ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 15, 1992
By Steve Newton
Glen Stace’s debut album, Buddha Hotel, was one of my favourite Canadian albums of ’91. A guitar-driven collection of rough-edged tunes with an infectious pop sensibility, it showed the Saskatoon-bred singer/multi-instrumentalist to be an artist to watch for.
His classy follow-up, Road to Damascus, is proof that he’s the genuine article.
Produced in Vancouver by Nashville veteran Barry Beckett, Road to Damascus features 10 Stace originals that are lit white-hot by the lead work of Alannah Myles guitarist Kurt Schefter, then pounded into place by Pat Steward, who used to rattle the drum-kit for Bryan Adams. Bassist Dave Kilner rounds out the band, which really goes to town on stand-out tracks like the opener “House on Fire” (a shot at sold-out ’60s idealists), “Nobody’s Darlin’ ” (an ode to the loneliness of an exotic dancer), and the barnstorming rocker “Tangle Me”.
Several tunes on Road to Damascus make me think of how Blue Rodeo might sound if its rock ’n’ roll side wrested control from its country side, and you know that can’t be bad.