Before I got into vinyl, I could lay claim to a very healthy bunch of Canadian artists on my CD shelves. From Harlequin to Max Webster (and solo Kim Mitchell), from Rush to April Wine, and Gowan to Burton Cummings... and even Glenn Gould, the classical pianist.
I've got some of those same artists on my record shelf, though I've tried to steer away from re-buying albums I already owned on CD, instead going for ones I've never owned before. Mostly.
So here are the artists I have on vinyl, in no particular order:
Anne Murray... her early "hits" album seems odd in my collection of mostly rock music, but hey, broaden the horizons, right? Lightweight yet well-crafted tunes by the queen of Can-Country.
Bob & Doug McKenzie... okay, not technically music artists, but their Great White North comedy album does feature their Canadianized version of The Twelve Days of Christmas and the "classic" Take Off with Geddy Lee of Rush on vocals. Bob & Doug were popular on Canadian TV in the early 80's and when they made the leap to record, I snapped it up. And this is that exact same record.
Burton Cummings... the former singer for The Guess Who had style, knocking out albums of great piano rock tunes. I got his first three records not long ago; all very cool.
David Wilcox... bluesy rock guitarist and partier supremo; I've been a fan since I saw him live back in the early 80's, and this is my first studio album of his (though his comprehensive "Over 60 Minutes With..." CD sure kept me entertained in the interim).
Gordon Lightfoot... the Canuck folk legend actually hails from my hometown - so why did it take me so long to check out, let alone buy, one of his albums? Terrific music with heart and a definite Canadian slant.
Harlequin... these guys enjoyed some small-scale fame during their prime, and I even saw them play at my high school! I wish they'd achieved greater success and continued on, but their career was on and off again for years. Very fun hard rock with class.
Loverboy... not a big fan at all, but I do like a handful of their fist-pumping 80's mullet anthems. My record purchase was actually a botch: I grabbed what I thought was their first album at a yard sale (for like a buck) but when I went to spin it at home, discovered the record in the sleeve was actually their second album. Doh! So - definitely not as good as the first album, but I'll hang onto it for now.
Max Webster... these days, I'd say these goofballs are my favourite Canuck band. That used to be Rush (for decades) but I rarely want to listen to 'em now; Max Webster, on the other hand, are still a lot of fun. I have all but one of their studio albums on vinyl and it's all gold to me. Love it all! What is this stuff? Heavy prog-rock-pop? No cigarettes! No matches!
Oscar Peterson Trio... the only jazz album in my record collection, and it just happens to be by a fellow countryman. Peterson was a giant of the jazz scene in his day, and though I'm a neophyte when it comes to his music, I can see his incredible talent and influence.
Rush... heh, these guys? They only dominated my mind and ears for about thirty years of my life. I was a serious, serious Rush fanatic, especially in my teens and twenties, collecting not just their music (and bootlegs and interviews), but also posters, books, magazines, buttons, patches, shirts, and more... and seeing them in concert nine times. Since I've already bought and re-bought their many albums on almost every format over the decades, I decided not to do it again with vinyl (this time around, since I did have a couple of their LPs when I was a teen). I chose just one album, for now, and that was Fly By Night, a solid representation of Rush first developing their prog-rock sound with newcomer Peart on drums and lyrics. Oh, and I have a few (very collectible) of their 7-inch singles I kept from the 80's.
Voivod... I only have their latest release, The Wake, on vinyl, but it is a mighty cool prog-metal offering. I love it, and if only Voivod's early records weren't so frikkin' expensive, I'd pick up a few more. Still, this Quebecois band has carved out their place in the history of the genre... even massive bands like Metallica give props to the 'Vods for their pioneering work.
I've also got a handful of those 70's K-Tel compilation records, and they have an assortment of Canadian talent from that era. Stuff like Dan Hill, Stampeders, Prism, Gino Vanelli, Domenic Troiano, B.T.O., Chilliwack, and Toulouse.
Salute the maple leaf!
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