Coke Machine Glow

by Gord Downie

Overview

Gordon Downie, lead singer and lyricist for the popular Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip, will release his first solo record, Coke Machine Glow in Spring 2001. Simultaneously, Vintage Canada is delighted to publish Downie's first book of poetry, under the same title. It will also contain the lyrics to the sixteen songs on the record.

Coke Machine Glow is a rich, haunting collection that reveals both the public and private selves of one of Canada's most enigmatic musicians. In poetry that is urban, gritty and political, as well as romantic, nostalgic and whimsical, Downie allows us a glimpse inside his world. With his acute and observing eye, he gives us snapshots of his life, both on the road and at home; he writes of loneliness and isolation; of longing and desire; of the present and the past; of dreams and nightmares; love lost and love of family. Ultimately, this book is about the distances that bridge and separate us.

Layered and deceptively simple, imbued with Downie's wit, insight, anger, compassion and rock 'n'roll edge, Coke Machine Glow is a remarkable debut. With its publication, Gordon Downie becomes a part of the wonderful literary tradition of Canadian songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell who are also poets.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/03/2021
Label:	Universal
UPC:	0827590142145
Rank:	111864

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gord Downie   Primary Artist,Yells,Guitar,Vocals,Strings,Telecaster,Gut String Guitar
Gordon Edgar Downie   Primary Artist,Vocals,Strings,Drum Loop,Telecaster,Guitar (String),Yells,Guitar
Julie Doiron   Guest Artist,Piano,Vocals,Trumpet,Trumpet (Pocket)
Dave "Billy Ray" Koster   Drums
Andy Malze   Trumpet
Kaya Usher   Vocals (Background)
Dale Morningstar   Piano,Guitar,Strings,Mandolin,Megaphone,Pump Organ,Telecaster,Piano (Upright),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Travis Good   Fiddle,Mandolin
Steven Drake   Bass,Banjo,Bowls,Drums,Piano,Vocals,Guitar (Bass)
Kevin Hearn   Bells,Casio,Piano,Keyboards,Piano (Upright)
Paul Langlois   Vocals
Don Kerr   Bass,Drums,Tom-Tom,Drums (Bass),Drums (Snare)
Jaro Czerwinec   Accordion
Dave Clark   Bass,Drums,Tom-Tom,Drums (Snare),Tuba,Bells,Drums,Piano,Yells,Vocals,Tom-Tom,Drums (Bass),Drums (Snare)
Andy Maize   Trumpet
Billy Ray   Drums
Atom Egoyan   Guitar,Guitar (Classical)
Jose Contreras   Organ
Josh Finlayson   Bass,Piano,Guitar,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic)
Jose Miguel Contreras   Organ

Technical Credits

Gordon Edgar Downie   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Microphone
Gord Downie   Composer,Producer,Microphone,Programming
Harris Newman   Mastering Engineer,Mastering
Kevin Drew   Producer
Steven Drake   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Louie Perez   Composer
Megan Oldfield   Design,Art Direction
Josh Finlayson   Producer
Eve Egoyan   Composer
Louis Perez   Composer

Editorial Reviews

[Downie] writes in an accessible, entertaining way, but with a refined enough approach that his works can’t be dismissed as crude or simplistic. When he wants, he can be quite funny, and he can drop Canadian references — Pierre Trudeau, Tim Horton's, hockey, Canada geese — without sounding like he’s trying to be Canadian. His particular strength as a poet is his unusual, unexpected imagery… the words are exact, sensuous and satisfying.” —National Post

“Downie’s fertile imagination can no longer be contained within the Hip alone.” —Nicholas Jennings, Maclean’s

“Downie has a casually attentive way with words; each one does its work without mystification or excess. At a time when poetry has mostly turned away from large-scale social realities, he bridges deftly and persistently between personal and national narratives. Like Greg Curnoe and Stan Rogers, he never learned that ‘here’ is a four-letter word.” —Robert Everett-Green, Globe and Mail

“Coke Machine Glow…is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated poetry collection in recent memory…Downie doesn’t disappoint…[He] is something of a national treasure.” —Calgary Herald

“Coke Machine Glow is a wildly enjoyable read…[Downie] writes of and from hotel rooms, hotel bars and diners, giving us a peek at the often boring and lonely, but occasionally exhilarating, life of a travelling performer.” —Moe Berg, Globe and Mail

“[Downie’s] gentle irongy and clever conceptual turns are thoroughly contemporary and undeniably original…Downie’s debut…possess[es] a distinct, personal vision and reintroduces whimsy and humour to an artform often hobbled by its own self-importance — laudable achievements for any first book.” —Kevin Connolly, eye Weekly

“Songs like “Thirty-eight Years Old,’ ‘Wheat Kings’ and ‘Nautical Disaster’ have inspired a new generation of Canadian poets by demonstrating how relevant, contemporary narratives can be rendered in provocative yet accessible verse…[H]is best poems [are] elegantly understated…” —Quill and Quire

From the Publisher