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Blue Northern
Riviera Rock Room
to Saturday
Blue Northern has finally made it over the mountains, currently in person and in a couple of weeks on a Polygram Records LP.
Looking at the pride of the Vancouver club scene, you’d wonder, what’s the fuss?
The country bar-band did not look too chic at the Riviera Rock Room Thursday night. The five front men lined up like school kids, across the stage. Guitarist Billy Cowsill (once an itty-bitty wonder kid in the family band, The Cowsills) even sported a two-day beard.
But when they opened their mouths, no more questions were asked. Four-part harmonies through every song, each player except drummer Brady Gustafson and dobro/pedal steel/keyboard player Jim Wilson taking leads.
The vocals were hung on top of an array of instruments. The tinge of country in about half the songs came from the combination of Garry Comeau’s fiddle and the swells and ebbs of Wilson’s pedals steel and dobro.
Ray O’Toole coaxed bell-like tones out of his guitar for many of the band’s own songs – a texture which hasn’t been played so well since the hey-day of The Searchers.
The originals are reminiscent of the great pop days – of The Ventures, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.
And also quite unique within the pop formula. They’ve found a J.J. Cale instrumental feel, and Ronettes’ harmonies, mix beautifully.
The hooks from You Got Me Where You Want me, You’re Not The Same Girl, and I Just Want You To Be My Girl won’t leave my mind. The beat, steady and unobtrusive, never stopped.
The covers were a cleverly-picked hop-scotch across several eras. During the evening the band played Silver Threads and Golden Needles, Chuck Berry’s Nadine, Carl Perkins’ Matchbox Blues, a do-wah do-wah version of Tossin’ and Turnin’, and a couple of Beatles’ pop tunes, Slow Down and Mr. Postman.
As an internal rot seems to have set in on commercial rock, the accessible eclectism of Blue Northern’s country pop is just what the doctor ordered.
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