![]() Produced by Jim Bryson (Weakerthans, Kathleen Edwards, Oh Susanna), Yates’ second full-length effort is a major stylistic step forward, with its 11 tracks capturing his artistic evolution amid extensive touring over the past three years. Yates’ only pre-conceived notion for the album was to move forward from his last album and let Bryson put his years of experience to work.Īlong with handling production duties, Bryson’s abilities as a multi-instrumentalist were fully deployed during sessions at North of Princess Studio in Kingston, Ontario, leading a band that included Brian Dunne on guitars/vocals, James Preston on bass, Marshall Bureau on drums, and guest vocalist Amanda Rheaume.įor Yates, the stars were aligned throughout the creation of Huntsville, beginning with a balanced mix of road-tested and brand new material amassed before hitting the studio. “After playing some of these songs live, you start getting attached to how you think they should sound,” Yates explains. “I originally had in mind that this would be mostly a solo acoustic record, but I told myself going into the studio not to be too precious about my own ideas. ![]() He’d say, ‘Let’s try things my way and if you don’t like it, we’ll press the mute button.’ But I loved all of his ideas, and that’s when I understood what a great collaboration it would be.” The best part was, with that in mind, I was able to let go of some of that control and told Jim to run with it. “Keep Your Head Down,” with its subtle, driving groove, opens the album like a train pulling out at dawn, with vast, open vistas lying ahead. Those come into focus on other key tracks such as “Once More To The Lake,” “Roll Me On Home” and “The Best Part Of Leaving.” Yet, everywhere on the album, echoes of the Canadian songwriting tradition, from Gordon Lightfoot to Bruce Cockburn to Ron Sexsmith, are apparent, proving that with Huntsville, Ken Yates is ready to join that exalted company.Ĭhoosing to name Huntsville after a song he’d written about a small northern Ontario town is a further indication of Yates’ musical vision. “A lot of the songs were inspired by what you could say was a northern Ontario landscape, but that song in particular is about leaving everything behind, traveling up north and staying there. If Michael Hutchence hadn't died, Paula might have survived.After I wrote the line, ‘If them mornings don’t shine how you like, find a night to dream into,’ I felt like it represented the whole album in way, which is why I decided to make it the title track.”Ī native of London, Ontario (a few hours’ drive south of Huntsville), Yates studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Hers was an incredible story in the limelight. 'She was just dealt card after card in the last ten years of her life. She came from this weird Fifties TV world of evangelists and actresses. She was such an English character.'Īlthough she was married and he is gay, Rupert and Paula are believed to have begun an 'almost immediate affair' after first meeting. Previously detailing their first encounter, Rupert said: 'She had a thin, flat voice and she clung to her man like a sweet, little, cartoon octopus.'ĭiscussing his overwhelming sexual attraction to her, he said: 'She had a fragility that was erotic to men. She could break if you squeezed her too hard. ![]() Rupert described first meeting Paula and Bob for dinner in 1982 (pictured 1994) This was her most extraordinary feature, because it gave the man she let hold her a sense of protective power even if you were gay, you could not help but feel turned on.' 'She had a tiny waist that you could put your hands around and your fingers would nearly touch. On the one hand she was a typical English rock chick, with her shock of peroxide hair, a white candyfloss quiff, and a wardrobe of beautiful clothes made by the fashion designer Antony Price. She had a thin, flat voice and she clung to her man like a sweet little cartoon octopus.
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