YouTube

A "Records From Saskatchewan" YouTube channel can now be found here. Expect miscellaneous uploads, such as this Ernie Valentine and Dorius Dyrland song I haven't been able to get out of my head for months.

 

Kuriakos - "My Sweet Lord"

Lately, I'm rather taken by this homespun George Harrison cover, as found on the lone album from Kuriakos (Belonging to the Lord).

Twelve young people, "belonging to the Lord", is what KURIAKOS is all about. Selected by auditions from across Canada, they came together in the spring of 1971 to prepare for an intense summer of singing and travel which took them to New Brunswick in the east and VanCouver in the west.

Kuriakos was sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada through its Divison of Congregational Life (based in Saskatoon), and four of its twelve members were from Saskatchewan.

Still Rollin' (Up The Rim)

A new all-Canadian mix a friend and I compiled is up now on Aquarium Drunkard. Mostly mellow 60s/70s stuff from varying shades of unknowns and featuring a moody instrumental from SK hero Howard.

Stream/download: http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2017/02/27/still-rollin-up-the-rim-a-vintage-canadian-mixtape-ii/

Rollin' Up The Rim

A friend and I compiled an all-Canadian mix that's up now on Aquarium Drunkard. It features a few overlooked things, a bunch of unknown stuff, and two of my Saskatchewan favorites, Dunleath and Jim Munro. 

Stream/download: http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2016/05/11/rollin-up-the-rim-a-vintage-canadian-mixtape/.

RIP Ivan McNab

Ivan passed away in early December at the age of 76. Though he made a CD in recent years, his only other recorded appearance was three excellent Marty Robbins covers from the Saskatchewan Jubilee Vol. 2: Stars From A Gala Night LP. According to the back cover, Ivan "was selected the Diamond Jubilee Star of 1965 and received a trip a trip to Hollywood and an appearance on Bonanza as winner of the Saskatchewan Talent Search." Condolences to family and friends. He will be missed.

Instagram

In an effort to stay relevant, and since there's a ton of Saskatchewan records in my collection that I haven't listened to (let alone written about), Records From SK can now be found on Instagram: https://instagram.com/prairietopine/.

Expect mostly interesting and bizarre album covers and hopefully some ephemera. 

Prince Albert Roving Guitars - Wandering Boy b/w Help The Poor Farmers

PRINCE ALBERT ROVING GUITARS
"Wandering Boy" b/w "Help The Poor Farmers"
19??
Astral-Plains (CS-69G28)

Dating from the late 60s or early 70s, this is a wonderful 45 with both sides written by Edna Fidyk—her singular voice backed by the crackshot Prince Albert Roving Guitars.

With her voice front and center, “Wandering Boy” is Fidyk’s appeal to an absent lover. A buoyant bass line anchors a bright guitar, with some very subtle percussion and lovely male backing vocals rounding out the sound.

"Help The Poor Farmers" takes side one’s plea, mixes it with protest, and directs it squarely at Pierre Trudeau. Speaking on behalf of farmers everywhere, Fidyk’s voice is again at the forefront, sitting here between a pair of roving guitars and possibly a tiny bit of organ. With genuine lines like “Please Mr. Trudeau do your share / Treat your farmers fair and square,” what might be misguided or naïve is instead remarkably prescient and entirely human.

Though I'm not sure if Edna Fidyk was a fully-fledged member of PARG, she does appear on one—perhaps two—related 45s. And as far as I know, PARG released only one other 45 ("The Changing Scene" can be heard on Prairie To Pine) and appeared on Jim Munro's Roving Saskatchewan. I believe Munro was a PARG member and his lone full-length is pretty well my favourite Saskatchewan LP. Astral-Plains was Edna Fidyk's own label and released at least two other 45s (one by herself, one by Jim Munro). Sadly, she passed away a few years ago.