The Tragically Hip

Ontario's The Tragically Hip first came to the attention of many UK music fans with a cracking free cassette issued by HMV in the late 1980s/early 90s, but it is this album that saw their potential realised. With a love of pure guitar rock, think Pearl Jam meets Neil Young meets Kings of Leon - The Hip, as their fans affectionately call them, released Fully Completely in October 1992. It reached Number 1 in Canada's album charts, before going on to sell more than a million copies.

It was their third full-length release, and saw them perfect the rock, pop and blues mix. The likes of Pigeon Camera captured their impressive live feel, with producer Chris Tsangarides overseeing the controls. Locked In The Trunk of A Car builds to a driving anthem, Looking For A Place To Happen has a smooth rock groove while the title track has a more poppy feel with touches of Counting Crows.

While sounding very much of its time - the album also feels refreshingly simple. This is a rock band with confidence high and their foot on the throttle. Lead singer Gordon Downie drools over the previously unreleased Radio Show with sumptuous guitar, making you wonder why it didn't the original album. There is also a live CD with this deluxe edition - proving how close the studio recording is to their live show. A gem of an album - and well worth revisiting.