Hope’s crowd-pleasing country rock has depth
Rich Hope I’m All Yours | Planned Obsolescence Recording & Novelty Inc.
His bio calls Hope a “veteran Pacific Northwest rocker.” There is no denying this Vancouver-based, Edmonton born and raised musician has plied his trade here for decades. And as trends have come and gone, he’s stayed true to oldfashioned garage rock that just keeps keepin’ on.
However, Hope is more than just another four-note redux rewriter. His understanding of, and appreciation for, classic country and where it intersects with other styles means that he, drummer Adrian Mack, bassist Erik Nielsen and keyboardist Matt Kelly bring haggard harmonies, twang and more than a little Texas roadhouse honky-tonk to the session.
Here are five things to know about his new album, I’m All Yours:
1 Vocal variations
Opening with the Stones-y Blown Away, where Hope sounds like a dyed-in-the-wool country singer, the album ranges to the soul rocker in Heartbreaker to the Sternogargling blues crooner of Paranoia Blues and points beyond. The 10 tracks really showcase his voice.
2 Golden Clouds
Possibly the highlight of the album, this Status Quo-meets-Fabulous Thunderbirds boogie has as near perfect a bass/drum snap intro as you’ll ever hear. Plus, Hope drops in the kind of guitar solo around the 2:45 mark that lead players should study.
3 Runnin’ Shoes
You know what more songs need? Cheesy keys and handclaps. Like the Sir Douglas Quintet roaring with methamphetamine, this is the kind of dance number you could see leaving some twisted ankles in its wake.
4 Some Kind of Love
The promo info mentions that pedal steel ace Scott Smith — known for hosting the excellent Adventures in Steel Guitar nights at the Heatley — guests on Heartbreaker. But who is that blowing sax on Some Kind of Love? Because it totally kills.
5 Live and kicking
Hope has held down residencies around town with assorted groups for years, but of late is playing a bit less. It’s clear that I’m All Yours is perfect concert material. Watch his website richhope.ca.
ALSO PLAYING THIS WEEK:
Charles Bradley: Black Velvet (Dunham Records).
The final recording from the late soul singer finds him in fine form. “The Screaming Eagle of Soul” is backed by his regular Daptone house band aces and rips it up on another session of originals and curious covers. Nirvana’s Stay Away is the best. He was a fantastic interpreter, a skill all the great soul singers had but few still do. Les Finnigan: Counterpoint (lesfinnigan.com).
A fixture on the acoustic guitar scene on the West Coast, Finnigan has compiled his finest counterpoint melodies and instrumentals on this 15-track recording covering the period 1997-2018. As the liner notes say, he is a modern composer working in a style most popular in the baroque era and presents it uniquely using a steel string guitar with alternate tunings and a finger-and-flat pick technique. He’s a master, and tunes such as Bowl O’Cocobolo are so uplifting that it’s great for the darker winter days.
Finnigan plays the 20th Annual West Coast Guitar Night with Kent Hillman, Edgar Avelino, Simon Fox, Itamar Erez, John Gilliat and Rossi Tzonkov, Nov. 24, 8 p.m., at The Cultch Historic Theatre. Tickets and info: thecultch.com