A Rock Opera Just for Kids!!! (and maybe a few cool grownups) Rheostatics---The Story of Harmelodia

Once again my goddaughter is having a birthday, so I've decided to showcase another cool album for the wee ones. Unfortunately, the album in its deluxe form has been out of print for about 15 years and is kind of a collectors item. It seems to be available as a digital download.



Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl....

The album is The Story of Harmelodia by The Rheostatics, who many say may have been Canada's most Canadian Band. I'm pretty sure Canada's most American band was The Band. I couldn't tell you who America's most Canadian band is. But I guess what they mean is that they write songs that have resonance with their fellow countrymen. You know, they sing about Wendel Clark and Saskatoon, and didn't really believe that being in a rock band meant you had be or at least pretend to be from the U.S. or England. I respect this stick-to-itiveness and sense of national pride that they represent who they are and where they come from.

After all, I am an American who would never think of turning the Maple Leaf upside down...

In a nutshell, The Story of Harmelodia is basically Tommy for toddlers. It's a Rock Opera just for Kids, or for those who are still kids at heart. Everything about this release is pretty much over the top. A lot of time, effort, care, and love went into the making of this record.

First and foremost, it is a lot more than a CD. It is really a CD sized illustrated book with a CD tucked inside. As far as the format goes, Harmelodia is a pretty hefty item.

So first of all you have a story, narrated by Janet Morassutti, who is Dave Bidini's wife. He is one of the Rheostatics and these days does a lot of book writing, mostly about Hockey, Baseball, and Rock N' Roll.

Secondly, the Story is loaded with illustrations, beautifully drawn and painted by Martin Tielli, another member of the Rheostatics.

What's the Word? Monkeybird

We complete this winning trifecta with of course the CD, full of engaging songs that accompany the narrative.

The Band: David Bidini, Kevin Hearn, Don Kerr, Martin Tielli, Tim Vesely
Produced Mixed, Aided and Abetted by: Michael Philip Wojewoda.

Additionally many other musicians made contributions on this record including the likes of Gord Downie (wrote lyrics to  Father's Sad Song) , Ben Gunning, Sarah Harmer, and Kurt Swinghammer to name a few.

Spoiler alert: There will no spoiler alert because I'm not going to give the story away, except to say it is about Bug and Dot, a brother and sister who get lost and go on a magical adventure.



What I will divulge is that the music is very diverse, from sweet loving ballads to rock n roll to classically inspired music, folk music, marching band music, and just plain silly musical mayhem! I really think that behind the idea of selling swag to kids which is something all American's know and love this is a covert attempt to trick innocent kids to learn to love music at a very early age. You gotta get em' on board while they're young. Like the cigarette companies. I mean music is at least as addictive as nicotine, but actually great for your heart and soul and long term personal development.




Since the CD is such an elaborate creation I would definitely recommend the physical copy over the download, but usually the price for this is a little costly. I guess anyway you can get this would be a good thing. I don't know whether they only made a small number of these or its just that people don't want to part with them, because I also don't see many of these being sold.

But definitely The Story of Harmelodia is an album that will delight children, a great gift to give somebody you care about.