Country & Western collisions.
“Anyone can come up with a story… you just need a few lies and a few loose wires upstairs and enough time alone to tie them all together”. So says Gene, a character created by Rick Maddocks for his story in ‘Sputnik Diner’. Common threads weave their way through the five stories in the book, all centred around tobacco-belt Ontario. A very enjoyable read.
“Blue Horse Opera” started off as a novel idea. But time spent in Southern Spain over a decade ago provoked childhood memories of old, familiar spaghetti western soundtracks. Maddocks’s wiring and musical creativity enabled him to take the narrative (dusty deserts replaced by the Canadian oil sands) and compose a 17-track song cycle, and an endoscopic glimpse into the colourful mind of this writer and musician. Take the track ‘Don Esteban and His Bastard Daughter’:
“Since I left for the fireworks factory/ I have only lost one of my hands,/ But I would give the left one gladly/ To be right where she stands”.
Maddocks might have spent a lot of time musing and working alone on this soundtrack, but there are some fine musicians and artists, about a dozen in total, who have totally enhanced this recording. That includes soprano vocals from Dory Hayley and an authentic flamenco rhythm danced by Dayna Szyndrowski. The expansive sound has been captured beautifully by John Raham at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver.
These songs and instrumentals are intended for a live performance. Diverse sounds collide, common themes, harmonies, motifs and sound effects weave in and out. Listened to in its entirety, it definitely works. “Blue Horse Opera” is well off the beaten track, but a very worthwhile ride.
