Blue Rodeo — Are You Ready?

Blue Rodeo know where their bread is buttered — luckily, the kind of records that appease the band’s fans are also their most artistically sound. Are You Ready? may not be the Rodeo’s most memorable album, but it’s as solid as anything they’ve released. Full of Jim Cuddy’s reliable country-pop nuggets and Greg Keelor’s mix of rockers and heartbreakers (plus a few curveballs like the Lady Of Shalott-style "Phaedra’s Meadow"), there’s nothing on here that will replace "Hasn’t Hit Me Yet" in the band’s set list, but there’s also nothing that will offend. This album shouldn’t necessarily act as a newcomer’s introduction to Blue Rodeo, but it also won’t be the album that will stop the fans from clamoring for more.

Get it from