[.ca] Trapeze: The Collection (2CD)

Amazon.ca:
Much like fellow music-industry vet Steve Earle, Tom Cochrane plays heartfelt, roots-based music with a conscience. And like Earle he found early success within the confines of a band (Red Rider), but eventually struck out on his own, expanding his musical vision as he pleased. This two-disc retrospective not only brings together all the best musical moments of Cochrane's long, accomplished career, it provides an autobiographical account of his life and the world he grew up in. His honest and thoughtful lyrics not only examine his own ups and downs, they inquisitively explore larger societal issues--from the defiant “Human Race” to “Just Like Ali,” about dealing with a terminally ill parent--without ever preaching. Sequenced more or less in order, starting with 1979's “White Hot,” from Red Rider's first album, Don't Fight It, the two discs are evenly divided between Red Rider's terse, funky new wave (disc one) and Cochrane's more expansive and rootsy solo material (disc two). All the essential hits are included--from the cult paranoia of “Lunatic Fringe” to the hopeful “Life is a Highway”--and though the recording quality varied in the 20-plus years covered here, the sound throughout this collection is consistent and robust. Trapeze is a well-balanced and complete document of Tom Cochrane's consistently entertaining and varied musical career. --Adem Tepedelen

Record companies TAKE NOTE:
This is what people want when they buy a "Hits" collection by their favorite band. While Red Rider/Tom Cochrane were never anyone's idea of a major band, they did have a following and they did have a pretty nice string of albums from which to draw tracks. This collection has much of the best of both Tom Cochrane's solo work and his work with Red Rider. (That's not to say that it has everything essential. It has some holes.) The nice thing about this set is that it doesn't have that "abbreviated" feel of some other collections with their 50 minute running time. If you like Red Rider/Tom Cochrane and don't want to collect the individual cd's, this is the collection to get.

Nice career overview of underrated Canadian rocker:
Tom Cochrane, whether on his own or with Red Rider, has long been an underrated rocker-poet-folkie. He's produced lots of hits in the Great White North - No Regrets, I Wish You Well, White Hot, Lunatic Fringe and (of course) Life Is A Highway - and they're all here. It's the other tracks that should remind critics and casual fans alike that Cochrane is more than just a 1980s and '90s hitmaker. Check out Dreamer's Dream, Neruda and Ocean Blue to get a feel for how varied his sound can be. Much of that sound was created with guitarist/pedal steel whiz Kenny Greer, who split with Cochrane before the recording of the mega-selling Mad Mad World CD. Fortunately, Greer is back and you hear his influence all over the two new tracks on this collection - Just Like Ali, a tribute to his father and the famous boxer (both of whom have Parkinson's Disease, and all the proceeds from this track go to fight the ailment) and Pictures From The Edge. Here's the complete track listing: CD 1: White Hot, Avenue A, Lunatic Fringe, Light In The Tunnel, Power (Strength In Numbers), Human Race, Can't Turn Back, Napoleon Sheds His Skin, Neruda, Young Thing, Wild Dreams, Boy Inside The Man, The Untouchable One, Ocean Blues, Big League, Victory Day Good Times, Just Like Ali. CD 2: Life Is A Highway, Mad Mad World, No Regrets, Sinking Like A Sunset, Washed Away, Brave And Crazy, I Wish You Well, Wildest Dreams, paper Tigers, Dreamer's Dream, I Wonder, Stonecutter's Arms, Pictures From The Edge. The package comes with a very complete essay by Canadian freelance music writer Greg Quill, plus commentary on every song by Cochrane himself. So what's missing? Well, both CDs have room for a few more tracks, and those songs should have come from the excellent all-acoustic Songs From A Circling Spirit and the very cool Symphony Sessions albums (Thus my rating of 4, instead of 5 stars). Both were mysteriously ignored when it came to picking songs for Trapeze. Too bad, too. The Symphony Sessions version of White Hot, recorded live in concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, is the definitive one as far as I'm concerned.

Nice career overview of underrated Canadian rocker:
Tom Cochrane, whether on his own or with Red Rider, has long been an underrated rocker-poet-folkie. He's produced lots of hits in the Great White North - No Regrets, I Wish You Well, White Hot, Lunatic Fringe and (of course) Life Is A Highway - and they're all here. It's the other tracks that should remind critics and casual fans alike that Cochrane is more than just a 1980s and '90s hitmaker. Check out Dreamer's Dream, Neruda and Ocean Blue to get a feel for how varied his sound can be. Much of that sound was created with guitarist/pedal steel whiz Kenny Greer, who split with Cochrane before the recording of the mega-selling Mad Mad World CD. Fortunately, Greer is back and you hear his influence all over the two new tracks on this collection - Just Like Ali, a tribute to his father and the famous boxer (both of whom have Parkinson's Disease, and all the proceeds from this track go to fight the ailment) and Pictures From The Edge. Here's the complete track listing: CD 1: White Hot, Avenue A, Lunatic Fringe, Light In The Tunnel, Power (Strength In Numbers), Human Race, Can't Turn Back, Napoleon Sheds His Skin, Neruda, Young Thing, Wild Dreams, Boy Inside The Man, The Untouchable One, Ocean Blues, Big League, Victory Day Good Times, Just Like Ali. CD 2: Life Is A Highway, Mad Mad World, No Regrets, Sinking Like A Sunset, Washed Away, Brave And Crazy, I Wish You Well, Wildest Dreams, paper Tigers, Dreamer's Dream, I Wonder, Stonecutter's Arms, Pictures From The Edge. The package comes with a very complete essay by Canadian freelance music writer Greg Quill, plus commentary on every song by Cochrane himself. So what's missing? Well, both CDs have room for a few more tracks, and those songs should have come from the excellent all-acoustic Songs From A Circling Spirit and the very cool Symphony Sessions albums (Thus my rating of 4, instead of 5 stars). Both were mysteriously ignored when it came to picking songs for Trapeze. Too bad, too. The Symphony Sessions version of White Hot, recorded live in concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, is the definitive one as far as I'm concerned. One other thing: in Canada there's a limited-edition version with a third disc containing five live-in-concert songs.

compilation:
One of the besst compilations of "The Best Of" in a very long while. Music is so easy listening to all ages...

• White Hot
• Avenue a
• Lunatic Fringe
• Light in the Tunnel
• Power (Strength in Numbers)
• Human Race
• Can't Turn Back
• Napoleon Sheds His Skin
• Neruda
• Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me)
• Boy Inside the Man
• Untouchable One
• Ocean Blues (Emotion Blues)
• Big League
• Victory Day
• Good Times
• Just Like Ali
• Life Is a Highway
• Mad Mad World
• No Regrets
• Sinking Like a Sunset
• Washed Away
• Brave and Crazy
• I Wish You Well
• Wildest Dreams
• Paper Tigers
• Dreamer's Dream
• I Wonder
• Stonecutter's Arms
• Pictures from the Edge