Blue Rodeo
Are You Ready?
(Warner)
Even from the cover art for this 12th album from Blue Rodeo, the emphasis is on the roots in roots-rock. Amplifiers have been turned down from 11 in Days in Between from 2000. Palace of Gold, the previous release, was such an exciting record to listen to because of the experimentation with soul sounds and horn sections. That sense of newness and discovery is missing here. On Jim Cuddy’s contributions, especially “Rena,” and “Finger Lakes,” the band is sounding plain. Greg Keelor (whose tribute to his late father, Seven Songs for Jim, is also out now) presents as his usual moody, darkly shrouded self on tunes like “Tired of Pretending”—a cross of Moody Blues and Waterboys—to the point he’s almost parodying himself. Best to wait for the next one.
—Sean Flinn
Blue Rodeo
Are You Ready?
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