SOUND BITES

  It's a little surreal having a new album from Gord Downie, just about three years to the day since his passing. Recorded just three months before his passing with producer Nyles Spencer (who provides drum programming and other effects) and frequent collaborators Josh Finlayson (co-founder of Skydiggers) and Travis Good (of The Sadies), Away Is Mine is presented as a double album, the second half being stripped down acoustic versions of the original songs. At just over 27 minutes for the electric arrangements and just over 24 minutes for acoustic, whichever set you choose isn't too great an investment. If this album proves anything, it's Downie's commitment to creation; even so close to his passing, he made greatness seem almost effortless ( Away Is Mine was written and recorded in a combined time period of just about two weeks). As opposed to the heart-wrenching send-off Introduce Yerself , the songs on Away Is Mine are generally livelier and less emotionally heavy...

It simply isn't possible to listen to Gord Downie's final recordings without a heavy heart. That Introduce Yerself , his sixth solo record, follows mere days after his passing is a case of the cruelest timing; recorded as a means by which to say goodbye to the people and places that have mattered most to Downie, the words and performances here have the raw emotion and power to cut deep even to people he's never met. Make no mistake, listening to this album's 23 songs is an exercise in emotional roulette; though there are lighthearted moments to be found, there are also crushingly sad exchanges, most crushing to me (and likely any parent) being the story of Downie trying to rock his child to sleep on Bedtime . There are heartfelt memories like this put to tape throughout, which makes Introduce Yerself quite clearly Downie's most personal and intimate work. Through these recollections, some humourous and some haunted, Downie is completely transparent and vulnerab...

"Heaven is a better place today because of this But the world is just not the same." -Gord Downie, Heaven Is a Better Place Today As the singer/lyricist for The Tragically Hip, Gord Downie was a powerful, intellectual voice that often spoke for not just himself or the characters portrayed in his songs, but indeed an entire nation. As a person, however, Downie was a shining example of class, dignity and respect. When his band's reach ballooned from regional to national scale, he often used this stature not to self-promote, but to raise awareness of issues bigger than any one of us; of note, after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and while on national TV performing one of his final shows, he criticized our government's relationship with indigenous people. Where many would use this kind of large-scale platform to their own benefit, Downie went out of his way to draw attention to the big picture, to remind us that we face very important issues as a ...