''Red Earth'' is the debut album by Canadian indie band

Crash Vegas Crash Vegas was a Canadian folk rock band which formed in 1988, and achieved moderate success in the early 1990s. Biography The band was formed by Michelle McAdorey and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo in 1988, who were also in a romantic relationship. ...

. It was released by Risque Disque, a label formed by

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, a ...

Greg Keelor James Gregory Keelor, (born Francis McIntyre, August 29, 1954) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also rele ...

, one of Blue Rodeo's musicians, collaborated with Michelle McAdorey and co-wrote some of the music for the album, and also provided guitar performances for the recorded version of the songs "Red Earth" and "The One That Keeps Me Running". The band toured in support of the album in 1990, and again from late 1991 to mid-1992. The second tour included opening act

Junkhouse Junkhouse was a Canadian rock band, formed during 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario. They released three albums during the 1990s, which spawned numerous charting singles in Canada. They initially disbanded in 1998, and reformed for various one-off shows a ...

, which became increasingly popular as a result of this exposure. The album is typically described as melancholic and brooding

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

, with a style reminiscent of

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...

. It was primarily recorded at The Lab, a studio in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

operated by the band's then-bassist

Jocelyne Lanois Jocelyne Chantal Lanois is a Canadian musician, bass player and songwriter from Hull, Quebec, who has been a member of the bands Martha and the Muffins and Crash Vegas. She has also had touring stints as bassplayer with Ani DiFranco and Chris W ...

, formerly of

Martha & The Muffins Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single "Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and the c ...

, and her partner

Malcolm Burn Malcolm Burn (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. Emmylou Harris's ''Red Dirt Girl'', produced by Burn, won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2001 Grammys. Biography Born in Cornwall, Ontar ...

. Songs that received notable airplay on Canadian radio included "Sky", "Smoke" and "Inside Out", which became a Top 20 hit in Canada. It also includes a cover of "Down to the Wire" from the unreleased album ''Stampede'' by

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", relea ...

, which first appeared on the album ''

Decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

'' by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

. Performers for the recorded album, in addition to the band members and Keelor, include Malcolm Burn, who played

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

and provided backing vocals; Sammy Vegas, lead guitar on "Down to the Wire", and Anne Bourne on keyboards for "Red Earth".

Track listing

# "Red Earth" (Greg Keelor, Michelle McAdorey) – 4:06 # "Down to the Wire" (Neil Young) – 2:59 # "Sky" (Colin Cripps, Michelle McAdorey) – 3:39 # "Smoke" (Greg Keelor, Michelle McAdorey) – 4:20 # "I Gave You My Heart" (Ambrose Pottie, Greg Keelor, Jocelyne Lanois, Michelle McAdorey)– 3:15 # "The One That Keeps Me Running" (Colin Cripps) – 4:58 # "Moving Too Fast" (Greg Keelor, Michelle McAdorey) – 3:31 # "Inside Out" (Greg Keelor, Michelle McAdorey) – 3:50 # "Julia Rain" (Colin Cripps, Michelle McAdorey) – 3:17 # "It's Not Funny Anymore" (Jocelyne Lanois, Malcolm Burn) – 3:45 # "Bury Her" (Colin Cripps, Michelle McAdorey) – 4:06

References

{{Authority control Crash Vegas albums 1989 debut albums Albums produced by Malcolm Burn