Rise Again: The Songs of Stan Rogers-A Review Essay

Michael Pollock

Calgary's Lunchbox Theatrerecently stageda production basedon the creative output of one of Canada'smost celebratedsinger/songwriters, Stan Rogers. The producer and principal performer of Rise Again very wisely chosenot to take the route of a one-manshow in which Rogerswould be portrayed by a singer/actor;rather, the t()CUSof the show is revealedin its subtitle, The Songs of Stan Rogers. The show consistsof nine of Rogers'scompositions performed by Tim Williams (guitars, mandolin), Ron Casat(keyboards, bass, accordion) and Kathy Cook (mandolin, guitar, bass), and interspersedwith commentaryon Rogers'slife work and on the mythology that has grown up around him. All three musicianscontribute vocals; Casatand Cook take lead vocals on one song each and provide harmony behind WIlliams on the remaining numbers.Williams also provides most of the commentarybetween songs. There was not enoughof this material to suit me, and I had hopedto learn more about Rogersthan I did. On the other hand, the subtitle to the piece makesit abundantlyclear that the songsare the basisfor the production. The selectionof material for the production is ! very interesting. Although many Canadiansassociate Rogerswith the Maritimes becauseof his earlier work, he was in fact an Ontario native who wrote about people from all parts of the country. More than half of the songsin the show ("Northwest Passage," "The Field Behind the Plow," "Free in the Harbor," "The Idiot," "Lies") relate directly or indirectly to Westernlife in generaland/or Alberta in particular. , For an Albertan audience,this selectiondemonstrates the depth of Rogers's songwriting skill in an especiallyappealing way. (The set designby Johanne Deleeuw emphasizesthe contrastsbetween Rogers's perceivedMaritime backgroundand the broaderrange of his songs,as it provides a backdropof wharfs and ~---~~- ~ fishing netsfor the predominantlyWestern songs.) The arrangementsof the songsare both well-conceivedand well-performed, at all times allowing the carefully crafted lyrics that are the hallmark of Rogers's songsto take centre stage. (I particularly enjoyed Casat'sgentle accordion on "Free in the Harbour.It) Tim Williams is a stron~ sin~er with a oleasantvoice that adaptswell to a variety of musical styles. Casat and Cook have voices that are less powerful, but well suited to harmony singing and to the songson which they sing lead. Casatsings lead on "Try Like the Devil," a gospel-influencedcountry song quite different in style from the others in the show. His singing style was very different from that of Williams and Cook, but it suited the song well and made a pleasingperformance. My only criticism of Cook's work on "Lies" is with her diction; although she gave a very moving and dramatic performanceof the song I had difficulty making out all the words in spite of my familiarity with the song. Although the songswere interspersedwith information about Rogers's life and work, in essence the show is a musical performance.The set is nicely paced, saving the sure-fire crowd-pleasers("Barrett's Privateers," "The Mary Ellen Carter") to the end, so that the audienceleaves on an upbeatnote. The opening, an a capella rendition of "Northwest Passage,"almost worked-the harmonieswere good, but Casatand Cook were too far from the single microphonethat the three sharedfor this first number. As well, the key chosenfor the song was a bit low for Williams and Casat, and a bit high for Cook, so that all three were struggling with pitches by times. I had some initial misgivings about my ability to listen objectively to Rogers's songsperformed by other artists. It is much to their credit that Williams, Casatand Cook madethe songstheir own, so that comparisonwith Rogers's recordedperformances rarely occurred to me. In all, this was a very good production, providing an introduction to Rogers's music for those unfamiliar with the broad range of his material, and allowing those who have known Rogers's songsfor years an opportunity to appreciate his music ob.jectively,without the misty nostalgiathat takes over when well-loved recordingsare played for the umpteenthtime. Theseare great songsthat should be sung and listened to for their inherent worth, and not becauseRogers's untimely death elevatedhim to near-mythic status.

/There is talk of plans to reprise Rise Again at other venues, possibly other provinces. As these plans materialize, we'U repol1them.]

Lunchbox 1healre, Level 2, 205 -5th Avenue SW, Calgary, Fax (403) 264-5461, tUns plays continously during the September-May season, Monday- Saturdav @12:10. Phone (403) 265-4292 (Box Qffice)for infonnalion on current offerings. Photographsby GWL