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CanAm

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Everything posted by CanAm

  1. There were so many great pop songs recorded in the 60's. Some of my favourites are: Do You Believe In Magic - The Lovin' Spoonful Get Together - The Youngbloods Downtown - Petula Clark California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas Solitary Man - Neil Diamond Help Yourself - Tom Jones I'm also firmly in the "I like the Monkees " camp.
  2. Like Bluesboy, I like the early Rod Stewart material. I love his work with the Faces, but I'm not really familiar with the albums he did with Jeff Beck. IMO, his last good album was Foot Loose & Fancy Free. When he switched to disco in the late 70's, I stopped listening. I can't bring myself to listen to his Great American Songbook CD. IMO, Linda Rondstadt, Anne Murray and Natalie Cole have the voices to do justice to the old ballads. Rod should stick to rock 'n' roll which he does very, very well.
  3. In no particular order: The solo at the end of Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd The middle and end solos in "King of Hollywood"- The Eagles The solo at the end of "The Bluest Blues" - Alvin Lee The middle and end solos in "Rama Lama Man" - David Lindley Just about any solo by Mark Knopfler. The man is a brilliant player. The solos in "Gene and Eddie"- Brian Setzer The extended solo in "Like A Hurricane" - Neil Young :guitar:
  4. Thanks, Rich and Edna! Yes, Canada is beautiful, but all the countries I have visited (not nearly as many as I would like) are beautiful in their own unique ways. We would need a hundred lifetimes to visit all the beautiful sights around the world. I plan to visit as many as I can before I cast off this mortal coil.
  5. Here are some photos of Calgary and Moraine Lake which is about a 90 minute drive from Calgary.
  6. Although I prefer rock 'n' roll, I do like some country music. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood and Sweethearts of The Rodeo are some of my favourites. Some of the most versatile and talented musicians are found in country music. Roy Clark(guitar, fiddle and mandolin), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Vince Gill(guitar) and Ricky Skaggs(mandolin and guitar) are just a few of the great instrumentalists in country music. In the rural areas of Canada, country music is far and away the most popular musical genre.
  7. I have only met three music celebrities. Many moons ago, I met Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman of Yes. Both of them were warm and charming. Howe was rather shy and Wakeman had a self-deprecating sense of humour. The other celebrity I met was Alanna "Black Velvet" Myles. A friend of mine worked for Warner Records and was given the dubious honour of escorting Ms. Myles to some promotional events in Edmonton. I met her at one of these events. What a b**ch!! An ego the size of the great outdoors and ill-mannered to boot.
  8. I love Celtic music. The genre encompasses such a wide range of styles. I tend to like the ethereal, mournful tunes more than the jigs and reels. Some of my favourite artists are Capercaillie, Clannad, Moira Kerr, The Rankin Family, Loreena McKennit, Deanta and Connie Dover.
  9. The only Australian groups with which I'm familiar are AC/DC, The Little River Band and The Seekers, but I love all of them. I'll have to check out some of the bands mentioned by Katie. They sound interesting.
  10. I was never a big fan of The Beach Boys until I married a Californian 10 years ago. With the exception of some of their later material, there was nothing particularly deep or meaningful in their lyrics. But there is something so uplifting about their music. Whenever I'm down in the dumps, all I have to do is listen to Fun, Fun, Fun, Wouldn't It Be Nice or Dance, Dance, Dance and I immediately feel better. A few years ago, my family and I were driving up the Pacific coast highway near San Simeon in a rented Mustang convertible. We had a Beach Boys greatest hits CD playing and all of us were singing along to the music. It was magical. Great harmonies, crisp guitar playing and catchy tunes. What more could you ask for? They were unique, and their music will always hold an honoured position in my CD and LP collections.
  11. I love Blue Rodeo's song "5 Days in May" too. Can you recommend anything else by them that I really need to hear? Most of their material is good, but other than the song you mentioned, I particularly like "Till I Am Myself Again", "Try", and "Trust Yourself".
  12. Amen to that, Sammy! Although I do like L.A. Woman and Riders On The Storm (?), the rest of their stuff leaves me cold. Did they actually have a guitar player in the band? I don't think I've ever heard a guitar solo in one of their songs. :happybanana:
  13. Although I've never been to Madrid, Edna, a friend and I visited Andalucia in 1989 and absolutely fell in love with it. We visited Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada, Ronda and Malaga. My favourite city was Cordoba. We stayed at a lovely little pension near La Mezquita. This must surely be the only church situated within a mosque anywhere in the world. We spent many pleasant hours wandering through La Juderia admiring the architecture and the many beautiful courtyards. We also fell in love with the town of Ronda. The view from the bridge that spans the river gorge was spectacular. We spent many pleasant hours conversing with our elderly hostess. We practised our rudimentary Spanish on her while she practised her much better English on us. My two children are enrolled in a bilingual English/Spanish school here in Calgary, so my wife and I have started studying our Spanish again so we don't fall behind the kids. The photo of La Castellana reminds me a bit of the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, without the horrendous traffic.
  14. Two other country or folk rock bands that are very good are both from Canada. Blue Rodeo and Prairie Oyster. Another little known one is the Co-Dependents out of Calgary. They play everything from swing to Elvis. The group's leader is Billy Cowsill.
  15. I agree, Edna! Like them or not, how can anyone deny that they were the most or one of the most influential bands of all time.
  16. The Police. I never understood what all the fuss was about. IMO, Sting has one of the most annoying voices in popular music. He once disdainfully dismissed Foreigner as a band lacking originality, but crikey, if you've heard one Police song, you've pretty much heard them all. They all have the same vaguely reggae beat and insipid lyrics. I know I'm going to be roasted for this one, but I think Pink Floyd is overrated. It's not that I hate their music, it's just that I don't think they're the brilliantly original band they have been made out to be. To each his own, I guess! :guitar:
  17. In various threads, Songfacters have revealed their ages and occupations and posted pictures of their attractive faces. This is a thread devoted to the cities and towns where we live. Please list all the things you love about the place you live and some of the things you don't like. I love to travel and am always looking for new places to visit. I'll start: Calgary, Alberta Pros: Calgary is only a one hour drive away from breathtaking mountain scenery and some of the best downhill skiing in the world. For a relatively small city (approx. 1 million people), Calgary has an extraordinary number of excellent restaurants. Ethiopian, Hungarian, Moroccan, Thai and almost any kind of ethnic food you care to mention can be found here. The city has a vibrant arts community, including a world class symphony orchestra, several excellent comedy clubs and many fine live theatre groups. There are more than 100 miles of bicycle pathways that run through the city. The city also has many beautiful parks. Many of the city's attractions are free or like Spruce Meadows (one of the finest equestrian facilities in the world) charge only a nominal entrance fee. Cons: A dismal climate. Long winters with wildly fluctuating temperatures, short summers and virtually non-existent springs. Fall is the best time of year in Calgary. A relatively high cost of living. Compared to many cities in Canada, Calgary is an expensive place to live. Compared to New York or Tokyo, Calgary is an inexpensive place to live. A relatively poor public transportation system. All in all, I give Calgary a 7/10.
  18. It seems to be human nature to envy and resent the top dog, Aaron. When Great Britain was the world's superpower in the 19th and early 20th centuries, she was criticized far more than she was praised. Now that the United States is the world's superpower, she is envied and resented by many nations. It's unfortunate that many people dwell only on the foreign policy mistakes made by the U.S. and Britain and not on their many successes. As a Canadian, I am grateful for the largely positive relationship that exists between my country and America. We have our differences, but in most of the important ways we are very similar and I can think of few countries I would rather have as a neighbour than the United States.
  19. With the exception of Poco, Alabama and The Charlie Daniels Band, I like all of the artists on Aaron's list, particularly The Eagles and Crosby,Stills,Nash & Young. I just find Poco and Alabama a little too country for my taste. One of my favourite albums is Will The Circle Be Unbroken by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The album features some amazing bluegrass, country and folk artists. I highly recommend it.
  20. Edna's ragout and scrambled eggs, 9/10. Kentucky Fried Chicken Salad? 5/10 . I'm not a big fan of the Colonel's cooking. What kind of pudding, Edna? Trifle, perhaps? (Yummy!) I've been having a craving for Greek food all week, so tonight we had barbecued leg of lamb, rosemary potatoes, pita bread with Tzatziki, green beans Plaki and a Greek salad. Yummy, yippy skippy!!
  21. I've seen Mellencamp live on two occasions (fantastic performer) but I've never had the privilege of seeing Fogerty perform, unless A&E's Live By Request counts. I'd give almost anything to see these two great musicians together on the same stage. There isn't a snowballs chance in hell that they'll come to Calgary, though. ::
  22. To quote Glenn Frey: "It's getting so hip to knock the U.S.A. If we're so awful, if we're so bad, you ought to check the night life in Leningrad" Or St. Petersburg these days. I don't think too many people would disagree that the United States has made some egregiously bad decisions in the arena of foreign affairs. However, countries like Canada and many of those in the EU that consistently bash the US over its actions in Iraq, talk a lot about human rights but do precious little to punish countries that oppress their citizens. What did the UN do to try and stop the slaughter in Ruanda? Canadian general Romeo Dallaire told them what was happening and yet Canada and the EU nations did nothing. What about Sudan? The Muslim government there has been committing genocide and yet few countries have done anything but talk about how horrible the situation is. Have the EU countries or Canada imposed economic sanctions on the governments of Zimbabwe, China or North Korea, all notorious for violating the basic human rights of their citizens? To the contrary, they all continue to trade with these countries. Will the US decision to invade Iraq end up helping the Iraqui people in the long run? Only time will tell. Were the motives of those in the US government who mad the decision to invade, purely altruistic? Undoubtedly not. But right or wrong, at least they tried to do something. It's easy to sit back and criticize the United States for its foreign policy decisions. The EU countries and Canada however, practise the worst kind of hypocrisy. They criticize countries that commit human rights violations, but continue to reap the benefits of trade with them. (As, admittedly does the United States). Maybe its time the EU and Canada stopped pointing fingers at the United States and started working with the Americans to find ways to bring the human rights violators to heel. Inaction and hand wringing will accomplish nothing.
  23. Paul - Live And Let Die, Maybe I'm Amazed, Band On The Run and Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey Ringo - It Don't Come Easy, You're Sixteen, The No No Song John - Imagine and Woman George - If Not For You, What Is Life and Give Me Love
  24. Whenever Islamic terrorists kill innocent people (in Tel Aviv, Bali, Mosul, wherever) I am overwhelmed with a visceral desire to annihilate them (the terrorists, not innocent people). However, the rational part of my personality eventually asserts itself and I realize we will never defeat terrorism using conventional methods. The terrorists are our implacable enemies and are willing and (in some cases) eager to die to terrify us and destroy our way of life. The only way to defeat them is to undermine their support within the Islamic community. We must convince moderate Muslims that the religious fanatics/terrorists are as big a threat to them as they are to us. If countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria and Indonesia refuse to allow the terrorists to operate within their borders, the terrorists will realize that they have no support anywhere. The democratic countries of the world must vigourously prevent terrorist groups from fundraising and use every economic means possible to force Islamic countries to root out and prosecute (or kill) known terrorists. Regarding the Iraq situation, I agree with Peaches and Uncle Joe. It's time for the U.S. to bring home its troops. They've done a great job, but their work is done.
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