Wea International
2005
Are You Ready
About This Album
The Canadian band's tenth studio album follows 2002's Palace of Gold, which found Blue Rodeo reinvigorated and ready to occasionally break out of the country-pop-rock mold that they are inextricably linked to. The ostentatious horns and strings of the group's previous release are gone (except for the stray solo trumpet on the closing two tracks), replaced with a British Invasion feel for the opening cuts. But after the twangy guitars appear on the third song, Rodeo play to their strengths. That's not a bad thing, though, as both founding guitarist/vocalists Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy have crafted some particularly earnest and soulful country-rock that stands with their best work. Cuddy's clean-cut, ageless voice, somewhat similar to Jackson Browne, sounds terrific on strummy ballads such as "Great Lakes," "Rena," "Runaway Train," and the beautiful "I Will," all tunes that will sound familiar to established fans. Similarly, Keelor's "Stuck on You," "Up That Cloud," and "Phaedra's Meadow" glow with his traditional scruffy, moody resignation, highlighted by Paddy Malone's somber tin whistle and Uilleann pipes on the latter.
Track List (try tracks 2,4 and 7)

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