When Jim got his first guitar at the age of ten, the first song he learned was Gordon Lightfoot’s “That’s What You Get For Loving Me”. Today, twenty-five years after the formation of Blue Rodeo, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor are widely respected as one of Canada’s best songwriting teams. In 1998, Jim released All in Time which went on to sell Gold in his native Canada. His second solo album, The Light That Guides You Home hit stores in September 2006 to critical acclaim and won the Juno for Adult Alternative Album of the Year. His voice, always a voluptuous instrument, has never sounded better and Cuddy proves once again that his songwriting ranks with the best Canada has to offer.

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Biography

“Jim Cuddy’s vocals flow effortlessly, a heart-wrenching country croon on one tune, then a full-throated refrain worthy of Broadway on the next.”
~ The Globe and Mail

“As strong a catalog as Blue Rodeo has compiled over the past decade, Jim Cuddy’s solo debut actually ups the ante. What All In Time misses in terms of the emotional depth and intensity that Blue Rodeo co-leader Greg Keelor brings to that band, Cuddy more than makes up for here with the overflowing melodic grace of his own songwriting, not to mention a first-rate supporting cast.”
~ No Depression

The Light That Guides You Home -- his first extracurricular full-length since 1998's All in Time -- delivers everything you know, love, want and expect from Cuddy: Impeccably crafted, slightly nostalgic country-rock and roots-pop laced with gorgeous melodies, bittersweet lyrics, heartfelt vocals and twangy sincerity.   - The Sun Newspaper Group

The Light That Guides You Home was recorded throughout the Spring of 2006 at The Woodshed in Toronto.  Produced by Jim Cuddy and Colin Cripps (Kathleen Edwards, Oh Susanna, Junkhouse) the album soars from the boozy, honky-tonk piano duet “Married Again" to the countrified “Country Wide Soul” to the full-throttle rolling rock of "Stagger In".  

Jim explains that the album's twelve songs are also more intimate than fans of Blue Rodeo might be used to.  Indeed, the plaintive sound of a voice, a piano and a trumpet  on the album's lead single, "Pull Me Through," lay both the song and it’s meaning bare while “What She Said” is a song that voices the whispers of a doubting heart.

"I tried to write songs specifically for this album," he says.  "I got on a path  I could stay on.  With Blue Rodeo, Greg might hear something and I'll veer off that path.  As a result, these songs ended up being more personal.  There are songs about specific  people I know, songs which I probably would have taken a step back from had it been with Blue Rodeo."

Joining Cuddy in the studio were Colin on guitar, Bazil  Donovan on bass (Blue Rodeo, Justin Rutledge and whoever asks), Bob Packwood on keyboards (Blue Rodeo, Oh Susanna), Joel Anderson on drums (Kathleen Edwards) and Anne Lindsay on violin.  Guests on the  record include Kathleen Edwards who sings with Jim on the rowdy duet  "Married Again" and Oh Susanna who provides jubilant and, in turn, haunting vocals on "Falling" and "What She Said".  These musicians have created a timeless record that speaks to joy, disappointment and the fickle hand of fate.  His voice, always a voluptuous instrument, has never sounded better and Cuddy proves once again that his songwriting ranks with the best Canada has to  offer.

***

It was the mid-seventies when Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor first met each other in high school.  After discovering a mutual love of music, they formed an “amphetamine pop band” called the HiFi's.  The pair moved to New York City in 1981 and tried to land a recording contract.  Three years later they returned to Toronto without a deal but discovered a burgeoning club scene where acts like k.d. lang, The Cowboy Junkies and Jeff  Healey were honing their chops.  Through a series of chance meetings and the classified ads, Jim and Greg formed Blue Rodeo.

Since the release of their debut album, Outskirts, in March 1987, Blue Rodeo have established themselves as one of the premiere bands in Canadian music history.  They have released twelve studio albums, one live album, a Greatest Hits collection, and two award winning DVD, selling in excess of 4 million copies around the world.

Press

The Sun Newspapers - 2007-11-22

JIM CUDDY
The Light That Guides You Home

****

If Blue Rodeo were The Beatles, Jim Cuddy, we humbly submit, would be Paul -- the slightly poppier and more accessible yin to the Lennonesque Greg Keelor's darker and more enigmatic yang. Hold your angry e-mails, that is not a dig at Cuddy. After all, Lennon made some groundbreaking solo LPs -- but whose stuff do you hear more often?

The same could be said of the Rodeo leaders' solo work. Sure, Keelor has made some daring and unconventional choices with his psychedelic experiments but we suspect Cuddy's second solo album will end up in heavier rotation on most fans' iPods. Mainly because The Light That Guides You Home -- his first extra-curricular full-length since 1999's All in Time -- delivers everything you know, love, want and expect from Cuddy: Impeccably crafted, slightly nostalgic country-rock and roots-pop laced with gorgeous melodies, bittersweet lyrics, heartfelt vocals and twangy sincerity. There are cuts that gently rock like Neil Young in Laurel Canyon circa '69.

There's some strummy folk with Dylanesque harmonicas and fingerpicked acoustic guitars.There's heartsqueezing piano balladry flecked with strings and a lonely, lyrical trumpet. There are jangly, Byrdsian guitars. There are fiddles that lend a Mellencampy air to the proceedings. And there's even a rollicking honkytonk number that boasts a boisterous barrelhouse piano and the album's funniest line: "16 bottles and a wedding trunk / Oughta be a law against marrying drunk." Yeah, it's a silly love song. But what's wrong with that? It's still a charmer. Just like the rest of this disc.
 

HIGHLIGHTS

The Light That Guides You Home

The Light That Guides You Home -- his first extra-curricular full-length since 1999's All in Time -- delivers everything you know, love, want and expect from Cuddy: Impeccably crafted, slightly nostalgic country-rock and roots-pop laced with gorgeous melodies, bittersweet lyrics, heartfelt vocals and twangy sincerity. There are cuts that gently rock like Neil Young in Laurel Canyon circa '69. There's some strummy folk with Dylanesque harmonicas and fingerpicked acoustic guitars. There's heartsqueezing piano balladry flecked with strings and a lonely, lyrical trumpet. There are jangly, Byrdsian guitars. There are fiddles that lend a Mellencampy air to the proceedings. And there's even a rollicking honkytonk number that boasts a boisterous barrelhouse piano and the album's funniest line: "16 bottles and a wedding trunk / Oughta be a law against marrying drunk." Yeah, it's a
silly love song. But what's wrong with that? It's still a charmer. Just like the rest of this disc.
****
- The Sun Newspaper Group

Fat, driving country-rock rhythms, gorgeous ringing guitars, soaring piano and organ chords, and one of the truest and most expressive voices in contemporary music are the core matter of Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy’s second solo album, a set of 12 mostly confessional, sentimental and articulate songs about love in various stages of engagement, fulfillment and disintegration.  Meticulously and lusciously produced by Cuddy and Colin Cripps, the album is a generous, big-budget item that boasts loads of musical muscle - but never loses sight of the power of songs that come from the heart.
****(out of 4) 
- The Toronto Star

...the band flex a lot of muscle.  This pushes Cuddy’s ageless voice to unexpected heights, and his exuberance at fronting a different cast of characters is palpable....
The fact is, the man is one of this country’s great songwrites, and this album is a timely
reminder to not take him for granted.
- EXCLAIM 

All In Time
As strong a catalog as Blue Rodeo has compiled over the past decade, Jim Cuddy’s solo debut actually ups the ante. 
- No Depression

Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy slips into solo waters for a little soul-cleansing with All In Time.  There’s no gurus on Cuddy’s CD,  just a lingering melancholy whose heartache becomes a thing of musical beauty thanks to his haunting melodies, lyrical honesty and a voice that’s become a Canadian classic when it comes to combining the gentler qualities of country and rock.
- Calgary Herald 

“Cuddy and company dished out one of those exceptional sets that feed off the crowd and build from the original tunes....  The beauty of Cuddy’s All In Time material is that it builds on a familiar sound and takes his extraordinary vocal skills to a new area.”
- The Ottawa Sun
 

Page: B5, Section: Life
Byline: Eric Lewis Music Reviews 
 
Jim Cuddy
The Light That Guides You Home (Warner Music)
****

What do you get when you take one-half of the primary songwriters in Blue Rodeo and have him release a solo album? If you guessed an album that sounds exactly like his Blue Rodeo output, you guessed right. Jim Cuddy doesn't break any new ground on this album, his second solo effort, but he doesn't need to. He is simply a great songwriter who tells stories of life and love in a way that comes across like it is effortless to him. He is the poppier, perhaps more accessible side to Blue Rodeo, where Greg Keelor has a bluesier, rougher style of song.
Cuddy is in fine form here. This is an album full of good folk-rock tunes occasionally bordering on country. They're catchy, melodic, and familiar sounding, but in the best way possible.

Kathleen Edwards' unmistakable voice appears on "Married" where she and Cuddy do their own June and Johnny Cash-ish duet. It's a really fun song, and their voices complement each other. Kathleen has been touring with Blue Rodeo and her husband Colin Cripps produced this album, so there are a few connections there.

The title track, "Maybe Sometime," "Married," "Countrywide Soul" the upbeat "Fine Day" and the sweet piano ballad "Pull Me Through," are all good tunes, but there isn't a bad moment here.
 

Discography

Contacts

Management

Worldwide
Starfish Entertainment
Susan de Cartier
416-588-3329
susan@starfishentertainment.com

Record Company

Canada
Warner Music Canada
Steve Blair - A&R
416-491-5005
steve.blair@warnermusic.com

Agent

North America
Trick or Treat Agency
Kay White
705-527-1900
kaywhite7@aol.com

UK/Europe
BPA Live
Bob Patterson
+44 (0)1473 749 556
bp@bpa-live.com

Publicist

Canada
Warner Music Canada
Steve Waxman - Dir. of Publicity
416-491-5005
steve.waxman@warnermusic.com

US
PAI Media
Paula Amato
212-206-1598
paula@paimedia.com

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