Kim Mitchell is from my hometown of Sarnia, Ontario - Max Webster was a great and underrated band. You’re right Pete, Paradise Skies is played on the radio a lot here
A question for you: I'm a real stickler for well sequenced albums. A Million Vacations is so, all over the map, it must have been a nightmare for the producer to sequence. One thing I will say though The song Research At Beach Resorts is such a perfect album ender, it sounds almost designed to be a closing track. I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who perceives this. Thanks for the videos.
My favourite Canadian band for sure... they could do it all. Rock,progressive rock,ballads, even country tinged tunes.Only your nose knows,Blowin the blues away etc... shame they didn't get more exposure in the States.
I first saw Max Webster play my high school back in the late 70's. I had never heard of them before but was impressed. The day after that show, I bought Mutiny Up My Sleeve, loved it, then grabbed the rest of the albums, and followed the band's career right to the end. Then I saw Kim solo countless times in my hometown (in cottage country north of Toronto) and elsewhere, including a show supporting his first solo release, the EP. And I've seen a couple of the Max Webster reunions over the years. Always a party!
How COOL,so glad to see and hear from a fellow max Webster fan🎶🎉! I live in western Kentucky & seen these guys open up for RUSH during the A Farewell To Kings TOUR!! They were AWESOME!! Blew me away,went out the next day and bought all the albums I could find of max Webster !! Glad you ranked their albums,I’m not sure I could have done so, I love them all !! Without even knowing what I was doing hear is a list of the bands albums I would buy,SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT MY TREND.. RUSH MAX WEBSTER. , FRANK MARINO&MAHOGANY RUSH, MOXY, TRIUMP, APRIL WINE, KICK AXE, HELIX, KIM MITCHELL See what I’m talking about,my musical taste gravitated torwed CANADIAN ROCK BANDS . They seemed to me ‘’ at least ‘’ to have a better true ROCK driving sound ,than a lot of the bands coming out of the U.S. I had enough KISS. & AEROSMITH Thanh you , and many new bands from the states never peaked my interest ! EXCEPT ALICE COOPER , DREAM THEATRE , EXTREME . Other bands from other countries were cool 😎 like PINK FLOYD ROGER WATERS, URIAH HEEP, U.F.O. from England , NAZARETH from Scotland 🏴 HEAVEN from Australia 🇦🇺 MICHEAL SCHENKER GROUP , SCORPIONS from Germany 🇩🇪. Also ALCATRAZZ but they were a mixed bag of artists from all over,YNGWIE MALMSTEEN,STEVE VIE,GRAHAM BONNET etc. So their is something in the WATER 💧 or SNOW or Ice in CANADA 🇨🇦 that produces the best ROCK N ROLL in the 🌎 WORLD . Just keep drinking that WATER.!!! Peace out ! B RAD. KUNDERT 🎶
Thanks for this. I agree as rock bands go. Maybe i'm biased, as i'm Canadian, but I really like your choices here. Not many have even heard of Moxy outside Canada. All great bands you listed. Nice to hear an American perspective on our Canuck boys.
Hi Pete. Forgive the pun, but I’m late to The Party for this ranking! Thanks very much for highlighting one of the favourite bands from my youth. Growing up in Toronto, I was a huge fan of Max and Rush. These days, I find that Max has aged better with me, more so than their famous counterparts. I had always admired Kim Mitchell’s unique approach to the guitar and writing. Although he went on to achieve much acclaim as a solo artist, the work with MW (and Pye Dubois) remains my favourite. Somebody else here described them as a cross between Zappa and Boston and they certainly had elements of each. I saw them about 5 times in the 70s, including for New Year’s Eve in ’79. During the show, Geddy Lee surprised everyone with a special appearance for Battlescar. As a composer, the music I write these days has very little in common with what I grew up with, including MW, but that’s the way things work out sometimes. Regardless, I will always have a special place in my heart for this band and Kim Mitchell. Lastly, I would have a hard time ranking their albums but for me, Universal Juveniles would be farther down the list. To close, thank you for highlighting them. They deserve worldwide acclaim they were never lucky enough to receive back when they were active. Best, Terry
At Christmas of 1981, I received a number of albums from my Dad (My parents owned a “Sam The Record Man” store) as a Christmas prezzie, amongst them was a copy of Universal Juveniles in it’s full blown original glory, it took over an hour to read all the liner notes. I almost wore that album right out, literally. Fun fact, Kim co-wrote with Pye Dubois, probably one the best lyricists of the age who also co-wrote with Neil Peart as well. Thanks for your great review and attention to a criminally underrated band.
Pete, you really should check out the Canadian band (from Windsor, Ontario) called "The Tea Party". They released KILLER albums that were criminally underrated in the United States.
OMG. Kim Mitchell is from my home town of Sarnia, Ontario so I grew up listening to Max Webster. They are beloved here in Canada and are a staple of FM radio although arguably, Kim's solo work was actually more popular. We agree...can't understand why they were not big in the US. It's Managements fault ! Saw Kim a couple years ago. Sounded great as always. Thanks Pete for supporting this awesome band!
Great show !! Was at a bar in London Ontario when they played on a Monday night ...only angles there and Kim came over between sets and sat with us to talk music
Wow that's awesome...at one point they were actually bigger than Rush especially here among the "Toronto Tontos"! Amazing band that didn't get the recognition or respect they so deserved...Ecstaticlly happy that you're rating them as they were definitely one of my favourite Rock bands of all time..big shout out to you for doing this!!!
I saw them a few times supporting Rush, and then collected all their albums (and Kim's). I rank them 1. Mutiny Up My Sleeve 2. High Class In Borrowed Shoes. 3. Max Webster/Hangover 4. Universal Juveniles. 5. A Million Vacations.
My Favourite Max Webster Albums From Least To Best: # 5. MAX WEBSTER (1975) # 4. UNIVERSAL JUVENILES (1980) # 3. HIGH CLASS IN BORROWED SHOES (1977) # 2. A MILLION VACATIONS (1979) # 1. MUTINY UP MY SLEEVE (1978) 😎😁👍👌🤘✌
Paul Gilbert was a Max Webster fan and praised Kim Mitchell's playing. There is a video of Paul Gilbert on Kim Mitchell's radio show on UA-cam. Well worth watching.
FUCK YEAH DUDE! Max Webster is the shit- I can't recommend them highly enough. I've be a huge fan for ages- was lucky to see them open for Rush back in the day. Maybe the most underrated band ever. I'm a huge Phish fan and there are some interesting similarities- I keep getting Phish fans into Max on Phish fan forum. Kim Mitchell is such a smoking guitar player- Paul Gilbert said that Kim was a huge influence on him and his friends when they were learning to shred. Should mention that there is an 8-CD or vinyl box set available now called The Party which includes Live Magnetic Air, 'The Bootleg' CD with unreleased tracks, as well as Kim Mitchell's first solo album. Completely worth owning. Awesome shirt BTW. Hey, ever get into I Mother Earth? If not... holy crap. Amazing and totally unique. Like a heavier, more psychedelic RHCP with shades of Santana.
This is awesome. You know your rock. Max is so underrated and the musicianship is off the charts. Kim who also has a very successful solo career after Max is like a jazz/rock/prog guru with unlimited chops. He still tours and just put out an album a month ago called "The Big Fantasize". A little mellower but still with great hooks. Also like your rankings but like you said it can change. Kim is a musicians musician but also a very humble man. I challenge guitar players out there to sit down and learn In the land of Giants from Universal Juveniles to truly apprecaite his playing or the chords in Paradise Skies. He was like my own private guitar teacher.
Check out the excellent Canadian band Coney Hatch if you haven't already Pete! Their first album was actually produced by Kim Mitchell and you can hear his influence in places.
seen Kim Mitchel with April wine last summer-outdoor show- fantastic show- Mitchel did a few Max Webster tunes-still got it- April also- damn still got it
"Can't get any soap stone Carve away the war Won't join the army band Sell in a general store" "Now ain't there any systems to curb the hiccups and the scratch? "
Max Webster rules ... I agree with Pete.. "High Class In Borrowed Shoes' #1,
Another excellent show, Mr. Pardo! I’m happy to say I have all of Max Webster’s studio albums, plus the live release and compilation. “A Million Vacations” rises to the top with me, though they are all excellent. Please do a Trooper show! That’s a Canadian band very much of that ilk.
The Max Machine was a huge part of my teenage years in the late 70's. Saw them live several times. When I was going to college in the early 80's in Calgary, I had a couple Max Webster tshirts. Many did not know the band and I was known as "Max" to quite a few. Haha. Also saw Saga live during those college years on the World's Apart Tour. Good times!
There is a box set of all 5 studio , Live Magnetic Air and a bonus disc of ? , released last year here in Canada , might be on the Rock Candy label . I still have my Max albums on cassette so I passed
Cheers. Anthem/ole released a box set on both CD and vinyl in Canada in 2017 called The Party. It includes the five studio albums, Live Magnetic Air, a collection of live and studio outtakes called The Bootleg and Kim Mitchell's debut solo EP. However, it doesn't include "Hot Spots" or "Overnight Sensation," so keep an eye out for the Diamonds Diamonds compilation if you want to complete it.
Thanks for posting - Max Webster is one of the most underrated bands in history. It's good - and unusual - to hear from an American fan: I didn't think there were any. All the members contributed, including Pye Dubois, the lyricist who toured with the band.
Thanks so much for this, Pete! Growing up in Canada in the pre-internet 70s and 80s, we just assumed they were big everywhere because everyone listened to Max Webster here. So many great tunes with such a unique sound that I liken to Rush playing songs written by Frank Zappa, thanks in part to the often bizarre lyrics of Pye Dubois. They're a little bonkers, so much fun, with great musicianship. I love 'em.
High Class In Borrowed Shoes is among the most original, and best albums ever recorded. Brilliant, from the first note to the last. Kim Mitchell is the most underrated lead guitarist ever.
Hey Pete. Another similar band from Toronto who were rockin' the same time as Max is Frank Soda and The Imps. Same quirky unique sounding band that was a local rival with Max. Highly recommend checking them out. Side note, prior to them being their own band they were Thor's backing band in the early 70's. That alone should be enough to check them out to see what they became. Love your channel and all your content. Keep on rockin'.
Yeah Frank is an amazing guitar player and a wild showman. I saw him at a bar back in the late 80s. He jumped up on my table and started playing his guitar with one of my winter gloves! 😎🤘🤘
Man, I hope this lockdown never ends. I have been listening to your favourites year series and playing some tracks from the band you mention and now max Webster . Thanks for keeping me sane during this lockdown.
Well, I hope it does end soon. I have been listening to some great vacations and watching these videos do help make the time pass more quickly. But I miss my friends.
Well, I hope they develop a coronavirus vaccine before the world totally collapses, but I can say that I have no problem whatsoever staying inside and revisiting my old albums, guided by the very excellent Pete Pardo!
Here in Newmarket Ontario Canada we called the debut album “blockheads”. Love the vid. Canada thanks you for giving this ridiculously underrated band its due. Keep up the good work.
Love Max Webster. Grew up listening to them on the radio here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. April Wine (hometown band) is my favourite band. Take a listen to Attitude from 1993. Very much a return to form. I get what you say about their albums, but this one is in my top 5 studio albums. So maybe end at 1993! Love the channel, Pete!
You've inspired me to re-visit Max Webster. Never got into them back in the day. Thought they had a few good songs, but never gave the catalog much attention...until now.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the song “let go the line”. Sung and written by terry watkins the keyboard player. Kind of a.o.r but beautiful song played on the radio a lot here
Hi Pete, thank you for doing this video, i really love Max Webster, they're one of the unsung bands to come out of Canada, and a pretty unique one tho. My favorite album from them is Mutiny Up My Sleeve, followed up by High Class in Borrowed Shoes, A Million Vacations, Universal Juveniles and the debut. I also think Kim Mitchell was a criminally underrated guitar player, as most of the ones to come out of Canada like Alex Lifeson, Frank Marino or Pat Travers( By the way, any chance of doing a Pat Travers rankingg the albums in a future? )
Thanks for this episode Pete! Max was always a favourite band of mine... If there was ever a single guitarist who could be considered the most under-rated, it would have to be Kim Mitchell. Brilliant player. Not sure how familiar you are with his solo career, but his first self-titled EP (only 5 tracks on it) is absolutely stellar! His solo stuff definitely went a bit more poppy as it went along, but that first EP still has a lot of the Max spirit in it to my ears!
Glad you love some of the Canadian bands we grew up with here in Canada. Others that were big in Canada 🇨🇦 but not in the states worth checking out are: Prism, Goddo, FM, Streetheart , chilliwack
I used to see Max Webster in the local clubs around Toronto in the seventies . They never put on a bad performance. They used to mix in covers of Jethro Tull and Deep Purple songs , and did both bands proud. Great covers. Especially of Strange Kind of Woman. I saw them open for the Strawbs at Maple Leaf Gardens in the mid seventies and they were fantastic. As were the Strawbs that night. David Cousins of the Strawbs spent a few minutes during their show to heap praise on them. He was really impressed with them. They should have been much bigger.
All of these are dang good albums! I figured I'd show where the live album would fit for me, since it's such a small discography. 6) Universal Juveniles 5) Max Webster 4) Mutiny Up My Sleeve 3) Live Magnetic Air 2) A Million Vacations 1) High Class in Borrowed Shoes I really like Kim's solo albums, too! I was actually into those before the Max stuff. Thanks, Pete! Edit after watching: The Tubes are a great comparison! Also, there's a box set called The Party that has all of the Max stuff with a bonus disc of rarities and another of Kim's hard-to-find solo EP.
The song "Battle Scar" was played on "The Big 6" 600 AM WTAC in Flint, Michigan (when it was a hard rock station from the middle of May 1980 till July 12, 1981) when it became a country station.
Growing up in Niagara Falls, I heard these guys on Toronto and Buffalo radio. Got all 5 studio CDs and the live one. GREAT stuff! Never saw them live, but I saw Kim solo 5 times.
Still have my original vinyl I bought as a kid, Million Vacations, High Class in Borrowed Shoes (My fav too...), Universal,Juveniles and Live Magnetic Air. They played in a local High School gym when I was in Elementary School.
One of my first vinyl purchases as a teenager, and still have it, was Live Magnetic Air. Soon after purchased Mutiny Up my Sleeve, Universal Juveniles, and Diamond Diamond Album.
I saw them open for Rush. I wish I had known them better when I saw them. Rory Gallagher also opened for Rush and he was someone I sort of blew off at the time but became a true fan after he passed away. Rory would make a great video.
Hey man, thanks for your videos. Other than Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, a few albums from Deep Purple and Pink Floyd I've never been a huge heavy metal or prog-rock fan, despite the fact that I've been a music addict for my entire life. It's not that I disliked it, but I never felt motivated to seek it out either. But your obvious love for these genres are contageous and so I've started to check some of this stuff out. I now have all the Pink Floyd albums and nearly everything from UFO and Yes, and I'm just getting started. Keep up the good work buddy.
up in cottage country in ont we would tell our American friends that max is the canadian version of zappa and here among the cat's would be a perfect example
The Stampeders, my favorite Canadian trio!! Saw then at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canada in October of 2017. Met then afterwards & the drummer Kim Berly shooked my hand really hard!! Only 3 CD's I do NOT have including "Backstage Pass" (LIVE) (1974), "Platinum" (1978) & "Ballsy" (their final album from 1979).
Saw these cats play at my High School (Sir Oliver Mowat) here in Scarborough-Ontario, Canada way, way back in the day. And have been a fan ever since. Absolutely agree with your #1 album pick, as well.
Thanks Pete...Love The Max Machine!! From worst to best for me... 5. Max Webster 4. Universal Juveniles 3. Mutiny Up My Sleeve 2. A Million Vacations 1. High Class In Borrowed Shoes.
"Live Magnetic Air" I think is on iTunes. The song "Let Go The Line" (from 1979 "A Million Vacations" which I have on album on Capitol Records purple label) was played a lot on AM 630 CFCO in Chatham, Ontario (known as "Classic Gold" hit station, sadly since 2009, it is a country station)!! I also have "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection"!! That is all i got. By the way, RUSH (with Max Webster) opened up Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI which debuted back in March of 1980!!
Kim Mitchell was my first concert when I was 13. I got into April Wine when I got a bit older. I am from Ontario but not Sarnia like the rest of the comments! (lol)
I only know of this band reading about them through Rush and Talas covered Battle Scar... I will definitely check them out based on your recommendation! and YES please do April Wine... up to 85 would be great (didn't know they put out anything after... lol)! thanks Pete!
High Class In Borrowed Shoes is their best album. A Million Vacations. Mutiny Up My Sleave, Max Webster and than Universal Juveniles. Live Magnetic Air is a great live album. His first solo Akimbo Sligo is a great album as well. Go for soda and Patio lanterns, and All we are are played to death on the radio though. I met him in Peterborough one day and told him my favourite album was mutiny. He's a really down to earth cool guy.
One of my favorite rock bands EVER. Tragically underrated and unknown outside Canada. BRILLIANT F'N band
Kim Mitchell is from my hometown of Sarnia, Ontario - Max Webster was a great and underrated band. You’re right Pete, Paradise Skies is played on the radio a lot here
I gotta say, pretty impressive that you give attention to a lesser known Canuck band. Kudos to you sir !
Glad to see Max Webster get some love. Kim wrote the soundtrack of my youth
Grew up in Southwestern Ontario in the 70's and Max Webster was the sound track of my teen years ! 🔥🔥🔥🤘🏻
Max Webster is so underrated and criminally unknown in the U.S.
When I meet a fan, it's almost like a secret codeword, that makes an instant kinship.
A question for you: I'm a real stickler for well sequenced albums. A Million Vacations is so, all over the map, it must have been a nightmare for the producer to sequence. One thing I will say though The song Research At Beach Resorts is such a perfect album ender, it sounds almost designed to be a closing track. I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who perceives this.
Thanks for the videos.
My favourite Canadian band for sure... they could do it all. Rock,progressive rock,ballads, even country tinged tunes.Only your nose knows,Blowin the blues away etc... shame they didn't get more exposure in the States.
I first saw Max Webster play my high school back in the late 70's. I had never heard of them before but was impressed. The day after that show, I bought Mutiny Up My Sleeve, loved it, then grabbed the rest of the albums, and followed the band's career right to the end. Then I saw Kim solo countless times in my hometown (in cottage country north of Toronto) and elsewhere, including a show supporting his first solo release, the EP. And I've seen a couple of the Max Webster reunions over the years. Always a party!
How COOL,so glad to see and hear from a fellow max Webster fan🎶🎉! I live in western Kentucky & seen these guys open up for RUSH during the A Farewell To Kings TOUR!! They were AWESOME!! Blew me away,went out the next day and bought all the albums I could find of max Webster !! Glad you ranked their albums,I’m not sure I could have done so, I love them all !! Without even knowing what I was doing hear is a list of the bands albums I would buy,SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT MY TREND.. RUSH MAX WEBSTER. , FRANK MARINO&MAHOGANY RUSH, MOXY, TRIUMP, APRIL WINE, KICK AXE, HELIX, KIM MITCHELL See what I’m talking about,my musical taste gravitated torwed CANADIAN ROCK BANDS . They seemed to me ‘’ at least ‘’ to have a better true ROCK driving sound ,than a lot of the bands coming out of the U.S. I had enough KISS. & AEROSMITH Thanh you , and many new bands from the states never peaked my interest ! EXCEPT ALICE COOPER , DREAM THEATRE , EXTREME . Other bands from other countries were cool 😎 like PINK FLOYD ROGER WATERS, URIAH HEEP, U.F.O. from England , NAZARETH from Scotland 🏴 HEAVEN from Australia 🇦🇺 MICHEAL SCHENKER GROUP , SCORPIONS from Germany 🇩🇪. Also ALCATRAZZ but they were a mixed bag of artists from all over,YNGWIE MALMSTEEN,STEVE VIE,GRAHAM BONNET etc. So their is something in the WATER 💧 or SNOW or Ice in CANADA 🇨🇦 that produces the best ROCK N ROLL in the 🌎 WORLD . Just keep drinking that WATER.!!! Peace out ! B RAD. KUNDERT 🎶
Thanks for this. I agree as rock bands go. Maybe i'm biased, as i'm Canadian, but I really like your choices here. Not many have even heard of Moxy outside Canada. All great bands you listed. Nice to hear an American perspective on our Canuck boys.
Hi Pete. Forgive the pun, but I’m late to The Party for this ranking! Thanks very much for highlighting one of the favourite bands from my youth. Growing up in Toronto, I was a huge fan of Max and Rush. These days, I find that Max has aged better with me, more so than their famous counterparts. I had always admired Kim Mitchell’s unique approach to the guitar and writing. Although he went on to achieve much acclaim as a solo artist, the work with MW (and Pye Dubois) remains my favourite. Somebody else here described them as a cross between Zappa and Boston and they certainly had elements of each. I saw them about 5 times in the 70s, including for New Year’s Eve in ’79. During the show, Geddy Lee surprised everyone with a special appearance for Battlescar.
As a composer, the music I write these days has very little in common with what I grew up with, including MW, but that’s the way things work out sometimes. Regardless, I will always have a special place in my heart for this band and Kim Mitchell. Lastly, I would have a hard time ranking their albums but for me, Universal Juveniles would be farther down the list. To close, thank you for highlighting them. They deserve worldwide acclaim they were never lucky enough to receive back when they were active. Best, Terry
At Christmas of 1981, I received a number of albums from my Dad (My parents owned a “Sam The Record Man” store) as a Christmas prezzie, amongst them was a copy of Universal Juveniles in it’s full blown original glory, it took over an hour to read all the liner notes.
I almost wore that album right out, literally.
Fun fact, Kim co-wrote with Pye Dubois, probably one the best lyricists of the age who also co-wrote with Neil Peart as well.
Thanks for your great review and attention to a criminally underrated band.
Pete, you really should check out the Canadian band (from Windsor, Ontario) called "The Tea Party". They released KILLER albums that were criminally underrated in the United States.
Agreed - a very cool Zeppelin-”ish” vibe musically speaking, sometimes, too. Solid Canuck band.
The Tea Party are awesome. You are right, they produced some killer rocking albums.
They are huge in Australia though.
OMG. Kim Mitchell is from my home town of Sarnia, Ontario so I grew up listening to Max Webster. They are beloved here in Canada and are a staple of FM radio although arguably, Kim's solo work was actually more popular. We agree...can't understand why they were not big in the US. It's Managements fault ! Saw Kim a couple years ago. Sounded great as always. Thanks Pete for supporting this awesome band!
Wow I didn't know that! That's something the three of us have in common!
LOVE this band!!! Kim Mitchell's guitar work is like "Zappa meets Tom Scholz." If you haven't heard them, you're really missing out; so fun!
that is a great comparison and really bang on!!
@@brendonsturgeon6413 Agreed
like that comparison with Zappa if you'd check out your U-tube,there's a live show where they play a killer cover of Peaches en Regalia
Great show !!
Was at a bar in London Ontario when they played on a Monday night ...only angles there and Kim came over between sets and sat with us to talk music
Wow that's awesome...at one point they were actually bigger than Rush especially here among the "Toronto Tontos"! Amazing band that didn't get the recognition or respect they so deserved...Ecstaticlly happy that you're rating them as they were definitely one of my favourite Rock bands of all time..big shout out to you for doing this!!!
I saw them a few times supporting Rush, and then collected all their albums (and Kim's). I rank them
1. Mutiny Up My Sleeve
2. High Class In Borrowed Shoes.
3. Max Webster/Hangover
4. Universal Juveniles.
5. A Million Vacations.
My Favourite Max Webster Albums From Least To Best:
# 5. MAX WEBSTER (1975)
# 4. UNIVERSAL JUVENILES (1980)
# 3. HIGH CLASS IN BORROWED
SHOES (1977)
# 2. A MILLION VACATIONS (1979)
# 1. MUTINY UP MY SLEEVE (1978)
😎😁👍👌🤘✌
Paul Gilbert was a Max Webster fan and praised Kim Mitchell's playing. There is a video of Paul Gilbert on Kim Mitchell's radio show on UA-cam. Well worth watching.
I saw Max Webster supporting Rush on the 1979 UK tour .MW were phenominal, after their set Rush were an anticlimax.
Thx Pete for focusing on Max!!! I live in Buffalo, NY, & Kim Mitchell & Max r like Gods 2 us here (as r The Tragically Hip)...
FUCK YEAH DUDE! Max Webster is the shit- I can't recommend them highly enough. I've be a huge fan for ages- was lucky to see them open for Rush back in the day. Maybe the most underrated band ever. I'm a huge Phish fan and there are some interesting similarities- I keep getting Phish fans into Max on Phish fan forum. Kim Mitchell is such a smoking guitar player- Paul Gilbert said that Kim was a huge influence on him and his friends when they were learning to shred. Should mention that there is an 8-CD or vinyl box set available now called The Party which includes Live Magnetic Air, 'The Bootleg' CD with unreleased tracks, as well as Kim Mitchell's first solo album. Completely worth owning. Awesome shirt BTW.
Hey, ever get into I Mother Earth? If not... holy crap. Amazing and totally unique. Like a heavier, more psychedelic RHCP with shades of Santana.
Right on, Pete. Grew up with this band. Rush and Max played every high school gym in Ontario they the 70s. Kim Mitchell is a cool cat.
Great band , met Kim Mitchell once, terrific guy .
This is awesome. You know your rock. Max is so underrated and the musicianship is off the charts. Kim who also has a very successful solo career after Max is like a jazz/rock/prog guru with unlimited chops. He still tours and just put out an album a month ago called "The Big Fantasize". A little mellower but still with great hooks. Also like your rankings but like you said it can change. Kim is a musicians musician but also a very humble man. I challenge guitar players out there to sit down and learn In the land of Giants from Universal Juveniles to truly apprecaite his playing or the chords in Paradise Skies. He was like my own private guitar teacher.
Great ranking. Thanks for the Canadian support.
Check out the excellent Canadian band Coney Hatch if you haven't already Pete! Their first album was actually produced by Kim Mitchell and you can hear his influence in places.
Classic rock station in Buffalo plays Monkey Bars a fair amount. I have to check out their catalog a little more.
cool, I'm still a fan of Coney Hatch, and even remember singer Andy Curran's solo tune (and music video) No Tattoos
seen Kim Mitchel with April wine last summer-outdoor show- fantastic show- Mitchel did a few Max Webster tunes-still got it- April also- damn still got it
Thanks for promoting a funky rock'in Canadian rock group, that these day's even in the home city rarely get talked about.
Another band I'd heard about but never heard until I got this nudge. Pretty cool stuff...thanks. The Tubes comparison was accurate and intriguing.
"Can't get any soap stone
Carve away the war
Won't join the army band
Sell in a general store"
"Now ain't there any systems to curb the hiccups and the scratch?
"
Max Webster rules ... I agree with Pete.. "High Class In Borrowed Shoes' #1,
Another excellent show, Mr. Pardo! I’m happy to say I have all of Max Webster’s studio albums, plus the live release and compilation. “A Million Vacations” rises to the top with me, though they are all excellent. Please do a Trooper show! That’s a Canadian band very much of that ilk.
The Max Machine was a huge part of my teenage years in the late 70's. Saw them live several times. When I was going to college in the early 80's in Calgary, I had a couple Max Webster tshirts. Many did not know the band and I was known as "Max" to quite a few. Haha. Also saw Saga live during those college years on the World's Apart Tour. Good times!
I saw Kim Mitchell live three times back in the 80s. He would usually break out a Max Webster song or two in each show. Great times!
@@lucasbeer353 No relation except for the same last name of course.
@@lucasbeer353 True.
There is a box set of all 5 studio , Live Magnetic Air and a bonus disc of ? , released last year here in Canada , might be on the Rock Candy label . I still have my Max albums on cassette so I passed
Cheers. Anthem/ole released a box set on both CD and vinyl in Canada in 2017 called The Party. It includes the five studio albums, Live Magnetic Air, a collection of live and studio outtakes called The Bootleg and Kim Mitchell's debut solo EP. However, it doesn't include "Hot Spots" or "Overnight Sensation," so keep an eye out for the Diamonds Diamonds compilation if you want to complete it.
Thanks for posting - Max Webster is one of the most underrated bands in history. It's good - and unusual - to hear from an American fan: I didn't think there were any. All the members contributed, including Pye Dubois, the lyricist who toured with the band.
Thanks so much for this, Pete! Growing up in Canada in the pre-internet 70s and 80s, we just assumed they were big everywhere because everyone listened to Max Webster here. So many great tunes with such a unique sound that I liken to Rush playing songs written by Frank Zappa, thanks in part to the often bizarre lyrics of Pye Dubois. They're a little bonkers, so much fun, with great musicianship. I love 'em.
Excellent group.
High Class In Borrowed Shoes is among the most original, and best albums ever recorded. Brilliant, from the first note to the last. Kim Mitchell is the most underrated lead guitarist ever.
That first album was also lovingly known by fans as "Blockheads"...although not officially.
Blockheads! Yes, we called it that too. 😄
It was designed and painted by Max Webster keyboardist Terry Watkinson, who, today, is still an acclaimed artist. Check out his work, amazing stuff!
Love you loved them! Saw them many times. Work boots arena rock with an eclectic lyrics. Kim's guitar work is amazing. In my top 5 guitarist's ever
Hey Pete. Another similar band from Toronto who were rockin' the same time as Max is Frank Soda and The Imps. Same quirky unique sounding band that was a local rival with Max. Highly recommend checking them out. Side note, prior to them being their own band they were Thor's backing band in the early 70's. That alone should be enough to check them out to see what they became. Love your channel and all your content. Keep on rockin'.
Yeah Frank is an amazing guitar player and a wild showman. I saw him at a bar back in the late 80s. He jumped up on my table and started playing his guitar with one of my winter gloves! 😎🤘🤘
Ha! I saw Frank Soda at a dive bar in my hometown way back (early to mid-80's?) and he was a crazy performer. Entertaining and talented.
Man, I hope this lockdown never ends. I have been listening to your favourites year series and playing some tracks from the band you mention and now max Webster . Thanks for keeping me sane during this lockdown.
Well, I hope it does end soon. I have been listening to some great vacations and watching these videos do help make the time pass more quickly. But I miss my friends.
Well, I hope they develop a coronavirus vaccine before the world totally collapses, but I can say that I have no problem whatsoever staying inside and revisiting my old albums, guided by the very excellent Pete Pardo!
@@WarpedRecord Don't forget your infinite boosters
Thank you for your ranking of Max Webster.🎤🎸🎵🥁
Here in Newmarket Ontario Canada we called the debut album “blockheads”. Love the vid. Canada thanks you for giving this ridiculously underrated band its due. Keep up the good work.
Love Max Webster. Grew up listening to them on the radio here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. April Wine (hometown band) is my favourite band. Take a listen to Attitude from 1993. Very much a return to form. I get what you say about their albums, but this one is in my top 5 studio albums. So maybe end at 1993! Love the channel, Pete!
You've inspired me to re-visit Max Webster. Never got into them back in the day. Thought they had a few good songs, but never gave the catalog much attention...until now.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the song “let go the line”. Sung and written by terry watkins the keyboard player. Kind of a.o.r but beautiful song played on the radio a lot here
Hi Pete, thank you for doing this video, i really love Max Webster, they're one of the unsung bands to come out of Canada, and a pretty unique one tho. My favorite album from them is Mutiny Up My Sleeve, followed up by High Class in Borrowed Shoes, A Million Vacations, Universal Juveniles and the debut. I also think Kim Mitchell was a criminally underrated guitar player, as most of the ones to come out of Canada like Alex Lifeson, Frank Marino or Pat Travers( By the way, any chance of doing a Pat Travers rankingg the albums in a future? )
Thanks for this episode Pete! Max was always a favourite band of mine... If there was ever a single guitarist who could be considered the most under-rated, it would have to be Kim Mitchell. Brilliant player. Not sure how familiar you are with his solo career, but his first self-titled EP (only 5 tracks on it) is absolutely stellar! His solo stuff definitely went a bit more poppy as it went along, but that first EP still has a lot of the Max spirit in it to my ears!
I have his first few solo albums, great!
Max Webster broke my cherry! Still listen to them and Kim Mitchell today. Fabulous band.
Fun Fact!
The song "I think I'm Going Bald" on the Rush album Caress of Steel is about Kim Mitchell.
It's about Alex.
Glad you love some of the Canadian bands we grew up with here in Canada. Others that were big in Canada 🇨🇦 but not in the states worth checking out are: Prism, Goddo, FM, Streetheart , chilliwack
Kick axe also comes to mind. 👍
@@danohstoolbox Vices is an amazing album!
I used to see Max Webster in the local clubs around Toronto in the seventies . They never put on a bad performance. They used to mix in covers of Jethro Tull and Deep Purple songs , and did both bands proud. Great covers. Especially of Strange Kind of Woman.
I saw them open for the Strawbs at Maple Leaf Gardens in the mid seventies and they were fantastic. As were the Strawbs that night. David Cousins of the Strawbs spent a few minutes during their show to heap praise on them. He was really impressed with them.
They should have been much bigger.
Love Webster! They played at my high school during grade 9 and 10....I was hooked. Fav is HIgh Class In Borrowed Shoes.
I was lucky enough to have purchased the Live Magnetic Air LP back when it first came out back in the day. One of my fav! Thanks,great job as usual!!
Great band ! Great show Pete !
theres a box set of all the albums and bonus cds its a bit pricey but if you shop around you find it a decent price
Terrific box set containing all the albums, a bonus cd of unreleased AND the '82 Kim Mitchell EP was released a few years back.
Good show Pete. I only ever owned Universal Juveniles. Love that album. Didn’t realize it was their last studio release.
All of these are dang good albums! I figured I'd show where the live album would fit for me, since it's such a small discography.
6) Universal Juveniles
5) Max Webster
4) Mutiny Up My Sleeve
3) Live Magnetic Air
2) A Million Vacations
1) High Class in Borrowed Shoes
I really like Kim's solo albums, too! I was actually into those before the Max stuff. Thanks, Pete!
Edit after watching: The Tubes are a great comparison! Also, there's a box set called The Party that has all of the Max stuff with a bonus disc of rarities and another of Kim's hard-to-find solo EP.
Great episode. Another suggestion is Headstones!
BEST. CANADIAN. BAND. EVER.
Would you ever consider doing a Ranking the Studio Albums of April Wine? I loved your Top 10 Songs list for them, great band! Love your shows Pete!
Watch the episode and you might get the answer to your question!
Found the live one magnetic air sealed at Goodwill and yeah that was my intro to Max Webster great band !!!
The song "Battle Scar" was played on "The Big 6" 600 AM WTAC in Flint, Michigan (when it was a hard rock station from the middle of May 1980 till July 12, 1981) when it became a country station.
Kim Mitchell remains a fairly regular live performer in Western NY. A lot of good tunes.
saw them twice w RUSH .... absolutely love them ... the variety was BRILLIANT
Love The Tubes so I must dip into this band’s catalog.
I am fond of the first self-titled album, especially the Zappa-esque track, “Toronto Tontos”.
Growing up in Niagara Falls, I heard these guys on Toronto and Buffalo radio. Got all 5 studio CDs and the live one. GREAT stuff! Never saw them live, but I saw Kim solo 5 times.
Still have my original vinyl I bought as a kid, Million Vacations, High Class in Borrowed Shoes (My fav too...), Universal,Juveniles and Live Magnetic Air. They played in a local High School gym when I was in Elementary School.
My fave song of them is Battle Scar feat. the one and only Geddy Lee as a guest vocalist and the late Neil Peart on drums! 🤘🤘🤘
Actually, I believe both full bands played on this song...
Battle Scar actually got quite a bit of airplay in 1980,here in Louisville ,Ky. ,,,love it, a very unique band
I love blue river liquor shine
Universal juvenile would be my pick for number one
killer harmonies on that
Very cool, and you got another Canadian fan.
saw them open for Rush 2112 tour in TO...great list... Time to go back and re-discover some of these albums
One of my first vinyl purchases as a teenager, and still have it, was Live Magnetic Air. Soon after purchased Mutiny Up my Sleeve, Universal Juveniles, and Diamond Diamond Album.
Excellent!
I saw them open for Rush. I wish I had known them better when I saw them.
Rory Gallagher also opened for Rush and he was someone I sort of blew off at the time but became a true fan after he passed away.
Rory would make a great video.
Check his playlists, but I think he's done a Rory video already.
Huge fan. I would rate all albums equal. From "Lily" to "Blue River Liquor Shine" fantastic.
Great topic. Saw them many times opening for Rush (5-6 times). They were a wonderful live band!
Hey man, thanks for your videos. Other than Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, a few albums from Deep Purple and Pink Floyd I've never been a huge heavy metal or prog-rock fan, despite the fact that I've been a music addict for my entire life. It's not that I disliked it, but I never felt motivated to seek it out either. But your obvious love for these genres are contageous and so I've started to check some of this stuff out. I now have all the Pink Floyd albums and nearly everything from UFO and Yes, and I'm just getting started. Keep up the good work buddy.
Max Webster???? Bravo sir, Bravo
up in cottage country in ont we would tell our American friends that max is the canadian version of zappa and here among the cat's would be a perfect example
Great band, grew up with Maxwebster!!
The Stampeders, my favorite Canadian trio!! Saw then at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canada in October of 2017. Met then afterwards & the drummer Kim Berly shooked my hand really hard!! Only 3 CD's I do NOT have including "Backstage Pass" (LIVE) (1974), "Platinum" (1978) & "Ballsy" (their final album from 1979).
The co-writer of Tom Sawyer, Pye DuBois, is in this band. Or was.
Max Webster is awesome. A great band that for whatever reason never did much in the States.
Saw these cats play at my High School (Sir Oliver Mowat) here in Scarborough-Ontario, Canada way, way back in the day. And have been a fan ever since. Absolutely agree with your #1 album pick, as well.
Thanks Pete...Love The Max Machine!!
From worst to best for me...
5. Max Webster
4. Universal Juveniles
3. Mutiny Up My Sleeve
2. A Million Vacations
1. High Class In Borrowed Shoes.
Don't know the band very well, but that could change. Good job ranking the bands albums/CDs nonetheless. TY Pete Pardo. 👍🤟✌️
"Live Magnetic Air" I think is on iTunes. The song "Let Go The Line" (from 1979 "A Million Vacations" which I have on album on Capitol Records purple label) was played a lot on AM 630 CFCO in Chatham, Ontario (known as "Classic Gold" hit station, sadly since 2009, it is a country station)!! I also have "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection"!! That is all i got. By the way, RUSH (with Max Webster) opened up Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI which debuted back in March of 1980!!
Always find myself at Sea Of Tranquility. Great taste in music.
Yes, April Wine! I'm lookin' forward to it!
Max Webster was a friggin’ great band!
You can get the 8-CD box set name Party from ImportCDs for 51 bucks - a steal. It includes Live Magnetic Air.
Kim Mitchell was my first concert when I was 13. I got into April Wine when I got a bit older. I am from Ontario but not Sarnia like the rest of the comments! (lol)
I only know of this band reading about them through Rush and Talas covered Battle Scar... I will definitely check them out based on your recommendation! and YES please do April Wine... up to 85 would be great (didn't know they put out anything after... lol)! thanks Pete!
High Class In Borrowed Shoes is their best album. A Million Vacations. Mutiny Up My Sleave, Max Webster and than Universal Juveniles. Live Magnetic Air is a great live album. His first solo Akimbo Sligo is a great album as well. Go for soda and Patio lanterns, and All we are are played to death on the radio though. I met him in Peterborough one day and told him my favourite album was mutiny. He's a really down to earth cool guy.
yup saw them open for rush on the farewell to kings tour. great.