[.ca] Outskirts

Amazon.ca:
Toronto twang quintet Blue Rodeo have evolved into one of Canada's most popular, polished roots-pop ensembles, but their 1987 debut shows that the seed was there from the start. Built around the back-and-forth vocals of guitarists-songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, songs like "Rose Coloured Glasses" and "Outskirts" are country rock with an emphasis on the rock end of the equation. Compared to Blue Rodeo records like Nowhere to Here and Tremolo, Outskirts is a modest beginning. The instrumentation is under-whelming beyond the flamboyant Acetone organ runs of pianist Bob Wiseman, but Keelor and Cuddy write memorable pop songs and lay a solid foundation for what's to come.--Matt Galloway

Blue Rodeo Outskirts:
This is Blue Rodeo's first cd. Their first hit "Try" is here and it still one of their most popular songs for fans at all of the concerts I have attended. Jim Cuddy's vocals are fantastic in "Try", "Heart Like Mine", and "Rose-Coloured Glasses". This CD is a real classic!! You won't be disappointed.

Why Aren't These Guys More Popular??:
I was introduced to Blue Rodeo in the spring of 1988. They played a gig during my school's (Lake Forest College in Illinois) spring wing-ding weekend (you know the type). While most of spoiled preps ignored them, they blasted out a series of smart, honest, hook-filled songs that left me transfixed. After they ended their set with a mind-bending, feedback-filled 10-minute freakout jam, my roommate and I approached them to let them know that some people appreciate good music. They were great -- Greg and Jim chatted with us and their road manager gave us a cassette of the first album, "Outskirts." I thought it was tremendous then and I still do today. Imagine if -- back in the spring of 1966 -- John Lennon and Paul McCartney had hooked up with Bob Dylan and the Band. That's basically the sound and feel of Blue Rodeo on "Outskirts", and its successors, "Diamond Mine" and "Casino". After that, they started to grow more in the so-called "alt-country" direction, which isn't really my bag, I'm afraid. But their first three albums are classic rock music.

Canadian, eh!:
Blue Rodeo is one of the greatest rock bands to come out of Canada. And 15 years later, they are still going strong, as well as Greg and Jim having some solo outings along the way. This is a terrific debut that hinted at the greatness to come. Every song here is good, no filler. The gorgeous ballad 'Try' is one of the nicest ballads I have heard, and is also popular on country stations as well as rock. Hence the 'Rodeo' in the bands name. Jim said in an interview that it's to highlight the little bit of country that they put into their albums. The other hit was 'Rose-Coloured Glasses'. Greg and Jim take turns throughout the album on lead vocals, which gives their albums variety, as each have a different style of singing. If you don't know this group yet, what are you waiting for?

Best Kept Secret In Canada:
Outskirts was Blue Rodeo's first release (1987) and I fell in love with it. It's been over ten years since I bought "Outskirts" and my feelings for it having changed a bit since. Back then I had only heard the song "Try" but upon listening to the entire CD, I was shocked by it's greatness. From the very first cut "Heart Like Mine" with it's slow a cappella beginning; building to a crescendo with the words "I just want to find...a heart like mine, accompanied by Bobby Wiseman's outstanding syntheseizer, this album soars. Greg Keelor's low gravelly voice hamonizes well with Jim Cuddy's silky tenor voice. Greg takes the lead on the moderate tempo Rose Coloured Glasses, Upskirts and the uptempo Joker is Wild. Jim whose voice I absolutely love does a beautiful rendition of the ballad Try and Rebel as well as Underground. For a first album this one is shockingly good . I highly recommend it and the newer releases as well. Bare Naked Ladies get international acclaim but the best kept secret here in Canada is my favourite band Blue Rodeo.

Awesome Album:
This is with no doubt the best Blue Rodeo album ever. Although, it was not their best selling album. Believe it or not, my mom bought this album right after she bought Diamond Mine (another good one) and I was only 2 years old. I play the guitar now (Blues, Rock, R & B) and I feel, because of this album (being the first music I ever heard) totally helped to change and influence my direction in my guitar playing and taste in music. I was singing and playing around with these songs at an earlier age than anyone could imagine. Blue Rodeo is definetly not the band they used to be. Now, they play irritating pop and country music. 5 Days in July was not a bad album, but I feel it was in a whole new direction. They seemed to have wanted to do 4 albums with more of a rock feel and now (because of 5 Days in July) got carried away with the country and pop feel. Their second-last album released (The Days in Between) was definetly a good example of pop (but wasn't too extreme). The Days in Between was not a horrible album. It was a very different type of feel, but it was far too different. Palace of Gold (their latest album) couldn't have been worse. Greg Keeler used to do much more of a rock feel, but still maintained the ability to express his feelings in a such a way that does not have anger. Greg has changed tremendously (physically, musically, and mentally) because of the fact of him finding out he was adopted a few years ago and the terrible feeling of diabetes. Jim Cuddy tends to write pop songs in which he trys to express himself poetically but fails. Jim Cuddy's songs (I feel) have no actual meaning in them. Blue Rodeo achieved greatness a long time ago. No matter how hard they try now, they will never achieve it again. Then again, we will always have precious memories of their first few albums which carry greatness. Blue Rodeo was the best Canadian band that ever existed.

• Heart Like Mine
• Rose Colored Glasses
• Rebel
• Joker's Wild
• Piranha Pool
• Outskirts
• Underground
• 5 Will Get You Six
• Try
• Floating