We’re coming up to our 20 year anniversary, and I’m ashamed to say that we have no articles online about Canadian rockers Goddo, I’m sure Greg Godovitz must be highly miffed about all that, and so here we are, as we start at the beginning.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Goddo
ALBUM: Goddo
LABEL: Fatcat, Polydor
SERIAL: 2424-901
YEAR: 1977
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Greg Godovitz – lead vocals, bass, lead guitar (#3) * Gino Scarpelli – guitars, bass (#3), backing vocals * Doug Inglis – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional Musicians: Michael Carpenter – cello (#1) * The Zombettes Choir – choir (#1) * Bob Segarini – backing vocals (#2) * Zorro Ideltkos – organ (#4) * Geordie McDonald – percussion [chinese wind chimes] (#4) * Colin Biggin – baritone sax (#5) * Carlyle Miller – tenor sax (#5) * Dwayne Ford – electric piano, synthesizer (#7)
TRACK LISTING: 01 The Bus Driver Blues * 02 Drive Me Crazy * 03 Let That Lizard Loose * 04 I’m Losing You * 05 Let It Slide * 06 Twelve Days * 07 Under My Hat * 08 Hard Years
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
We’re coming up to our 20 year anniversary, and I’m ashamed to say that we have no articles online about Canadian rockers Goddo. I’m sure Greg Godovitz must be highly miffed about all that.. Lol! Well here we are, we should start at the beginning.
Godovitz first came to prominence in the early 70’s with the band Fludd, though he had played with other outfits prior to them. Fludd had played on the bar/club circuit, and released three albums between 1971 and 1975.
Godovitz had left by 1974, and apart from a brief stint with Peabody And Sherman (featuring Moxy‘s Buzz Sherman), he formed Goddo in 1975.
In its early formation, Goddo featured drummer Marty Morin (ex Truck, but he would leave to join fellow Toronto band Wireless, Doug Inglis would be his replacement. The guitarist was ex Brutus member Gino Scarpelli. The debut Goddo album would eventually be released in 1977 on Fatcat Records, the album was then picked up by Polydor Records.
The Songs
So what of the Goddo sound? Well, if anyone is a trainspotter of Canadian rock, they’ll know that Godovitz is a huge Beatles fan. An avid collector of memorabilia even, while Gino Scarpelli has had Jimi Hendrix comparisons applied to his six string work.
That’s not to say that Goddo are a 60’s sounding psychedelic rock band, no far from it. They do keep to a familiar Canadian trait of applying some weird and wacky elements to their music, including song-titles and lyrics. There must be something in the Canadian beer, right?
Goddo keep things relatively raw, and their power-trio sound ensures that their studio work can be easily replicated in a live environment. Probably the best known song on the 8 track album is ‘Under My Hat’, which has been a staple of their live gigs wherever and whenever they have played. You can find numerous versions of it on YouTube.
Other highlights include ‘Let That Lizard Loose’ featuring a superb guitar solo from Scarpelli, and ‘Let It Slide’. The song ‘Bus Driver Blues’ was a hangover from the band’s earliest period featuring Morin, in which it was stated that if he wasn’t playing music for a living, he’d rather be driving a bus!
In Summary
A pretty good start for Goddo, and they would play all over Canada from this point through to the early 80’s. Oh, and what is it about Canada and power-trios? There were heaps of them during this era.
Goddo on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
