As I stated in the Halifax show review, my wife Carolyn(WheatQueen) and I were able to speak with Robbie for about a half an hour at a private party after the show. He told us that as soon as he returned home to Ontario he was heading into the recording studio to record a solo album on December 7th.
He told us he was investing $30,000 of his own money to record it. He thought it would take a week or two to complete it. When it is finished he will shop it around to different record labels looking for a distribution deal. If he lands one we will be hearing the album in the future. Obviously, if he doesn't get one it will never see the light of day and he will be unable to recoup his investment money.
I would love to hear the finished product and I hope things work out for him. I would purchase his album if one came out.
Wow! Fantastic news - I'm sure he'd get a warm reception in the Hip community. Had there ever been talk of a solo project before? Any idea what direction it might go in? Speculation?
That's exciting. He's a versatile guitarist so it would be an interesting project.
In the absence of a deal he could hook up with an outfit like livedownloads.com to recoup at least part of his expenses. Then at least we'd be able to hear it.
I've nver heard Robbie sing!! I wonder what it'll be like.
hmmmmmm...
I never even thought of the possibility that Robbie might do some singing. I just assumed he had assembled a band to back him up and someone else would take that role. I should have asked him if he would sing or if someone else would. Now I'm even more curious to here the final results.
Yeah, I'd have to agree; I'd definitley buy it...sound unheard. There's no way it would suck, it'll probably bee cool as hell, and even if it isn't, it'll provide another dimension to the depth of our understanding of what makes The Hip so tragically hip.
Michael Moorcock, a sci-fi/fantasy author best known for writing The Elric Saga had another series called The Chronicles of Corum in which the character of Corum was a guy who in times of worldly strife was drawn together with valiant warriors of identical skill from three different dimensions of time to become "the four who were one" and kick-ass on all the evil-doers.
I kinda see The Hip as "the five who are one". Other threads have discussed pros & cons of Johnny's talent, Paul's voice, etc., but I think the strength and endurance of The Hip is driven by their ability to interact, improvise, and perform as a single entity, no matter what direction Gord goes or how long a jam Rob plays.
I'll enlist; I'll become affiliated; sign me up for two copies.
~Scott
He would definitely need a band to back him, most predominantly a singer... the closest we've come to see Robby sing is in the video for Smalltown Hometown Bringdown when Robby and Gord Sinclair share a mic at the end of the video..
With his ties in the music industry though I'm sure he could land a decent frontman, if not several on the CD...
As much as I truly enjoy Mike McCready's (Pearl Jam) lead guitar talent I've always found myself comparing Robby and Mike as to who is the better lead guitarist... a few years back I felt it was quite clearly Mike McCready... but in the last years, upon complete saturation of the Tragically Hip, its quite apparent that Rob is just as good, if not better...
His bluesy-alternative-grungy-rock sound just spits feeling... its what lead guitar should be... it evokes emotion and paints a story...
I personally can't wait...
Maybe it will be all instrumental ala Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani??
I'd buy it for sure.
This is kind of off topic and I was going to start a new thread but anyways, I heard on the radio yesterday that Robbie has Leafs season tickets right behind the benches.
john cage Wrote:Maybe it will be all instrumental ala Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani??
That's what I was thinking. I'm not knocking Gord D. at all, but it would be cool to hear a solo effort from Bobby if, for no other reason, it would mean we could hear a major focus on his work. I think that the Hip would not be the same without each member of the group, however, there is clearly a large influence from Godie regarding the music and themes/feelings of a song that are influenced by the direction of the lyrics. I'd love to hear Bobby on his own... maybe even exploring the idea of music a la John Frusciante's current work.
Anthony
This news just floored me. I couldn't've possibly mustered up enough craziness to think that Baker would be the one to do a solo album. My vote was going for Paul, if any of them. But I'm not saying a Baker solo would be a bad thing, oh actually, quite the opposite. I think it would be awesome! I would definitely buy it without even hearing any of the songs. But I do wonder if he will sing or get someone else to...
thanks for the heads-up hugh23. :thumb:
Awesome! Baker's one of my favourite guitarist ever! I'd love to hear some solo stuff from him! :thumb:
Man, thats nuts...Id actually been thinking about this alot lately...
Ive always thought he should do a blues record.
He could do a cd with a compilation of different singers. Different singers for different song styles that he plays....