The Blue Shadows

[lizish]

 

Love love love this record and have to give thanks to an old forum member for bugging me enough to track it down.

 

http://blogs.music.m...ue-shadows.html

 

 

The Blue Shadows blended traditional Nashville country, '60s Merseybeat pop and vintage rock-and-roll on its 1993 "On The Floor Of Heaven" debut album. It deserved to be a major hit, but only enjoyed minor Canadian success without a U.S. release, and was out of print for more than 15 years.

 

Earlier this month, however, Bumstead Productions released a two-disc deluxe edition of "On The Floor Of Heaven." I'm making it my mission for people to discover it.

 

At a time when a lot of people think the alt.country music scene is ebbing, the deluxe edition of "On The Floor Of Heaven" will remind people how good the genre can be.

 

Billy Cowsill, a member of the American family bubblegum pop band The Cowsills (which inspired the creation of "The Partridge Family" television series after a string of '60s hits), had moved to Vancouver by the early '90s. Roots rocker Jeffrey Hatcher, who made a bit of a name for himself in the '80s fronting Winnipeg-based Jeffrey Hatcher & The Big Beat, found himself in the west coast city at the same time. The two singer/guitarists were introduced, began performing and writing songs together and, with bassist Elmar Spanier and drummer J.B. Johnson, became The Blue Shadows.

 

"I had heard he was a wild man with a golden voice. And he was all that," Hatcher recalls of meeting Cowsill in the additional liner notes for the bigger and better "On The Floor Of Heaven."

 

The two men found that they shared a love of music from the '50s and '60s and that their voices blended magically, enabling them to deliver Everly Brothers-like harmonies on songs like the fiddle-friendly, album opening single "Coming On Strong." They fittingly described their sound as "Hank goes to the Cavern Club." Throw some Roy Orbison into that mix (on the original album closing ballad "Is Anybody Here") courtesy of Cowsill, and you have a very potent combination.

 

The original 12-song "On The Floor Of Heaven" — also highlighted by the rockabilly-based "If It Ain't Rockin'," the classic country-sounding "When Will This Heartache End," the old-time ballad "The Embers," and many other winning songs — merits a 4.5/5 rating. But I knew that when I first heard it 17 years ago.

 

I'm happy to report that the deluxe edition's second 12-song CD of rarities is pretty much as good. The vintage country "A Little Bit Lonesome, A Little Bit Blue," the Cowsill vocal showpiece "A Paper 'N A Promise," the mid-tempo rocker "Heart Of A Lion, Soul Of A Dove" and the Buddy Holly-influenced "Wonder 'Bout Me" had no business being outtakes. Yes, they're that good.

 

The disc ends with five covers, starting with Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December," which was originally recorded for a Sony Music Canada Christmas music sampler titled "Keeping Our Country Christmas Together." It's followed by a rocked-up version of Joni Mitchell's "Raised On Robbery," the Beatles-covered "Soldier Of Love," and a pretty faithful rendition of Michel Pagliaro's all-time Canadian classic, "What The Hell I Got." Things close out with the George Jones-recorded "Hell Stays Open All Night," which was the B-side of the "Coming On Strong" 78 RPM promotional single.

 

The Blue Shadows made another fine album, 1995's "Lucky To Me," before disintegrating the next year.

 

Hatcher went on to earn a couple of university degrees and Cowsill — after another dark period of addiction and harmful behaviour — re-emerged by making a couple of solid country-rock albums with the Calgary band The Co-Dependents, producing other artists and enrolling in college. But a number of major health problems, and the death of his brother Barry in Hurricane Katrina, beset Cowsill. He succumbed to his illnesses and passed away on Feb. 18, 2006 at age 58.

 

There's no hope for a Blue Shadows reunion, but the band's brief but stellar time in the spotlight should be extended just a little bit longer with the reissued "On The Floor Of Heaven."

 

You can sample some of The Blue Shadows' music, watch the video for "Deliver Me" and read more about the group and its songs here.

 

—Steve McLean

 

samples and streams:

 

http://www.bumstead....ue_shadows.html

[mjpuczko]

fuck

yes.

 

so good. i've listened to think on it a lot since sunday.

[tongue-tied lightning]

hmmmmmmmm

 

 

[mjpuczko]

finally got around to the bonus disc. gah! just as good. 'paper & a promise' kicks so much ass

[people are leaving]

Thanks for the recommendation. I gave Disc One a couple of spins last night and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It definitely has that Everly's/Jayhawks/Bakersfield thang going on. Interesting how this predates Tomorrow The Green Grass by a couple of years.

[mjpuczko]

Thanks for the recommendation. I gave Disc One a couple of spins last night and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It definitely has that Everly's/Jayhawks/Bakersfield thang going on. Interesting how this predates Tomorrow The Green Grass by a couple of years.

 

I'm not a huge jayhawks fan but i already like this more than any jayhawks album i've ever heard. thought this last night while listening & heard a jayhawks vibe.

[Moss]

I have to admit I'm intrigued by the love I am hearing. Guess I better add this one to the list.

[people are leaving]

This record is truly fantastic, chock full of great songs, harmonies & vibe. It also stands shoulder to shoulder with ANY of the so-called classics of the alt-country (or whatever you want to call it) genre.

 

RIYL - modern day Everly Brothers, Bakersfield Sound, Good songs