- Urge For Going

- City of Tears

- The Ballad of Handsome
Ned and John MacLeod

- Pour Toi Mon Amour

- In Montreal City

- Kali Nichta (Good Night)

- Hey Hey Hey

- The Rainforest Falls

- The Desert Song

- This Side of Heaven

- Portland Isle

- Kali Mera (Good Morning)

Introduction - CANADIAN MUSIC CLUB

From the evidence of music, novelists, poets and film-makers, there is something uniquely beautiful about modern Canadian culture. There seems to be two sides to this - first, only in Canadian culture do you find that totally unique combination of French, British and American influences, creating a strangely colourful, romantic atmosphere; second, Canadians seem unafraid of expressing and exploring their own natural identity in ways other nationalities seem unhappy to do. Much of the music discussed herein seems to exude real nature, you can almost hear the waterfalls, tall trees, mountains. Canadian culture has something uniquely vibrant about it, a wonderful cross between the best of Europe and America and a refreshing outlook upon the natural world. This is your invitation to join us on our musical travels...

(the article highlights seven 'new' Canadian artists and their albums: Jane Siberry, The Pursuit of Happiness, Cowboy Junkies, Meryn Cadell, The Grapes of Wrath, Mary Margaret O'Hara and...)

COURAGE OF LASSIE - This Side of Heaven

"It's higher than Heaven, deep as the sea, all of these secrets you're keeping from me.."

Courage of Lassie may be the saddest, most genuine band ever to come out of Canada. They were formed in 1982 by two Vancouver art students named Ron Nelson and Mady Schenkel (the band's principal songwriters) but it is only over a decade later that they have finally achieved a co-ordinated world-wide record release with their fourth (and finest) album, This Side of Heaven. They have spent most of the last decade releasing independent recordings and gaining a growing cult audience and often surprising media attention (their debut cassette Threshold of Hearing, for example, was limited to a miniscule 200 copies and yet succeeded in becoming a favorite on many Canadian radio stations and got them their original record contract via the enthusiastic involvement of a German record producer).

When you hear the band's music , it's easy to appreciate how they can inspire such love and enthusiasm. 'This Side of Heaven' is a collection of songs, including a cover or two, road-tested by the band since 1992 and stylistically the sound and atmosphere is pure Canada - a blend of French, English and American folk laced with violins and accordians, that echoes the styles of Leonard Cohen, Robbie Robertson and Joni Mitchell, whilst remaining something truly individual in its own right. What comes through most strongly is the band's absolute love of music - fromthe 7/8 time Greek lullaby 'Kali Nichta' (easily the most passionate and sad violin playing I've heard on record), through the musical translation of the Jacques Prevert poem 'Pour toi mon Amour' with it's gentle percussion and searing strings; the oddly accented, 6/8 time portrait of the anniversary of the Montreal massacre (In Montreal City); the Joni Mitchell cover 'Urge for Going'; the cold starry nights of a war-torn nation in 'The Desert Song'...track after track is filled with the depths of emotion that come from loneliness, grief and the joys of community spirit (particularly, by the way, exemplified by the band's stirring live performances).

Ron Nelson's background, part French and part Native Indian, (blended with Mady Schenkel's Swiss - German heritage) is perhaps what gives the album its truly Canadian, wild, organic feel, literally sounding like crashing waterfalls, huge evergreens, frozen tundra, cross-cultural cities full of underground artistic expression... Most of all, 'This Side of Heaven' is an album that ignores the predictability of most modern music and instead welcomes you in, pours you a glass of wine or two, and invites you to pour out your heart. Once heard, the genuineness of 'This Side of Heaven' means that Courage of Lassie will be your friends for life, always welcome in your hearts.

(Day side) - All That I Know / Iron / Hiroshima / The Rose
(Night side) - Hopes and Fears / La Notte / Sag Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind / Air Du Temps

(Side one) - Ami dans Cette Vie / Who'll stop the Rain / Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) / Lonely Street / Big Town
(Side two) - Sing Or Die / Ophelia / Wild River / Down By the Salley Gardens / The Night Closes In

Urge For Going / City Of Tears / The Ballad of Handsome Ned and John MacLeod / Pour Toi Mon Amour / In Montreal City / Kali Nichta (Good Night)
Hey Hey Hey (Positively Queen Street) / The Rainforest Falls / The Desert Song / This Side of Heaven / Portland Isle / Kail Mera (Good Morning)

Ron Nelson - Guitar and vocals

Mady Schenkel - Guitar and vocals

Rod Booth - Violins and Accordian

Rachel Melas - Fretless Bass

Connie Nowe - drums and percussion