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to their fellow Californians , The Beach Boys . The band breaks out a few more experimental moments for Dream Canteen , like the Rihanna-esque “ My Cigarette ” and the space-age love ballad “ La La La La La La La La ” that conjures The Thin White Duke-era Bowie . The show-stealing “ Eddie ” is a lovely tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen that finds the band locked into a tight groove , repeating the sentiment “ It ’ s only 1983 ” ( a nod to the year the band formed ) with Frusciante ripping solos in true genuflection mode . With both Flea and Anthony Kiedis turning 60 this year , the passage of time can no longer be ignored . Along with the fact that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are now an indispensable piece of the California musical landscape in the same pantheon as Grateful Dead , Creedence Clearwater Revival , Black Flag , and The Beach Boys .
-Andy Derer
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THE TRAGICALLY HIP Fully Completely 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition ( Universal Music Canada )
The Tragically Hip ’ s third album , Fully Completely may not have brought the band the international success it deserved , but it cemented the band ’ s status as Canadian national heroes and ultimately sold more than a million copies in Canada alone . It coalesced the band ’ s potential , power , interplay , and wit into a set of songs that helped define the band ’ s global perception and remained important throughout the Tragically Hip ’ s career . The Hip were an intuitive and tight group of musicians led by one of rock ’ s most compelling frontmen in the late Gord Downie . Downie ’ s rapid wit , improvisational acumen , and vivid , cinematic imagery were captured in snapshot moments across Fully Completely ’ s 12 tracks and bolstered by equally picturesque sonic accompaniment . The tough and relentless groove of the album ’ s bristling title cut connects to the blues-based sound of Road Apples while simultaneously pushing the band ’ s compositional boundaries outward . The song leads with Gord Sinclair ’ s hypnotic bass line before erupting into full-tilt catharsis as a wounded party slams the door on a bad breakup . The heavy drop-D drone of Paul Langlois ’ riff for “ At the Hundredth Meridian ” evokes the wide-open expanse of the Great Plains in Canada , marked from east to west by the titular line on the map . Downie ’ s imagery turns haunted , evoking a kind of grim Edgar Allen Poeinspired poetry . Downie described the song as a cursed soul ’ s lament , doomed to remember everything he ever knew . The character makes a last request to have his mortal remains relocated from the land of “ garbage bag trees ” and properly laid to rest in the middle of nowhere . “ Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy ,” sings Downie . The album draws heavily upon Canadian landscapes and history while fueling a new mythology . “ You ’ ve got a bum ’ s eye for clothes ” a native host quips to Canadian explorer and historical figure Jacques Cartier during “ Looking for a Place to Happen .” The song also casts the Hip itself as modern-day explorers of their homeland seek lasting connections along the way . With slashing power chords , the anthemic “ Fifty Mission Cap ” tells the star-crossed tale of Toronto Maple Leafs wunderkind Bill Barilko , who died in 1951 . The song is still played before every Leafs hockey game . The deceptively breezy acoustic jangle of “ Wheat Kings ” centers upon a more recent story of injustice and decades of wrongful imprisonment for David Milgaard , who passed away this year at age 69 . Other songs are similarly vivid while touching on substantial themes . Originating with versatile drummer Johnny Fay ’ s guitar riff , “ Pigeon Camera ” features an exemplary solo from guitarist Rob Baker . The song ’ s central image recalls the homing pigeons used as spies ( or early drones ) during WWI to capture images of German trenches and applies that to the portrait of a troubled home . Listen for a fleeting “ water gong ” effect that producer Chris Thanagrides went to great lengths to produce after Downie sings “ no contingency plan .” “ Lionized ” surges with feral energy while criticizing celebrity culture and the dehumanizing nature of image marketing . The loping “ Courage ( for Hugh MacLennan )” echoes author MacLennan ’ s The Watch that Ends the Night . The song muses upon the unexpected consequences of ordinary decisions and laments the fallout due to lack of resolve to take other action when necessary . This 30th-anniversary box is a vinyl-format reissue of 2014 ’ s deluxe CDonly set containing the original album and a live album recorded in 1992 at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto . The concert recording includes all 12 songs from Fully Completely in a different order , plus a raw and powerful performance of “ Twist My Arm ” from the preceding album Road Apples . The live set includes many examples of Downie ’ s freewheeling banter and improvisational storytelling . Unlike the recently released Road Apples companion Live at the Roxy , Downie ’ s tales of the
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