By Mike Fordham
While many Canadian artists are able to break into America, many acts remain heroes strictly in our neighbor to the north. Case in point-ever heard of Great Big Sea, Blue Rodeo or Chantal Kreviazuk? However, in the tradition of Our Lady Peace and Barenaked Ladies, rocker Sam Roberts is attempting to make in here in the States with We Were Born In A Flame.
This is actually Sam’s second go-around with this album. It was released last year on Universal to little fanfare. However, the country-oriented (and Universal affiliated) Lost Highway Records re-released We Were Born In A Flame with extra tracks and a re-imaged cover. The jump over to Lost Highway suits Roberts well, as he mixes country leanings with rock, folk and power-pop. Hopefully, this rare opportunity of re-releasing an excellent album will allow Roberts to go far.
The standout song, by far, is “Don’t Walk Away Eileen.” This slice of power-pop rock nirvana utterly deserves to be a smash hit. The catchy chorus alone will bury itself in a listener’s brain, and firmly remain there. After several more listens, the rest of the song too will seep inside for good.
While the rest of the album is not nearly as addictive, there’s still plenty of superb song craft and hook-filled melodies to go around. Witness the rockers “On The Run,” “Higher Learning,” and “Every Part Of Me.” The gritty “Hard Road” captures the hardships of traveling, but also permeates with welcomed optimism. Also, tracks like “Brother Down, “Rarefied,” “Where Have All The Good People Gone?” and “Taj Mahal” display Roberts’ knack for slower-paced rock.
Interestingly, Roberts began his life as a child hockey prodigy, but switched to rock ‘n’ roll after an injury. This worked out in the end, since Roberts possesses an innate ability to create exceptional music. Roberts dabbles in numerous genres, and is able to pull it all together without sounding contrived or unoriginal. Surprisingly, this is Roberts’ first full-length album (he had a previous EP that featured several songs found on this disc). One would assume that he had several albums under his belt, judging from a critical listen.
If amazing work was rewarded with commercial success, Sam Roberts would be packing in stadiums worldwide (although he has garnered numerous Junos, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys). With any sort of luck, We Were Born In A Flame will merely be the stepping stone to stardom for Sam Roberts.
