Lost/Forgotten Album #370

[Jon]

It's album #13 in the series and it doesn't seem to be unlucky?

Well, we'll see. It's all the way back to 1979 with the second release from Wireless, Positively Human, Relatively Sane. Really no chart action to report with this one, but they did have some affiliation with some folks you may have heard of. 

Not a lot on the internet about Wireless and their first album has never been released on CD so that's why we have album #2. Some people are odd and just need to start with #1, so those peeps should beware. 

This album is all over the place. Listen to the first song and you THINK you know what you're getting, but that's flipped on it's butt with the second track. Really, it's all over the place. Really. 

Well, have to go with Amazon to get a small bio on what's in store:

When the dust begins to settle on the story of Canadian rock, Wireless will make but a small footnote in its vast canon. Whilst others may have achieved huge international acclaim there will be a handful that, although selling very few records, will always be remembered and respected for creating some of the most challenging music of our times. Step forward Wireless, a Toronto based quartet who utilised a quirky progressive rock template whilst designating a purposeful hard rock backbone to songs that had both meaning and message. Managed by SRO, the same people behind premiere Canadian rock band Rush, and signed to Anthem Records, another Rush related spin-off venture, Positively Human, Relatively Sane was greeted with universal acclaim by those fed-up to the back teeth with schlock rock and pop. Produced by ex-Max Webster bassist Mike Tilka and boasting nine tracks of superlative yet quirky hard rock, the album surfs the surface of convention whilst making inroads regular into progressive rock complexity. Imagine Steely Dan jamming with the Blue Oyster Cult and that might give some indication of the kind of musical magic we're talking about.

Wait. Is that.......cowbell????

Positively Human, Relatively Sane

1. I Know You Know
2. No Way Out
3. Goodnight Ladies
4. Right To Beg
5. What You Make It
6. The Hard Way
7. Sign Right Here
8. The Rut
9. 461 Markham

Availability: Around $13 new or used.

NOTE: As far as I'm concerned, every track is a red track. Monday I had the red track figured out, but today that changed because my music mood changed. Of course you can't make EVERY track the red track, that would be stupid. 

[Yngve J. Chapleen]

No. It's a doesn'tringabell.

Reading your descriptions I was expecting something really, really diverse, but it ain't that much "all over the place". Perhaps, I'm listening a bit weirder stuff to be wowed by it's plethora or perhaps you are playing reversed psychology on us, but to me it's a pretty straight forward Rock. The guitarist obviously put more effort in these songs, than the rest of the band. His playing is quite interesting and the frequent change of the guitar tone elevates the otherwise simply structured songs to enjoyable.

I can see this band playing in a bar and no one really paying attention to them. So, they play the red track and everyone is, in on the fun. People hit the dance floor... and all that silly things. (Something like Rawhide in the Blues Brothers.) Then, that song is done and everyone goes back to drinking. These aren't bad songs, but I feel they need an umph. Not the red track, though. That one has umph, off the charts.

A nice listen, indeed. Wouldn't mind hearing more of them.

[Scott]

When the best track (AKA Red) of the album is a Funkadelic/Commodores rip-off well, whats left to like?

Lets see...

• Production?  nope...
• Vocals?, nope...
• songwriting?  nope...
• Guitar work?  ok, yes but not every song

How about "The Hard Way"?  Yes its the Cherry pick this week...

The album as whole is 90% background music, and 10% pretty cool.  Nothing here that makes me want to know more about the band and that's a good thing since the internet knows nothing about wireless.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I'm gonna put this as simply as possible, this is the best damn Lost/Forgotten Album of the Week that you have ever posted my friend.  I mean it.  This is freakin' awesome!  

Gotta hear this again...