Scrubbaloe Caine - Round One (1973/2023) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

One of the more entertaining groups that hailed from Canada during the early 1970s was an eclectic band of musicians who called themselves Scrubbaloe Caine. They arrived at a time when the Canadian pop music scene was experiencing a great deal of growth and the Canadian music industry was entering what has since been referred to as its Golden Age. Despite the promise the band seemed to have, they only recorded one album before breaking up. Since their unfortunate demise, Scrubbaloe Caine has been thought of more as a footnote, especially since some of its members would go on to bigger and better things. This is not just unfair; it is flat-out wrong. Round One is a prime example of an excellent debut recording from a killer band.

The version of Scrubbaloe Caine that recorded Round One was a sextet from Western Canada, primarily Calgary, consisting of Al Foreman (keyboards, harmonica and lead vocals), Henry Small (violin and lead vocals), Paul Dean (lead guitar), Jim Harmata (lead guitar), Bill McBeth (drums, percussion and vocals) and Jim Kale (bass and vocals). Kale, who had previously performed with the Guess Who, replaced original bassist Bob Kidd.

I recently spoke to Henry Small about the band, asking him about his recollections of those heady days. Small grew up in the community of Beacon in New York State and relocated to Canada around 1969, joining a popular group in Calgary called the Gainsborough Gallery. Shortly thereafter, he and Dean started Cannonball, which then turned into Scrubbaloe Caine. Small points out that there was no real significance to the band's name; like many other musical groups, the members were just kidding around and created it. They were very tight, both musically and personally. The boys spent a lot of time together and the music they created was a collective effort, with each bringing his particular talents to the arrangements.

Foreman was the main songwriter. He would bring songs in that he was working on and the rest of the band would pitch in. Small handled most of the vocals, although Foreman would often add a harmony line. As well, Dean and Harmata had a ripping twin guitar sound. During my conversation with Small, I remarked how Scrubbaloe Caine enjoyed quite the reputation as a live act. He agreed wholeheartedly, saying the group had wonderful chemistry on stage. He told me that in their formative years, they had an extended stay at a club in Quebec City called the Electric Circle, playing up to six sets a night several nights a week for seven months. Spending all that time at the Electric Circle really brought the group together, both on and off stage. In fact, Small considers them "the most exciting live act I ever played with". He recalled the time they opened for the Guess Who at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto as an example of the band's prowess on stage and how that translated into an enthusiastic response from the audience.

Around the same time that Kale joined the band, Don Hunter became their manager. Hunter had a strong presence in the Canadian music scene at the time as the manager of the Guess Who. The next step was for Scrubbaloe Caine to sign a deal with a record label and get into the recording studio. They had interest from several labels, but they settled on RCA, the same record label that the Guess Who recorded for.

Scrubbaloe Caine headed off to Los Angeles to record Round One in the summer of 1973. The producer was David Kershenbaum, who would go on to have a very successful career in the music business, producing such artists as Joan Baez, Tracy Chapman, Bryan Adams, Joe Jackson and Duran Duran. I reached out to Kershenbaum to ask him what his recollection was of the session. He very generously replied, indicating that he did recall the group and loved them. However, with the passage of time, and with all the other artists he had worked with and the music he had been involved in over the years, he couldn't recall many details. Small had mixed feelings about the sessions, feeling that the finished product really didn't reflect the musical capabilities of the group. While the songs themselves were excellent, he felt the amount of time available for the recording - the whole project was completed in less than a week - didn't allow for the band to perform at the level of musicianship they were capable of.

TRACKLIST

1. Scrubbaloe Caine - Edmonton Rain
2. Scrubbaloe Caine - Do I Love You (Does a Guitar Play the Blues?)
3. Scrubbaloe Caine - Rosalie
4. Scrubbaloe Caine - Gonna Keep an Eye on You
5. Scrubbaloe Caine - Daybreak
6. Scrubbaloe Caine - Trouble
7. Scrubbaloe Caine - Feelin' Good on Sunday
8. Scrubbaloe Caine - Travelin'
9. Scrubbaloe Caine - Crazy 'Bout a Blues Guitar



Thanks to the Original customer.