Rheostatics are one of my favourite bands. I've seen them live 4 times, most recently at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in 2022, playing the entirety of their 1992 album Whale Music. 
Please play more! They have a certain magic. When Martin Tielli takes the mic, it's like Canadian angels dancing on my happy spot. And his guitar tone and style is second to none.
For those interested in hearing more, the albums Whale Music and Melville are good starting points.

 sfoster66 wrote:
Back in the early 90s, my roommate and I used to stand in the kitchen singing “The Drinking Song”. Neither one us had a particularly good voice, but that one song worked for us. “Goodnight Irene”, indeed.
I don’t know if I’ve listened to anything off Bargainville since Ghomeshi’s public fall from grace. Kinda preferred Tom Power on Q anyway…

 NeuroJoe wrote:
Once, I was the King of Spain...that being said, turns out Jian Ghomeshi was criminally charged with being a serial predator with a taste for sexual violence...so maybe playing his stuff (he was a founding member of Moxy) isn't such a great plan?

But there are so much better Rheos songs to play...

YEEEEESSSS!!!! Canadian indie gem. Also, guitarist Dave Bidini is a fantastic author - check him out.

 NeuroJoe wrote:
I’d be kind of surprised to hear Moxy Früvous on RP, all things considered. 
I was never a big Rheostatics fan, but I’d love to hear “Claire” in rotation on RP. I’ve loved it, even from before seeing “Whale Music”.

 TallCreative1 wrote:

this. yes. 

 ace-marc wrote:

I don't listen to RP expecting to love every song -- I have my iTunes playlist of all my favorite stuff if I want that. I come to RP because I know I can count on William to surprise me with something mind-expanding. And he's been doing that for me for the past 20 years -- so Thanks!

 sfoster66 wrote:

We demand more Moxy Früvous! 

 ace-marc wrote:


i'm french    i'm love the music cause i'm love that cause i'm like this "laissé allé" :)

 shhhh777 wrote:

You know...?
I couldn't agree more.

A Treat!
Thanks!

WOW - now THAT is a rare treat! Rheo's on RP... YUM. 
While far from a favourite, it's just so darned nice to hear them here. Always gives me a little frisson of Canadian pride when I hear some of our lesser known bands (outside of Canada) here - Rheostatics, Great lake Swimmers, New Pornographers/Neko Case. Now perhaps you might like to cue up some Elliot Brood? 
Thanks either way; ALWAYS a pleasure to be here.

Well done Bill.
I am impressed with the far reaching and general broad scope of bands you bring to the table.

Good lord, it's The Rheostatics. I love these guys. Not my favorite song but I'll take what I can get.

One of my fave bands. I've gotten to hang with them on several occasions and they are all stellar dudes! I love when they play this song live as they do so with such great joy!

Best news is that they have a brand new album coming out in September and it will be on Vinyl! I turn 50 in September so happy freakin' birthday to me!!!

I just about fell outta my chair when I heard the Rheostatics pop up just now...wow, a pretty obscure Canadian band for sure, well done on that out of left fielder Bill...

Interesting tune. 

Love this song!  Always makes me smile. 

 Kilroy wrote: 
An instrumental of this would have rated a 6 or 7 from me, but those lyrics are a little tough to swallow. Maybe I was a bit harsh, so I'll bump my 2 to a 3.

The band's playing shows this summer after being "broken up" since 2007, aside from a few shows last year.
Saw them play this at the historic Horsehshoe Tavern in Toronto last month. Pretty great!

Amazing how they got Joni Mitchell to play guitar and Dave Cousins to write the melody!!!!

6.4? How is that rating possible. Come on RP Listeners!!!  Sad!

Thanks, Bill!!!!! Crankin' it up!

---

 rharvey658 wrote:  

Cynaera wrote: 
Had to check out Joe's song, since I'd never heard it before. You're right, they're quite similar. I thought this was Joe in a quieter moment. Strange song idea and video from Rheostatics though. 

Bill... more Rheostatics please!
ie: Saskatchewan (live): Claire (live); Dope Fiends And Boozehounds

This isn't my favourite  Rheos song, but glad to hear them on RP.

it's Tenacious DEEEE TIIIMME!!!!!

I second that (e)motion.

Will always remember their transcendent live shows back in my university days. More please. Especially from Melville and Whale Music. 

tuttle99 wrote: 

Funny, I'm a huge Rheos fan, huge, but I must say this is certainly not one of most favourite ones.  Nevertheless, happy to hear them on RP.

Sometimes I worry that the artists actually read these comments...which is why, despite my silly image below, i need to say i rated this a 10

 Stingray wrote: 
The Tragically Hip's live album Live Between Us begins with singer Gord Downie thanking the Rheostatics for opening, saying "we're all richer for having seen them tonight."

Cringe-inducing vocals.

nice

yessssssss!

"I hand in the snow
froze to a stick
carving an S and O."
I love that lyric.

I'm rating almost everything "quite likeable" tonight; don't know why.

It's hard to grasp the brilliance of the Rheos in a song or two. Most of my fellow Canucks were oblivious to them, probably because the band was focused on making great albums, not cranking out hit singles. They really should've been a '70s band! By the way, Happy July 4th to my neighbours down south. — Love (or blame) Canada.

So excited to hear the Rheo's on RP!!!  I absolutely worshiped these guys as the best T.O. band of the 90's! 

Play More Rheo's!  Esp. Whale Music!

 Baketown wrote: 


They have even more stuff that I like.

My 6 year old fell asleep a couple of nights ago listening to Harmelodia with the book covering her face.  I emailed it to Dave Bidini and he wrote me back!  These guys are so great, to really know their music is to love it.

These guys sound really good!

Amazing to hear this tonight!
A couple days ago , I think, I was thrilled to hear the Tragically Hip, and I immediately wondered if there were any Rheostatics songs on your playlist.
Why, you ask? They aren't at all alike. No, they're not. But, as they are my homies I understand they've been friends and competitors for years, each band taking their own individual approaches to the market. Commercially, the Hip won. The 'Statics' I think, were better musicians, always a little more esoteric, even oblique in their musical choices - rewarding, nonetheless, and damn exciting at times. And hearing their music here gives me some hope that it will have a chance to live on beyond the band's demise.  

 peter_james_bond wrote: 
Nobody is ever as enlightened or as primitive as they think they are.

And not everything has been getting worse. Crime rates have been dropping, and nobody seems to be able to find a cause for the change except that we're all just committing less crimes. And what's more, this looks like it might actually be a <i>global</i> trend. Some new research suggests that humanity is more peaceful now than it's ever been in its history.

Some things really are getting worse, you're right. But other things only seem to be getting worse because we're becoming more sensitive to them. Harper can do a lot of damage in a few years, but I do believe that little of that damage will be permanent. 

 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote: 

The Rheos were a great band, whom I saw live many, many times here in Toronto. Their music is well worth searching out & you can still find their music through "Amazon.ca"

West End Rules!

 sirdroseph wrote: 
They have some good stuff there.
Thanks to JohnErle for my discovery of these guys.
They are getting harder to find... their stuff is going out of print.

Oh Bill! You just made my Thanksgiving Weekend much, much better by playing the ever so talented Rheos!!!! Thanks a million! 

 rharvey658 wrote: 
GOOD CATCH!  I was just thinking how much this sounds like that song (one of my favorites by Joe Walsh, although I'm also sort of partial to "All-Night Laundromat Blues," on which Dan Fogelberg sang backup vocals.)

Wow! Never heard of these guys, will definitely have to get more!

 mike_chouinard wrote: 
I'll just say "ditto" to everything Mike said.
I don't know that this song would even be in my Top 10 Rheos' songs (I've tried, unsuccessfully, to upload others) but still a pleasure to hear on RP.

Is it a coincidence or because Bill & Rebecca know everything that they played this back-to-back with Basia Bulat who is not only also from Toronto but even from the same suburb (Etobicoke)?

I've only heard the Rheos on RP once before. I'm a fanatic and love all their stuff. This is off one of their weaker albums (though still pretty fine). In my view, they were not just the best Canadian band (and we didn't appreciate their genius), but pretty much the best anywhere. They could play anything without it ever sounding forced. Unfortunately, they had so many ideas and are a band best appreciated when listening to whole albums. A song here and there just doesn't do them justice, although that's the music biz now. If they'd been around in the 1970s — the age of the LP — they might've been huge. Or perhaps still criminally ignored. Who knows?
As I said, I love all their stuff but I recommend Melville, their swan song 2067, and their classic Whale Music (their own album, not the S/T) as the places to start. The latter is one of my desert isle disks along with Let It Bleed, the White Album, etc.

 newbolddrive wrote: 
We just sat and watched Whale Music again last weekend, through the miracle of Netflix. Indeed a great movie, and I still get a tear in my eye the first time he cues up Claire in the studio.  That's saying a lot; I don't get tears in my eyes for just any tune.

Anyway, great to hear Rheostatics on the radio, but frustrating that I can't hear them on a Canadian station.  So, thanks, Bill.

Martin's voice is a little different, but it's addictive and nobody else sounds like him in the business.  I'm still a hard core Rheos fan and would love to hear more of them on RP too.  I love their live album.  And Whale Music is such a great movie.

.....keep it coming! Wahooooooo!

 rdo wrote: 
I thought they invoked a little Hervé there at the beginning. Oops, I said "little"... sorry.

 df1489 wrote: 
Right.  Sorry.  The band rocks; I've seen them a few times, and it's a live show you don't want to miss.  Too late now...

Lots of songs that should/could be on RP.

The Plane! The Plane!

 On_The_Beach wrote: 
That's funny - I was hearing, "I could drink a case of you, and still be on my feet..."  Guess maybe they've had a little Joni in their lives... I like this song, and this group.

 peter_james_bond wrote: 
Me too, and am also very fond of my neighbors to the north.  Your country's social awareness and tolerance are in dramatic contrast to the priggish, bible-thumping moralism that too often rears its ugly, hateful head down here.

uploaded in 2002 but I've never heard it before? That's odd. 7. Great segue into Pearl Jam too. WTF is it upside-down world or something?

Before the vocals kicked in, I was expecting:
The wind is in from Africa
Last night I couldn't sleep
Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here Carey
But it's really not my home . . .

LOL!  Did he say "Boss! De Plane! De Plane!" ?

Saw them live years ago. They were an opening act and were better than the headliner at the time.

 df1489 wrote: 
Whoops sorry, Love the (now defunct) band and the song.

 peter_james_bond wrote: 

YEAH...O.K!....what about the band or the song, huh?

 alanthecowboy wrote: 
you said it. We seem to be moving backwards since he came into office. But sometimes I wonder if we are as enlightened as I'd like to believe we are. When you really examine our record, on many issues, it's not good and it's getting worse.

 The_Enemy wrote: 
I should point out that our current federal government has already tried to repeal our same sex marriage laws (luckily unsuccessfully), and has set pot decriminalization back 20 years.  While Barrack is bringing the US into the 21st century, Harper would seem to be bringing us back in time...

Sounds a lot like something of a Pete Townsend solo recording. Very good.  Love the sound of the acoustic guitar and drums, especially.

Great stuff the Rheostatics!

'Satan Is the Whistler' is the song you wanna hear from this album

 horstman wrote: 

True.  It's been a few years since we did anything wild or interesting.

Although I still think it funny that because we legalized gay marriage and, very nearly, dope in the same month, The Economist put Canada on the front cover 5 years back.  Might've been the last newsworthy thing we did :)

seriously?

Boss....The Plane Love these guys!

I just picked this up.
Their CD's are getting tough to find, it seems that they're all are going out of print.
To bad. I really like this one.

Never heard of 'em, but this is pleasant enough.

The opening riffs reminded me of Joe Walsh's little-known "Indian Summer", from the "But Seriously, Folks" album (1977-ish)

 bc wrote: 
Give it a shot - you'll have my vote. This is a good song but there are so many great ones. I've tried uploading Shaved Head and Legal Age Life to no avail, but good luck!

 bizon wrote:

 
Well most of us (Americans) don't live anywhere near Canada so it would seem that ignorance would rule. I lived 40 miles from the Canadian border but the mighty St. Lawrence separated us. A great country but you guys are a little bit quiet up there. Not making noise starting wars, playing imperialistic cards, shitting on everyone else with "how I'd do things type mentality".

But we still love ya! Ottawa and Montreal sure saved my sanity on many a long winter night with your great bars, cafes, and museums.

Peace.

Superb--

ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote: C'mon, are you Americans still so perpetually ignorant about Canada? I guess it would be kinda funny if you were, huh?

One of the best bands that has ever come out of Canada. So nice to hear them on RP.

alanthecowboy wrote: Whale Music is a masterpiece. Perhaps it's time for an upload... The only trouble is that I couldn't decide which tracks to upload.

Very cool in surround sound!

neuhofer wrote: I have to agree regarding Whale Music. I've been a fan since the first time I heard 'record body count', but Whale Music is the album I keep grabbing. Probably been through it 75 times and counting.

Lonestar wrote:Thanks a mill,I will! #8

go_ski_mully wrote: If you miss it you can hear it here on CBC radio 2's website. (click here)

makes me glad to be a Canada-o-phile

Have to weigh in and express my joy in hearing the Rheo's here on RP! ...thank you who ever uploaded this! One of my favorite bands from my University days and a top act to see live for sure Love Em! ...keep the Rheo's coming! Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Bookerb below this Friday is their final concert at Massey Hall in Toronto ...I didn't know! ...I'm logging onto see if I can get tickets and I'll make the drive down from Muskoka!

Posted 17 years ago by go_ski_mully    [ Reply ]

This band has a massive warehouse of incredible music that just never broke through. Definitely recommend exploring their stuff if they're new to anyone listening. (which is likely the case.)Their album Melville is a good start.

Apparently March 30 will be the last gig they do with the current band. We covered a number of their songs in a band I was once in... and the more we got into their music the more you appreciated it. Melville is my favorite album.They are amazing live - very connected to the audience and I am sorry I will never get to see them play live again.

What an odd song of all the great stuff in the Rheo's catalogue. It's not weak it's just there's some GREAT songs...hmm, I guess I have to start uploading to the LRC... TJ

Hey Bill - next time, segue this into Illinois Speed Press' PNS (or Poco's version) to get that "three letters starting with P" set going!!

Amazing group. Saw them about 10 years ago at our beloved Commodore Ballroom. I was front row centre, and one of the Dave's came onstage with a tray of food and offered us all some! These guys are FABULOUS live; Not to be missed. My fav song is "Claire" - and it's sung by their *cutest* member, Tim. More Rheos please!

I thought this was Joe Walsh at the start...

Pretty special! Have they been putting something unusual in the water up in Canada recently?

Please add more tunes from the Rheostatics to your playlist. Check out their latest album - "2067" and tunes like "Making Progress" "Try To Praise This Mutilated World" and "Little Bird, Little Bird"

Their Double Live album is great. I highly recommend it to folks who would like to hear the Rheostatics at their best - live in a club with many beer ^_^ Though, I do enjoy their ode the Group of Seven and their children's album as well. Very great, creative band that has successfully balanced different personalities and interests for years!

i liked that! and they're on iTunes! I have never heard of them before? but will be checking them out...thanks RP and "BoredAstronaut"

It's on in the background of what I'm doing, and I keep noticing how much I like it!

neuhofer wrote: Amen!

really sweet.

I've always been fond of the word rheostat. Relieved to know that these guys don't sing 'eh' at the end of their verses. Well, I guess it'd be kinda funny if they did.

Very happy to hear the Rheostatics - been a big fan since their first album. I hope Radioparadise explores some of their earlier works as well. I don't know PIN yet at all so can't comment more on it, but the other albums are absolutely solid. Not very approachable but I found the more I listened to, lets say Whale Music album, the more I liked it. I havn't grown sick of it yet and don't expect I ever will. One of Canada's best bands. Ever.

mperry wrote: Well, I uploaded a few Emm Gryner songs. She's a fine Canadian. (Double entendre intended).

nolands wrote: There's just no way to say "We're sorry!" about those two. But if Bill plays more Rheostatics, it would certainly help.....

aslegros wrote: I really like this. Open the borders. Good discovery RP. ( I know, I know someone "discovered" them first. )

veegez wrote:

Yay!!! A really good canadian band. Awesome!!! There is another song called "claire". THank you!

aslegros wrote: Still doesn't make up for Celine Dion and Bryan Adams.

aslegros wrote: And hey, don't forget "The Kids In The Hall" are from Canada. And us Americans don't have any intention of SQUASHING you. We will, however, put our index finger and thumb up to our eye and we will be CRUSHING you with them. I'm CRUSHING you right now. :)

These guys, and the Tragically Hip, and Bruce Cockburn make me PROUD to be Canadian - you know we are desperate, and cloying, don\'t you? We want U.S. approval, so we can spit on your flag, and say \"But we had HAND\", before you squash us. Anyhow, back to the Rheos. Did I mention they were Canadian? And every bit as good as the best I\'ve ever heard. Check \'em out, eh?

For a second there I thought I heard David Bowie singing! :p

yaaay rheostatics!! more please!!

The Rheostatics!!!?? Just when I thought RP couldn\'t get any better....

no sir, I dont like it. quite generic.

I've been a fan scince the early 90's, once a friend and me flew to ontario to see them play. we got in to see them in couple clubs in kitchener and london. it was great to hang out with them too!