martin tielli
' We didn't even suspect that he was the poppy salesman'
Martin Tielli. 2001. Sixshooterrecords http://www.martintielli.net

--photos of cd release at cvm pix

A little too 'smart' to be the pop hit many were hoping for, but hey, if Radiohead can do it... It might well be that 11 tracks of Martin Tielli's deceivingly simple Canadianna will prove too sophisticated for your ARP (thats your art killing ‘average record-buying public’).

You see, Martin Tielli falls under the heading of 'career' artist, and consequentially should not be judged by any one album. This dubious status failed to protect our still touring Rheostatics front man from the anticipation and subsequent criticism of a long awaited debut album. Tho anyone who's heard the 1996 Circo, Nick Buzz album knows 'debut' to be a bit of a misnomer. He was the brains behind that curious art/pop venture, as well as few other so-called collaborations on stage. His new disc‘We didn't even suspect that he was the poppy salesman’ on the other hand, is pure distilled martini.

Recorded live off the floor in April of this year at Catherine North Studios, this is a mostly acoustic album. You can expect soundscapes like weather, stripped down and fluid. Tielli single-handedly makes most of the noises on the record, with surprisingly little assistance from the usual suspects. On hand is one local scenester worth keeping though, veteran producer and stand-in drummer MPW. Whose greatest skill is likely his ability to amplify, yet not distort an intense artists output. Having produced many of the Rheostatics albums, MPW probably feels more like family than an objective producer with his own career aims. I hope to see a Lanois-esque offering from that old soul someday as well.

They say all Italians long to be farmers, and so Tielli has chosen the fertile stomping grounds of an infamous west end polish bar. The result is all that was sown in the last few years of Martin's tumultuous life; songs about mice and men, women and war. Tielli is incapable of avoiding silly-isms and uncomfortable language, but more often than not, it all seems to work when delivered with those cheeky vocals and soaring instrumentation. Martin’s guitar work is flawless, unless it wasn't meant to be, and dynamic vocals seem to sit in the very room with you. The dark side of his character coming through in songs like ‘I'll never tear you part' and 'Sweet Relief', and silly cleverness in 'That's how we do it in Warsaw' and the strangely touching 'World in a wall'.

And perhaps due to Tielli's prolific album art work, it is easy to conjure accompanying visuals. The dark images that comprise Tielli's portfolio and the albums quirky title 'We didn't even suspect that he was the poppy salesman', are more than enough to get the mind working in Technicolor.

I look forward to a next album without the debut pressures and unfortunate timing. His CD release at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, just two days after T-day in September, couldn't fail to have had an effect on such a sensitive songster. A spooky reminder of the Rheos show at the Reverb when they announced Princess Di's death as the band played on.

Martin Tielli is an artist with a capitol A, encapsulating all that that means (see sex, drugs and rotten record companies). Yet of all the places I could visit in my life, the garden in Martin's mind continues to be one of the lushest places on earth to hang out. And considering the surplus from the making of this album (Tielli and MPW started with 60 tracks), I suspect we will be seeing speedy follow up by this recently uncooped songbird. Until then, bon voyage.

-cvm 2001

photos of cd release at cvm pix

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