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Alex Lifeson's 1996 solo project, Victor, will finally see its first vinyl release on August 9th. The reissue will be available on both double vinyl and CD, and from the release notes, "The reissue features the original album, completely remixed by Alex personally, offering significantly enhanced audio quality specially prepared for this release. Additionally, the album's fourth side features four instrumental tracks." Click here to order
Of the bonus tracks, "Kroove", "Banjo Bob" and "Serbs" were previously released on Alex's website on August 2, 2021 as "The Lerxst Demo Archives Pt. 1", while "Cherry Lopez Lullaby" was added Oct 29, 2021. Here's what he had to say about them at that time:
"'Kroove' was written and recorded @1996 late one night in my home studio. It started with the main guitar pattern then I added the drum loop, keys and bass. The geetar pickin’ section was especially fun to record. I’ve always liked that late night feel of this one." [webmaster note: you may recognize "Kroove" as a longer version of "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" from the R30 live video].
"'Banjo Bob' was a fun session I did mid 1999. Originally recorded to a drum loop, I asked my good friend and Black Sheep drummer, Jim MacLellan, to have a go. He basically played to the finished track after I’d recorded all the elements. I love the false setup of the banjo and all the ugly undertones in the middle section. It was recorded at Lerxst Sound-Richmond Hill as there is a strict no banjo in the house policy dictated by Charlene."
"'Serbs' is another track Jim played on sometime in early 1999. It actually started with the accordion section and then built in reverse. I tried to create a soft pulse character for the guitar verse then an overcompressed drum moment before the Serbs marched in. My parents wanted me to play the accordion like a nice Serbian boy from suburban Willowdale should but the guitar was calling me. I’ll never know if I made the right decision..."
"'Cherry Lopez Lullaby' was written during the mix session of Clockwork Angels while in LA for months starting early 2012. I did an interview with High Times and the interviewer brought along a friend, an esteemed grower who provided a sample of his creation named Cherry Lopez. Because I was on an EST body clock, I was up most mornings @ 5:00 AM. I'd order coffee, sit on my hotel room balcony, read the paper and wake and bake then dive into making some fun sounds while the city was waking up. I had some borrowed acoustic and electric guitars for the duration, thankfully, as sitting around waiting to go to the studio was tedious and certainly, a bowl of Cherry kept my appetite healthy."
