Fully Completely

About

The Tragically Hip’s Canadian-chart-topping second album, 1991’s <i>Road Apples</i>, elevated this hardscrabble bar band from Kingston, Ontario, into Canada’s most popular rock group. <i>Fully Completely</i>, released the following year, made them legends—a self-contained musical universe with an intensity and identity entirely its own. Seeking to replicate their Canadian success outside their home country, the Hip decamped to London, England, to work with Chris Tsangaride, best known for applying a platinum polish to hard-rock acts like Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest. But in the producer’s hand, the Hip didn’t so much toughen up as branch out. If <i>Road Apples</i> positioned the Hip as the thinking man’s drinking band, <i>Fully Completely</i> betrayed a musical and lyrical depth their previou, classic-rock-rooted work only hinted at. From the jump, the opening “Courage (For Hugh MacLennan)” reveals a newfound finesse, showcasing a band eager to glide where they used to grind. But while it provides ample space for frontman Gord Downie’s latent melodic graces to shine through, the song proved to be a hard sell in a US rock market dominated by the more primal, nihilistic sounds of grunge. Certainly, the titular shout-out and lyrical nods to revered Canadian author Hugh MacLennan flew over the heads of most kids in the mosh pit. And yet “Courage” is the ultimate testament to The Tragically Hip’s own uncommon valor—i.e., their willingness to go against the grain in their own peculiar way, and sing about the kind of people and places rarely celebrated in rock song. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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