Peter Verity

"Peter Verity has a natural talent for connecting with his audience, developing a comfortable rapport with his first song. Then, moving on quickly to a lively, energetic and good humoured dialogue with the crowd, he draws in even the most timid audience member. By the end of his performance, you know you've just had a real party and you're sorry it's over!"

Tim Maxwell
Organizer - Tim Maxwell

"Peter Verity is a talented and versatile musician, whether it was his patter with the audience, an eclectic mix of genre, vocal, guitar or Reggae mandolin... our crowd enjoyed every minute."

Daniel McLaughlin
Rob Roy Inn, Ontario
- Dan McLaughlin

Well, now I have finally got around to playing Peter’s new(ish) album three times all the way through. And I am pleased to say that clearly Neil Young has been told by Peter to pack his bags.

However, strangely another star has taken his place. John Prine. I think Peter has been drinking deeply at the well of John Prine these past 4 years. I detect his influence in the lyric, the melody and - above all ­ in the phrasing. Some tracks more than others, but his presence is there from the getgo, and reaches its zenith in the penultimate track, the standout “All I’ll Ever Be”. There is no higher praise than to say that I could well imagine JP wanting to record this song himself.

It is three and a half minutes of near perfection. A kind of 21st century updating and merging of Robert W. Service’s marvellous poems “The Lone Trail” and “The Men That Don’t Fit In”. Lyrics that deliver pure meaning and never obfuscate, and with the glorious musicianship of Stephen Miller almost making me want to jump from my chair and applaud jazz club style when he takes his “solo break”.

Miller’s slide guitar and dobro work is of the highest quality. But that said, it is almost invidious of me to pick him out, since Verity has surrounded himself with as good a bunch of musicians as you’ll find under one roof outside of Tanglewood.

I think this album shows that he has made considerable strides since “High Flyer”, his 2001 CD. Whereas that album was generally pleasing and stood out from the crowd, it did not have quite the sophisticated song construction and high end production values one finds here.

The songs all achieve a certain quality: there are no duds that I can hear.

Most of the songs are written in the first person, but one should not assume from this that those songs are about Peter Verity. They may or may not be. What matters is that they WORK.

And they do. The lyrics rhyme, the songs are wondrously old-fashioned in that they have a beginning, a middle, and an end to their story, and the subject matter is nicely varied. One very touching song (NOT written in the first person) is “The Ballad of Rachel Davis”. This is his tribute to a public-spirited 23 year-old who was senselessly slain in Vancouver after she had just tried to save a man from assault by three others. And of all things, it was the VICTIM who shot her dead as a reward.

Peter tells the story with a short staccato lyric lines, mainly to mirror the sense of shock all decent people would feel, but also as if to say that anything more flowery would be disrespectful to Rachel’s memory. The simple facts are eloquent testament enough.

Were I one of Rachel’s family, I would very touched that an artiste had delivered such an honest and affecting tribute.

But I am not one of her family.I am just a humble critic. And one who although battered into submission by some CDs, still is sufficiently unjaded to note a quality album from an indie label: a CD that will never be the first (or twenty-first) that I save from the fire, but one that was sufficiently good as to light a little fire in me.


Dai Woosnam
Grimsby, England.
daigress@hotmail.com

Track List:

North Ontario ­ 4.49
Mississippi Ride ­ 4.13
Blue As I Can Get ­ 5.11
Norma Jean ­ 4.05
The Healing Rain ­ 3.58
Highway Town ­ 5.16
The Ballad of Rachel Davis ­ 3.57
Mystic Caravan ­ 4.26
All Fall Down ­ 3.40
All I’ll Ever Be ­ 3.37
Desperate Heart ­ 3.59
All songs written by Peter Verity.
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. - Dai Woosnam U.K.

Another of the superb performers this night, was the always entertaining Peter Verity, who won the TIMA for Best Folk -- and deservedly so! Verity’s a popular entertainer on the Toronto music scene, whose original songs are both imaginative and invigorating to listen to. He was nominated in the Best Song category for “Healing Rain” (but unfortunately didn’t win). He performed this enchanting song, and the heart-warming “Blue As I Can Get” with fellow prolific composer/performer Sebastian Agnello as an acoustic guitar duo. Verity’s top-notch harp playing and vocals harmonized well. His acoustic guitar playing along with Agnello’s, possessed a full, rich sound. (Agnello’s been on the Toronto scene since the late ‘60s, when as part of the Lords Of London, he opened for Jimi Hendrix at Maple Leaf Gardens)."

- Joe Curtis

When I listened to Peter Verity’s CD “high Flyer” I sometimes had the feeling I was caught in a time-warp. But it was a pleasant one, thanks to Verity’s engaging voice and clear talent for writing a catchy song. The title track is as catchy as they come. I immediately took to this song, humming it to myself for the rest of the day…

.Clearly an admirer of the classic song, Verity can himself write radio-length material with commercial sounding choruses. “High flyer” is one of several strong songs on the album including “Aftermath”, “So Long Gone” (featuring beautiful vocal harmonies) and “Not A Thing”…

The arrangements are effective and supported by strong musicians including John Shand (bass and electric guitars), Michelle Josef (drums) and Peter Nunn (keyboards). Moxy Fruvous alumnus Mike Ford provides background vocals on “High Flyer”. Verity plays acoustic guitars (6 and 12 string), electric guitar and mandolin (very nice) on Black Mountain”. Jamie Snider adds fiddle to that tune too…

With songwriting chops like his, he’s unlikely to go far wrong. (Joy McKay, Rambles, A Cultural and Arts Magazine)


- Rambles - A cultural and Arts MAG

Easy going, folksy, feel good. All these words describe “High Flyer:, Verity’s first dolo effort. The Toronto songwriter is in fine form and is particularly outstanding on “Black Mountain” – a song which would have been a comfortable fit for the soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou” – complete with help from Jamie Snider on fiddle and John Shand’s acoustic and electric guitar. Verity does it all here- co-produces, sings, plays mandolin and guitar and writes soul-searching tunes. On “Swearin’ Off Love” he sings “Gonna jump right off this love out of control/Wrestle with the demons in my soul/Break your hold on me for good this time/If the cure don’t kill me I’ll be fine” This CD is a true surprise and proof that independent recordings are shining through. (Jeff Hurst- The Cambridge Times) - The Cambridge Times

Peter Verity is a singer songwriter from Canada who probably fits into the alt-country category more than any other genre that initially springs to mind on account of his prolific use of harmonica and mandolin…. “High Flyer” is his first solo release, and is a real treat for anyone looking for a collection of instantly memorable songs that don’t push you too hard. Indeed Verity’s biggest talent is his knack for hooks, which carried by crisp production and his wonderful voice, are as infectious as they are crafted. The opening title track “High Flyer” assumes itself as the standout track from the CD until, as each track goes by, you realize more or less any one of them could have as easily made the title. Even the more ballad-oriented cuts like “My Back Roads” vary the chord changes enough to avoid being over-formulaic…it is a good collection of songs..( Dai Woosnam Web site Americana The UK home for Americana and Alt country) - UK site for Americana and Alt Country

Toronto Singer-Songwriter Peter Verity’s new album “High Flyer” is a polished gem of confident, classic song writing and solid heartfelt performance. The composition and arrangement of the disc’s 10 tracks make it a work that immediately stands far above the overload of fashion-driven video-pop that presently fills the airwaves. Verity is a prolific songwriter who takes his craft seriously, and that craft is much in evidence here. From the title-track’s slide-guitar open-highway rockin’, to the memory-inducing “My Back
Roads”, to the wicked hill-country stomp of “Black Mountain”, to the tropical comfort of “On This Island”, the album is an assured journey through diverse landscapes of the world and of the heart. The album’s rockers (The Aftermath, Not A Thing, Swearin’ Off Love) share a crisp, straight-ahead revelry that updates early 70’s Stones/Who shakers - in fact Verity’s vocals often remind me of that latter group’s Roger Daltrey, minus Daltrey’s histrionics. The ballads (most notably “All I See Is You”) allow a sweet vulnerability to float through their Beatle-esque perfection. But Verity’s voice and style is all his own, honed over years of writing, recording, touring, and living life. The playing on these tunes is excellent - Peter Verity’s multi-guitar and mandolin arrangements are a breath of fresh air. A few choice guest appearances add to the satisfaction, including the
authoritative bass work of Blue Rodeo’s Basil Donovan and devilish fiddling by Toronto fiddler Jamie Snider. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard an album put together with this much love, attention to detail, solid production and, most importantly:
superb song writing, track after track. I believe that if radio had more stuff like this on it, there’s a lot of people that would listen to the radio more. Here’s to “High Flyer” being a part of that much-needed turn-around. Get your hands on this new Peter Verity disc, crank up the stereo and take yourself on a High Flyin’ ride!!)
Mike Ford
(Moxy Fruvous)

- Mike Ford

"Peter Verity writes and sings in the classic traditional folk-blues-country vein and produces a solid recording like "Sometimes A Journey" . His songs
like "All Fall Down", "North Ontario" and "Mississippi Ride" are very good: he has a voice with enough edge to it that the lyrics cut through; he's backed by sensitive and able musicians and it is well recorded and mixed by Tim Harrison at Toronto's Second Avenue Records....He reminds me of someone like Richard Shindell" Barry Hammond, Penguin Eggs

- Penguin Eggs

Singer Peter Verity knows how to pack lots of drama into the songs he sings. There's freezing cold, booze, sex, drugs, and suicide...and that's only on the opener, "North Ontario". Things calm down a bit on "Mississippi Ride", though the narrator's drunk again by "Blue As I Can Get". Accompanied by nice acoustic arrangements, including slide guitar and harmonica, Verity passes as folky-version of Steve Earle-- R.L., Sing Out! Magazine - Sing Out!