Back in the bad old Ingenia days, there was a bunch of Westies who came to visit, work, and play with us for a while. One of them had really stinky feet, and grew up to be CTO of a successful online jewelry company (where he scored a very cool desk).
He loved this westie band by the name of Spirit of the West, and shared the sounds of this band with everyone. This was a good thing, for I had never heard Home for a Rest before, and it’s now a kind of anthem. Over the years I’ve managed to pick up pretty much all of their CDs, and they’re all good listens.
My very favourite CD of theirs is “Open Heart Symphony”, a live performance with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. It’s not typical SOTW fare, in that it’s not raucous and there’s nary a drinking song to be found. It is quite beautiful, and to me the accompaniment of the classical instruments with SOTW’s mellow, Celtic sound and emotive vocals just works.
Frankfurt I’m Sorry is my pick of the litter from this CD. I don’t know what it is about this track (which is apparently an apology from the band to the residents of Frankfurt, who they labeled “losers” at one time because of a bad experience there), but it just has a certain power to it. It’s from the heart, and makes me strangely happy for something that’s essentially an open letter to a bunch of folks far away.
Open Heart Symphony doesn’t seem to be in the catalogue any more. I don’t pretend I went looking too hard for it, but none of the major online vendors here in Canada had it. So, I thought I’d share. Have a listen, and let me know if I’m on crack or not for liking it. If you’re not partial to it, have a listen to Milk, Tea, and Oranges, which is another one of my faves, despite its somewhat depressing subject matter.
Thanks Darrell, they are a damn good band.