Alberta and Saskatchewan Centennial songs get poor rating from Canadian Idol judges
by TIM COOK
REGINA (CP) – There is not a whole lot that rhymes with Saskatchewan or Alberta and it’s tough to write a tune celebrating oil, wheat and potash all at the same time.
Maybe that’s why the Canadian Idol judges aren’t overly impressed with the songs that mark the provinces’ 100th birthdays.
The Canadian Press asked Jake Gold and Zack Werner, two of the four judges on the hit CTV show, to listen to the Saskatchewan and Alberta centennial songs and weigh in with their brutally honest opinions.
“I’d say it was one big cheese-fest,” said Gold. “I wouldn’t buy either one and I don’t think I would be playing them at home. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend people sing them.”
Werner was a bit kinder.
“I think they are both valid pieces of writing and it’s nice to see that people bothered to do that sort of thing. It’s kind of silly to put it down,” he said.
“There is nothing wrong with good cheese.”
Both Alberta and Saskatchewan invited citizens to enter a contest to write centennial songs. Hundreds of entries poured in and each province picked a winner.
Alberta’s song – simply titled Alberta – celebrates the province’s landscape and natural resources. “Livin’ right, I’m feelin’ free,” is the tag line.
Saskatchewan’s song focuses more on the co-operative spirit in the province. The lyrics talk about sharing laughter and sharing tears. “We love this place, Saskatchewan,” is the refrain.
Both songs have a twangy quality. The Saskatchewan song’s primary arrangement is performed by country artist Brad Johner, while there are two mixes of the Alberta song – pop and country – that both sort of sound like country.
Over the years, centennial songs that stuck usually had a lilting quality that burned its way into people’s brains.
Few who were around will forget the Bobby Gimby classic Ca-na-da from 1967. Then there was Ontario’s centennial song that featured the jaunty refrain: “A place to stand, A place to grow, Ontari-ari-ari-o.” Gold took issue with the fact that the Alberta and Saskatchewan songs don’t have such a catchy element.
“You sing that Ontario song and everyone remembers that one hook and I think that is what you have to do,” Gold said. “Whether it was kind of a cheesy song, it doesn’t matter because it had a hook.”
He thinks the songs play into stereotypes of the West because of their country overtones.
“I don’t know who they are trying to appeal to because I don’t see these appealing to the younger generation,” he said. “It sounds like they were just trying to make something for everybody, but when you do that you end up failing.”
Werner said he thought the Saskatchewan song seemed a little too generic, while the Alberta one might have missed a few cultural references.
“But then I started thinking about O Canada and started wondering where is the Canada in there?”
Alberta songwriter Mary Kieftenbeld did not return phone calls, but Saskatchewan songwriter Stan Garchinski chuckled when the critique was relayed to him.
He said he was actually on the couch watching the American version of Idol when he was called.
“When I wrote the song, I wanted to keep it quite simple so most people could sing it,” Garchinski said.
“As a songwriter you write for yourself and if you can please yourself that’s pretty well all that you can expect.”
Garchinski said the feedback he has received has been positive. He said one man call him at 11:30 one night to tell him how much he liked the song.
“I’ve gotten lots of mail and people are happy for me,” he said. “I’m pretty proud of my song and I hope the people of Saskatchewan are as proud of it as I am.”
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