If an artist sticks around long enough, it seems almost inevitable that there comes a point where new albums seem to only be an excuse to go back on the road and tour for the fans…with the old songs. I mean, how many U2 fans honestly went out to their last tour thinking “I hope they play all of Songs of Innocence instead of old things like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ or ‘I Will Follow’”? Or people going to see the Stones this summer hope they break out some brand new, unfamiliar tune in place of “Satisfaction”? Well, it could be that Canada’s Tragically Hip reached that point in their career on this day in 2000 when they put out their seventh studio album, Music @ Work. Although by then they were huge at home and probably as big a concert attraction as any foreign act, the overall reaction to this one was… well, surprisingly kind of a big yawn.
The 14 song, 52-minute work didn’t stray terribly far from their previous couple of records. They recorded it at home in Ontario, having Mark Vreeken and Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin helping them produce it, as they had on the past one. Gord Downie’s lyrics were as poetic as ever, and leaned more into their Canadian heritage as song titles like “The Bear”, “As I Wind Down the Pines” and “Toronto #4” suggest.
Canadian reviews were fairly decent, but far from glowing; internationally much the same. Pop Matters noted they made “poetry taken into the arena rock forum” , liking “the immediate driving push of ‘My Music At Work’, into the erotic urgency of ‘Lake Fever’ to the humor of ‘Sharks’”. Usually curmudgeonly Robert Christgau rated it a “C”, saying they “have progressed from a passable blues-based literacy to candidly ornate and obscure art rock.” Allmusic rated it 3-stars, about par for their late-’90s, early-’90s efforts. They felt The Hip “continue with their signature infectious tunes” and note “Gordon Downie is classic in hitting upon notable issues and figures…cites verses from (experimental music pioneer) John Cage in the temperemental ‘Tiger the Lion’”.
The album debuted at #1 in Canada, becoming their sixth straight to hit the top… a streak their next album, In Violet Light broke. Also par for the course, it failed to do much at all to the South; it hit #139 in the U.S. Although double-platinum in Canada, the sales were rather disappointing to the label, if not the band. Part of it resulted from Canadian radio not really embracing the record, unlike their past six. The lead single, “My Music At Work” made it to #47 (and did make it to #2 on Canadian Rock charts) but the following ones, “Lake Fever” and “Freak Turbulence” failed to make the charts.
But as we suggested up top, that didn’t deter fans from wanting to go see them. They toured that fall and winter, doing 88 concerts mostly in their native land, selling out large arenas in cities like Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, decent-sized venues in smaller cities like Brandon, Manitoba and Red Deer, Alberta while struggling to draw Americans to the fewer shows in places like San Francisco, Phoenix and Tucson. They did draw well in Detroit though – there they played a packed house at the 12 000 seat Cobo Arena. One might guess there was a traffic jam to get to the bridge across the river into Ontario after it!