The Band of the Royal Regiment of Canada, which is presently based out of Toronto's Fort York, is one of the oldest permanently organized bands in the country and, having been founded in 1863, actually predates Confederation. The album In Concert On Parade, which I found in a local thrift store, was released in 1975, when the conductor was Capt. G.A. Falconi, a graduate of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music.

I wasn't sure I was willing to part with the quarter this album cost until, scanning the liner notes, I spotted the last song on the first side:

"BAND 5 - ROCK ENCOUNTER: The modern "rock" idiom is popular with many bands in North America because of its beat and unusual harmonies. This arrangement by Jay A. Chatterway is a very recent publication and features B/Sgt. J. Sobie on trumpet and C/Cpl. N.P. Minnoch on drums."

"Yes, yes," you say, "that's all well and good...but does it this Encounter Rock?" Well, more than you'd expect from an army marching band. It gets off to a pretty good start, with a galloping beat pushed along by the brass section of the orchestra and some classic mid-'70's wah-wah guitar in the background. Later on it gets to sounding like a game show theme song, followed by a slow stretch in the middle that could be incidental music from a nature film, and then a bit that sounds like the intro for a '70's-era TV news show. Finally, they bring it on home with the wah-wah theme. So it's a bit all over the place.

Rock Encounter