On one of these cassettes, there were three songs by Toronto
hard rock band Coney Hatch. Now, at
the time, I didn’t quite understand how obscure some of these bands were. I was
still merely a kid, and my social circle centred around fellow eight-year-olds
or however young I was, and none of these friends I had then had even heard of
the biggest names in classic rock, so I always figured that adults knew all of
these artists and I was doomed to never be able to discuss these artists with
my friends. As I started getting older and being more comfortable talking with
adults, friends parents and such, I was able to discuss Supertramp and Rush and
other well known bands, and it was around this time that I noticed there was a
good number of artists who I enjoy that others have never heard of, such as the
previously mentioned Tygers of Pan Tang
and Riot, or artists who people may
have heard of but knew the bare minimum about such as Whitesnake or Moxy. I
was disappointed that Coney Hatch were
also in this category.
When I got in to my teens early teens, I started expanding
past what my dad had made me listen to and started branching out in to
different bands and different songs by the artists I already knew. I found that
Coney Hatch had a different vibe
altogether from most other bands. While they are a hard rock band, they had a
strong melodic side, thanks to the singing and song writing of rhythm guitarist
Carl Dixon, and this was contrasted
by the dirty sleazy side of the band thanks to the singing and song writing of
bassist Andy Curran. I had managed
to take much more of a liking to the melodic side of the band, particularly because
the three songs that I grew up knowing by the band to that point were all such
by Carl. I have, however, come to enjoy all songs by the band and appreciate
the turns that are continuously taken throughout their albums.
I, as well as everyone who has ever enjoyed the music of
Coney Hatch, was disappointed that the band only released three albums. They
recorded their Kim Mitchell produced
1982 debut album and its 1983 follow up Outta
Hand with ease, and generated music videos and hits as well as positive
feedback with these albums providing such Canadian rock classics as Devil’s Deck, Monkey Bars and First Time
for Everything. Then in 1985 they recorded what I believe to be their
finest album Friction. The only
problem is I seem to be one of very few who agrees with that, including the
band. With the mid 80’s came the development of the pop-rock sound, where bands
started adding keyboards and electronic hooks to their songs. Coney Hatch didn’t
necessarily ride this wave completely, but there was a bit more of a pop-rock
aspect to Friction than on past albums. I however enjoy the album most because
I think it features some of their best work such as Girl From Last Night’s Dream and Wrong Side of Town (what I think is the finest Andy sung Coney song).
After this album, I’m not sure if the band necessarily disbanded, but they sure
didn’t do much in terms of keeping the band alive.
In the bands absence, each musician continued to do their own
thing, including Carl Dixon’s stints in April
Wine and The Guess Who. In
recent years, however, the band has started playing shows together more
consistently and even, to their fans delight, released a new album in late
September. The album, simply titled Four,
features all four original members, Carl and Andy with lead guitarist Steve Shelski and drummer Dave Ketchum, who wasn’t present for
the bands Friction album.
On Four, the band
goes back to their basics to say the least. The keyboards and such that were
used on Friction, as well as other sporadic moments on their first two albums,
are gone completely. Instead, the band just uses a straight ahead rock sound
which is exemplified immediately on the opening track Blown Away, which is frankly as basic as a rock song can get, with
an AC/DC inspired three-chord riff
and pounding drums, glued together with a pretty exceptional pre-chorus and chorus.
The album is pretty equally split in terms of lead vocals.
The album practically goes back and forth between Andy and Carl. Where Carl
sings Blown Away, Andy sings the second track Boys Club, which shows a great amount of expected maturity in Andy’s
ability as a singer and musician. While the song is more serious than such past
Andy sung Coney Hatch songs such as Shake
It or Some Like It Hot, it still
contrasts anything that Carl sings on the album. Like most of Andy’s songs, the
verses are, while not bad, they are simple, but it’s the chorus that sticks in
your head, if not after the first time hearing the song then after the second
time for sure. Andy’s voice doesn’t sound as though it has changed at all in almost 30 years.
Carl Dixon’s voice is in
fine form and still has that operatic back tone that I always loved so much.
However, with the sheer volume and energy of the songs on this album, he doesn’t
show this capability quite so much. Down
& Dirty is a relatively fast paced song that doesn’t give him the
capability, but he does show it on the light-hearted song Revive. I’m not sure I’d call Revive a ballad, in fact Coney Hatch
doesn’t have a lot of ballads, as melodic as they’ve been, but this song shows
that they have most certainly not lost that melodic stand-out to their song
writing. Devil You Know is a laid
back blues-rock riffed song and Keep
Drivin’ is the bands attempt at a good road song, which I think is a pretty
good attempt.
Andy Curran continues to show throughout the album that he
has changed as a musician. Do It Again
sounds like absolutely nothing the band has ever recorded, it almost sounds like
an alternative rock song; almost as if the band were to have recorded in the 90’s,
the songs may have sounded a lot like this. Connected is somewhat like Blown Away, only a faster paced and Andy sung. However I
find the song to be a bit less simple and far more catchy than Blown Away. Andy attempts his
hand at reviving his sleazy side with the song We Want More, and frankly, when comparing it to past songs, he
succeeds. It is not as memorable as his past songs, but I find it is musically
intelligent to such songs as the previously mentioned Shake It and Some Like it
Hot. Marseille, Andy’s last lead
vocal on the album, is another simple AC/DC sounding track, it’s relatively slow
pace and two guitar solos make the song clock in at 5:02.
The album ends with a ballad called Holding On. As mentioned before, the band doesn’t have as many
ballads as one would think, the only notable ballad being To Feel The Feeling Again, which has become a classic of the band's.
I think Holding On is almost every bit as good as anything the band has
released in their history and is probably the most assuring moment on the album
that the band is still every bit as good as they ever were. I don’t usually
enjoy when albums end with a ballad, but I don’t seem to mind the choice this
time around.
Though Coney Hatch aren’t the household name I
believe they should be in Canadian classic rock, they have many loyal fans,
including hard rock/metal television personality Eddie Trunk. The band did have stints in the 80’s where it seemed
like they would take off, particularly touring as the opening act for Judas Priest in ’82. There are still
many people who I have met in recent years who not only know, but love and grew
up with the music of Coney Hatch. What I appreciate more is that this album isn’t
necessarily an attempt to attract new fans, but to please existing fans, and it
does just that.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHT
“Down & Dirty and Connected” – I’d almost have to pick
two highlights to this album, it almost doesn’t seem fair to pick a Carl sung
song when Andy does such a great job with his songs. We’ll say for this
articles sake that the album has two highlights. Down & Dirty shows a
somewhat different side of Carl Dixon, while he doesn’t usually sing songs that
are really very “dirty”, he does a pretty great job at doing so, all while
using that same melodic voice that his fans love. Connected is a highlight that not only shows Andy Curran’s never
changing rock personality, but it also shows the no nonsense music approach of
the album at its finest.
FINAL RATING
8 (Out of 10)
Track List:
1.
|
Blown Away
|
4:31
|
2.
|
Boys Club
|
4:41
|
3.
|
Down & Dirty
|
3:10
|
4.
|
Do It Again
|
3:40
|
5.
|
Connected
|
4:41
|
6.
|
Revive
|
4:15
|
7.
|
We Want More
|
3:55
|
8.
|
Devil You Know
|
3:41
|
9.
|
Marseille
|
5:02
|
10.
|
Keep Drivin’
|
3:35
|
11.
|
Holding On
|
5:16
|
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