ON ANY STREET CORNER

3.5 realy

On any street is the debute album from canadian progressive rock from 1976. This album together with their next one and their lates Norther fantasies is their best for sure and their most progressive aswell. On this album Busker mainly concentrates on progressive moves, quite ok and well arranged, even are not complex or complicated. It's accesibele progressive type, for everybody, almost what Styx done in that period, mainly mainstream, but with some good towards great keybords arrangements, with a jazzy feel here and there and popy atmosphere. I like the voice, like on all of their albums, even is nothing realy excelent , is very warm and pleasent, fits very well in this context. All pieces stands as good, nothing groundbreaking or innovative but very enjoyble to my ears. This album like the rest are very hard to find in any format today, in first place the album was sold only at the concerts in small quantity, maybe that is so unknown today by larger public. 3.5 for this one, I like it, accesible prog rock with popy elements added here and there but well performed with good keybords. Not realy recommended, but if you want to discover obscure prog bands from the '70's try this band maybe you will find intristing arrangements on their albums.

Supposedly a Canadian prog band,Busker were actually a duo from Ontario formed in 1973 and featuring Steve McCann on keys,guitars and arrangements and Randy Dawdy on drums,percussion and lead vocals.Randy had also spent little time with hard rockers Max Webster before joining McCann on Busker.The duo released their debut ''On Any Street Corner'' in 1976.

The sound of the band on the first three tracks is very uneven and also quite dated for the year 1976.While the keyboard work has strong Classical influences,when vocals enter the style is closer to Psychedelic Pop/Rock in THE BEATLES vein than any prog-related path.Still the harpsichord,organ,moog synth and clavinet of McCann delivers some quite decent notes.From now on the album has a rapid downfall,like on the absolutely horrible ''Time to boogie'' which closes the first side of the LP and sounds more like a NEIL SEDAKA track!!!The whole flipside is no better,not to say even worse than the opening one.All kind of commercial-oriented music like cheap straight rock,Pop Rock,Psychedelic Pop and Funk can be found here,but no signs of Progressive Rock,just some hints of bearable keyboard work.The worst thing is actually that even these tracks are far from memorable without traces of inspiring music,a below average production and often out-of-tune vocals.

As the album has never seen a re-issue till today and it is quite rare,it would be more than unfair to spent a high amount of money to listen to such cheap music.But even if it does,better avoid it at even the lower cost...Ok,add another half star for the decent sum of five minutes at the opening tracks.