Before the Gold Rush: Flashbacks to the Dawn of the Canadian Sound

I had the extraordinary good fortune to spend parts of four summers (1964-1967) in Yorkville, which was a long train ride from my home on the Central Coast of California. At the time I was in my late teens. I was attracted to Canada by recordings I had heard of Ian & Sylvia and Buffy Sainte-Marie, but when I arrived in Toronto, I was captivated by all the rock'n'roll bands that had been inspired by the Beatles, as well as more permanent fixtures like the Hawks and Luke & the Apostles. I'd planned to visit for a week and stayed for a month. If my father hadn't threatened to come and get me, I might have stayed. The other three summers I arranged to get work in and around town (which wasn't always easy for an American visitor) just so I'd have enough money to go clubbing. Back in California, I went to the Haight-Ashbury and other parts of the San Francisco scene, and I got down to the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles every once in a while, but I always felt that Yorkville was the real deal. Jannings' book is the perfect recollection of the times. His stories of the musicians and their managers are spot-on. The only thing I would have wished for was more coverage of the fans -- all you really get in this book are general comments and a few tidbits about Cathy Smith, the professional groupie. They say that if you remember the Sixties, you weren't really there, but my experience of Yorkville wasn't like that. I remember the hard-driving sound that characterized the bands of eastern Canada, and Jennings has definitely captured that spirit in this book.

Nicholas Jennings is the first author to write an entire book devoted to the Toronto music scene of the 1960's. He follows the making of the Toronto Sound, starting with the folk movement, through rhythm and blues, touches on garage bands and the jazz/country/rock/soul sounds which defined Yorkville music in the late 60's. The volumes of information imparted are astounding, and the story is very interesting, especially for those with an interest in the Sunset Strip, Bay area, Soho and Greenwhich village happenings. Jennings keeps the book flowing by using a time-line style, and manages to throw some of the more obscure names in the Toronto scene around. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a fascination for the music of the 60's, and I urge Jennings to keep on writing his fantastic books!