Album Review: "AIn't Life Amazing" by Kim Mitchell (2007)

What would summer in Canada be without the Toronto Blue Jays fighting for a playoff berth, the smell of a campfire, bug spray, a four-beer buzz, and the sweet sounds of Kim Mitchell wafting through the air?

Priced at an agreeable $9.99 at HMV, I'm happy to say that this independently-released album from the Can-Con legend does not follow the Eric Clapton/Phil Collins/Rod Stewart route whereby 50-something artists cash in by writing or performing embarassing tunes that would find their way onto either a children's soundtrack or an album of "standards" that would both fit perfectly on your local easy listening station's playlist. Instead, like every Kim album before it, it sounds different from anything that he's done before, while retaining that undeniable Mitchell sound, usually through a clean, uptempo guitar sound and layered vocals that aren't going to blow you away but are perfectly serviceable given the can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it material underneath them.

Some people might be dismissive, but I think it's great that this fella is still creative, and strongly so at that, despite earning a paycheque these days that comes from playing the odd county fair and doing the drive-home shift on Toronto's Q107. While "Ain't Life Amazing" isn't on par with my personal favourite album from Mitchell, the overlooked 1992 release "Aural Fixations", it gets one-and-a-half enthusiastic thumbs up from this long-time fan. Now does anyone know where I can get an OPP hat?

Overall rating: 7.5/10