Fergus Hambleton: Summertime Fun
The veteran Toronto pop/reggae/folk singer/songwriter previews an upcoming album with a well-crafted and suitably sunny tune that captures the mood of the season.
By Kerry Doole
Fergus Hambleton - Summertime Fun (Current Records): This is the first single from Neighbourhoods, an upcoming (October) album from the veteran Toronto singer/songwriter.
Call its title truth in advertising, as this is a sunny and catchy pop track to match the vibe of the season perfectly. It's the equivalent of a well-written thriller providing escapist beach reading. Hambleton's warm and melodic voice is to the fore, and the pace lifts halfway through with a scorching guitar solo. The tune is mixed by Terry Brown (Rush, Blue Rodeo).
Long a popular figure on the Toronto scene, the songsmith is best known nationally as leader of The Sattalites, long one of Canada's premiere pop-reggae outfits. That Juno- winning group still plays every week at The Orbit Room in Toronto, while Hambleton continues to work in a variety of genres, from jazz to folk and pop.
His first real gig was playing keyboards and singing with popular Yorkville psychedelic folk band A Passing Fancy, back in the late '60s. Five decades later, he's still going strong.
Links
Publicity: Gerry Young, Current Records
