Tom Wilson

April 4, 2009

with Lori Yates

Wilson's so compelling, he makes this writer want to go to Canada and check out more of this scene for myself... and by all means get his latest, Dog Years--this is one great record.

Frank Goodman, PureMusic

As the saying goes, every dog has his day. Or in the case of Tom Wilson, DOG YEARS. On this his second solo album, the well-traveled troubadour has come up with a gem of a record that surely confirms him as one of Canada's most compelling singer/songwriters. There is no over-arching concept or grand mandate behind DOG YEARS. "This is just a collection of songs I've written over the last couple of years," explains Tom. Nothing more elaborate than that was required, given the strength of this material.

Over the course of a career that now spans three decades, Tom Wilson has put together a body of work impressive in both quantity and quality. Beat Music, his first full album, was recorded in 1986 with The Florida Razors, a popular band on the Hamilton scene. Tom struck Canadian rock gold in the '90s as the leader of the much loved Junkhouse, and then found a whole new audience as a crucial component of roots-rock super-group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, with whom he now shares a label home in True North Records. He found time to release a solo debut, Planet Love, in 2001, while last year's collaboration with Bob Lanois, The Shack Recordings, Vol. 1., was critically acclaimed.

Wilson is now in top form, personally and creatively. As he explains with typical candour, "For years I was in love with music and in love with a lot of my life, but I was completely destructive. In the last little while, I have been productive, and I am figuring out how to be happy." That is reflected in the optimistic and positive spirit of many of the tunes on DOG YEARS, while others prove his ability as a storyteller and social satirist remains undiminished.