month stuff is playing too big a part in my opinion of them, but when the likes of David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne and U2 are sharing stages with The Arcade Fire - I do take note and I do pay attention and I do think it says something about the band. So, am I wrong? So are we wrong? Is Jim Clark wrong? Is Audiobill wrong?

It's not normally my style to dump on someone else's tastes but hey...I didn't start it!

ForeverAutumn
11-25-2007, 06:50 AM
Well I wasn't going to dump on any choices for this list - but after re-visiting this thread and seeing that Sloan and Arcade Fire are the only bands singled out for criticism for being included on the list, I can't hold my tongue.

I'm much more appalled by not one but two albums by The Tragically Hip in the top 20 than by including Arcade Fire or Sloan, but than I don't subscribe to the much held Canadian belief that "The Hip" are the greatest band ever. Just about as overrated a band, in these parts, as I can think of. Have they sold anything outside of Canada? After 20 some odd years in the business and who knows how many albums, how can they still be our little Canadian secret?

I don't know how it can be argued about the impact of The Arcade Fire and Funeral on music and to not include them in a list like this would be rediculous. And when The Hip gets the kind of attention outside of Canada that almost all of the acts on that top 20 list have received, maybe I'll start paying attention.

Look, I don't mean to dump on anyone for enjoying The Hip, but what makes them better or more deserving of inclusion on a list like this than The Arcade Fire? ...And maybe flavour of the month stuff is playing too big a part in my opinion of them, but when the likes of David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne and U2 are sharing stages with The Arcade Fire - I do take note and I do pay attention and I do think it says something about the band. So, am I wrong? So are we wrong? Is Jim Clark wrong? Is Audiobill wrong?

It's not normally my style to dump on someone else's tastes but hey...I didn't start it!

As a fellow Canadian who criticized both choices I'll respond.

I never said that I didn't think that Arcade Fire or Sloan should be on this list. I just don't feel like they are top 20 material. And I'm not judging bands by their appeal or success outside of Canada. This is a a list of Canadian bands as chosen by Canadians. Who cares what the Americans or the Europeans think (in the context of this list anyway).

My thoughts around this list is that Arcade Fire in the top 20 is just a flavour of the month pick. Flame away. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

For what it's worth, I did catch Arcade Fire on ACL recently and have a greater appreciation for them having seen them live. But I'm still not a fan and stick with my own personal opinion that they would not make the top 20 on MY list.

I agree that two Hip CDs in the top 20 is excessive. As are three Neil Young CDs and, as much as I love them, two Rush disks, when there are so many other great and influential albums missing.

It would be interesting to see a list of top 20 Canadian albums by sales. First Canadian sales only and then by worldwide sales.

My issue with this list in general is that it is list picked out by music industry insiders and not the general Canadian public (although, I'm sure if it were the general Canadian public the list would likely be much worse). But I have a problem with the author of this list publishing a book about "the top 100 Canadian albums" when the folks who have chosen these albums are not really a proper cross-sample of Canadians.