Canada's other big musical offering (besides Rush, not to mention Neil Young,) the Tragically Hip, have been turning out high-quality rock for nearly two decades now. A staple in their homeland, the Hip is hardly known in the US. Their latest effort, In Between Evolution, seems to be a concerted effort to break through to a little more exposure in the states. Unfortunately, as with most efforts to break through, it suffers from a few flaws. Minor as they may be, it's unfortunate to see a band struggling to get attention. Explaining that the Hip deserve the attention should be unnecessary - but as with all things truly good, it generally misses the attention of the public at large who seem to need things more watered down and generalized.
The problem with In Between Evolution is that it sounds, in a way, like two separate pieces - a short section of "different" material (for the Tragically Hip, at least) followed up by a too-short album of traditional Hip material. The album kicks off in high gear with the raw, almost-punk energy of "Heaven Is A Better Place Today," singer Gord Downie straining to reach the upper echelons of his vocal range. In some respects, it's as if the Hip made a conscious effort to resurrect a bit of the "hard rock" sound they shed after their first couple of albums Up To Here and Road Apples - with mixed results. It's not as if these first three songs are bad songs - they just seem to lack some of the heart this band pours into their music. There's an odd transition between "Gus The Polar Bear From Central Park" and "Vaccination Scar" that illustrates the change that happened in the band between the classic Day For Night and the follow-up Trouble At The Henhouse - from a rock band with thoughtful lyrics to a thoughtful band that happens to rock. Between tracks three and four, the tempos change, the attitude changes, the song structures change, and that's a good thing - I don't think I would have gotten that much out of an entire album filled with that many out-and-out rockers, to be honest. What I've come to love with the Hip is an ability to straddle folk-rock and hard rock, favoring just slightly the folk-side of things due to Downie's intriguing, oft-humorous, but always thoughtful lyrics.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
so tom, what's a good place to start with this band?
(i almost got to see them many years ago in a small club in new hampshire....but we sat through the soundcheck by the opening band The Horseflies...and decided that our ears were already blown out. so we left (why i had no earplugs with me i'll never know)).
2 - Tom Johnson
My favorites of theirs are Trouble At The Henhouse and In Violet Light, but most seem to prefer Day For Night. I would stay away from Music@Work, Road Apples, and Up To Here until you're more familiar with them. They're not bad albums, but latter two don't sound so much like the Hip today and the former just seemed to be a major stumble for them. Their live album, Live Between Us might actually be a perfect place to start - not only do you get a mix of songs from Henhouse and earlier albums, you get to hear Gord going off like he frequently does in concert - making up lyrics and stories on the spot. Hip bootlegs are great fun too - Gord can always be counted on to start ruminating on weird things at any point. I picked up Henhouse first when it came out, having heard DfN and Fully Completely over and over again at the little music-stuff store I worked at. However, it was Live Between Us that really cemented them with me.
3 - Vern Halen
I know there's many Hip fans thatwould love to see them return to the sound that started them off. The later albums compared to the earlier ones is for me a case of apples vs. oranges. On the other hand, returning to Up to Here or Road Apples or even Fully Completely would be seen by some as a step backward. Personally, I'd like to see them meld the two, writing simple, accessibe r'n'r songs with interesting lyrics and arrangements to complement it all.
Guess I'll have to go out & get the new album and put it beside the rest of them.
4 - oats
I got hooked on the hip listening to the singles from the Phantom Power album. Then Live Between Us hogged my ear for the longest time.
I can tell you that Trouble in the Henhouse, Phantom Power, Music at Work, In Violet Light and now In Between Evolution get better every time you listen to them. Just sit down with the lyrics, listen and sing along. After a couple thorough listens you'll have some enjoyable tunes humming in your head.
Enjoy IBE. I know I am.
Cheers!
oats
5 - Arock
I've been listening to the Hip since about the beginning. The first time I heard "New Orleans is Sinking" off of the "Up to Here" album I was hooked.
However, my favorite album is "Fully Completely." Hands down -- best album. Love every song. My least favorite album is "Music at Work." Really never got into it.
After "Day for Night" (great CD) the hip changed in some way. I think it was Gord's vocals for the most part. It took a while to get used to his new sound. I wasn't totally impressed with the "Trouble at the Henhouse" album and I hated "Ahead by a Century" when the single was first released. But, guess what -- it is now one of my favorites.
Now, the "Phantom Power" album -- definitely one of the "good" ones to me.
I loved the third CD, "Road Apples", but "IVL" was so-so (better than "M@W", though).
Their new CD, "In Between Evolution", is quickly becoming one of my favorites. "Vaccination Scar" and "You're Everywhere" are probably my top 2 right now.
............
6 - patty t
i'm 25; i've seen the hip live 12 times, in small theatre venues, and in massive 40,000+ festival settings. nobody owns the crowd like them. if you haven't seen them in the flesh, you are depriving yourself of something uniquely exquisite and mind-blowing-- you will purchase all their catalogue within months. they built their entire reputation on their live performances--that's why they are legends up in canada.
their 10 albums, in decreasing order of goodness, are:
1. Road Apples (every song is an rnr classic-- pity the poor yanks who didn't get to hear these songs when first released on radio)
2. Fully Completely
3. Phantom Power
4. Day for Night
5. In Between Evolution (yes, it's good to rank in the top half)
6. Up to Here ('blow at high dough' remains their most incredible song)
7. In Violet Light
8. Music@Work
9. Trouble at the Henhouse
10. self-title EP ('blue album')
when listening for the first time, have a copy of the lyrics in hand -- not just a musical experience, but a literary one.
7 - Joshwayy
I am a hipster since the first time I heard road apples and I can honestly say (sad, I know to many of music lovers) that the hip sees my cd player at least once a day. Almost every song on every album is simply a favorite. I like Patty t's top 10 list of albums except I swap Fully and Apples, as well as Day for night with Phantom power, but the top 5 are still the same. The new album is slowly taking hold after waiting for the music store to open last week. Henhouse and IVL just didn't get the "where is that cd?" as I drive to and from work. I also agree with the earlier statements that the last song (normally #11 for me) is often my favorite song on the disc (unplugged gem, as I wind down the pines, emperor, and Josephine all have that certain distinct Hip trademark that blends the music and lyric into a forever favorite)and I agree that I have never understood the singles as they are released? I live in VT, and the Hip have a large following and get good radio play, but never the songs that I feel make them my favorite band. As I await more tour dates to be added this summer, and I play the new album (current favorites Josephine, Scar, Gus, Heaven, family)it does get better with every playthrough, I cycle back through my collection, give them a full listen to and I am thankful I stumbled upon perhaps the most underated band of all time. I have gotten at least 10 people into them, and they have gotten 10 more, it grows exponentially, but it might be too late. I have changed just as they have, they are not the same band that wrote apples (no cowboy boots and leather vests on the boys now) or fully and that is where I first got the hip bug. I still start off new listeners with Fully and Apples, mix in some songs from day for night, phantom power, and up to here for the classic rockabilly tinge and they make one hell of a mix. Oh well, the cd's over, time to pick another.
8 - Ogre
I am going out to buy this album today. I managed a record store when The Hip first broke onto the scene and I'd like to tell you all that "Up to Here" is not their first album the first album was a self titled album with a blue cover and included such classics as Highway girl, Last American Exit, Teenage Werewolf and a bonus track on the CD called All Canadian Surf Club. I have seen them everytime they have played Vancouver except their most recent gig in June of 2004 at Richards on Richards (a small club in Vancouver) due to the fact I was out of town. :(. It's good to see them putting out some more rockin' stuff , gettin' back to the roots. For anyone who has'nt seen them in concert. GO! They are the BEST!!
9 - Tom Johnson
Hi Ogre. The self-titled release is actually an EP, which is why I didn't list it as one of their albums.
Unfortunately, everything prior to In Violet Light is apparently out of print now! Weird, sad - unless we're going to get some nice remasters (yes, I know the first three releases were remastered, and Day For Night had a multimedia section added) with bonus material on each. Anyone know if Rounder bought up the rights to all their previous albums?
10 - Kirbo
The hip are my favorite band of all time, and not one album has been bad. In fact it's hard for me to find a bad song. Granted they have weaker songs (If New Orleans is beat, Sherpa, and The Rules are a few) However even a weak Hip song is amazing when compared to almost any other band. It's so hard to rank their albums, because they are all simply sublime, however, from worst to best:
11. The Tragically Hip (Self Titled)
10.Music @ Work
9.In Violet Light
8.Day For Night
7.Live Between Us (Amazing Live Album)
6.In Between Evolution
5.Fully Completly
4.Road Apples
3.Up to Here
2.Trouble at the Henhouse
1.Phantom Power
11 - TrevBack
I just want to say that I don't understand how people can compare one album to another. Bands like The Hip don't try to write the same songs over and over, they try to evolve and grow. You don't like Music @ Work? Are you kidding me? Every Hip album is a classic in my book. I don't compare the new CD with anything before it, I just listen to it based on its own merit. Will the Hip ever write a song like "New Orleans is Sinking" again? I hope not, they've moved on and so should everyone else. Man, everyone is a critic! The Hip are awesome, 'nuff said.
12 - VSS
amen
13 - roger clyne
i am as big a hip fan as anyone, but, let's be serious here. anyone who mentioned "i'm a werewolf baby" as being a "classic", or, frankly, even a "decent" song is an idiot. it's the one blemish on an otherwise spotless career. and it's more the forgivable.
14 - American hip fan
wow... decent review, though I disagree on a few things. first of all, your generalizations of the American music-buying population are off base and uncalled for. Taking shots at the states during a Tragically Hip album review is lame. Isn't Avril Lavigne from Canada?
Secondly, on a lighter note, I think the first three tracks are some of the best on the album. If you can read the lyrics to "Heaven is a better place" and convince yourself that Gord didn't pour his heart out into that song, you're lying. He's obviously frustrated and angry and the hard-rock edge is just what the song called for.
Thanks for the info on the producer, I didn't realize that he had done the two previous foo fighters albums, and that does explain for some of the different sounds on the album. I was wary of IVL when it came out too, but it is by far my favorite Hip album, and I'm sure this one will grow on me as well.
A tip for those trying to get into the Hip or just a new album.. Listen to it very loudly while driving out on some country road or when you're going to be heading on a roadtrip. It's perfect driving music.
15 - Tom Johnson
first of all, your generalizations of the American music-buying population are off base and uncalled for. Taking shots at the states during a Tragically Hip album review is lame.
Not off base, and totally called for. We do need music verified. I fully stand by that assessment and need only look at the top-whatever charts to see proof of that in action. We don't like different, it is very plain to see.
Isn't Avril Lavigne from Canada?
She sure is, but again she's been hyped and programmers paid-off to get those songs in rotation at radio stations, movie theaters, etc. Her success has nothing to do with the quality of her music - only the quality of her marketing. She's an average talent among a million equally deserving others. She's not particularly awful, but not particularly great, either, but there was a marketable angle to her that the label scooped up. This kind of crap gets all the attention but the Hip doesn't. I'm perfectly justified in my rant about American music taste-tendencies.
16 - Mark Saleski
does this mean i've gotta throw out my Shania Twain cd's?
17 - Tom Johnson
I think it does, Mark, but just toss the discs - you can keep the pictures. ;-)
18 - Mark Saleski
i do believe that my wife thinks you've got that exactly backwards. ;-)
19 - Gary
After IVL and M@W, I was weary of this album at first. The first listen eased my apprehension, and then like all Hip albums it got significantly better each time I hear it.
3 Comments:
In the first album list, Trouble at the Henhouse is listed second last. I can't disagree more. At first, this album truly disappointed me. Now it's one of my favorites. Give it another chance.
FYI on Heaven is a Better Place Today. The song is a tribute to Dan Snyder who died in the Dany Heatley car crash and was a teammate of the Atlanta Hockey player. The lyrics made so much more sense to me after I found that out.
Avril's not that bad. At least she writes her own stuff unlike most teen pop queens.
20 - chris cohen
Does anyone know how the hell I can get The Tragically Hip to come to Australia? I'm DESPERATE.
21 - Ron (GonZo) Marshall
I have been a Hip fan for more than ten years now. I've seen them live probably a dozen times and even had the chance one day to meet and talk with the guys one night when they popped into the bars where I was working as a DJ. Now I have the most amazing story to tell. At present I am living in China teaching english at a college. In my preparations for my move to China I was sure to pack all of my Hip CD's along. I live in a rather small town in China so I spend alot of my free time traveling to bigger cities so I can get a taste of some western culture, so I don't go insane. On one of these trips I found an awesome rock n roll bar in the city of Qingdao, it's a city on the coast of the Yellow sea. The bar's name was Lennon Bar, as in John Lennon. Anyways as always my CD book was with me and after chatting with the DJ I convinced him to play some Hip for me. He played a few selections, one being one of my all time favorites " Wheat Kings. " Wow man I gotta tell ya no other experince will ever compare to standing in that bar with a cold beer in my hand listening to that song. Tears of joy ran down my face as the song played, thinking " I can never top this moment. " Well I just wanted to relate this story to some folks who could really apreciate it. And I will be sure to relate any simlilar tales from The Hip fan in Qingzhou. Bye for now.
22 - Debbie
Does anyone know where I might be able to find the first self-title Hip album in vinyl - preferably still sealed - yeah I know fat chance, but my boyfriend his a HUGE fan and has the 2nd two LP's and I would love to get him this one for christmas.
23 - Van (the
It's funny how things happen. I was just looking for info about The Lennon Bar in Qingdao, China and I stumbled on this site. It seems in January, 2005, Ron (GonZo) Marshall commented on the experience of playing a Hip CD there. Well, 2 years later Ron assisted my band, the billKillers on several occasions to belt out a few Hip tunes live at the Lennon bar. I have to say, it was an amazing feeling belting out "Courage" with Ron, as well as "New Orleans is Sinking", and "Little Bones" with some other Canadian expats in China in front of a crowd that had largely never heard it before, but loved what they heard.
In 2005, Ron said the feeling of listening to a Hip CD in China was a great feeling, but I'm sure he'd agree, playing the music live in the same bar 2 years later was a much better feeling by far!
24 - Tom Johnson
We're all about bringing people together, Van (and Ron). :-) Fascinating story (and coincidence.) I guess that's what great music does - cause cool things like this to happen.
25 - Chris Fleming
Hey guys, Ive been a Hip fan since 1987, when the Blue Album was first released. For anyone looking for any of the discs, i would recommend hitting up your local indie music store & having them special order it. if you live in michigan, head over to sarnia, ON (my hometown) & check out Cheeky Monkey downtown on Christina St. they have got EVERY Hip CD for undr $15 Cdn. they have played Bayfest here twice (the local open air festival, which has seen Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue & ZZ Top in recent years) and they had sold out nights both times, with the crowd being well over 10,000. they are truly more of a live experience as much as they are a live band and make any ticket price fully worth every cent! incidentally, Music @ Work was probably one of the best albums released up here & did very well for them, even netting them a Juno award(Cdn equivalent of the Grammys)