The Tragically Hip, one of Canada's musical merrymakers, are also praised for their raw, sweaty live performances.
Frontman Gordon Downie is a real dynamo, lyrically and physically, and his bandmates only support the beautiful live chaos.
With that aside, the Hip treated fans with their first ever live album, Live Between Us.
Recorded while on tour in support of 1996's Trouble at the Henhouse, Live Between Us documents one of the band's more ambitious evenings without any technical tweaking.
A very loyal Detroit audience is captured at the sold-out Cobo Arena and a very tight-knit and fiery Tragically Hip is in command.
The unity between the Hip and their fans depicts something heavy.
Downie's random improvising and loose poetic ramblings spark the intro of "Grace, Too." It creeps along with Johnny Fay's electric percussion, and already Live Between Us is steady, creatively stripped, and vibrant.
The emotional rage of "Fully Completely" sets up the rest of the album, particularly the relaxed ballad "Ahead By a Century." Layered backing vocals and plucking acoustics depict the Hip's signature sincerity, and the sneaky rock snippets of David Bowie's "China Girl" and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" midway through "New Orleans Is Sinking" flow without hesitance.
Most stunning is his lyrical rant of Jane Siberry's "The Temple" near the end of the taunting "Nautical Disaster," which also includes a verse from the Rheostatics' "Bad Time to Be Poor." As a whole, the band is abrasive in a simplistic sense, making Live Between Us an intimate jam between the bandmembers themselves and a shared moment with fans.
The Tragically Hip have maintained their beloved status because of such grateful informality.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grace, TooThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 06:18 | 14 MB | 44 MB |
| 2 | Fully CompletelyThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Springtime in ViennaThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 4 | Twist My ArmThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | Gift ShopThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 05:09 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 6 | Ahead by a CenturyThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 37 MB |
| 7 | The LuxuryThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | CourageThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 05:09 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 9 | New Orleans Is SinkingThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 06:22 | 14 MB | 46 MB |
| 10 | Don't Wake DaddyThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 11 | ScaredThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 12 | Blow at High DoughThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 13 | Nautical DisasterThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 14 | The WhereWithalThe Tragically Hip | The Tragically Hip | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 70 mins | 161 MB | |||||
| 70 mins | 492 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gordon Downie | Vocals |
| 2 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 3 | Andrew McLachlan | Design |
| 4 | Ron Obvious | Assistant Engineer |
| 5 | Martin Pradler | Mixing Assistant |
| 6 | Clemens Rikken | Photography |
| 7 | Don Smith | Mixing |
| 8 | The Tragically Hip | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 9 | Mark Vreeken | Engineer, Producer |
The Tragically Hip
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |