Northern Pikes, The - Secrets Of The Alibi (Virgin 209 354-630) (EU 1988) (Vinyl 24-96 & 16-44.1)

Info:


Northern Pikes, The - Secrets Of The Alibi

Label: Virgin
Catalog#: 209 354-630
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country/Origin: Europe/Canada
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

Tracklist:

A1 Place That's Insane
A2 Walk Away
A3 Wait For Me
A4 One Good Reason
A5 Blood She Wants

B1 Let's Pretend
B2 Better Twice
B3 Hopes Go Astray
B4 Stars In The Sky
B5 Hole In The Ground

Credits:

* Drums, Percussion - Don Schmid
* Lead Guitar, Vocals - Bryan Potvin
* Producer - Fraser Hill, Northern Pikes, The*, Rick Hutt
* Vocals, Bass Guitar - Jay Semko
* Vocals, Guitar - Merl Bryck

Notes:

Released with printed inner sleeve.
? & © 1988 Virgin Records Canada Inc. All tracks published by BMG Music Ltd.

Barcode and Other Identifiers:

* Other (Label Code): LC 3098
* Other (Rights Societies): GEMA/STEMRA/BIEM

Discogs Url: http://www.discogs.com/Northern-Pikes-The-Secrets-Of-The-Alibi/release/1956712

Secrets of the Alibi is the second album by The Northern Pikes released in 1988. It featured two hit Canadian singles - "Wait for Me" and "Hopes Go Astray".

Although this was their second album, the Pikes were nominated for "Most Promising Group" at the 1989 Juno Awards. This was likely because no Juno Awards were presented in 1988, the year their debut album would have been up for nomination. They were also nominated for Best Video at the 1989 Juno Awards for their song "Wait for Me". They failed to win either award.

The album was certified Gold in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association on July 18, 1991.

About one year after recording their successful debut album, the Northern Pikes returned to the studio in the Spring of 1988 to record the follow-up. The resulting production had a more serious tone than their first, no longer talking about "Teenland" but themes of growing up and a political awareness of the world at large.

The first track on the album is "Place That's Insane", apparently about a pretty waitress who works in a smokey bar, as the lyrics describe "The girl that works in the club downtown / Knows all about life, man, she's been around". The guitar sound in this track is representative of the live sound throughout the album. A remixed version of this track was released on the 12" single.

The first single "Wait for Me" is a sad remembrance of love lost written and sung by Jay Semko. As guitarist Bryan Potvin recalls: "Our demo process was always an intense thorough exercise and we came very close to some true magic with this song. The demo version was very relaxed and rather meloncholy. Another killer chorus though, can't lose no matter how you play it." The video was directed by Ron Berti and nominated for "Best Video" at the 1989 Juno Awards.

The second single was the offbeat "Hopes Go Astray" written by Potvin, complete with a strange video of the band members in household situations in the middle of a prairie field. The song was one of Potvin's first attempts at song writing and dated back to 1986, before the band was signed to Virgin Records. Jay Semko said "I think this was a breakthrough for Bryan as a singer and a writer. I recall the sessions at Bearsville with Bryan singing the break ('Now the princess washes dishes…') as a pretty cool evolution."

The band would tour extensively to support this album, including the opening spot for Robert Palmer's 1989 tour. wikipedia

Biography

by Keith Pettipas

The Northern Pikes were founded in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1983 out of the relics of three Canadian prairie bands – the Idols, Seventeen Envelope, and Doris Daye. The band released two self-financed independent albums, The Northern Pikes and Scene in North America, which attracted the attention of Virgin Records Canada, then in the process of expanding and looking for Canadian acts. Signed to a six-album international deal in 1985, their major-label debut was Big Blue Sky, which contained the singles and videos "Teenland" and "The Things I Do for Money." In that same year, the band opened on tours by Duran Duran, David Bowie and the Fixx, vaulting them into international stardom. The band's next album, Secrets of the Alibi, was ignored by critics and given less than complimentary reviews, but British pop star Robert Palmer saw potential in the band and had them as opening slot on his 1989 North American tour. In 1990, Snow in June became their third major release; this album was sort of a comeback, boasting three Top 40 hits in "She Ain't Pretty," "Girl with a Problem," and "Kiss Me You Fool." This album pulled out all the stops with mixes by Hugh Padgham and Bob Clearmountain and production by Rick Hutt, Fraser Hill and the Pikes themselves. The album also had an impressive roster special guest performers, including Garth Hudson (the Band) and John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful). Despite all of the attention the album received, Virgin America passed on its U.S. release, and the band ended up having it released by Scotti Brothers in 1991. The album would go on to sell double platinum, much to Virgin's loss. In 1992, the band released the album Neptune to very little fanfare, as their popularity began to dwindle. The album sank without a trace, but at the end of 1993 they released a live album called Gig, with songs taken from a set of the band's last shows together. In 1993, bandleader Jay Semko quit in frustration and the Northern Pikes were no more.

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Northern Pikes, The - Secrets Of The Alibi (Virgin 209 354-630) (EU 1988) (Vinyl 24-96 & 16-44.1)

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Northern Pikes, The - Secrets Of The Alibi (Virgin 209 354-630) (EU 1988) (Vinyl 24-96 & 16-44.1)

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