http://blairpackham.bandcamp.com
The Impossible Dream
“This album has been a long time coming, and for so many reasons. I started recording at the Union Sound Company in Toronto in the Fall of 2016, but was preoccupied with releasing my already ready-to-go album, Unpopular Pop.
And then my beloved Joanne Riven died in 2018, suddenly, unexpectedly, and unthinkably.
I was lost. I floundered, and tried to get back to ‘normal’ as quickly as I could. It was too fast. I glossed over my grief, wasted a lot of time trying to drown my sorrow in unhealthy pursuits, and made some pleasant-but empty-music in my home studio, which years ago I named Twiddletown (‘Where the knobs live’).
Then my friend and upright bass player Jim Nielsen and I met percussionist Andy Humphrey and his beautiful voice. The three of us became an acoustic trio that I called The Impossible Dream, and we had lots of fun playing in little clubs, and then outside on the street and in parks in the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic. We sang beautifully together, and we laughed a lot. But our partnership wouldn’t last; we increasingly had disagreements about creative control, and about the direction to take in presenting my songs. I’d assumed I had partners with a common cause, but suddenly I was solo again. With the emotional and (for me) cataclysmic dissolution of the trio, there was yet another reason for me to hem and haw
(Look, I can understand hemming, but also hawing? At the same time?)
And then I wrestled with the problem of how one releases new music in 2025. Ultimately, I decided how didn’t matter as much as just getting it done.
So here we are: The Impossible Dream, the album. I am proud of it, though the journey has been long and hard.”
SONG LIST AND CREDITS
Early Bird
words & music by
Blair Packham
(© 2017 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin
Jim Nielsen – upright bass, ohhhs
Andy Humphrey – ohhhs
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Topher Stott – percussion
Mark Mariash – shaker
Tim Bovaconti – electric guitar
Recorded by Chris Stringer at Union Sound Company, and by Blair Packham at Twiddletown
Land We Knew By Heart
words & music by
Blair Packham
(© 2016 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Jim Nielsen – upright bass, harmony vocals
Andy Humphrey – background vocals
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Topher Stott – cymbal swell
Mark Mariash – shaker
Tim Bovaconti – electric guitar
Recorded by Chris Stringer at Union Sound Company, and by Blair Packham at Twiddletown
In Her Dreams
words & music by
Blair Packham
(© 2013 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, organ
Jim Nielsen – upright bass, ooohs
Andy Humphrey – ooohs
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – violin
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
Heads & Tails
words & music by
Blair Packham, Dan Levy, Matthew Greenberg and Jules Shear
(© 1989 Big Bugaboo Music SOCAN/Juters Music/Universal Music Publishing Canada II)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, percussion
Maury Lafoy – upright bass
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
For Joanne
words & music by
Blair Packham
(© 2020 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Hammond organ
Jim Nielsen – upright bass, ooohs
Andy Humphrey – ooohs
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – background vocals
Teddy Hawkins – background vocals
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
Funny How
words & music by
Blair Packham and Naoise Sheridan
(© 1996 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN/Ross Cahill Music/Universal Music Publishing Canada II)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, upright piano, Wurlitzer piano
Jim Nielsen – upright bass, harmony vocals
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
More Significant Other
words & music by
Blair Packham
(© 2022 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric and baritone guitar
Maury Lafoy – upright bass
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
Houston, We Have A Problem
words & music by
Blair Packham and Naoise Sheridan
(© 1996 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN/Ross Cahill Music/Universal Music Publishing Canada II)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Maury Lafoy – upright bass
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
Cambridge Avenue
words & music by
Blair Packham and Maur Byrne
(© 2017 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, Hofner bass, Mellotron
Topher Stott – drums, percussion
Tim Bovaconti – electric guitar
Craig Northey – background vocal stacks, harmonies, electric guitars
Recorded by Chris Stringer at Union Sound Company, and by Blair Packham at Twiddletown
When It All Got Out of Hand
words & music by
Blair Packham
(© 2022 No. 1 Imperfects SOCAN)
Blair Packham – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric/baritone guitars
Jim Nielsen – upright bass, harmony vocals, ooohs
Andy Humphrey – ooohs
Mark Mariash – drums, percussion
Natalie Wong – violin, harmony vocals
Recorded by Blair Packham at Twiddletown, and by Mark Mariash in his geodesic pleasure dome
SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE SPECIAL PEOPLE:
To Joanne Riven, who heard some of these songs years ago and said I should record them, who would dance along in her chair while listening, and who I miss every single day; Sharon Setterington, whose unwavering support and well-considered advice proved invaluable; Bob Reid, patiently allowing me to bounce multiple versions of this collection off of him over the years; the lovely and talented June Morrow who, at the eleventh hour of our friendship, offered valuable perspective on one song in particular; Craig Northey, my dear friend from North Vancouver who has always generously donated fantastic popper-ific ideas, parts and perspective; the excellent Natalie Wong, stepping in and adding her incredible violin flavour to the songs; Topher Stott, a terrific musician and a good soul; the always-interesting Jim Nielsen, a truly great bass player and singer; Andy Humphrey, on percussion and ‘ahhhs’ who remained gracious under fire (and for that I am grateful); Tim Bovaconti (the Bover!) who not only writes, produces, and sings for himself and others, but who played truly tasty and subtle electric guitar with us at the Union Sound Company; Teddy Hawkins, bringing his gospel-tinged mojo with him wherever it is needed; my old friend Maury Lafoy, the bass playing genius; another old friend, Mark Mariash, the fantastic drummer and percussionist, who is also an excellent recording engineer (tucked into in his self-constructed rural geodesic pleasure dome somewhere in Grey County…). Finally, to Stephen Stanley, who became my friend when I needed one most, and whose music I deeply admire.
A big thanks to my boy-who-became-a-man-but-who-will-always-be-my-boy Owen Jupiter Packham, stoically enduring half-assed vocals, shitty-sounding guitars, and misguided mixes night after night, year after year, from his bedroom next door, while literally growing up, and yet never running away from home. (Of course, he was wearing earbuds the whole time…)