Hit Parade is a 1999 album by Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...

.

The album is a compilation, and marked their final release for Warner Music Canada

Warner Music Canada

Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA International, which later changed its name to Warner Music International in 1990. It was founded in 1967 as Warner Reprise Canada Ltd...

. Despite the album's title, not all of the songs on the album were released as singles, and some songs which were notable singles ("Tell Me What I Think", "Slow Learner") are not present. The songs are presented roughly in reverse chronological order, except for "And if Venice is Sinking

And if Venice Is Sinking

"And if Venice Is Sinking" is a song written by John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly for the Canadian folk-rock band Spirit of the West. Spirit of the West recorded the song on their studio album Faithlift...

". That song appears on the album alongside songs from 1990's Save This House

Save This House

Save This House is a 1990 album by Spirit of the West.It was the band's first album for Warner Music Canada, and their first with Linda McRae. Although still a relatively traditional folk album, its release on a major label meant that it was the band's first album to expand their fan base...

, but was originally released on 1993's Faithlift

Faithlift

Faithlift is a 1993 album by Spirit of the West.It is the band's best-selling album, and includes their biggest Canadian Top 40 hit, "And if Venice Is Sinking." The album peaked at #27 on RPMs Top 100 albums chart the week of October 30, 1993....

.

As with most of the band's live shows during this era, the studio portion of the album opens with "Canadian Skye" (from 1997's Weights and Measures) and closes with the band's most famous song, "Home for a Rest

Home For a Rest

"Home for a Rest" is a song by Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West, from their 1990 album Save This House. Although never officially released as a single, it is the band's most famous song and is considered a classic of Canadian music....

" (from Save This House).

At the end of the album, four songs appear which were recorded with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...

 during the sessions for the album Open Heart Symphony

Open Heart Symphony

Open Heart Symphony is a 1996 album by Spirit of the West, in collaboration with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.The band recorded two shows with the orchestra on May 12 and May 13, 1995. The shows included several renditions of the band's best known songs, and an entire album's worth of songs...

. Those sessions included new songs and performances of several of the band's past hits, but only the new songs appeared on the original album.

The performances which appear on Hit Parade collect the hits portion of those shows, along with a rendition of "That's Amore

That's Amore

"That's Amore" is a 1952 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks. It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin in 1953. Amore means "love" in Italian....

" sung by Vince Ditrich

Vince Ditrich

Vince Ditrich is a Canadian rock musician.A drummer, Ditrich has played with a variety of musicians, including pre-Odds bands with Doug Elliott and Steven Drake, Long John Baldry, Paul Hyde, Sue Medley, Mae Moore, Great Big Sea and Doug and the Slugs.In late 1989, he joined Spirit of the West, and...

. The band had long maintained a tradition of having Ditrich, the band's drummer, croon an old pop song — usually "That's Amore", but occasionally "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" — at some point during its live shows, but the rendition appearing here is Ditrich's only lead vocal performance on a Spirit of the West album.

Following this release, the band went on hiatus for several years, returning in 2004 with Star Trails

Star Trails

Star Trails is a 2004 album by Canadian band Spirit of the West. It was their first album of new material since Weights and Measures in 1997, and their first for independent label MapleMusic Recordings....

.

Track listing

All songs by John Mann

John Mann (musician)

John F. Mann is a Canadian rock musician and actor.-Music:He is the lead vocalist for the folk rock band Spirit of the West...

 and Geoffrey Kelly

Geoffrey Kelly

Geoffrey Kelly is a Canadian rock musician.He plays guitars, flutes and bodhran for the folk rock band Spirit of the West, for whom he is also the lead vocalist on some songs. He and John Mann are the band's primary songwriters.Kelly is also a full time member of The Paperboys, and released a solo...

, except where noted.

1. "Canadian Skye"
2. "Rites of Man"
3. "Wishing Line"
4. "Unplugged"
5. "Williamson's Garage"
6. "Sadness Grows"
7. "5 Free Minutes"
8. "Bone of Contention"
9. "D For Democracy (Scour the House)"
10. "Goodbye Grace"
11. "Puttin' Up With the Joneses"
12. "And if Venice is Sinking
    And if Venice Is Sinking
    "And if Venice Is Sinking" is a song written by John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly for the Canadian folk-rock band Spirit of the West. Spirit of the West recorded the song on their studio album Faithlift...
    
    "
13. "Save This House"
14. "Home for a Rest
    Home For a Rest
    "Home for a Rest" is a song by Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West, from their 1990 album Save This House. Although never officially released as a single, it is the band's most famous song and is considered a classic of Canadian music....
    
    "
15. "Political
    Political (song)
    "Political" is song by Spirit of the West. One of the band's most famous songs, it originally appeared on the 1988 album Labour Day. The song was written by John Mann....
    
    " *
16. "That's Amore" (written by Harry Warren
    Harry Warren
    Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
    
     and Jack Brooks
    Jack Brooks (lyricist)
    Jack Brooks was an English-American lyricist.Brooks was born in Liverpool, England. He wrote a large number of lyrics of popular songs, including "Ole Buttermilk Sky" "That's Amore" and " Wagon Train" the second theme used on the television program, Wagon...
    
    ) *
17. "And if Venice is Sinking" *
18. "The Crawl" *

* These four songs are drawn from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...

sessions.