THE WEAKERTHANS - Reunion Tour (Anti/Epitaph)
 John Kristjan Samson's musical career is a laundry list of some of the most influential and genre defining musical projects of the 90's. Samson fronted skate punk legends Propagandhi and sang lead vocals and played bass on their first two records: "How to Clean Everything", and "Less Talk More Rock". These two albums are quintessential parts of the Fat Wreck discography, and are considered punk classics. Then Mr. Samson took on indie rock with his less snotty and more intelligent project: THE WEAKERTHANS. The four albums the band has released are all nearly perfect, with individual sounds and themes that have made The Weakerthans Canada's independent music scene's ambassador to the world.
"Reunion Tour" is the band's latest effort. A record jam packed with literary allusions, sports references, stories about runaway cats, and everything in between, Reunion Tour is yet another one of the gems that make up The Weakerthans' catalogue. Samson's plaintive singing and honest delivery give the CD a unique vibe that builds off where the band's 2002 effort Reconstruction Site left off. The band finishes the story of Virtute the cat (which many a confused listener mistook as "virtue") with a touching song that caused me to well up about the return of a cat to his owners home. Though the song is only about a cat, Samson sings so passionately about his feline pal, it would seem that they were brothers rather than different species.
The record is a quite diverse piece of music as well. From the spoken word hockey tribute that features a banjo in the background as Samson tells the story of his admiration for hockey legend Lorne John "Gump" Worsley. "Tournament of Hearts" is a bittersweet ballad that stirs up hauntingly realistic images of a bar in a small town whose patrons lament why they can never leave the small town.
I could spend a few pages analyzing this record, tearing through Samson's lyrical references and talk about how amazing each song is, and not only unload praises on Samson but The Weakerthans as a cohesive unit. More importantly, Samson's music continues to progress through experimenting with keyboards (on the title track especially), sparse finger picking ("Bigfoot!"), and the (continuing) use of lap steel guitar on the album's last track. John K. Samson is a magician and his golden streak continues with the fantabulous Reunion Tour. Rock and roll poet laureates indeed! - Jon Robinson
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