Shakin' Like a Human Being (©1986 Alert)

1: Get Lucky (Boys & Girls) 2: In My Shoes 3: Alana Loves Me 4: Patio Lanterns 5: That's My Hold 6: In Your Arms 7: City Girl 8: Easy To Tame 9: Cameo Spirit 10: Hitting The Ground

Shakin' Like a Human Being was the album that established Kim Mitchell as a rock icon in Canada (the one before it was prety good too, and the one that came next even better). Okay, maybe icon is a little extreme - but not a huge stretch. After all this is the guitar slinging singer dude who was in Max Webster in the 70's, toured with Rush and did that Battlescar thing (which quite frankly I still can't see what the fuss was about). Since I was too youngish to really remember Max Webster (too busy listening to Ted Nugent and Styx) I caught the later train with Kim Mitchell.

This was the height of the Dubois, Mitchell, Fredette collaboration. Songs like Alana Loves Me, the cheesy Patio Lanterns, the kick ass That's The Hold, and the beautiful In Your Arms showed the lads firing on all cylinders. Easy to Tame is pretty darned good too, but the weird fade always bugged me, and kind of derailed an otherwise fine song. In fact six of the ten songs here received airplay that I can remember. Not too shabby for a skinny bald dude who hid under an OPP baseball cap.

After over 15 years this album still holds all the charm and character it did when I was younger. Oh the power of rock and roll.

God Bless you Mister Mitchell.

Reviewed September 20, 2004

Itch (©1994 Alert)

Wonder Where & Why / Acrimony / Lick Yer Finger / The U.S. Of Ache / Lemon Wedge / Heartbreakbustop / Your Face Or Mine / Human Condition / Stand / Karoke Queen / Cheer On Us

Not at the top of my list in terms of Kim Mitchell efforts. Lyricist Pye Dubois is back in the fold, and bassist Peter Fredette is relegated to backing vocals. Whatever. There’s a reason for everything. Besides all I have are the notes to go by, so let’s stick to what really matters: the tunes.

Acrimony is one of those tunes that was a little ahead of it’s time, and holds up well – I suppose if some “young” kid instead of an old rock and roll fart released this one it would have been a huge hit. It got moderate play in Canada, but by this time Kim’s heady day’s from the mid 80’s were fading. The album as a whole is solid enough, but nothing jumps out and bites you on the marbles. Some of the songs are fun but downright stupid – witness Lemon Wedge. There are a couple of very close near misses. Still almost half of the songs here are good tunes. Heck, if this one really sucked I wouldn’t have looked for his next release would I?

Reviewed March 28, 2002

Kimosabe (©1999 Chinook)

1: Monkey Shine 2: Stickin' My Heart 3: Cellophane 4: Two Steps Home 5: Kimosabe 6: Blow Me A Kiss 7: Cold Reality 8: Over Me 9: Get Back What's Gone 10: Skinny Buddha

Kim's back after a few years of floating in limbo. Once the skinny wild man of Canadian rock, the years have mellowed Kim a bit, but he still has a few tunes left in him. Peter Fredette's back in the fold again on bass and vocals, and Gary Breit (from the fabulous Breit Brothers) lends a hand on keyboards.

I'll admit that it took a few listens to start getting into the album in a big way. A couple of the songs still don't work for me, but there are a bunch songs that are nothing short of brilliant. It's always a terrible thing when relationships breakdown, and from what I can gather by the songs Kim had a few tortured demons to exercise, and he opens up his chest and lets us look at his heart. The results are sad and wonderful at the same time. From what I gather Kim took a financial bath on this one, and sadly this was probably his last kick at the can.

Choice cuts: "Stickin My Heart", "Two Steps Home", "Blow Me A Kiss", "Over Me", and the best song on the album in my opinion "Cold Reality".

Reviewed October 6, 2001

Ain't Life Amazing (©2007)

1: Ain't Life Amazing 2: Rock That Rhyme 3: I Got a Line On You 4: Love Overtime 5: Bad Times 6: Dream Thieves 7: Space 8: In the Stars Tonight 9: Killer's Name 10: Lick A Message 11: N'awlins Nights

I honestly thought I'd heard the last of Kim Mitchell. Taking the better part of a decade to regroup Kim took time to settle himself, and the result is one of Kim's most rockin' and kick ass albums ever. Kim appears to be remarkably unfettered: he's doing what he does best, rock. Kim is one of those players who never attained guitar hero status, but for those who care to listen know that the guy is one of the tastiest players in the business.

So here he is with Ain't Life Amazing, and the title track is one of the most infectious and positive songs he's ever recorded. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive him for "Patio Laterns" but this album goes a long way in showing that he's not just a nostalgia act - he's still got something to say, even if he's got nothing to prove.

The one thing Kim's always been able to do is write great music. Lyrics - well, not so much. So this time out he partners with Craig Baxter (a guy Kim found on his message board, and through a series of fortunate events turned him into a songwriter), and the whole shebang was produced by Joe Hardy. The result is a wonderfully noisy (in a good way) and guitar heavy album. Kim really unloads throughout the album - this is what rock and roll is all about.

Holy crap Kim, this was good stuff - how about not waiting so long for the next one okay?

Reviewed March 2, 2008