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April 25 - May 2, 2004 |
54-40 go independent
Vancouver rock veterans still in form with 10th studio album
By Kerry Doole
Originally Published: 2004-04-04
If they start dishing out medals for length of service in the rock 'n roll trenches, then 54-40 will be right near the front of the line. Aside from Rush, it is hard to think of another top-level Canadian rock band that has been around for over 20 years with the same line-up.
54-40 once joked to this writer that the first Juno Award they ever receive might be for Lifetime Achievement, and they might be right. Long undervalued by the industry establishment, they just keep on making quality music for a dedicated contingent of fans, inside and outside Canada.
Their current album, Goodbye Flatland, marks an impressive milestone, as it is their 10th studio disc (compilations bring that total up to 14). 54-40 are back on the road promoting it, and will check in to Lee's Palace on April 7 for a show, prior to a full tour of Western Canada. Tandem reached bassist Brad Merritt at the band's Vancouver base for a career update.
He is refreshingly candid over the fact that "this record hasn't had the attention it deserves or that previous records have had. I can't say we are frustrated about that, as we are far more fatalistic about these things.
"Obviously we want it to do as well as it can. We want to be appreciated for what we think we are, but ultimately it is one of those things you don't have control over, so why let it cause you sleepless nights?"
Such Zen-like acceptance is clearly healthy. Also clear is the fact that Goodbye Flatland has deserved a better fate. It reminds us that 54-40 still have a fresh, vital and original sound, and it is certainly not the work of a band just spinning its wheels.
Vocalist/lyricist Neil Osborne is in top form, and his comrades Merritt, guitarist Phil Comparelli and drummer Matt Johnson are equally adept at rockers like "Animal In Pain" (a glorious garage-inspired stomper) and moodier tunes like "Take Me Out" and the title song.
These songs have yet to grab the widespread rock radio play that greeted earlier hits like "One Gun," "I Go Blind," "Miss You,"
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