A selection for 2012 Canada Reads by CBC Radio One, I picked “On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock” by Dave Bidini to read because it seemed like the obvious choice for myself; I play music and have entertained dreams of being a rock star, and I’m fascinated by Canadian history and those who lived it.
I also picked it partially because I never was a Rheostatics fan… growing up in Belleville, Ontario, I had no choice but to have mainstream tastes, and I never hung with any crowd that anyone would deem very “cool.” Then by the time I began to broaden my musical horizons in university, I was looking at the obscure indie rock of the 80s and 90s south of the border. The Rheostatics passed me by as the band with the weird videos occasionally on MuchMusic, but I recognize they’re important… which ultimately intrigued me enough to pick up this book.
“On a Cold Road” is more or less Bidini’s tour diary of his band’s trip across Canada opening up for the Tragically Hip, while also functions as an oral history of Canada’s early days of rock and roll. The history presented is from the side of the musicians, who talk about life on the road and the gritty details on being in a band, which gives an “on the ground” feeling to their stories.
So because I was unfamiliar with the Rheostatics, and unfamiliar with some of the early acts Bidini talks to members of, I put together this overview/soundtrack of his book, which I think functions nicely as an audio accompaniment. Maybe you don’t need to hear “New Orleans is Sinking” again, but in the context of the Rheostatic’s history in the book, alongside the greater Canadian rock music history, it may provide you with fresh ears.
Hope you enjoy listening, and you can learn more about “Canada Reads” here on CBC.ca.
Chapter 1 – Prologue
Max Webster – “In Context of the Moon”
Triumph – “Rocky Mountain Way”
Rheostatics – “Christopher”
Ken Tobias – “Every Bit of Love”
Gale Garnett – “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine”
Chapter 2 – British Columbia
The Rheostatics – “The Ballad of Wendel Clark”
The Collectors – “What Love Suite”
Chapter 3 – Alberta
The Rheostatics – “Earth/Monstrous Hummingbirds”
Zon – “Back Down to Earth”
Thor – “Keep the Dogs Away”
Tragically Hip – “Little Bones”
Chapter 4 – Saskatchewan
Bachman-Turner Overdrive – “Rock is My Life and this is My Song”
The Rheostatics – “Saskatchewan”
Bachman-Turner Overdrive – “Taking Care of Business”
Crowbar – “Oh What a Feeling”
Chapter 5 – Manitoba
The Rheostatics – “The King of the Past”
The Stampeders – “Sweet City Woman”
The Tragically Hip – “At the Hundredth Meridian”
Fludd – “Get Up Get Out Move On”
Goddo – “So Walk On”
Chapter 6 – USA
The Rheostatics – “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
The Rheostatics – “Record Body Count”
Chapter 7 – Toronto, Part 1
Stompin’ Tom Connors – “Snowmobile Song”
Stompin’ Tom Connors – “Sudbury Saturday Night”
The Guess Who – “Shakin’ All Over”
Chapter 8 – Quebec
Rheostatics – “Bad Time to be Poor”
Rheostatics – “Four Little Songs”
Rheostatics – “Dope Fiends and Boozehounds”
Chapter 9 – The East
Tragically Hip – “New Orleans is Sinking”
Headpins – “Don’t it Make You Feel”
Rheostatics – “Aliens”
Rheostatics – “Shaved Head”
Chapter 10 – Toronto, Part 2
The Tragically Hip – “Nautical Disaster”
Rheostatics – “Claire”
The Tragically Hip – “50 Mission Cap”