“BEATIN THE PAVEMENT” LPSMM102/LPSMMC102/MMCD102
(Available on Vinyl & Cassette & Compact Disc). Originally recorded in 1981.
It was released on Compact Disc in May 2005.
1 Beatin The Pavement
2 Bye Bye My Lady My Love
3 Why’d You Ever Leave Me Girl
4 Guitar Pickin Man
5 Superfunk
6 Let The Light Shine
7 Love Me
8 Kisses Wine and Roses
9 I’d Like You To Love Me
10 Never Called BacK
11 My Woman
12 Dreaming Being Living In Love
This album, once again, contains all LeBlanc compositions and it represents a cross section of some of LeBlanc’s songs. Like his first recordings, all of the vocals and the harmony vocals on this albums are sung by Donjames LeBlanc and all of the guitars and some of the bass guitar tracks are played by him. The germ for this album was struck while Donjames was driving to Hollywood, California in his pick-up truck pulling a 5th wheel. This 5th wheel used to be the property of his father, Regis, from whom he bought it…it had sentimental value but it was sold in 1992. The album includes a country-rock tune, a waltz, an ‘Eagles-Type’ song (great lyrics), a drivin-picking song about a true-blood Canadien, a funk tune, a rock-ballad, a swing-rock tune, a new-wave song, a country rock, a rock-disco and a bossa nova. Donjames LeBlanc handles all of the vocals including the vocal harmony and, of course, he plays all of the guitars; he can also be heard playing bass guitar.
THE SONGS: ‘Beatin The Pavement’, the title of the album is the name of the first track. It is a country-rock tune with a memphis beat. The lyric is about getting that almighty record deal. The idea for this song came while Don was driving his Dodge pick-up truck and Vanguard 5th-wheel trailer to Hollywood, California from Saskatchewan, Canada. ‘Bye Bye My Lady My Love’ has an old-time waltz beat. This ‘catchy’ melody and lyric suggest the difficulties one might have trying to say goodbye to a loved one. ‘Why’d You Ever Leave Me Girl’ is a ballad. The idea for this song came while observing the many losers which line Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. ‘Guitar Pickin Man’ is a country-rock guitar picking song with a drivin’ beat. The lyric discusses the guitar and how central it is to all types of modern music. ‘Superfunk’ like the title suggest, is a funk-rock disco tune. The Lyric tells you how one might dance to funk. ‘Let The Light Shine’ is a rock-ballad with an inspirational message to follow your light. ‘Love Me’ is best described as swing-rock. The beat will remind you that what is old is new with a new-wave flavour. ‘Kisses Wine and Roses’ is suited for weddings. This ballad combines kisses, wine and roses into symbols of love. It contains three-part vocal harmony all sung by Donjames LeBlanc. ‘I’d Like You To Love Me’ is a new-wave rock tune which expresses ones need for love. ‘Never Called Back’ is a country-roick song about how people sometimes break the simplest of promises. ‘My Woman’ has a rock-disco flavour…about an ideal woman. For rhythm effect, a phaser and flanger were used to give the guitar a particular sound. ‘Dreaming Being Living In Love’ is a bossa nova which has an esoteric quality. To date, the most popular and most played songs from this album are ‘Bye Bye My Lady My Love’, Why’d You Ever Leave Me Girl’, ‘Guitar Pickin Man’ and ‘Superfunk’.