The Tragically Hip
Now For Plan A
Release Date: November 12th 2012
The Energy of Connectivity
Written by: Gavin Brown
It started making sense the night of the Bobcaygeon show last summer.
The Tragically Hip and I had already recorded 4-songs that spring at their studio in Kingston, a bit piecemeal, a little slow off the start and I was still looking for the magic, that something extra to make the new record special…
But that night as they hit the stage and hit their stride it became clear to me….they are a killer live band…
I’m overstating the obvious but I guess spending so much time tucked away in the studio trying to perfect the “unperfectable” (not a word) I think I lost sight of what the essence of this band is…The energy of connectivity…the five of them together…each providing his pulse to the flow…each playing off the other as no other band can.
The Tragically Hip have made great records their whole career and they’ve made many memories on nights like this….the moon shining, the crowd screaming, the songs one after the other, familiar yet reborn in the moment…
I hadn’t seen the Hip since their run at Massey Hall in Toronto a few years ago and maybe I had forgotten this while we were tracking each of them separately at the Bathouse that spring…
But now my job was clear…..channel this energy…let them play together…a living organism honed by the years.
We changed tack and retooled and found a studio able to house the five guys with their inimitable style and blasted through 14-songs in two weeks….there was the magic, there was the essence, every moment charged with the energy of connectivity no chance to over-think or worse….with a few finishing touches back at the Bathouse and a mix week in NYC the record was done….
Now For Plan A is the new Tragically Hip record due out November 12th 2012.
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The Tragically Hip were formed in 1984 by five friends from Kingston ON – Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair.
The Hip have sold millions of records worldwide, managing to enjoy both mass popularity and critical acclaim.
The group released their first album, The Tragically Hip, in 1987 and have since released thirteen studio albums, earning two diamond certifications and over twenty #1 hits.