Sass Jordan Revisits Her Triumph Twenty-five Years Later
When Sass Jordan appears at Heartwood tonight it will be something more than just another concert. She is touring as part of a celebration of an important milestone in her career, which she has found a way to re-create.
Twenty-five years ago her album “Racine” peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts with a style of swaggering rock that reflected the times and raw vocals that paved the way for artists like Allanah Myles and Amanda Marshall. Now she has set the wayback machine to that moment again and brought it full circle by re-recording the entire album. Touring to support the new/old album gives her a chance to reminisce with fans and rekindle some of that old magic. Billing it as “intimate and interactive”, she will engage the audience with stories between the songs and even take questions from the stage. The idea is to rekindle special memories for her fans.
Rather than create the re-creation with all of the technological tools that are available today, she respected the original enough to take an authentic approach. She assembled a team of respected musicians and created a family atmosphere in a Calgary studio to “add additional depth and historical accuracy”. It was a real band playing real music: Rudy Sarzo on bass, Brent Fitz on drums and percussion, Chris Caddell on guitars and Derek Sharp on guitars, keyboards and production.
“What you hear is what happened,” she says proudly, “no click tracks and no auto-tune. This record was made with great care and precision in order to be played LOUD and PROUD!!!!”
The making and marketing of the original “Racine” brings back fond memories for her, living in Los
Angeles, surrounded by management and record company supporters who were excited about what she was creating. Those were the days when there was still AOR radio to reach her audience and record companies that could finance a project and propel its success.
When she kicked off this tour in October she told Paul Rellinger of Kawartha Now that this was something new for her. “I have never done this show in the format that I’m doing it in. So, yeah, I’m really excited but I’m absolutely freaking terrified at the same time.”
She went on to say, “But the most important ingredient is the people that are in attendance at a particular performance. It’s the collective that makes the thing what it is. As crazy and weird as that sounds, it’s the God’s honest truth. When I’m doing a song, its effect depends on who is there to listen to it and how it’s affecting them.”
Classic rock still draws crowds three decades after its heyday and cover bands that reproduce classic albums note for note fill concert halls. This show appeals to the same audience with one important difference. The classic album being reproduced has been completely re-created and the inimitable voice of the lead singer is not someone cloning her style – it is the original, in all her high octane glory.
Sass Jordan has continued to be a live draw internationally and has shared stages throughout her career with the likes of Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. She still packs them in at festivals and big venues. This year’s tour intentionally takes her to smaller venues specifically in order to get close and interactive with her fans for a shared intimate experience.
She told Jim Barber at Music Life magazine that although the arrival of Nirvana on rock radio in 1991 and subsequent predominance of grunge pushed classic rock aside for a while, it hasn’t gone away. “And people have been saying they want to hear more of that music again,” she said, adding “It is interesting to look out into the audience and see a lot of younger people these days too…It could be because of classic rock radio and satellite radio, and maybe some of these kids who are into vinyl are getting my stuff that way, or are just being turned onto classic rock artists in general, and really loving the music. I really can’t say for sure, but I am definitely lovin’ it.” Fittingly enough, Racine Revisited is available on vinyl.
One thing is for sure: when Sass Jordan was on top of the world with the success of her original Racine there was no possibility of seeing her is a venue as small as Heartwood, much less an opportunity to throw questions at her. For any fan whose youthful excesses were played out against the soundtrack of Sass Jordan’s raucous rock, this is a rare and special opportunity.
TONIGHT at Heartwood, Doors open at 8, Show at 9, tickets $30 advance
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Click on album cover to sample the music
Click here to compare it to the original
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