Band: Maow, Album: The Unforgiving Sounds Of Maow, Song: Ms.Lefevre

Maow were a pop-punk outfit from Vancover.  They were signed to Mint Records and released the album, "The Unforgiving Sounds Of Maow" in 1996.  The song, Ms.Lefevre, was one of the highlights on the album.  The band included Tobey Black, Corrina Hammond and Neko Case.  Neko Case handles the vocals and percussion on this track.  Neko went on to find greater fame years later as a solo artist and as a member of the New Pornographers.  This track and the album it comes from is accessible for download on Itunes and Amazon.com.  It can also be purchased in Cd form from Amazon as well.  Ebay had numerous copies available between $10 and $12 at the time of this blog.  You can watch the video for the song on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk3GYN6M4-U). 

Artist: Alta Moda, Album: Alta Moda, Song: Julian

In 1987, Molly Johnson and Norman Orenstein teamed up to release the self titled debut for Alta Moda.  This would be the first of two collaborations between these two musicians.  This Toronto band only released one album before breaking up.  The record was produced by Colin Thurston (Duran Duran, Human League).  They were mis-labelled as being American funk and "too black" which led to some radio stations refusing to play their material.  They actually refused a Juno nomination for Julian because it was in the R&B category.  Speaking with the time of it's release in mind, I think the song Julian was more New Wave than R&B.  It's a shame formats were so restrictive back then.  The album isn't available on Itunes but you can buy new and used copies on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.  There were also vinyl copies on Ebay at the time of this blog selling under $10.  You can also see the video on You Tube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l669wogFDo).

Artist: Nucleus, Album: Nucleus, Song: Jenny Wake Up

Nucleus were a prog rock band from Toronto.  They were Greg Fitzpatrick, Bob Horne, Hugh Leggat, John Richardson and Danny Taylor.  Fitzpatrick, Leggat, Richardson and Taylor were actually in a previous band called, The Lords of London, during the mid-sixties and had some early pop single success.  However, by the late sixties, the members were yearning to expand their musical tastes and they recruited keyboardist Horne and changed up their sound.  The band started playing their new, free form blend of rock, soul and jazz on the coffee house circuit of Yorkville before heading to New York to record their one and only self titled debut album in 1968.  They toured all over Canada as well as the U.S. and were building a dedicated following despite having most of their songs clocking in between 8 and 11 minutes.  Jenny Wake Up, is a very trippy tune from this release and you can check out my Hilarious House Of Frightenstein tribute on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/38186005).  The band would sign on with Chicago label, Mainstream Records, for this release but by 1970 they were through.  One of the final appearances the band made was at the now legendary, Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival held at Varsity Stadium in 1969.  The concert featured The Doors, John Lennon, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Chicago, Alice Cooper and a long list of other performers.  I've read that Nucleus was actually the backing band for Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent that day.  Leggat, Taylor and Horne would go on to form A Foot In Cold Water ("Make Me Do Anything You Want", "(Isn't Love Unkind) In My Life") shortly after the Nucleus break up.  Thankfully, this Canadian rarity has been remastered and re-released.  You can purchase the album, Nucleus, on Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!