The 1981 Listening Post - Blue Northern - Blue Northern

 Blue Northern - Blue Northern

#84

1981 Housekeeping

Blue Northern

Blue Northern

Genre: Canadian Power Pop backed with Country

3.25 out of 5

Highlights:

You’re Not the Same Girl

One Hundred Percent

Don’t be fooled. Wikipedia and other places list this as “country rock” but the first side is really not any more than any jangle pop of the era is. It hews much closer to Bay City Rollers than it does to, say, .38 Special. 

I actually think it’s more like Tommy Tutone. 

Until “Vagabond”. That shit is old school. That’s freaking Porter Wagoner shit there. And the rest of Side Two jumps in to that C&W jamboree sound. It rights itself back to trad rock toward the end. 

This retro rock thing is a bit of a schizo experience. Oh well. They broke up shortly after this. 

Fun fact: Billy Cowsill of the The Cowsills is one of the lead vocalists on this record. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf5z5QmxjBM