Old Material 1984–1986 is a 1989 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...

.

It was the band's final release for Stony Plain Records

Stony Plain Records

Stony Plain Records is a major Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk and blues. The label was the recipient of a 2003 Western Canadian Music Award for "Independent Record Label/Distributor of the Year"....

. Side one of the album includes five tracks from their out-of-print 1984 album Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West (album)

Spirit of the West is a 1984 album by Spirit of the West. It was their first album, and was released independently. The album is no longer in print, although portions of it were rereleased on the 1989 compilation Old Material 1984-1986....

, and side two presents a 1986 live performance from the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

The live performance showcases a band already quite skilled at the crowd-pleasing sense of showmanship that would become their trademark, especially when 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...

 flubs the beginning of "General Guinness" from laughing too hard at the clownish antics of bandmates J. Knutson

J. Knutson

Jay Knutson is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. He is normally credited with the initial J. rather than his full first name.Knutson was one of the founding members of Spirit of the West, and subsequently performed both as a solo artist and as a supporting musician for Connie Kaldor, Ferron,...

 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...

. In parts of the show, the volume of audience applause would seem to suggest a crowd at least twice the size of the audience actually present.

Track listing

All songs by Mann, Kelly and Knutson, except where otherwise noted.

1. "Rocks at Thieves' Bay" – 4:53
2. "To a Highlander Unknown" – 4:16
3. "Doin' Quite Alright" – 4:40
4. "Down on the Dole" – 5:08
5. "John Goodman" – 3:48
6. "Aberdeen" – 4:07
7. "Ships in Full Sail" – 3:05 - music by Mann/Kelly/Knutson, lyrics by Mann's father (name currently unknown)
8. "Be Right" – 5:58
9. "Time to Ring Some Changes" – 4:19, written by Richard Thompson
10. "General Guinness" – 3:46, traditional