''Hemi-Vision'' is the third album by
Canadian blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
-
rock band
Big Sugar
The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate climate ...
. The album was nominated for
Best Rock Album at the
1997 Juno Awards
The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broad ...
.
The singles from the album were "
Diggin' a Hole
"Diggin' a Hole" is a song by Canadian rock band Big Sugar. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1996 album, ''Hemi-Vision''. The song was co-written by Canadian musician Andy Curran and well known Canadian actor and TV host Dan Gall ...
", "
If I Had My Way", "Gone For Good", and " Up Baby". The band also recorded a
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
version of " Up Baby", entitled "Ouvres-toi Bébé", for radio airplay in
Quebec (see also ''
Chauffe à bloc
''Chauffé à bloc'' is an EP by Canadian rock band Big Sugar, released on July 27, 1999. The title translates literally to "Block Heating" in English and is similar to the expression "All Heated Up."
In 1996, Big Sugar decided to record a Fre ...
'').
Background
The album was recorded in six weeks at Presence Studios and Phase One Studios. According to Gordie Johnson, this was the first album that the band had recorded with an adequate budget, having $65,000 Canadian at their disposal. Johnson collaborated with several other songwriters for this album. "Gone for Good", "Empty Head", and "
If I Had My Way" were co-written with
Patrick Ballantyne; "La Stralla" and "Skull King" with
Andrew Whiteman; "Tired All The Time" with bandmate
Kelly Hoppe
Big Sugar is a band formed in Toronto in 1988 by Gordie Johnson, the band's lead singer, lead guitarist and main songwriter. Between 1996 and 2016, Big Sugar was among the top 80 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 25 best- ...
; "Opem Up Baby" with Dan Gallagher; "Tommy Johnson" with Dave Wall; and "
Diggin' a Hole
"Diggin' a Hole" is a song by Canadian rock band Big Sugar. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1996 album, ''Hemi-Vision''. The song was co-written by Canadian musician Andy Curran and well known Canadian actor and TV host Dan Gall ...
" with Gallagher and Andy Curran.
25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
On September 25, 2020, the band released a 25th anniversary deluxe edition of the album.
Track listing
# "
Diggin' a Hole
"Diggin' a Hole" is a song by Canadian rock band Big Sugar. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1996 album, ''Hemi-Vision''. The song was co-written by Canadian musician Andy Curran and well known Canadian actor and TV host Dan Gall ...
" – 4:37
# "Gone for Good" – 4:43
# "
If I Had My Way" – 5:13
# "Skull Ring" – 4:25
# "Joe Louis / Judgement Day" – 8:58
# "Tommy Johnson" – 4:12
# "La Stralla" – 4:17
# "Tired All the Time" – 4:27
# "Empty Head" – 5:13
# " Up Baby"
1 – 5:13
# "Rolling Pin" – 6:46
# "Tobacco Hand" – 8:55
2020 Deluxe Edition
13. "Gone for Good" (Early version)
14. "Gone for Good" (Lost take)
15. "Judgement Day" (Dub mix)
16. "Diggin' a Hole" (Acoustic version)
17. "
Baby's in Black"
18. "Tommy Johnson" (Dub mix)
Personnel
Big Sugar
*
Gordie Johnson - guitar, vocals, bass
* Kelly Hoppe - harmonica, keyboards
* Garry Lowe - bass
*
Paul Brennan - drums
Guests
*
Ashley MacIssac
Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian fiddler, singer and songwriter from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno A ...
- fiddle
* Al Cross - drums
* Matt DeMatteo - drums
Notes
1 This track was labelled as " Up Baby" on the CD cover, although both the lyrics and the French version, titled "Ouvres-toi bébé", indicate that the intended meaning was "open". It is not known if this was a spelling error on the cover art or an intentional use of
artistic license, but both "" and "Open" have been cited as the song's title by different reference works. The band's own website, however, uses the "" spelling, as does the 2003 greatest hits compilation ''
Hit & Run'', lending credence to the idea that it was intentional.
References
1996 albums
Big Sugar (band) albums
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