To begin, a few ground rules. These posts will be about my CD collection. My first albums were on cassette tape. I did have a couple of albums on vinyl (still do), but the vast majority of my early acquisitions were tapes. I still remember the first album I purchased for myself: Killers by Kiss. You’ll have to wait for my first CD acquisition, it’s down in the W’s.

I was debating just posting about the albums as I felt like talking about them, but I decided going in a specific order would force me to talk about more of my collection than I would have otherwise. I won’t be doing compilation albums (greatest hits, retrospectives, tribute albums, soundtracks), just straight up studio albums. Sorry, no live content. I’ll be going through the artists in alphabetical order, and when I have multiple albums from the same artist I’ll try to do the albums chronologically, but I make no promises I won’t screw up. In fact, you might want to count on at least one.

I was also thinking of going track by track, but for the most part, I think that would leave me with a whole lot of comments like “I don’t really like this track. Next.” So I will generally just be giving my overall impressions and thoughts on the album, plus whatever little nugget pops into my skull while I’m writing about it.

Without further ado, I give you 54-40’s 1994 release, Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret.

I tend to think of 54-40 as an iconic Canadian band. I was aware of them before they played my frosh week in university, but only peripherally. Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret wasn’t the first album of theirs that I purchased, and I don’t remember what specifcally drew me to it, but it turned out to have a fantastic example of a surprise gem. Sometimes you buy an album because you like the band, or want to try them out. Sometimes you buy an album for a track or two. In this case I bought the album for a few of the tracks: Blame Your Parents, Radio Luv Song, Assoholic, and Ocean Pearl specifcally. Sure I think that they’re all great songs, but as it turned out, my favourite track isn’t any of those. It’s What Buddy Was. To me, this was a surprise gem on the album. Sunk deep into the album at track 13, you’re mired in the midst of the weak tracks. However, right from the get-go it sinks its hooks into you. There is something to be said for a simple drum beat and baseline. Almost a little Daft Punk-ish.

Generally I really like this album. It’s pretty solid through and through, with a good lineup of solid tracks and the aforementioned surprise gem. I think it does have a few duds (I’m looking at you Don’t Listen to That, Friends End, and Save Yourself), but even those serve as a kind of palate clenser. Also, I can’t really blame an album for having a few duds. I find it incredibly rare that I can site and listen to an entire album without wanting to skip a few tracks. Sure, some of them grow on you in time, but it is truly a feat (and probably a bit of luck) to create an album of 10-15 songs that are all great, or even good. Overall this album has more ups than downs, and is a solid effort from a solid Canadian outfit.

See you Tuesday.