Harlequin were formed in Canada back in the mid-70s and achieved some degree of success in their native homeland, whilst never really cracking the more lucrative American market. After a 20 year wait, they have resurfaced with this latest effort and time does not appear to have diminished their talents in any way. 

I must admit that I haven’t heard any of their previous four albums so cannot give you any comparisons in terms of whether their sound has changed over the years. The sound deployed on this album is a fairly laid back, blues-tinged form of rock, well played throughout and topped by the decent voice of George Belanger. 

The band toured with the likes of Pat Benatar, Triumph and Saga amongst others back in the day and they have continued to play live in the intervening period, which has obviously stood them in good stead for this current venture back into the studio. 

The band’s style evokes memories of Tom Petty at times, Company Of Wolves and Aerosmith at others and even Elvis Costello and The Beatles once or twice – in other words, fairly good-time uptempo rock which is easy to listen to and difficult not to like. 

I had no preconceptions going into listening to this album and I have to say that I really enjoyed it from start to finish. It’s high-class in its approach and delivery, making the most of the respective talents of the assembled veteran musicians. The first two tracks, “Shine On” and “Rise” have been released as singles in Canada and both are apparently receiving decent air time on radio stations across their country. It would not surprise me at all if this is repeated further afield and maybe, after 20 years in waiting, they might finally get some of the recognition they clearly deserve outside of their own country. 

A really pleasant surprise and yet another CD to recommend to you in this most productive of years in terms of quality output.

Let us know your views on Waking The Jester

 Track Listing

Shine On
Rise
Hell Or High Water
40 Days In Your Car
Black Out The Sun
How Long
This Limbo
Take It Or Leave It
Lolita
Inbound Train
Little White Lies
You Can’t Go Back
Taste It

Line Up

George Belanger - Vocals
Derrick Gottfried - Guitars
Darren Moore - Guitars/Keyboards
Nick Rivers - Bass