He's excelled on the stage, and on screens big and small. But, before all that, he was a '60s solo folk singer, and was in a folk group who broke into the Canadian Top 40!
I think we all know Garber for his wildly different acting roles over many decades! That's what makes this Mark Edward Randall find so delish! It's like discovering one of our longtime best friends had a "secret past"! And, who ISN'T all over others' secret pasts?!?
Thanks, Chris! A standing O for Mark Edward Randall of his Musings of a Broken Record (https://markedwardrandall.substack.com/) for bringing my attention to Garber's musical start! I had no idea, either! Oh, Canada!😱
Wow this is fascinating! I was aware of him as an actor (although clearly not that informed about the breadth of his roles) but was completely clueless as to his earlier incarnation as a singer!!
Me too, Mark....knew the face, and would see him in many movies where he was a character (and not the star)! But, then, this guy-- https://markedwardrandall.substack.com/
mentioned Garber's music start to me! My jaw hit the floor...........I was surprised, too! I had to get my shovel and dig deep! Glad you liked!
This was great. Your deep dive into Victor Garber’s fascinating journey from The Sugar Shoppe to acting stardom is captivating. I like how you Highlight themes of seamless reinvention; it celebrates Garber’s rich artistic evolution with charm and meticulously researched details like all your pieces. Great read again.
Thanks so much, Jon! Glad you enjoyed! And, I'm glad Mark pointed us into Garber's musical direction! Whenever someone points me to something where I go, "Hey, I didn't know that!" I fix it right away!!😁And, knowing (TV once told us) is half the battle!
More than happy to, Robert! I'm just glad I remembered it! I wish 'Stack had a master search thingy. Only remembering that it was YOUR Nyro piece I was thinking of led me to search for it on "Listening Sessions"! If I knew only SOMEONE had written it, I couldn't have found it otherwise (unless there's a magic Substack service I'm missing)!
I was thinking something else, but can't pin it down! When I think of "Mamma Mia," I think of a more double-time (and memorable) keyboard intro. What "Canada" sounded like to me was a non-specific Partridge Family (or other 1970 similarly pop/harmony artist) type intro! They were definitely nailing down the proper sound for that era (aka specific moment!), in the musical lane they were aiming at!
I can't stop watching/istening to their "Save the Country" video! A new appreciation for Nyro's song!
Good point, Andy….I didn’t mean to shoot down your ear on that opening! The vibe is right on….one of the keys to ABBA’s magic is being forward in their evocative writing.
The Three Dog Night “Easy to Be Hard” cover hit is one many Americans remember from 1969, including an 8th grade Brad, who can personally (and embarrassingly, if one particular Tuesday morning in-class incident is any indication) attest to!
I'm intruding into this back and forth to say how happy I've been to see people recognise ABBA's magic. I loved them from the start and have been patiently waiting all these years.
Their first few albums were fun to listen to, and the first thing we heard from them, "Waterloo," is my all-time favorite ABBA track! It's the essence of power pop (even Greg Shaw praised it for that!), and the gurgling-synth disco tracks that populated their '80s output, to me, just wasn't that interesting. But, with that said, they've always been top-notch pros and terrific performers and producers!
100% 70s ABBA is far superior, if we can include Super Trouper in the '70s since it's just on the cusp and includes songs like Andante Andante. After that, they lost that odd edge they had that hinted at electronica, etc.
I have a deep love relationship with Fernando and it always makes me cry no matter how many times I hear it. Everything about it is gorgeous.
I think I like their dark almost noir/erotic undertone songs the best. Knowing Me Knowing You, Fernando, Andante, etc.
I also to this day feel like "That's Me" on Arrival is written just for me. In a good way.
Absolutely. To me, ABBA is in many ways untouchable, i.e. their creativity, success and cultural impact are all undeniable. I say this despite not knowing a whole lot about them, by which I mean I know the hits inside out and I have listened to several albums from start to finish multiple times (which I realise for some listeners nowadays this would probably amount to knowing a lot about them, but you know how I roll).
As timing (and a fortuitous birthday gift) would have it, that’s when I began wearing metal pants. There. That solved that problem! Now, where’s that stage?!😂
Lol. I assume you mean pants in the American sense, which is what we would call trousers. This side of the pond, pants is what you could call underpants 🤣 Metal underpants would feel kinda uncomfortable, I reckon (I’ve never tried!)
Now this I did not know. I only really know him from his work on "Alias," a cult classic TV series that I was smitten with right from episode 1.
I think we all know Garber for his wildly different acting roles over many decades! That's what makes this Mark Edward Randall find so delish! It's like discovering one of our longtime best friends had a "secret past"! And, who ISN'T all over others' secret pasts?!?
not to mention our own
Whoa! I had no idea. Very cool.
Thanks, Chris! A standing O for Mark Edward Randall of his Musings of a Broken Record (https://markedwardrandall.substack.com/) for bringing my attention to Garber's musical start! I had no idea, either! Oh, Canada!😱
That’s the beauty of music. There’s always more to discover.
And, we're here for it, yo! Stay tuned!
As one should be! Have a brilliant Friday
Wow this is fascinating! I was aware of him as an actor (although clearly not that informed about the breadth of his roles) but was completely clueless as to his earlier incarnation as a singer!!
Me too, Mark....knew the face, and would see him in many movies where he was a character (and not the star)! But, then, this guy-- https://markedwardrandall.substack.com/
mentioned Garber's music start to me! My jaw hit the floor...........I was surprised, too! I had to get my shovel and dig deep! Glad you liked!
This was great. Your deep dive into Victor Garber’s fascinating journey from The Sugar Shoppe to acting stardom is captivating. I like how you Highlight themes of seamless reinvention; it celebrates Garber’s rich artistic evolution with charm and meticulously researched details like all your pieces. Great read again.
Thanks so much, Jon! Glad you enjoyed! And, I'm glad Mark pointed us into Garber's musical direction! Whenever someone points me to something where I go, "Hey, I didn't know that!" I fix it right away!!😁And, knowing (TV once told us) is half the battle!
Wow! Young Victor Garber.....!
As they used to say in Jolly Ole............."A handsome prince!"
Thanks, Brad, for the shout-out of my Laura Nyro essay from last year.
More than happy to, Robert! I'm just glad I remembered it! I wish 'Stack had a master search thingy. Only remembering that it was YOUR Nyro piece I was thinking of led me to search for it on "Listening Sessions"! If I knew only SOMEONE had written it, I couldn't have found it otherwise (unless there's a magic Substack service I'm missing)!
Very interesting read! Is it just me or their song "Canada" has an eerily similar intro to Abba's "Mamma Mia"? 😂
I was thinking something else, but can't pin it down! When I think of "Mamma Mia," I think of a more double-time (and memorable) keyboard intro. What "Canada" sounded like to me was a non-specific Partridge Family (or other 1970 similarly pop/harmony artist) type intro! They were definitely nailing down the proper sound for that era (aka specific moment!), in the musical lane they were aiming at!
I can't stop watching/istening to their "Save the Country" video! A new appreciation for Nyro's song!
Yes, good point! The keyboard pattern is not the same, but the vibe is so similar!
I quite liked the ballad at the end, “Easy to be Hard”. Interesting title, as well, if I may say so! 😂
Good point, Andy….I didn’t mean to shoot down your ear on that opening! The vibe is right on….one of the keys to ABBA’s magic is being forward in their evocative writing.
The Three Dog Night “Easy to Be Hard” cover hit is one many Americans remember from 1969, including an 8th grade Brad, who can personally (and embarrassingly, if one particular Tuesday morning in-class incident is any indication) attest to!
Holy fear-of-public-speaking, Batman!
I'm intruding into this back and forth to say how happy I've been to see people recognise ABBA's magic. I loved them from the start and have been patiently waiting all these years.
Their first few albums were fun to listen to, and the first thing we heard from them, "Waterloo," is my all-time favorite ABBA track! It's the essence of power pop (even Greg Shaw praised it for that!), and the gurgling-synth disco tracks that populated their '80s output, to me, just wasn't that interesting. But, with that said, they've always been top-notch pros and terrific performers and producers!
100% 70s ABBA is far superior, if we can include Super Trouper in the '70s since it's just on the cusp and includes songs like Andante Andante. After that, they lost that odd edge they had that hinted at electronica, etc.
I have a deep love relationship with Fernando and it always makes me cry no matter how many times I hear it. Everything about it is gorgeous.
I think I like their dark almost noir/erotic undertone songs the best. Knowing Me Knowing You, Fernando, Andante, etc.
I also to this day feel like "That's Me" on Arrival is written just for me. In a good way.
Absolutely. To me, ABBA is in many ways untouchable, i.e. their creativity, success and cultural impact are all undeniable. I say this despite not knowing a whole lot about them, by which I mean I know the hits inside out and I have listened to several albums from start to finish multiple times (which I realise for some listeners nowadays this would probably amount to knowing a lot about them, but you know how I roll).
None taken! I only listened to it once and immediately thought of that suspense-opener from Mamma Mia 😊
Oh no! I would have never thought you struggled with public speaking! You come across as super confident on the page, if it’s any consolation 😉
As timing (and a fortuitous birthday gift) would have it, that’s when I began wearing metal pants. There. That solved that problem! Now, where’s that stage?!😂
Lol. I assume you mean pants in the American sense, which is what we would call trousers. This side of the pond, pants is what you could call underpants 🤣 Metal underpants would feel kinda uncomfortable, I reckon (I’ve never tried!)
Wow I never put 2 and 2 together so to speak! What a career spanning decades!
I second the "whoa! I had no idea"