In the mid-to-late '90s, I immensely enjoyed following the progression of a Halifax, Nova Scotia band called
Thrush Hermit, and perhaps more specifically their vocalist and guitarist Joel Plaskett. Starting out as motley crue of indie-guitar rawkers who eventually honed their craft into something a little more refined, and a
lot more endearing, I was saddened to learn of their split after their second album, 1998's
Clayton Park. I was in luck however, thanks to Plaskett forging ahead with a new combo, The Joel Plaskett Emergency. Having released a previous solo album, the somewhat cobbled together
In Need of Medical Attention in the final throes of Hermit, it was clear that Plaskett had truly emerged as a mature singer/songwriter with TJPE's 2000 stunner,
Down at the Khyber, bearing all the evidence anyone could possibly need.
A relatively hard to find import single was released in conjunction with Khyber, featuring the lucidly soaring and empathetically beautiful "Clueless Wonder." Love the Jimmy Page-style guitar bend in the chorus on this one. The flip-side featured two non-lp goodies, a bratty kiss-off, "Please Don't Return," as well as an unlikely cover of R&B crooner Irma Thompson's "The Hurt's All Gone." Nice and even more nicely done.
A. Clueless Wonder
B1. Please Don't Return
B2. The Hurt's All Gone
this is one of my favourite songs of all time!
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