| The Grand Bounce | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 8 June 2010 | |||
| Recorded | August 2009 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 49:57 | |||
| Label | Universal Music Canada | |||
| Producer | Chris Walla [1] | |||
| Gord Downie chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| CHARTattack |   [1] |
| PopMatters |   [2] |
The Grand Bounce is the third solo album by Gord Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip. It was released on 8 June 2010. [3]
Downie's backing band, "The Country of Miracles", is composed of established Canadian musicians Julie Doiron (vocals, guitar, bass), Josh Finlayson (bass, guitar), Dale Morningstar (lead guitar), Dave Clark (drums), and Dr. Pee (keyboards). The Country of Miracles also known as The Dinner is Ruined have worked with Downie on his previous two solo releases, Coke Machine Glow and Battle of the Nudes. The Country of Miracles provided support to Downie as his backing band during his subsequent tours.
The Grand Bounce was produced by Chris Walla, a guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Downie had met Walla during the Pemberton Festival in 2008 when Walla encountered Downie backstage. [4] The album was recorded over a span of two weeks at The Tragically Hip's recording studio, the Bathouse, located in Kingston, Ontario, the home town of the band. [4]
The album takes its title from Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell, a book which Downie was reading. While reading the book, Downie came across the phrase "the grand bounce" referring to desertion, which he later used as the title to the album.
The painting on the cover of the album, titled Mohr for the late painter Ingeborg Mohr, was painted by Downie. He painted it for the Creative Arts Jem Auction, located in Toronto.
The seventh track of the album, "The Drowning Machine", was incorporated into the 2011 album 20 Odd Years by fellow Canadian artist Buck 65. The song "Whispers of the Waves" uses various lines from "The Drowning Machine". Gord Downie served as a guest vocalist on Buck 65's release. [5]
The song "Night Is for Getting" was originally released in 2004 as a bonus track to The Tragically Hip's album In Between Evolution . [6] The lyrics were heard throughout the In Violet Light tour, as Downie has a tendency to incorporate unreleased lyrics into his live performances. [6] The 2004 release contained a heavier arrangement then the Grand Bounce release due to the incorporation of more distorted musical components. The Grand Bounce version was generally more acoustic and keyboard based, which is similar to Downie's previous solo work. Downie was joined by a female vocalist, who provided backing vocals throughout the song and during the chorus.
The closing track "Pinned" contains various noticeable background chatter and noises. Downie recorded the vocal track while on a VIA rail train. [7] The track was recorded on GarageBand and the microphone picked up different noises in the area. [7] This included the train's whistle, which is heard multiple times throughout the song, and a conversation which is heard towards the end of the song. [7]
Ross Langager of PopMatters gave the album an 8/10 and stated that it "retains the indie rock-poet aesthetic of its predecessors while splicing in a measure of arena-sized muscle borrowed from his daytime gig". [2] Aaron Brophy of ChartAttack gave the album a rating of 4/5. [1] Brophy stated that "The hash-hazed sonic adventuring of the old records has been effectively compartmentalized in favour of a more zen approach and the end result is some of the best songs in the Downie canon". [1] Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star described the album as "the work of an artist still driven to advance his art" and "the work of an artist having fun". [4]
The Grand Bounce was listed as a Top 10 Canadian album of the year by CBC Radio 2. [8]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The East Wind" | 4.29 |
| 2. | "Moon Over Glenora" | 3.10 |
| 3. | "As a Mover" | 4.16 |
| 4. | "The Dance and Its Disappearance" | 3.49 |
| 5. | "The Hard Canadian" | 3.29 |
| 6. | "Gone" | 3.53 |
| 7. | "The Drowning Machine" | 3.26 |
| 8. | "Yellow Days" | 3.56 |
| 9. | "Night is for Getting" | 2.38 |
| 10. | "Moonslow Yer Lashes" | 3.11 |
| 11. | "Retrace" | 3.46 |
| 12. | "Broadcast" | 5.12 |
| 13. | "Pinned" | 4.42 |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) [9] | 8 |
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay. They released 13 studio albums, one live album, one EP, and over 50 singles over a 33-year career. Nine of their albums have reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts. They have received numerous Canadian music awards, including 17 Juno Awards. Between 1996 and 2016, the Tragically Hip were the best-selling Canadian band in Canada and the fourth best-selling Canadian artist overall in Canada.
Up to Here is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, released in September 1989. It is one of the band's most successful albums, achieving Diamond status in Canada for sales of over a million copies, earning the band a Juno Award for Most Promising Artist, and also introduced fan-favourite songs such as "Blow at High Dough", "New Orleans Is Sinking", and "Boots or Hearts". The album reached No. 13 on RPM's Canadian Albums Chart, and both "Blow at High Dough" and "New Orleans is Sinking" reached No. 1 on the RPM Canadian Content singles charts.
Road Apples is the second studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album contains the hit singles "Three Pistols", “Little Bones,” and “Twist My Arm." During the Hip's last tour, in 2016, songs from this album were played live on a regular basis, featuring the above-mentioned songs as well as ”Long Time Running”, “Last of the Unplucked Gems”, “The Luxury”, and “Fiddler's Green.” References to many prominent figures were used, including Tom Thomson and Jacques Cousteau, as well as political situations in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The track “Fiddler's Green" was written for Gord Downie's young nephew, who died during the writing of the album. Because of the personal nature of the song, the Hip did not play it live often, but they played it on a regular basis during their final tour.
Fully Completely is the third studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album was released in October 1992 and produced by Chris Tsangarides. The album produced six singles: "Locked in the Trunk of a Car", "Fifty Mission Cap", "Courage ", "At the Hundredth Meridian", "Looking for a Place to Happen", and "Fully Completely".
Trouble at the Henhouse is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, released in 1996.
In Violet Light is the eighth full-length album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album debuted at #2 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling almost 33,000 copies in its first week. The album has been certified platinum in Canada.
Gordon Edgar Downie was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its formation in 1984 until his death in 2017. He is revered by many as an inspiring and influential artist in Canada's music history.
Phantom Power is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album was released in 1998. It won the 1999 Juno Awards for Best Rock Album and Best Album Design.
The Dinner Is Ruined is a Canadian indie rock band. the band plays an experimental and improvisational brand of blues rock. The band members are Dale Morningstar, Dave Clark and Dr. Johnny Pee.
Coke Machine Glow is the first solo album released by Gord Downie, the singer for The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2001.
Battle of the Nudes is the second solo album by Gordon Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2003. Most of the tracks are recordings of songs written by Downie with heavy rock accompaniment.
"Bobcaygeon" is a song by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip. It was released in February 1999 as a single from their sixth album, Phantom Power, and has come to be recognized as one of the band's most enduring and beloved signature songs.
"Ahead by a Century" is a song by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, Trouble at the Henhouse. The song reached number one on Canada's singles chart, and is the band's most successful single in their native Canada. It was one of the 10 most-played songs in Canada in 1996. The song was nominated for "Best Single" at the 1997 Juno Awards. The song was certified platinum in Canada in 2016.
"Grace, Too" is a song by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. It was released in September 1994 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Day for Night. The song peaked at number 11 on the RPM Canadian Singles chart.
20 Odd Years is an album by Canadian hip-hop artist Buck 65. It was released on February 1, 2011, and named in honor of his twentieth anniversary in the music industry. The album continued Buck 65's tradition of combining several different musical styles, and featured many different guest collaborators.
Man Machine Poem is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, and the last album to be released before the death of lead singer Gord Downie, as well as their last to be composed of new material. It was released on June 17, 2016 on Universal Music Canada. Produced by Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin, the album is named after a track which appeared on the band's previous album Now for Plan A.
The Man Machine Poem Tour was a concert tour by The Tragically Hip in support of their thirteenth full-length studio album Man Machine Poem. The tour consisted of 15 shows, the first held on July 22, 2016, in Victoria, British Columbia, and the last held on August 20, 2016, at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
And the Conquering Sun is a collaborative album by Gord Downie and The Sadies, released on Arts & Crafts Productions in 2014.
Introduce Yerself is the sixth solo album by Canadian singer and songwriter Gord Downie, released posthumously on October 27, 2017, ten days after his death. A double album consisting of 23 songs which Downie has described as each being about specific people in his life, it was the last solo album Downie completed, although his brothers Patrick and Mike subsequently confirmed that additional unreleased material would be released in the future; the album Away Is Mine, which comprises the last songs Downie ever recorded and was completed by producer Nyles Spencer following Downie's death, was released in 2020.
Live at the Roxy or Live at the Roxy May 3 91 is the second full-length live album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip.
