The Tragically Hip

The stage is The Tragically Hip’s oyster. “The connection they have with their audience is truly astonishing,” marvels Steve Berlin, multi-instrumentalist for Los Lobos and producer of records by the likes of Crash Test Dummies and Faith No More. “I had been aware of them for a number of years and knew three or four of their songs from the radio, but I didn’t realize just how powerful they were until I got to see them play night after night last summer.” Berlin is referring to Another Roadside Attraction, the semi-annual festival tour The Hip have organized and headlined three times since 1993. ARA ’97 drew over 100,000 fans to six Canadian and two U.S. stops; tour mates last summer included Wilco, Sheryl Crow, and, of course, Los Lobos. “They just floored me,” Berlin continues. “After that, I totally got it.”

True, the live experience is key in understanding Kingston, Ontario’s favorite sons, The Tragically Hip, but the band knows how to make killer records, too. Case in point: The richly textured Phantom Power, the band’s seventh studio effort, eighth overall for Universal Music Canada, and first for Sire Records. The 12 songs that constitute Power came to life in The Hip’s home-away-from-home studio in Kingston, and they comprise their most realized and cohesive work to date.

Power songs unfold like tightly woven origami. Songwriter Gordon Downie’s double-edged wordplay defines the defiant “Poets,” the album’s lead track, first single, and first video (directed by Downie himself inside a house overrun by, er, over 450 cats). There’s also the loss of innocence inherent in “Fireworks,” the seductive nature of temptation that permeates “Chagrin Falls,” and the polite “my pleasure, but see ya later” vibe of the prophetically named “Escape is at hand for the travellin’ man.” “My job is to capture our role in the never-ending present,” says Downie of his creations. “I have certain experiences of group and individual settings juxtaposed with constant brief encounters; that’s what I write about.”

And then there’s the band’s patented gregarious groove-which I’ve come to call “The Hip Pocket”-that’s locked in and unloaded all throughout songs like the deliberately churning “Membership,” the snarky “Vapour Trails,” and the slamming “Emperor Penguin” (known to some of the devoted Hip faithful as “Tremolo”). “The first few records we made were all about trying to catch what we did live and transfer it to the studio environment,” observes guitarist Robby Baker. “Lately, we’ve begun to see the studio as a different beast entirely. Now we let the songs dictate where they’re gonna go-and the approach we’ll take in getting them there.”

What makes Power even more potent are the tantalizing new elements that have entered the mix: a poignant flute solo courtesy the aforementioned Berlin (who’s also the album’s co-producer) during the rideout to “Save the Planet” (which tickles Baker to no end: “here you’ve got this hard-driving ‘Little Bones’ kinda thing going on, and then you’ve got a lovely lilting flute-but it fits”) and the honey-drippin’ pedal-steel lines via Wilco’s Bob Egan on “Bobcaygeon” and “The Rules” (Baker again: “pedal-steel is an art unto itself, and Bob is an amazing player”). Even bassist Gord Sinclair expands his palette, who, along with Berlin, was responsible for the subtle organ fills on “Bobcaygeon.” “This record could be a shocking development for fans who’ve been with us since Up to Here [1989],” Sinclair admits, “but I really think Phantom Power hearkens back to the older days in terms of there being shorter songs than what you might find on Day for Night [1994] or Trouble at the Henhouse [1996]. Growth is important. It brings to mind The Rolling Stones, who for years continued to redefine themselves and their sound in different ways on record, but were instantly recognizable live.”

These new adventures in instrumentation were encouraged by Berlin, who came aboard to share Power’s producer’s chair along with The Hip and longtime band engineer Mark Vreeken. The addition of Berlin to The Hip’s close-knit production circle might be somewhat of a surprise considering the band self- produced ’96’s Trouble at the Henhouse, but to them it was a no-brainer. “We knew we wanted him right away,” asserts drummer Johnny Fay. “There comes a time when you have to stop building the ship after you’ve road-tested songs and you know what you’ve got on tape. Steve knew exactly when to say, ‘THIS is the right version.’” Concurs Sinclair, “Steve was the most logical choice. We wanted to get someone who wasn’t an engineer to focus on the musical standpoint as opposed to the sonic standpoint of things. If we were left to do it on our own, it would’ve been a lot more difficult.” Interjects guitarist Paul Langlois, “We liked the idea of taking a left turn. It was a good way to keep the band both off-guard and fresh at the same time.” Concludes Baker, “I enjoyed making Henhouse, but it took too much time with 5 people in charge. Besides, self-production wasn’t the end-goal of all the work we’ve done in our career to this point. Recording has to continually be a learning process.”

Berlin’s main strength as producer came in showing The Hip new ways to arrange their material-opening up their Power window, you might say. “My goal was to make myself no more equal than anyone else, yet be the one to gently suggest different song arrangements,” he elaborates. “They were very open to my suggestions, and the beauty of it all was that they could instantly hear the results from song to song. It was a pleasurable experience for them to hear sounds they were unfamiliar hearing coming from themselves.”

To further vary the songs’ textures, The Hip enlisted Don Smith (who produced 1989’s Up to Here and 1991’s Road Apples) to mix six songs at Mile High Studios in Agoura, California (“Poets,” “Save the Planet,” “Membership,” “Vapour Trails,” “Escape is at hand for the travellin’ man,” and “Emperor Penguin”), Jim Rondinelli (The Odds, Big Star) to mix three others at The Warehouse Studios in Vancouver (“Something On,” “Bobcaygeon,” and “Chagrin Falls”), and Mark Vreeken (The Hip’s longtime right-hand soundman and chief recordist) to mix three himself at the Bathouse (“Thompson Girl,” “Fireworks,” “and “The Rules”). Says Baker of the miscellaneous mixing assignments, “there are now layers and depth to the songs that weren’t apparent in the early mixes.”

The symmetry of Phantom Power spilled over into Fay’s discovery of the device that adorns the album’s cover. “I was walking down Houston Street in New York City,” he recalls, “when this piece of yellow gear sitting outside an antique shop caught my eye. I’m interested in unorthodox gear, as I believe everything has a sound in it I can somehow use. I bought it and showed it to Mark Vreeken. As it turns out, it’s a line-tester for Air Force airline equipment from the ’70s. It was useless for what I originally wanted, but Robby thought it would make for an interesting cover image.” Fills in Baker, who designed the album’s distinct look, “I loved it! I felt the whole package should be just like the machine itself.”

While the majority of Power had been channeled by November ’97, The Hip planned to reconvene in January ’98 to finish overdubbing and commence mixing, but the harrowing ice storm that left much of eastern Canada literally in the dark during the early weeks of 1998 got in the way. All but the Downie clan found themselves without power for an average of 7 days, as the other members of The Hip had to scramble to find ways to generate heat and keep family spirits upbeat. Declares Berlin, “They’re an incredibly resilient group of men.” Music helped some of them make it through the ordeal: “The beauty of acoustic guitars,” observes Sinclair, “is that you can still play them by candlelight.”

By the time everyone dug out and got to Bath, a new song, the kinetic “Something On,” immediately took shape (and one of its fertile lines inspired the album’s eventual title). “It was weird to see the entire city black,” muses Downie. “What we wanted to do with that song was to capture the expression of someone coming through such a period of toil with a heroic, pioneering spirit.” Acknowledges Baker, “Some people experience depression after an event like that, but, in my case, there was a sense of incredible relief and renewed vigor. I had pent-up energy that I could channel into something else-the music.”

Nailing “Something On” was a fitting capper on a period that could have tried lesser band’s souls. “This record was a good test,” agrees Langlois. “But we’ve always relied on each other to tell it like it is-good or bad.” Friendship has been the key to what’s kept the band together for 14 years (and counting). “This band is a full democracy, moreso than any other band I’ve worked with-it’s like dealing with the Security Council,” chuckles Berlin. “Being in Los Lobos for about 18 years now myself, I’m very familiar with how The Hip interact and how the bandmembers draw strength from each other.” Producer and band worked so well together that Berlin says he’s game for a repeat performance: “I’d drop anything and everything to work with them again.”

The Hip realize they have a unique bond. “I think of it as a five-way marriage without the sex,” grins Baker. “Yeah, we’ve lasted longer than many marriages,” confirms Fay. “There aren’t any other bands like us.” Indeed; not many bands put their personal relationships before their business ones. Asserts Downie, “None of these songs are as important as the people who made them.” Allows Sinclair, “The passion we feel for the music won’t ever override what we feel toward each other.”

Considering the end result, then, Phantom Power readily shows that The Hip have one of the most fruitful marriages going. “We make the records to please ourselves first,” clarifies Baker, “and I’m quite pleased with Phantom Power. It’s very textural. You have to listen to the songs a number of times to let them fully reveal themselves.” Offers Sinclair, “To me, the mark of a good record is that you want to put it on again immediately after it’s over. That’s all we’ve ever strived for. I’ve always preferred records that keep unfolding after each successive listen, and I think we’ve succeeded.”

Now it’s time to share the Power with everyone, as The Hip plan to hit the road full throttle once again. The bulk of ’98 will be taken up by club dates in the U.S., with a full-on assault of native Canadian soil expected for ’99. “This is the longest time we’ve ever been off the road,” notes Baker, “so getting back on tour will feel like the first time.” Echoes Sinclair, “we’ve spent a lot of time listening to music and not playing it, so it’s high time to get ourselves back onstage and in front of the people, which is our favorite thing to do.”

So go ahead, plug in and experience the energy that is Phantom Power. It’s an enticing Power trip to a place where you may think you’ve never been before- except, perhaps, to borrow a line from “Poets,” “in The Himalayas of your mind.” To Downie, the mystique of Phantom Power is that it “doesn’t seem to come from anywhere, but it’s all there. Ultimately, I’d like to think it’s got roots in something that’s fairly actually real-but not too real.”

What’s Phantom Power really stand for? I think it’s the intangible glue that holds The Tragically Hip together, that elusive elixir that fuels them into making such beautiful, powerful music. May the circle remain unbroken.

Mike Mettler
Editor-In-Chief, Car Stereo Review magazine