High Class in Borrowed Shoes

Ok so this would be a review on the 2011 Rock Candy remaster of the High Class In Borrowed Shoes compact disc...AMAZING! They did a really nice job on this.... Kims guitar playing Terrys Keys, Mikes Bass and Garys drumming all stand out far more than they do on the original CD releases...no freakin' contest boys and girls! Also very nice is the booklet with a lot of conversation with Mitchell and Terry Brown about how the whole thing went down. Hearing this again remastered for the first time was very close to hearing it the first time on vinyl...lots of details are brought out to be heard separately in all their glory. This my friends is a job well done and if anyone out there was as impressed with this band back in the day should seriously invest in these new remasters, to me they are well worth the $ involved here! That coin drop at about 2:40 into the song Gravity ( for those who remember it ) is astoundingly clear....just saying... Everything is way less murky ...everything...Kim plays tons of really nice acoustic guitar I never really heard until now! Also included are some nice era photos of the band live and one particular shot of an ad poster for the exact show I was first exposed to Max Webster at that a friend downloaded to some RUSH tour listing site and is actually given credit for on the back cover of the CD! I have that same poster..we got them at a local "head" shop the day after that show...I think we were picking up papers or screens or something that day maybe or a copy of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic book? Sam talked the woman working there into giving him the poster in the window then as we were leaving she ran out with another one and gave that one to me...except for the screens and papers I still have all that stuff...hehe. Anyway...get these Rock Candy Max Webster remasters and enjoy them..I sure do!

from the opening power chords of "High Class", the sweet electric piano of "Diamonds, Diamonds", great weirdness of "Gravity" through "Oh War", and ending with "In Context of the Moon" - this is an amazing album and even more so given it's their 2nd album. The remix/remaster is really really top notch with much of the clarity and definition balanced with tone matching the vinyl - much more pronounced bass lines and punchier drums really make it sound great. Max has always been one of the underrated bands anywhere - hopefully bringing the reissues back will bring more attention to their quirky genius.

Killer songs, killer musicianship! Max had it all on this album, I mean cd I'm dating myself. Great band from the great white north featuring kim mitchell & some rather interesting choices of wardrobe! A must have for your collection!

A definite winner. If you like Canadian bands, these guys are hard to beat! I mean anyone who opens for RUSH can't be bad. Any Max Webster is hard to beat.... it may be a little quirky for most folks however it is well worth a listen! You won't be disappointed! Definitely "High Class"!

I saw these guys open for Rush during the 2112 tour with Cheap Trick. Nobody knew who Max was. They were touring their debut album. So was Cheap Trick. After Cheap Trick came out and blew us away Max came out and blew Cheap Trick away. I was an instant fan. Max Webster with the amazing Kim Mitchell on vocals and guitar were an extrodinary band with five studio albums and one live album, their last one Universal Juvinials features the track Battle Scar which has all three members of Rush playing and singing with them. As for High Class In Borrowed Shoes, the album is a mix of progressive and pop tracks that rock very hard with a few nice light tracks as well. The above track reviews are mostly spot on. Max is an aquired taste, they have been gone for 30 years now. If you're a fan of Kim Mitchell or quirky prog rock you will like this album.

While I don't think this album is as strong or as consistent as the first Max Webster album, I still think it is a very good album and that it has it's share of strong material. I'm not too fond of the first two cuts..." High Class In Borrowed Shoes " is an upbeat rock and roll song with plenty of synthesizers and good jamming guitar, though it has never been one of my favorite M.W. songs. " Diamonds, Diamonds " is probably my least favorite song that Max has ever recorded...it's an odd, mellow piece that has a tropical Island feel to it. I don't like or understand this song at all. Things start to pick up with the third track, the humorous progressive jazz rocker " Gravity ", which has some funny lines in it that are sung very comically by Kim Mitchell. Impressive lead guitar playing on it as well. " Words to Words " is an underrated power ballad. I don't usually like Max's more mellow songs, but I think this is a wonderful, melodic little piece, with some sweet lyrics and a great, emotional singing performance from Mitchell. " America's Veins " is another fast, hard rocker with some rather weird, but funny lyrics and more jamming guitar. " Oh War! " is a mid tempo hard rocker (maybe the heaviest song here ) and has that evil " F " word in it. A good song, though oddly enough not one of my favorite tunes on the album. " On The Road " is a soft acoustic piece that has drummer Gary McCracken playing the brushes. A nice song, though I feel like it goes on a wee bit too long...like the road itself, I guess. "Rain Child " is written and sug by keyboardist Terry Watkinson. I like this song quite a bit....the organ playing reminds me of the band Kansas. It's a bit progressive, it is ,and relaxing and tuneful at the same time. The album ends with the progressive hard rock tune " In Context Of The Moon ", which I think is a tad on the confusing and disjointed side. There are some good parts to this song...I particularly like the heavier parts...though they segue very well into each other. Still, it is not a boring piece. The front and back cover shows the band dressed up in some slightly feminine and quite colorful clothing. Overall, I think this is a very good Max Webster album...not as good as the first M.W. album, but more consistent than the albums that would follow it.

This album is what launched Max Webster across North America in the mid-seventies. here's my song by song review. 1-High Class in Borrowed Shoes starts the album off with a high-energy, straightforword rocker, 9/10 2-Diamonds,Diamonds is a very odd ballad that I unfortunetely could never quite get into. 5/10 3-Gravity is a heavy song that really gets the listener quite interested. 9/10 4-Words To Words is again another strangly placed ballad that I don't think fits in. 6/10 5- America's Veins is probrably the best song that max ever wrote, heavy, intense and catchy. 11/10 6-Oh War! is definatly the heaviest on the album, heavy and bluesy, definate Led Zeppelin influence. 10/10 7-On The Road is a nice acoustic song that lightens the mood a little bit. 7/10 8-Rain Child is the first song to feature keyboardist Terry Watkinson on vocals and it stands as a pretty stong cut off the album. 9-In Context Of The Moon is one of the best songs that Max has ever wrote because it's breathtaking, it's loud, it's difficult' it's groovy and it's just so friggin' impressive. It serves as one of the greatest finale's in the history of music (alongside Beyond the Moon from the Websters Mutiny Up My Sleeve album and When The Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin's 4, and possibly Hard Lovin' Man from Deep Purple's In Rock) All in all it's a good buy for anyone who wants to get into Max Webster or for anyone who enjoys prog/metal music Brad Bridges

Being a huge fan of 1970s Canadian act Max Webster, I'm reluctant to advise fans of post-Webster act Kim Mitchell to get this album. This stuff is a little different then what Mitchell was doing in the 80s and still does. I think it's much better. Very different, very enjoyable Canadian rock from a by-gone time. The title song is a Max Webster 'classic' and a great straight ahead, kick-ass rock tune from the late 70s. I think this is the BEST album released by the Max's, though I'm sure a few would argue the first may be the best. To avoid argument, get both. Canada had few good rock acts in the 70s. We've caught up in the past few years, but back then, there were very few bands worth their lick....Max Webster was one of those bands. Get the first two albums and enjoy. The live album would be a nice addition to complete your Webster collection. This is a great, classic Canadian CD.