Final Rating: 3/5
In 2025 the Canadian band Blue Rodeo is celebrating their 40th anniversary and director Dale Heslip was given access to make a loving tribute to Canada’s Best Bar Band. Heslip is no stranger to the music documentary, having previously chronicled another Canadian great in Rush a few times (Rush: Time Stand Still, Rush: Cinema Strangiato 2019). In Blue Rodeo: Lost Together, we get in depth interviews with all the members of the band, both past and present, access to a treasure trove of early footage and plenty of celebrity testimonials.
For anyone not familiar with the musical stylings of Blue Rodeo, they are a Toronto band that hit it big in 1987 with their debut album Outskirts and have been a staple of the Canadian scene for their entire forty year career. They blend country and rock together in a way that never confines to either genre and make them have a unique sound all their own.
Before the band was formed, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor were high school friends and after the passing of a mutual friend, Cuddy played some of his music in front of friends impressing Keelor who was unaware of his musical talents. After Cuddy returned to Toronto following college he and Keelor decided to start a band, starting out as the Hi-Fi’s and releasing a few singles. In 1985 they changed their name to Blue Rodeo and looked to solidify their lineup. They recruited musicians from the Queen Street music scene including drummer Cleave Anderson and keyboardist Bob Wiseman.
Even though Anderson was recommending a bassist he used to be in a band with to join the group, Cuddy and Keelor had also placed a now infamous ad in NOW Magazine stating “if you’ve dropped acid at least 20 times and can still keep the beat, call Jim and Greg”. Bazil Donovan responded to that ad and was also the bassist Anderson had referred, giving him the job and completing the original lineup.
Despite the band’s hugely popular shows all across Ontario, labels were uninterested in the group as hair metal reigned supreme at the time and a gentle rockabilly band with two lead singers was not what they thought the markets would be interested in. Luckily someone at a label had the band’s back and eventually got them signed to a deal where they produced their debut album, Outskirts, in 1987. It went nowhere fast, until Much Music began relentlessly playing the video for “Try” that the rest of Canada finally caught on and blew the band up.
The band instantly became a touring machine, playing several hundred dates a year to help establish themselves. They would then get into a cycle of recording an album, tour relentlessly, go back into the studio to record and hit the road again. The band followed up their debut with Diamond Mine in 1989 and 1990’s Casino was their play to make their music even more radio friendly and break into the United States, a market that over the course of their career supported them, but never made them more popular.
The bulk of the film covers the timeline of the bands first five albums before just hitting the highlights of the following thirty years, including a graphic literally showing the timeline of events. There is no shortage of interviews and footage of Keelor and Cuddy through the years, so it is most interesting hearing people like Cleave Anderson, the bands original drummer for the first three years and two albums, talk about why he decided to leave a burgeoning band to return to his life as a mail carrier (he had a pension, a wife and young children and having the long term career was the smart and safe play). Or Bob Wiseman, the bands original keyboardist, known as “The Wild Man” for his intense stage antics of throwing his whole body onto his instruments and frenetic dance moves, who fought constantly with every producer of their records as he was a known improviser and tried to incorporate experimental and dissonant sounds into the groups sonic pallet. Wiseman eventually left the band in 1993 after five albums, all of which were a fraught experience for him, especially as the group went from being a collective to more of Keelor and Cuddy running the show.
The film is pretty much by the numbers, highlighting the bands most successful periods, like “Try” being their breakthrough hit, the relaxed and rewarding Five Days in July session that was the groups best selling release and their place as one of Canada’s most iconic bands. Or the group’s low points like Keelor breaking off to release a solo album in 1996 without telling anyone, leaving Cuddy and company unsure of the band’s future. A name that is never mentioned in the film, but represents the other pillar alongside Blue Rodeo’s iconic status in Canada and Canada alone is The Tragically Hip, a group that despite also having modest success in the States, are both Canada’s own little secret.
We get celebrity testimonials from the likes of Tegan and Sara, Eric McCormack and Sarah McLachlan who all sing the praises of the band and their influence on their own lives and musical careers. We also learn about how the band has evolved, especially since Greg Keelor was diagnosed with tinnitus with the fear that he might have to retire from music. The band changed their set up to not have monitors facing them on stage and instead route all sound to their headsets, with the exception of Keelor who now only plays acoustic guitar and can’t wear a headset.
There are some fun moments like the two lead singers discussing why they went with the song writing name of Keelor/Cuddy as opposed to Cuddy/Keelor (“it sounds like a farming equipment company”) and how they view themselves in terms of another famous songwriting duo Lennon/McCartney. We also get an insight into their dynamic, often describing situations of how they think the other must have felt and hearing the complete opposite when they are describing it in actuality.
The film is a treasure trove of old material, but doesn’t present much new information for longtime fans of the band. Cuddy and Keelor have been around long enough telling stories, that most of them included in the film are just rehashes. For die hard fans, other than getting the chance to reminisce on all the hits it won’t offer anything new for them. One wonders if this film will attract people who haven’t been lifelong fans of the band.
As someone who was friends with someone who was the partner of one of the members of the band for a period of time, getting the opportunity to see the band play their iconic yearly Toronto homecoming show in the summer was always a treat (especially getting to watch side stage and going to the afterparties). The band is a staple of long weekends at the cottage, drinking at your favourite dive bar and blasting on Canada Day.
The film is a fun ride that you won’t regret watching, especially since Cuddy can still hit those hit notes in Try, an almost forty year old song. So roll a joint, crack your favourite Canadian beer and enjoy the hits.
Thank you to GatPR for the screener.
