This could be a long one so please bear with me. I had a musical revelation yesterday. A honest to goodness bolt of lightning type hit me in the head and heart experience. Wow. For 30+ years I have been a devoted fan of singer /songwriters. Of course Gord is my favorite but I've also been a fan of Dylan,Chapin,Donovan,McLean,Cohen,Simon,Taylor,Joh n Stewart,Sebastian,Prine,Denver,Winchester,Kris,Nel son,Cash,Diamond,Fogelberg,Franks,Rankin,Van Morrison----and the ladies, Collins,Mitchell,Emmy,King,Muldaur,Ian,Baez,Nicks, Reddy,Bayer Sager,Simon et al.
But for the last couple of years I've been kind of restless musically and I've had this feeling that I was missing out on something very important. And I was. While reading through this "who else does it for you" I came across the name Stan Rogers and I thought hmmmmm I should check out his music. Somehow I pulled up the Garnet Rogers website and learned that Stan had died in an airplane crash about 17 years ago. The reviews on Garnet Rogers were incredible so I went to "Borders" music and book store to find some of his CDs. Their computer showed nothing by Garnet but they showed about a dozen or so albums by Stan so I went to the bin and looked at all his Cds and I didn't recognize his picture or any of his song titles.I wondered which CD to buy. Should I start at the beginning of his career,the middle or the end. I ended up buying The latest CD, a compilation of songs that were outtakes that never made it on to any of his albums. The CD is called "from coffee house to concert hall" and was released in 1999 by Fogarty's Cove Music.My wife Cindy and I were standing in our kitchen putting away groceries and rearranging our cupboards[getting ready for a long cold winter in Colorado] and I started this new CD---- and after hearing his first words I got chills and the hair on my arms stood straight up.We both stopped and stared at each other with our mouths hanging open and stopped what we were doing and listened to every word and note from this incredible artist.You see we both appreciate good lyrics and melodies but what we really love is the emotion and phrasing and life experience that a singer puts into the song.[Like Gord does] The 10th song is called "Louise's Song" and after the first two lines we were both fighting back tears. This guy put it all together as a singer/songwriter and entertainer. I want to thank whoever put his name up for bringing his music to my attention.I'm mad at myself for not finding his music sooner. Myself being a Canadian expatriot [Stan was Canadian and toured on a bus with Gord and Joni Mitchell] I felt kind of bad for having not kept track of the music of my homeland. Also I'm thinking that if this CD is his music that didn't make it onto any of his albums----then his other dozen or so albums must be very,very good. Also, his brother Garnet's albums will be well worth looking into.I have a feeling that there are a lot of other Stan Rogers fans out there and that I,m the last one to the party.I'll close with the chorus from"Louise's Song"
and oh, there's a burning in your eyes
and the hand you put in mine won't stop trembling.
oh, tell me what you're going through,
'cause all I want to do is be protecting.
No! all the shadows on your face ,
they look so out of place ,they should be sunlight.
I want to take you where the smile returns
and keep you from the night
and wake up to see me in your eyes.
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If there ever was a song that I could pick for Gord to sing this is it.
--------------------------------------------- John Hooton
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