This Day in Music

Two releases from two great Canadian artists, and Elvis performs late, on this April Fool's Day in music.

Which person? The first person! Effective today, I’m writing this blog in the first person, rather than the third. I want to provide a little more of my opinion, and using terms like “this blogger” is too formal. Apologies to my 12th-grade English teacher, and part-time mortician (yes, for real!), Mr. Skilleter.

2112

1976: Legendary Canadian progressive-hard rock band Rush release their fourth studio album, the classic and influential, “2112.”

Following the commercial disappointment of their previous LP, “Caress of Steel,” an excellent album despite its poor sales, the band was in financial straits, and on the outs with their record label, Mercury (now Universal Music.) They were under pressure to eschew the ten-minute-plus epics of “Fly by Night” and the full-side songs of “Caress of Steel,” and produce a hit.

Rush’s response? The band decided if they were going to fail, they were going to fail on their own terms. They delivered to Mercury an album with another full-side song, the 20-minute and 34-second title track, “2112.” It did not fail!

Critics praised the now-legacy album, but critical appreciation was nothing new for the band. More importantly, the LP was a commercial success. It reached No. 5 in Canada, peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard 200, went into frequent rotation on FM radio, earned 3x Platinum certification in the U.S., 2x Platinum in Canada, and Gold in the U.K.

Rush never looked back and continued to release classic records right up to their excellent final studio work, “Clockwork Angels,” one hundred years earlier, in 2012.

Eleven years since retiring, and six years since the passing of drummer Neil Peart, Rush is performing live again, with hired hands Anika Nilles on drums and Loren Gold on keyboards. They sounded in top form when performing “Finding My Way” at Canada’s Juno Awards this past Sunday, and will be on tour beginning June 7th in Los Angeles.

Solitude Standing

1987: Suzanne Vega releases her second studio album, the excellent “Solitude Standing,” to critical praise and commercial success.

The LP includes the great title track, “Solitude Standing,” the painful story of “Luka,” and the classic, “Tom’s Diner,” featuring both an a cappella version and an accompanied version.

The record hit No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 in New Zealand and Sweden. It was certified Platinum or Gold in 11 countries and sold over five million copies worldwide.

In 1990, a remix of “Tom’s Diner” by electronic outfit DNA, which added a modern dance track, went to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Live Songs

1973: “Live Songs,” the first contemporary live album by Canadian legend Leonard Cohen is released. Featuring songs either from his second album or previously unrecorded, the highlight of the LP is the Isle of Wight version of “Tonight Will Be Fine,” recorded on August 31, 1970 during his appearance at the famous festival on the island in the English Channel.

Though well-received by critics, rated 4-Stars by AllMusic and B+ by Robert Christgau of the Village Voice, it did not perform well commercially, and would be the last of Cohen’s records to make the American charts for a decade. That’s not a reflection of the quality, but representative of LC’s narrowly-defined audience.

The Way It Is

1986: American roots-rock band Bruce Hornsby and The Range release their debut studio album, “The Way It Is.” A reflection of Hornsby’s stylings of folk, bluegrass, and country, along with his enjoyment of jamming, the record was a contrast to the popular sounds of the late-1980’s.

Including the great tracks, “Mandolin Rain,” “Every Little Kiss,” and the title track, “The Way It Is,” the LP was a hit with both critics and fans. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was certified 3x Platinum.

Bruce Hornsby subsequently made a career in the jam-band community, and toured several times with Grateful Dead and its associated acts, along with his own solo performances.

You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tune a Fish

1978: REO Speedwagon, the hard rockers turned balladeers from Champaign, Illinois, release their only good album, “You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tune a Fish,” and even then, it’s not that good. (Sorry, not sorry!)

On the strength of the smoking track, “Roll With the Changes,” and what should have been their last-ever power-ballad, “Time for Me to Fly,” the album was the first from the group to break into the Top-40, peaking at No. 29 on the Billboard 200. It ultimately sold over two million copies and was certified 2x Platinum.

The band takes its name from a 1915 truck designed by Ransom Eli Olds for his company, REO Motor Car Company. Olds also founded Oldsmobile, which would achieve much greater success, eventually selling to General Motors and becoming a household name until its brand retirement in 2004.

Los Angeles

1980: Punk rockers X release their debut studio album, “Los Angeles,” produced by The Doors keyboardist, Ray Manzarek.

The record took the country by storm, reflected in its widespread critical acclaim, an AllMusic rating of 5-Stars, The Rolling Stone Album Guide ranking it 4.5-Stars, and Robert Christgau of the Village Voice grading it A-, commenting that the songs “...make a smart argument for a desperately stupid scene.”

A 27-minute collection of original, short, energetic numbers plus a cover of The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen,” it has become a legacy LP that influenced much of the punk scene in the 1980’s and beyond. It’s ranked No. 24 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of the Eighties, and No. 320 on the magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (c) 2020. The title track, “Los Angeles,” is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, has been featured in the TV shows The Shield and Six Feet Under, Tony Hawke’s Underground 2 skateboard video game, and gets a mention in Brett Easton Ellis’s novel, Less Than Zero.

The Daily Elvis

1975: On the last date of his Las Vegas Hilton spring residence, Elvis performs two shows, dinner and midnight, that include various April Fool’s Day pranks and shenanigans. The dinner show was recorded and released as the album “April Fool’s Dinner” on CD only, in 2009.

Pictured: Rush in 1976.