Next Up: The 2016 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize
Along with naming Kaytranada’s 99.9% as the winner of the 2016 Polaris Music Prize last night, the nominees were revealed for what is essentially a grand thought experiment. What if Polaris had been around 20 years ago? Thirty? Fifty? This is the question posed by the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize.
The nominees were announced for this special prize from four time periods: 1960-75, 1976-85, 1986-95 and 1996-2005 (Polaris started in 2006.) What are the best Canadian albums of those eras? Take a look:
1960-1975
The Band: Music From Big Pink (1968)
The Band: The Band (1969)
Robert Charlebois & Louise Forestier: Lindberg (1968)
Leonard Cohen: Songs Of Leonard Cohen (1967)
Gordon Lightfoot: Lightfoot! (1966)
Joni Mitchell: Court And Spark (1974)
The Oscar Peterson Trio: Night Train (1963)
Jackie Shane: Live! (1967(
Neil Young: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
Neil Young: After The Gold Rush (1970)
1976-1985
1986-1995
Blue Rodeo: 5 Days In July (1993)
Dream Warriors: And Now The Legacy Begins (1991)
Maestro Fresh Wes: Symphony In Effect (1989)
Daniel Lanois: Acadie (1989)
Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993)
Main Source: Breaking Atoms (1991)
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (1995)
Mary Margaret O’Hara: Miss America (1988)
John Oswald: Plunderphonics (1989)
The Tragically Hip: Fully Completely (1992)
1996-2005
Arcade Fire: Funeral (2004)
Bran Van 3000: Glee (1997)
Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It In People (2002)
Constantines: Shine A Light (2004)
The Dears: No Cities Left (2003)
Destroyer: Streethawk (2001)
Esthero: Breath from Another (1998)
Feist: Let It Die (2003)
k-os: Joyful Rebellion (2004)
Lhasa de Sela: La Llorona (1997)
It works like this: two albums from each era will be picked with one winner being chosen by a special jury and the other by the general public. The winners will be announced on October 24. If you would like to vote on your picks, go here.
