August 10, 1993 - I Mother Earth and Dig

Two weeks after my last release, a new band joins my library when Canadian alternative rockers I Mother Earth released their debut album "Dig" on August 10, 1993. But who are I Mother Earth? They are a four-piece band from Toronto, Ontario consisting of brothers Christian (drums, percussion) and Jagori Tanna (guitars), Bruce Gordon (bass) and Edwin (lead vocals) although the bass on this album is actually also done by Jagori Tanna! These guys fall under alternative rock I suppose but they have a pretty unique sound that is at times fairly heavy, at other times with a bit of a Latin flare, and at yet other times pretty psychedelic! That's an interesting combo of musical styles, let's see what I Mother Earth is all about!

The album begins with a shorter song called "The Mothers" and after an interesting guitar intro that has a Middle-Eastern edge to it we hear Edwin sing "listeeeeeen. To the motherrrrrrs" and the bass and drums then finally join in to complete this soft but cool main riff. Edwin sings a nice soft verse to match the mood and Jagori turns up the guitars with some loud and cool lead guitar overtop of everything else. This takes us to the end of the song and there's a few seconds of near silence at the end that makes the next song hit even harder. Up next is "Levitate" and Edwin holds some nice long notes before Jagori comes smashing in with a heavy main guitar riff that sounds great. Edwin holds a nice long "hoooooooo" and they do it again  crashing into the heavy main riff nicely. Edwin sings a fast verse that sounds pretty good and the guitars sound great as well as they nicely rock along. They do the same stop everything, Edwin sings a long note and then come crashing back a few more times until eventually we reach solo time. Jagori plays a very distorted guitar solo that is about the same volume as the backing riff so it doesn't stand out very well. He still plays some cool stuff in here though and he's playing some pretty solid bass as well. Edwin returns for a final verse and then they jam it out at the end and things go on for a little too long as the ending seems to drag to me. Track 3 is "Rain Will Fall" and it was fairly succesful single that's driven by a nice fast-paced guitar riff from Jagori. Christian plays a quick drum beat and Jagori plays some cool offbeat bass that goes really well with the fast lead guitar. Edwin sings a fast, but fairly quiet verse and Jagori plays some epic guitar before they play another verse theat nicely ramps up and leads right into the catchy chorus with Edwin nicely yelling out the name of the song overtop a catchy guitar riff. Another verse and chorus later they shift into a new part and Jagori leads the way with some really cool wah-wah guitar that sounds pretty great! The bass and drums join in to form a beat that has a Latin edge to it and everything sounds really cool together. Jagori plays some pretty sweet bass  Christian keeps up a solid drum beat and Jagori also delivers tons of cool guitar bits in this lengthy instrumental section. Somehow they nicely tie this part back to the main riff and after a final verse they play a final epic chorus and then end the song on a nice heavy note. Pretty cool stuff! The next song was also a single, despite it being seven minutes long and it's called "So Gently We Go". Jagori opens the sing with just a slow guitar riff, then the rhythm section joins in as Jagori plays some quiet but cool guitar to lead the way. After over a minute Edwin finally joins the party and sings a very soft verse that nicely fits the mood. After a long verse Jagori adds a new guitar noise to the mix that is pretty psychedelic and this hangs over the whole next verse. After another long verse Jagori adds a new lead guitar riff that is much louder but still slow and it sounds pretty epic with Edwin now singing in his usual voice. They jam out a long loud verse and then when it seems things might be over, the quiet main riff cues up again and Jagori plays a slow guitar solo that isn't very flashy but it still sounds solid. The song eventually just fades away in the end. Track 5  is "Not Quite Sonic" and Jagori leads the way with a cool guitar riff and Christian plays some cool conga-like drums and then also adds some cool regular drums to make for an interesting opening. Finally the bass joins in and then about a minute in Edwin starts to sing the first verse with his solid voice. Distorted, echoing guitar sounds cool after the verse, right into another verse. After this verse we finally reach the catchy chorus with some solid guitar and bass and Edwin singing a nice chorus. After the chorus there's an instrumental part that isn't  really a solo and just has Edwin doing some long "whooooooa-oh-oh"s overtop. Jagori continues to play some cool guitar and somehow this ties perfectly back into the main riff for a short final verse and a final chorus. Edwin does a couple more "whooooooa-oh-oh"s and they end the song on a nice note. No surprise this was also a single, a very catchy but still solid song. Up next is "Production" and it has Jagori playing some fast bass that sounds pretty crazy, and pretty freaking awesome! He is picking that bass with speed and style as he leads this cool opening, and the great bass continues, but falls more into the background as Jagori plays some loud guitars overtop. Eventually the guitar ends up playing the same riff as the bass and it makes for a pretty powerful and sweet main riff, especially with Edwin nicely singing quickly along. Edwin just does some light "ahh"ing in the chorus, but he sounds pretty good in the verse and the guitar and bass sound good throughout. Another verse and chorus later Jagori breaks away to play a new guitar riff that sounds pretty sweet and it breaks down nicely into a slow new riff with Edwin singing a new verse to match this new mood. This leads into solo time and Jagori plays a short but pretty epic little solo and then some trippy bass is all that remains. We hear some talking, saying "product of ..., product of ..." and then they snap nicely back into the chorus. They end the song on a nice heavy note to complete this very unique and cool tune. Track 7 is called "Lost My America" and after a brief quiet guitar intro they shift into a nice heavy riff which has a nice, bouncing rhythm section and Jagori playing some very epic guitar. About a minute and a half in the mood has shifted drastically as Jagori plays a quiet guitar riff and Edwin sings a soft verse. It's a simple, quiet verse, but things shift back to heavy for the chorus as Jagori plays some cool guitar and Edwin sings nice and loud. They quiet it down again for another verse and after another chorus they play a bit of a dull bridge, but it ends up taking us back to the cool opening riff! Edwin sings a solid new verse overtop this cool riff and after a bit of jamming this out they segue nicely back to the chorus. They go back to the opening riff again to close things out and this was a pretty prog-y song that aside from a couple quiet parts was pretty cool. The next song is called "No One" and they kick right into a nice heavy riff that has some fast drums from Christian and some cool guitar and great bass from Jagori. After a long opening things tighten up a bit as Edwin starts to sing a nice verse. Jagori plays a short lead guitar part inbetween verses and Edwin moves right from this next verse into the first chorus with some long-held notes. After the chorus things get quiet as we shift into the "no one leaves the caravan" part. They shift from quiet into a nice heavier version of this same riff with Edwin singing loud and Christian plays some nice epic drum parts as well. His cool drumming nicely takes us to to a funky new riff that begins with a little drum solo and then Christian continues to play some cool percussion in the background while Jagori plays some trippy guitar and some pretty sweet bass. The guitar sounds epic, but it's pretty slow and simple, the rhythm section is where it's at! They nicely return to the verse riff as Edwin leads another solid verse that leads right into a couple more "no one leaves the caravan"s before they nicely close things out. Another pretty cool tune! Track 9 is "Undone" and Jagori plays the same riff on guitar and bass while Edwin sings softly overtop. Christian finally comes in with some cool conga drums and we hear some keyboards in the background as well as the riff develops further. The next verse sounds cool with the drums and after this long verse Jagori plays a long guitar solo that just kind of lightly hangs overtop the rest of the music which continues to slowly jam along. Edwin returns for a final verse and they end it as it began with the quiet opening riff. Up next is "Basketball" and Christian plays a nice fast drum beat while Jagori lays down a wicked bass line that is the driving force of this song. The guitar joins in last and it finds it's way to playing a similar riff that sounds nice and heavy. Edwin sings another solid verse but it's Jagori's amazing bass that steals the show as he is just ripping and picking at that bass like a madman! There's a cool little guitar break and they play another fantastic verse before moving into the chorus that still has the great bass but also has some sweet guitar as well. After the chorus it's solo time and Jagori plays a slow, psychedelic solo that sounds trippy and cool and the end of it segues wonderfully into a quiet new riff as Christian switches toast nice slow drum beat. Jagori plays se slow, dreamy guitar and then then the cool bassline returns and they build things back up perfectly to lead into another chorus. After the chorus they play one last awesome verse and then the guitar and bass both stop and Christian ends the song with a conga solo! It sounds pretty good to me and I think it's a cool way to end a pretty cool song. Track 11 is called "And The Experience" and Jagori plays a cool bass riff in the rhythm section and also plays some slow, psychedelic guitar overtop. Edwin sings a nice, powerful verse overtop the catchy bass riff and Jagori plays some nice loud guitar as they move into a cool chorus. After the chorus they shift into a much faster new riff and it sounds like a completely different song as they take off and play a fast new verse led by some more cool guitar. Jagori plays some nice fast guitar at the end of this verse and the song seems like it might be over after 4 minutes with a few seconds of silence, but they nicely emerge into another slow verse. After a final chorus they finish it off as it began with Jagori playing some trippy guitar and the same cool bass line. The last song on the album is also the longest and it's called "The Universe In You". Jagori plays some slow, psychedelic guitar and Edwin sings lightly overtop with no drums at first in this quiet opening. After over a minute Christian finally joins in as they move nicely into a slow but heavier riff and Edwin sounds pretty good holding some long notes overtop. Jagori plays a cool little guitar bit and Christian plays some nice drums as well and then it's onto another slow headbanging verse. After another chorus it's time for a nice long, blues-y guitar solo and Jagori puts on a nice Jimmy Page impression with a long and pretty cool solo. After the solo we hear a final chorus and the song seems to be over, but instead we take off on a fast new riff as Jagori isn't finished yet! He plays a nice backing bass riff as well as delivering a more typical guitar solo and he does a great job with this one as well! The final minute has a quiet riff with some more light organ that was also used during the blues solo and Jagori plays some psychedelic stuff overtop as they let things slowly drift until the song and album is over.

That is the end of "Dig" and I thought it was a pretty cool album. Christian Tanna is a pretty good drummer and I like when he plays the congas and other percussion as well. Edwin is a really solid lead singer that can sing lightly and also sound great yelling and he holds lots of long notes. Jagori Tanna is the real deal though, playing some incredible guitar as well as some incredible bass throughout this whole album. There were no weak spots on this 12 song, 60+ minute album and I Mother Earth seem like a pretty sweet band to me. "Basketball" was a standout for me which had lots of great bass and drums. I look forward to seeing how they sound with a full-time bassist on their next album, whenever that may be!