CD Odyssey Disc 807: Blue Rodeo

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend is winding down. I finished almost all my Christmas shopping on Friday, went to a fun party on Saturday and earlier today my beloved Miami Dolphins won their game. Life is good.

Disc 807 is….Are You Ready

Artist: Blue Rodeo

Year of Release: 2005

What’s up with the Cover? Despite the fact that band name looks like it was painted by the same guy who did the art on the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo, the green on this cover feels restful to my eye. It reminds me of those unused country roads I used to walk down when I lived in a small town, but no longer see now that I’m a city boy. “Are you ready to move back to the country?” asks this album cover. Hell no, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a pretty painting of it.

How I Came To Know It: Sheila introduced me to Blue Rodeo back when we were first dating. “Are You Ready” is just us buying their latest album when it came out, as we are wont to do.

How It Stacks Up:  We have 13 Blue Rodeo albums, which is all of them with the exception of last year’s Christmas album (which is not going to happen). “Are You Ready” is an OK record, but far from my favourite. I’m going to put it 11^th.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Are You Ready” has its moments but it took a little too long to heat up. Half the time I was having a great time, and the other half I found myself thinking fondly of other Blue Rodeo albums I liked better.

The album is a return to Blue Rodeo’s more traditional mix of rock and country after a bit of experimentation with horn flourishes on 2002’s “Palace of Gold.” The songs are the usual mix of Jim Cuddy crooners for the lovelorn and the stoner rock of Greg Keelor. Unfortunately, the opening track “Can’t Help Wondering Why” didn’t inspire, and was so perfectly in the pocket of their sound it felt derivative of earlier efforts. The second (and title) track is a stoner rock song by Keelor, which again just felt like it was mailed in by a bar band doing a Blue Rodeo tribute gig.

By the time I got to the album’s single, “Rena,” (buried three songs in) I was ready to write this album off. Fortunately, while “Rena” isn’t the greatest song Blue Rodeo has ever done it does have a pretty guitar hook and Cuddy’s voice sounds easy and relaxed. I wouldn’t go so far as to say “Rena” is a favourite for me, but it began to redeem my opinion of the album.

I always think I’m more into the Jim Cuddy folksy side of Blue Rodeo, but on every album Greg Keelor wins me over and reminds me he is every bit as important to the band’s success. On “Are You Ready” that Keelor moment is “Phaedra’s Meadow.” This is a haunting song with an echoing production that musically mimics the isolation we all feel in our own thoughts from time to time. It is a song about jealousy that is wrapped up in fey imagery that makes you think the singer is about to be abducted by elves. Nothing so exciting happens – he walks into a meadow to clear his head. This is a song for anyone who has ever wanted to explode with anger, but instead made the far wiser decision of just taking a long walk in the woods and cooling off.

“Phaedra’s Meadow” cooled off my anger at wanting the first half of the record to be better, and I think it was a big part of why I enjoyed Side Two so much more. “Stuck on You” is a pretty song that feels like Keelor is channeling Gordon Lightfoot (this is a good thing) and on “Finger Lakes” Cuddy lands a perfect balance between dutiful resolve and idealistic romance.

After one last overlong and overblown track attempted to make me start disliking the album again (“Tired of Pretending”) the album won me over one more time with one of my all time favourite Blue Rodeo songs: “Don’t Get Angry.”

“Don’t Get Angry” is Cuddy at his mournful best, as he sings a song about a failed love affair. Ostensibly Cuddy’s character is asking his ex to not dwell on what went wrong or why the relationship ended. However, as you listen you realize that the song is really about his own failure to move on, not hers:

"If you see some picture of us

Lying on the bed

Some old memory haunts you

Gets stuck inside your head

Don't get angry about it

And wish we'd never been

Don't get roped into a corner

And try changing everything

Don't get paralyzed with fear

And stand there wondering what to do

Just forget it girl, and I will too"

This isn’t advice, this is a confession. He’s calling her thinking he’s going to give her emotional support, but really it’s just to tell her he’s still a mess.

Cuddy’s vocals on “Don’t Get Angry” are soft and strong in equal measure. He doesn’t reach for big notes like he does on early classics like “Try” but because he sings with such honesty he doesn’t have to.

Two thirds of the way through the song, they start adding harmonica to the song and it is the perfect poignant expression of a guy trying to be cool but about to lose it and start balling. “Don’t Get Angry” is like one of those drunken phone calls to your ex to tell her you miss her, if you were actually able to say everything perfectly.

Despite its poor opening (and lack of proper punctuation) “Are You Ready” had mostly won me over by the time it ended, and reminded me that even a weaker Blue Rodeo album is still pretty damned good.

Best tracks:  Phaedra’s Meadow, Finger Lakes, Don’t Get Angry