Ghost Train - Condition

Condition were an "urban primitive torch swing rockabilly" band from Montreal which consisted of Julia Gilmore on vocals and organ, Edward Strawiak on guitar and Phil Vezina on drums. "Ghost Train" is a marvelous, galloping romp of a song, and probably my favourite tune on this album.

There Walked A Stranger - Undertakin' Daddies

The Undertakin' Daddies were an offshoot of the Vancouver roots-rockabilly band Herald Nix, with Nix on guitar and vocals, and Ian Tyles and Michael Van Eyes also on vocals. There is another band by the name of The Undertakin' Daddies currently based out of Whitehorse, but I don't think it's the same group. "There Walked A Stranger" is an intense country gospel number with nice ensemble harmonizing by the trio.

Strange Consolation - E.J. Brule

Remember that guy in the Police Academy movies who could make all those weird sounds with his mouth? Well, E.J. Brule, who hailed from Montreal, was a one-man (or should that be one-mouth?) band who approximated the sound of guitar, bass, trumpet and drums with his lips. I promise you that "Strange Consolation" is better than this might sound.

Good Cop Bad Cop - Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet

The instrumental rock band Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet are best known in Canada for their song "Having An Average Weekend," which was used as the theme song to the sketch comedy series "The Kids In The Hall." A lesser-known fact about the band is that their bassist, Reid Diamond (who, sadly, died of cancer in 2001), kindly snuck my wife (then a teenage fan) into one of their Toronto shows way back when. "Good Cop, Bad Cop" is fairly typical of their sound; "like Duane Eddy discovering 1980's studio sound," as the back cover of the album puts it. The other members of the band were Brian Connolly on guitar and Don Pyle on drums.

Summer's End - Maggot Fodder

Guelph, Ontario's Maggot Fodder were Aaron (no last names are provided on the back of the album) on vocals, Warren on guitar, Al (Okada, who would go on to play with King Cobb Steelie) on bass and Adrian on drums. Their sound is described as "garage modern deathrock, like sludgeabilly Bauhaus meet slow Ramones," and once again I can think of nothing to improve on that.