They say it’s who you know that counts.
Well, for me, in the case of folkie Norm Hacking, a life time Scarborough resident who will perform at the Renaissance Cafe on Danforth Ave (one block west of Woodbine Ave) during an open stage on November, 11), it’s who records your songs that really counts – at least for me, anyway.
I hadn’t heard of Hacking, a life-long Scarborough resident, prior to coming across a notice for a previous June gig at the Renaissance Café (which I unfortunately was unable to make).
But in doing the usual background research, one finds a tribute album recorded not just by a who’s who of the Toronto folk/roots music scene, but also by Michael Smith, a Chicago-based folk/roots musician, perhaps best known for “The Dutchman”, a cult classic.
While Smith, himself, isn’t exactly a house hold name, he is one of my all-time favourite singer/songwriters, right on par with Paul Simon; and, as it turns out, Hacking feels the same way, calling Smith one of the finest singer/songwriters in the English language.
Hacking, though, easily one-ups me when it comes to the Michael Smith connection.
I’m just an ardent fan. Hacking, on the other hand, is an old friend of Smith’s, having opened for him on previous Canadian tours and having shared the same stage with him.
Smith in the liner notes on the tribute album says of Hacking:
“In the presence of Norm’s work, we become conscious of a consistent and loving attention to that which unites and defines us all. This level of involvement and honesty does not always result in (and some would say almost precludes) commercial success.
“Norm is living evidence of the reassuring fact that beautiful art exists outside the range of the jittery and impatient spotlight. Yet his charm and magnetism are such that I would not be surprised if one of these days he turned up on the hit parade.”
If that’s not enough, the tribute album contains local Toronto folk/roots stalwarts such as Tony Quarrington, Alan Rhody, Jason Fowler, Chris Whitely, Rick Fielding, Nancy White, Mikel Miller, Jory Nash, Ron Nigrini, Marianne Girard, Glen Hornblast, Roger James, Clela Errington, Slowpoke, Brenda Lewis, Michael Laderoute, Wayne Marshall and Jim Layeux.
A review in the Kitchener Waterloo Record noted that “the 18-track tribute … demonstrates how good songs lend themselves to a variety of interpretative approaches.”
At the same time the tribute album was put out in 2001, Hacking also released his own anthology, which I haven’t spun yet, as I’ve been concentrating on the tribute album, but which I hope to blog in the near future.
As Hacking and I sat on a Kingston Street pub patio in the Beaches during warmer days this past summer, he ruefully quipped that “when I’m doing my show I always joke this would be my greatest hits if I had any.”
Hacking also has a CD of his written poetry which he released in 2005 entitled I am the night and another music CD on the theme of cats, in collaboration with Kirk Elliott, released in 2002 entitled Orange Cats Make the Very Best Friends: an album for kids and cat-lovers of all ages.
Again I bought these off him but they are in the queue line as I have not stopped spinning his tribute album yet.
Fortune smiled on him with his Orange Cats CD as one of the songs on it (“When Cats Go Wrong”) was turned into a children’s book in 2004 by Vancouver illustrator Cynthia Nugent. The book comes with a CD of the song.
Unfortunately, Hacking has also seen his share of bad luck. With gigs drying up, he couldn’t quite manage the heating bills last winter for his Scarborough home. This was related in a feature story I did in some of The Mirror newspapers.
But getting back to his tribute album.
Hacking has his own unique style, which fits comfortably into the pantheon of his wealthier contemporaries like Gordon Lightfoot, John Prine, Bruce Cockburn, Kris Kristofferson and Michael Smith.
I immediately liked the Smith cover of John Dale. The rest of the album is also growing on me, to the point where John Dale is getting a challenge as my favourite, particularly from In A Child’s Room.
Between the Bourbon and the Rain, covered by Mikel Miller, would not be out of place on a John Prine album.
To order Hacking’s CDs or find out about upcoming gigs, log on to his website at http://www.normhacking.com.
