Spirit of the West's 1991 third album merges Celtic pub rock with literary folk, recorded at Little Mountain Sound with producer Gerry Mohr's clarifying touch. John Mann's vivid songwriting and Geoffrey Kelly's nuanced flute work anchor songs that reward patient listening. A record that sounds like home even when you've never been there—essential for anyone who believes folk-rock can contain real depth.
⚡ Quick Answer: Spirit of the West's Chasing Shadows merges Celtic pub rock with literary folk, recorded at Little Mountain Sound in 1991. The album's clarity comes from producer Gerry Mohr and engineer John Webster, while the rhythm section and Linda McRae's grounded harmonies elevate it beyond pleasant folk-rock. John Mann's vivid songwriting and Geoffrey Kelly's nuanced flute work create an album that rewards patient listening.
There are records that sound like where you grew up even when you didn’t grow up anywhere near them.
Chasing Shadows is that kind of record. The third full-length from Vancouver’s Spirit of the West lands somewhere between Celtic pub rock and literary folk, the kind of album that rewards you if you stay still long enough to let it work.
The Room It Was Made In
The band recorded Chasing Shadows at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver in 1991, the same studio that had been handling everything from Bryan Adams to Loverboy for years. Producer Gerry Mohr and engineer John Webster brought a clarity to the sessions that the band’s earlier work — looser, scrappier — hadn’t quite captured. Webster had a gift for making acoustic instruments feel physical without losing their air. The mandolin on this record sits in the mix the way a good photograph sits on a wall.
John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly anchored things as they always did — Mann on vocals and guitar, Kelly on flute, whistles, and guitar. But what elevates Chasing Shadows past folk-rock pleasantry is the rhythm section. Linda McRae, who had joined the band a few years earlier, was deepening her role as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, and her harmonies on this record have a weight that keeps Mann’s melodic instincts honest. She doesn’t ornament. She balances.
What the Songs Are Actually Doing
The opening track “And If Venice Is Sinking” is one of the finest opening moves in Canadian folk rock. It sets the terms immediately: vivid imagery, a melody that seems inevitable from the first bar, and a lyric that’s about something without explaining itself. Mann wrote songs the way a good short story works — you’re three verses in before you realize you’ve been holding your breath.
The record moves through political edges and personal losses without ever becoming a lecture. “Home for a Rest” — already a live staple and the song that would eventually reach every Irish pub in the English-speaking world — gets its studio recording here. It’s rougher than it would later become in memory, which is exactly right. The album version has some gristle on it.
The quieter moments are where Chasing Shadows earns its keep. “Shipping Up to Boston” exists here before the Dropkick Murphys ever touched it — well, not quite, but the Celtic-with-a-North-American-accent thing Spirit of the West do natively is on full display throughout. These weren’t musicians trying to sound Irish. They were people who had absorbed that tradition and carried it west.
Kelly’s flute playing throughout is worth your attention on its own. He has a way of phrasing that makes you aware of the silence around each note, not just the note itself.
The Thing Nobody Says About This Band
Spirit of the West were better than their reputation ever fully reflected. They existed in that commercially awkward space between too folk for radio and too rock for the folk circuit, too Canadian to break internationally the way their talent warranted. Chasing Shadows went gold in Canada, which is honest. It should have gone further.
This is an album made by people in their thirties who had been playing together for years and had finally learned how to be exactly themselves on tape. That’s rarer than it sounds.
Put it on after dark. Pour something amber. Let “And If Venice Is Sinking” start the night right.
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🎵 Key Takeaways
- {'text': "🎙️ Spirit of the West recorded Chasing Shadows at Little Mountain Sound in 1991 with producer Gerry Mohr and engineer John Webster, who brought unprecedented clarity to the band's acoustic arrangements through Webster's gift for making instruments feel physical without sacrificing air."}
- {'text': "🪕 Geoffrey Kelly's flute work throughout the album demonstrates sophisticated phrasing that emphasizes silence around each note rather than the notes themselves, elevating the record beyond typical Celtic folk-rock."}
- {'text': "📍 John Mann's songwriting operates like literary short stories—vivid imagery and inevitable melodies that reveal their depth only after multiple listens, never explaining themselves or lecturing."}
- {'text': "🥁 Linda McRae's harmonies function as counterbalance rather than ornament, grounding Mann's melodic instincts and giving the rhythm section a weight that keeps the arrangements honest."}
- {'text': '💿 Chasing Shadows went gold in Canada but underperformed commercially because Spirit of the West occupied an awkward middle ground—too folk for radio, too rock for the folk circuit, and too Canadian for international crossover despite genuine talent.'}
Who produced Chasing Shadows and what was their approach?
Producer Gerry Mohr and engineer John Webster recorded the album at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver in 1991. Webster had a particular gift for making acoustic instruments feel physical without losing their air—the mandolin sits in the mix like a carefully composed photograph.
What makes Geoffrey Kelly's flute playing distinctive on this record?
Kelly phrases his flute lines in a way that makes you aware of the silence around each note, not just the note itself. His work throughout Chasing Shadows rewards focused listening on its own merits.
How does 'Home for a Rest' differ between this studio version and later recordings?
The album version is rougher and has more gristle than the version that would eventually become ubiquitous in Irish pubs worldwide. That rawness is exactly what makes the original studio recording work.
Why was Spirit of the West commercially underappreciated?
The band occupied an awkward commercial space—too folk for radio, too rock for the folk circuit, and too Canadian to break internationally despite genuine talent. Chasing Shadows went gold in Canada but deserved broader recognition.
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