The Scenics — Sunshine World

The late 1970s punk era in Toronto was pretty obscure by and large, and even within that scene, The Scenics weren't exactly a household name.

Thus, the fact that The Scenics' original studio recordings are now unearthed on compact disc is pretty remarkable. And luckily, there is some decent enough tunage in the collection to make it worth the effort.

The Scenics were clearly listening to far more Television than Ramones back in '77, and the 15 tracks that comprise Sunshine World are indebted as such. The band channel Lou Reed big time on about half these tracks, namely the Velvet Underground knock-off "Great Piles Of Leaves." This isn't a bad thing, and to be honest The Scenics' "In The Summer" needs to supplant "Seasons In The Sun" as the finest Canadian summer anthem ever.