Singles Spotlight:
Rich Hope – “It Come Alive”

Hello reader,

How are you today? Ready for another Singles Spotlight?

Today, SWT is excited to discuss another rocker/singer-songwriter who is making some great memories for his fans: Rich Hope. The Vancouver, BC-based musician has been entertaining many for years now. And while his most fervent audience is within the city limits, I think it is time for his fan base to grow even larger outside the city limits.

Hope formed his first band in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. They were called The Taxicrabs—a name given by Country Dick Montana of The Beat Farmers. Hope later moved down to Vancouver in the late ’90s. Hope released his debut solo album, Good to Go (1998), and then joined the band, John Ford. They released their self-titled debut album in 1999, followed by Bullets for Dreamers in 2003. Hope’s career saw him sharing stages with a who’s who list of rock and blues artists. Everyone from The Black Crowes, to Charles Bradley, to The Flamin’ Groovies, to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Rev. Horton Heat, and Social Distortion.

The opening paragraph of the bio of his 2018 album on Bandcamp, I’m All Yours, states, “It’s said around Vancouver that seeing Rich Hope is an essential rite of passage. In a city that often obsesses over ephemeral trends, Hope’s explosive rock ’n’ soul man revue proved as enduring as the coastline. For over two decades, he’s filled, and sanctified, an impressive string of beloved venues, many now gone but not forgotten like the Railway Club where bar-receipts records were smashed during one of his sets.”

Other Rich Hope releases include his second full-length solo album, Is Gonna Whip It On Ya (2009), and the Can’t Get No Lovin’ EP (2013). And on Friday November 21, Hope will release a live album Live At The ANZA Club. 

Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar said within the album’s press release, “It seems the rock and roll gods are displeased with us. So they sent us Rich Hope’s Live At The ANZA Club that we may be redeemed. Some would call Rich’s original compositions “roots” music but these live performances are the full green branches laden with blues, country, punk rock and soul. The audience devoured the fruit that night. Hearing this record makes us wish we were there.”

The album’s press release also stated, “For two nights this past April, Rich Hope ruled Vancouver. Setting up shop at the ANZA Club on W 8th Ave, he and his band blazed through their original repertoire of blues-boogie and Americana, with the highlights now preserved on what’s increasingly becoming an endangered species: the live album. However, making Live At The ANZA Club only seemed natural for Rich Hope, considering he plays with some of Canada’s best musicians, including City & Colour’s rhythm section, Leon Power and Erik Nielsen (who also oversaw the recording along with the legendary Howard Redekopp). The other band members are Vancouver scene mainstays Scott Smith on electric and pedal steel guitars, and Darryl Havers on keyboards. But it is Rich Hope who leads the mayhem right from the opening notes of ‘It Come Alive,’ a garage-rock stomper that should give Little Steven chills.”

Hope explains that, “I have always been at my best live, and we wanted to capture what this version of the band is doing. Since we didn’t have the luxury of extended touring and recording every show, we decided on finding the best venue and taking two nights to capture lightning in a bottle. The ANZA is a venue where I played some of my first shows in a neighbourhood where I lived for many years, so I feel a personal connection to the club.”

“I’m just the same guy playing music that I have always been,” he says. “I don’t know if I have undergone any real musical evolution. I have always loved playing live and putting on a show with my friends. So I guess that doing this live album is where I am in the evolutionary process. My main goal was to capture something like Jerry Lee Lewis’s Live At The Star Club—loose, reckless and joyful.”

In SWT’s opinion, the best song on Live At The ANZA Club is the opener, “It Come Alive.” The song is one hell of a foot-stomping, screaming, shouting, hooting, and hollering good time in the best ways. There’s just so much energy in this song. And performance. Hope’s powerful lead vocals are paired with both Nielsen and Smith’s backing vocals. Some lovely harmonies are had. Havers on keys truly anchors the frenetic, energetic melody. If this doesn’t make you want to see Rich Hope live and get this live album, I don’t know what will. We all need more Rich Hope live sound in our lives, especially in darker times.

Some music is better live. This is some music. The awesome video for the song, “It Come Alive” from Rich Hope 1985’s YouTube channel:

(All credits and rights to Rich Hope)

The cover art for Live At The ANZA Club:

The tracklist for Live At The ANZA Club:

1. It Come Alive
2. 5 Cents A Dance
3. Can’t Get No Lovin’
4. The Ballad Of Black Eyed Suzy
5. 3 Minute Song
6. Whip It On Ya
7. When My Light Comes Shining
8. Boxcar
9. Looking For Lewis And Clark

Giving credit where it’s due. Album credits:

• Rich Hope – Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars
• Scott Smith – Pedal Steel & Electric Guitars, Harmonica, Backing Vocals
• Erik P.H. Nielsen – Bass, Backing Vocals
• Darryl Havers – Keys, Accordion
• Leon Power- Drums, Percussion
• Recorded by Erik P.H. Nielsen and Howard Redekopp
• Assisted by Louina Reagh Palsson
• Produced and Mixed by Erik P.H. Nielsen at Smooth Operator, Vancouver, B.C.
• Photos by Tyler McLeod, Michelle Verbeek, and Nathan Fleming
• Cover Photo by Tyler McLeod
• Album Jacket and Insert Design by Mattlan Wickens

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com