Lost Together [Import]

Jim Cuddy demonstrates his incredible vocal talent and range in "Fly" and "Last to Know," and the band's outstanding songwriting skills never fade away through the album. The title track is a haunting ballad that will stay with you and cause you to listen to it again. "Already Gone" is just a straight Folk-Rock song, but it is so well executed it is amazing.

I have become a missionary for Blue Rodeo, desperate to get them more popular in the States. Right now, if you walk up to any one hundred people, you will be lucky if one of them has heard of the band, and if they've actually heard their music, go by yourself a lottery ticket, for it's your luck day. And odds seem to be that I would know them.

This band is as good, if not better, than the Eagles, but for some reason, possibly because they're Canadian, they do not sell well. I truly hope this will change, and I beg of them to keep putting out albums of this calibur for a long time.

Greg Keelor contributes a reminiscent song called "Western Skies" in which Toronto somes off a poor second to the Rockies; a gentle ballad called "Is It You?" that may be about a person or a spirit guide (or something else entirely -- but it's pretty); and of course the title track, which combines a haunting keyboard part and some beautiful orchestration with Greg's matter-of-fact vocal. I think it's largely Greg's shambling, everyguy, heartfelt vocal that puts this one into the classic category. He sounds real enough to be singing this song for all of us.

"Lost Together" the album contains a lot of Jim Cuddy's ballads as well. "Rain Down On Me" starts out as a song being sung ABOUT someone who's lost and confused, but eventually turns out to be sung BY someone who's lost and confused, too. "Already Gone" is an "it's over" song that sounds exhausted, like the character is sitting with his head in his hands finally making himself believe that there is nothing left of a relationship. What makes this one a standout is the delivery -- it's more resigned and wistful than anything else, the sound of someone looking around at wreckage and realizing that the only thing left to do is walk away. There's a lot of regret but the character has no fight left in him.

The character in "Last To Know" is in almost the same situation, but is still hanging on to the obviously forlorn hope that things will change. Anyone who's sensitive to atmospheres might try listening to this one from the next room the first couple of times, because between the lyrics and the vocal it's pretty wrenching stuff.

By contrast, the uptempo "Flying" almost sounds like it's encouraging the one who ran away -- "while you're up there, turn around and touch the sky/ I guess the point of getting out is never saying goodbye." It's not so much an angry song as one that is reaching the point of understanding why another person can't stay.

"Lost Together" features longer songs that the earlier "Casino," as well as more assured songwriting. It's heartfelt, it's intelligent, it's not going through the motions in any way. Don't you love it when a band get better with each album?