It may have been a couple of years since The Good Lovelies
last studio album but promising news has arrived that a new set of songs are in
the pipeline for a possible early 2014 release. However those impatient for
their fix of this talented Canadian trio have the added bonus of this live
release and a summer UK visit to look forward to in the meantime. Recorded live
in Toronto towards the end of last year, the band have managed to capture the
magic that has made their live gigs treasured events and a flavour of the shows
UK fans enjoyed last spring.
In self producing this live album, The Good Lovelies (Kerrie
Ough, Sue Passmore and Caroline Brooks) have selected thirteen tracks and
interspersed them with three anecdotal inserts that I believe were shared with
many audiences on the last tour. However to enhance the sound quality, they
invited three session musicians to join them for these recording shows with
Paul Mathew (bass), Les Cooper (guitar/percussion) and Christine Bougie
(electric/lap steel) certainly adding value. The latter is becoming
increasingly well known in the UK due to now having a couple of Gretchen Peters’
tours under her belt.
Despite being accomplished songwriters as well as
exceptional singers and multi-musicians, the girls are always keen to
experiment with interesting cover versions and the five selected songs for this
recording really highlighted their diverse influences. Having witnessed the
girls breathtaking version of Leonard Cohen’s standard ‘Hallelujah’ live in an acoustically wonderful church setting last
year, it was no surprise to see that featured here in its rightful place as
curtain caller. The spine tingling harmonies brought back great memories and it’s
wonderful to have a permanent recording of this fantastic version. Their other
influences are generally pretty conventional in Bruce Springsteen, Gram Parson
and acclaimed Canadian alt-country outfit Deep Dark Woods. However their choice
of an old time number ‘Heebie Jeebies’
made famous by The Boswell Sisters in the 1930’s exemplified the diversity.
Of the eight original tracks on the album, the main focus
tended to be the most recent release LET THE RAIN FALL with my personal
favourite being the exquisite travelling song ‘Old Highway’. From their Juno award winning self titled album it
was of no surprise to see the crowd participation favourite ‘Lie Down’ featured and ‘Taboo’ was selected from the band’s
inaugural album OH MY. The recording does include two self penned tracks that
are not to be found on The Good Lovelies three previous releases so ‘Tuesday Night’ and ‘Duvet Love’ may re-surface sometime in the future.
Unashamedly this release cannot be recommended highly enough
as it is a superb introduction to the band for the uninitiated while ardent
fans can revel in their old favourites recorded in a different format. After
sampling this fabulous live album, there will be a guaranteed insatiable desire
to experience the real thing, so check out one of their live UK shows in June
and July.