First solo album for the singer of Canadian group Tragically Hip. Tracks include, 'Vancouver Divorce', 'Nothing But Heartache In Your Social Life' & 'Insomniacs Of The World, Good Night'. 2001 release. Standard jewel c... more »ase.« less
First solo album for the singer of Canadian group Tragically Hip. Tracks include, 'Vancouver Divorce', 'Nothing But Heartache In Your Social Life' & 'Insomniacs Of The World, Good Night'. 2001 release. Standard jewel case.
The best album to come out the great wide (white) north...
07/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"ok, here's my un-expert review of Gord Downies's (GD's) Coke Machine Glow after a few complete listenings:the best thing to come out of the great wide (white) north since young's harvest...you have to keep an open mind, folks, this is very, very, VERY un-tragically hip, this is gd's ponderings and musings about life in general. some of it is catchy, quirky spoken word with background music, others are brilliant, unrefined songs with rough edges. All of the songs blend in well. It reminds me of a group of musician getting together, sitting down and playing in a room in a big house with a tape recorder recording the music.Songs like Vancouver Divorce, Chancellor, Lofty Pines and The Never-Ending Present are wonderful and thought provoking...this is a great album to listen to on a sunday morning with a cup of coffee. It really makes you think and listen to the lyrics. It lends itself perfectly to live performance in a hazy, dimly lit bar, where people are drinkin' their fancy dark beers and wine.Gord has done something fresh and amazing."
Warming to the Glow
04/07/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Only four stars? Get back to me in a couple of days and I'm sure I will want to amend my rating upward. As with the past few Hip albums, it has taken a few spins to get into Coke Machine Glow. Its eclectic nature and its departure from Gordie's work with the Hip makes it a bit more difficult, but the effort is worth the rewards of such lines as, "Now for the spectacular part" and "I'm discovering uses for you I though I'd never find." The album is filled with these little gems, but any Hip fan already knows about Downie's tendency toward lyrics that are at once powerfully familiar and impenetrable, an effect both pleasing and provocative. The words are the attraction here, but the music, by turns folksy, bluesy, and just plain goofy (good goofy, ya know), also seems an effort to force the average fan to consider what else is out there. Consider it well. Thanks, Gordie."
Haunted
djones1 | Miami | 11/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I find myself constantly playing this album. It has become a soundtrack to my life lately.I do not find the album "too mellow" at all but feel a simmering energy despite lower decibels than I would have imagined. I find the back up band very satisfying and refreshingly different.I bought this at the same time as the new Hip. The new Hip album, as usual, took a while to grow on me, but I loved Coke Machine Glow immediately.It is quite odd. The songs are such that they creep into your consciousness and you find yourself humming them at unexpected moments; but if you dare to sing along while listening to the music, Downie's phrasing will challenge you and you'll stick to humming!A master atist."
Great CD!
Stephen Shoup | Austin, TX United States | 11/08/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I you want grunge, hard-edged, glam, rap-style rock n' roll. Stay away from this album.This album is just great music which I feel is centered around great lyrical expressions. Great to fall into and get involved.I have lived in Texas for all of my life. Different cities, but Texas is a large place. I was first introduced to The Tragically Hip with 'New Orleans is Sinking' back in 1989 - 90. After that, each on of the LP's has intriguied me and found EVERY track to be something I can listen to over and over.Well, this path has led me to Gordon Downie's solo shot with Coke Machine Glow. This album has textures, meanings, and subtleties that are incredible. I was immediately drawn to Chancellor, but the more you listen to it, the cd is incredible. Many of the songs are very powerful, and have a great emotional component. You can see that the music comes from within the artist.One of the best cd's that I have..."
When are you thinking of disappearing?
broctune | Ontario, Dominion Of Canada | 07/13/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This here be Gordon Downie's, he of Tragically Hip fame, first solo album. Is it good? Why yes, very much so. Is it a Tragically Hip album? No. Not at all. Gone are the Keith Richards power chords, so beware all ye in Molson T-shirts and F-150's. The songs are surrounded in reverbs, accordions, tinkling piano's, lots of acoustic instrumentation, and some gnarly-rad production. He's backed by an all-star band of Toronto's best, such as Don Kerr (Ron Sexmith, ex-Rheostatics) , Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies, Thin Buckle), Dave Clark (The Dinner Is Ruined Band, ex-Rheostatics), Dale Morningstar (The Dinner Ruined Band), Travis Good (Sadies), Jose Contreras, as well as some added bonuses, Julie Doiron, Atom Egoyan (yes THAT Atom Egoyan), Paul Langois of Tragically Hip & Steven Drake of The Odds. Recorded in 11 days the album is very loose, very open. Quite a bit like pals just jamming around with the 4-track running. Spoken word pieces are scattered throughout and are very effective. (For all you Rheostatics fans out there check out "Mystery", which shares lyrics with the Rheostatics "Fathers Sad Song".) As for actual songs the highlights are "Canada Geese" ("...like middle aged men smoke dope and talk just to their cars..."), "Chancellor", "The Never-Ending Present" and more or less everything else. Buy this and play it on a summer night when you're sitting on your porch watching the fireflies drift, and the mosquitoes bite."