The Spirit Of Christmas - Lies To Live By

[Zappathustra]

This has been for me probably the greatest revelation of the current year. How can such a record exist and how is it possible that they are so little well-known? It goes directly to my top20 of 70's North American albums and puts to shame a lot of far more famous names.

What I enjoy more is the unity of rock music that it represents: Classic rock, heavy rock, prog rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock...it's all in there, not as a collage of influences but as an organic whole. Labels are useless here, it's just fantastic rock music. It reminds us that rock music is one, and that what really matters is to be able to write good songs, like the beautiful pieces of music comprising this record

So, are you familiar with the LP and the band? I know they had a couple of releases as simple "Christmas" but haven't heard something. What do you think of it/them?

(Oh, and the mellotrons...)

[moecurlythanu]

^ It's a fine album. I don't rate it as highly as you do, but it's an excellent album that belongs in the collection of every Prog-Rock fan.

[Scrotum Scissor]

The single finest non-Quebecois Canadian progressive rock album of the entire 70s, IMO. Some very apparent influences, yet what they -do- with those is highly original. A great, great piece of work.

[Supersonic Scientist]

Great album front-to-back...very original

Favorite moment: From: Factory...."EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL!!!!!!" (blistering GTR solo over this section)

Still have my Laser's Edge CD (I think the 1st or 2nd CD I got from them a LONG TIME ago......the other being Atlantis Philharmonic)

[GuitarGeek]

Yeah, it's a great album. That was about the third Laser's Edge release I picked up, back in the mid 90's.

Ken Golden could probably talk about this more clearly, but I recall him saying that one of the guys from Spirit Of Christmas felt that Alex Lifeson may have borrowed a few moves from their music (apparently, members of both bands attended the others concerts, so they both knew about each other).

Listening to the album, one does hear some similar chord sequences, by which I mean, the use of the open high E and/or B string mixed with a moving chord sequence on the lower strings (e.g. the Eminor to F#11th chord change during the first stanza of Xanadu, or the chords on the opening fanfare section of Hemispheres).

There's nothing that actually sounds, not to my ears anyway, like any Rush songs, but if you're a guitarist, it's hard to miss the type of chord changes I'm talking about.

Of course, Pete Townshend did similar things in The Who (e.g. Substitute or I Can See For Miles), so one could argue both bands appropriated it from him! And I think Townshend admitted he lifted it fro listening to composers like Purcell.

[spacefreak]

Probably the ultimate guitar driven progressive rock album of the 70s. Bob Bryden simply sounds Godly on it. I remember having a thorough discussion on the old board on it, there was someone claiming that he got a whole box of them in Bryden's record store in Ontario during the 80s.

[Scrotum Scissor]

one of the guys from Spirit Of Christmas felt that Alex Lifeson may have borrowed a few moves from their music

There are parallels to both Rush and Max Webster, but the LTLB album is more dense, sophisticated and generally 'developed' than anything by the former yet equally melodic and immediate in sound to the latter. It's also outright experimental in its singer-songwriter's way of epic scope and arrangement. This one, Pictures by Island and the (more recent) Hermann Szobel release were the toppest notch of vintage titles issued by The Laser's Edge. IMO, of course.

[LASERCD]

Yeah, it's a great album. That was about the third Laser's Edge release I picked up, back in the mid 90's.

Ken Golden could probably talk about this more clearly, but I recall him saying that one of the guys from Spirit Of Christmas felt that Alex Lifeson may have borrowed a few moves from their music (apparently, members of both bands attended the others concerts, so they both knew about each other).

Listening to the album, one does hear some similar chord sequences, by which I mean, the use of the open high E and/or B string mixed with a moving chord sequence on the lower strings (e.g. the Eminor to F#11th chord change during the first stanza of Xanadu, or the chords on the opening fanfare section of Hemispheres).

There's nothing that actually sounds, not to my ears anyway, like any Rush songs, but if you're a guitarist, it's hard to miss the type of chord changes I'm talking about.

Of course, Pete Townshend did similar things in The Who (e.g. Substitute or I Can See For Miles), so one could argue both bands appropriated it from him! And I think Townshend admitted he lifted it fro listening to composers like Purcell.

Bob Bryden told me that the bands were aware of one another. The guys from Christmas used to go see Rush play in the clubs. If I recall he said they used to toss peanuts at them. I hear a similarity in sound. I'm sure if you asked Alex Lifeson about Christmas now he probably wouldn't even remember them.

[LASERCD]

Probably the ultimate guitar driven progressive rock album of the 70s. Bob Bryden simply sounds Godly on it. I remember having a thorough discussion on the old board on it, there was someone claiming that he got a whole box of them in Bryden's record store in Ontario during the 80s.

Rob Bulger was the lead guitarist in (The Spirit Of) Christmas. Bob Bryden was the rhythm player.

[LASERCD]

There are parallels to both Rush and Max Webster, but the LTLB album is more dense, sophisticated and generally 'developed' than anything by the former yet equally melodic and immediate in sound to the latter. It's also outright experimental in its singer-songwriter's way of epic scope and arrangement. This one, Pictures by Island and the (more recent) Hermann Szobel release were the toppest notch of vintage titles issued by The Laser's Edge. IMO, of course.

Thanks. Those are some of my favorites. I would add Spring, SFF and Finnforest to the list. I love doing reissues but sadly no one buys them any more.

I would love to have the opportunity to do a "do over" for Lies To Live By. At the time at the insistence of label owner Frank Davies I was given the Lee Townsend mastered for vinyl master tapes. I didn't really know any better. I was just happy to do the damn album. Now I would love to have premastered tapes to cut to digital. Bob Bryden drove down from Mississauga, Ontario with the master tapes and stayed with me for a day or two. A great guy who is very passionate about his music and his community.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I know they had a couple of releases as simple "Christmas" but haven't heard

I'm only familiar with Heritage, the second Christmas album, where you can clearly hear the antecedents of the SoC's later approach. It's somewhat less integral as concerns the disparate influences, but the melodies and atmospheres and solid performance are all in place. And before that there was Reign Ghost, Bryden's very own psychedelic folk-rock group with some serious WestCoast-tendencies (typically a female lead vox alternating) but also a rather original go at that. All worth hearing.

[Zappathustra]

There are some gigantic guitar riffs in War Story and Factory that are quiet reminiscent of Rush. God, I love some gigantic guitar riffs (like Rush Necromancer, probably the most addictive riff they ever wrote).

The voice is somewhere between Ian Anderson and Tom Rapp, and in fact if something is close to it it has to be early Jethro Tull.

But nothing is close to it...what an absolutely inkredibel record to run into!

[Trane]

how are the three Christmas albums?? (including the live archival)

The single finest non-Quebecois Canadian progressive rock album of the entire 70s, IMO. Some very apparent influences, yet what they -do- with those is highly original. A great, great piece of work.

I tend to prefer the Nucleus album... Or Ptarmigan's sole effort
(The Collectors were 60's)

But this is a goodie for sure.

[Kanukisbrave]

I wish I had never sold my Laser's Edge version of Heritage as I then didn't care for it. (tastes change) and I later bought it again (unidisc label) and was shocked to find repeated censorship on one of the better tracks. Imagine censorship in this day and age.

[mogrooves]

Ptarmigan's sole effort

+1