Blue Shadows – Deliver Me

I love finding new/old music and this band I like a lot. Warren was commenting last weekend and mentioned this band. If I had heard of them before I had forgotten about it. Their sound is right up my alley and I liked it right away. I hear a strong Everly Brothers and Country Byrds with this band. The harmonizing sounds wonderful along with the Rickenbacker jangly guitar. As with my other post today…the hardest part was picking a song because so many are that good. 

When Warren mentioned that Billy Cowsill formed the band with Jeffrey Hatcher…it didn’t hit me where I saw that name before. Billy owsill had previously been a member of the 1960s pop group The Cowsills. After hearing the Blue Shadows…I would have never made that connection. Hatcher had been the singer for Jeffrey Hatcher & The Big Beat before joining Cowsill. 

They were a Canadian country-rock band formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1992. They had the complete package of harmonies, songwriting, and their blend of country and rock. Many critics drew comparisons to The Everly Brothers and Graham Parsons. 

This song is from The Blue Shadows’ debut album, On the Floor of Heaven released in 1993. The band would go on to release 2 albums in total. Their second album Lucky To Me was released in 1995. The band broke up in 1996, partly due to Cowsill’s declining health and a lack of major commercial success. Billy Cowsill passed away in 2006 with various health issues. 

Here are the Blue Shadows outside of the recording studio in Vancouver in 1993. 

Deliver Me

Driving at midnight and the moon is
Looking right at me
I can feel it settling down on me
Over me
Come deliver me from this night
When I left you standing so alone
Then I started wondering
But I don’t mind saying it now
Oh please come to me
Come deliver me from this night
Ahh that love we had found
Well we drove it underground
Deliver me
This canyon’s on fire now
And I’m wondering
How much longer will it be
Till it comes tumbling down
Over me
Come deliver me from this night
Ahh that love we had found
Well we drove it underground
Deliver me
Yeah all that love we had found
Well we drove it underground
Deliver us from our yesterdays
Hold us together if it can’t be done
Deliver us from all that might be
If we get what we think we want
Ahh deliver me
Driving at midnight and the moon is still
Looking right at me
I can feel it settling down on me
Over me
Come deliver me from this night
Ahh that love we had found
Well we drove it underground
Deliver me
Oh please deliver me
Come on now deliver me
Come on now deliver me
Deliver me from this night
Deliver me
Deliver me
Come on come on come on now deliver me
From this night
Deliver me
Come on, come on deliver me
From this night

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

43 thoughts on “Blue Shadows – Deliver Me”

  1. Pingback: Blue Shadows – Deliver Me – MobsterTiger

    1. Their harmonies…were A level. Like with the Boomtown Rats…it was hard to pick a song because I liked all of what I heard.
      That is cool that you got to see them…I would have really liked to. That live video is pretty cool.

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  7. Well you stumped me! Never heard of these guys nor Billy Cowsill specifically though I know who the Cowsills are (now John Cowsill is the lead singer for the Smithereens on their next tour). Comments kind of sum up this song- it IS good but doesn’t quite have ‘hit’ written all over it. It sounds like the son of 1973 Eagles and 1987 Blue Rodeo (whose image the video seems to try to duplicate). Nothing wrong with that, and would seem a formula that could have worked in Canada then, but didn’t. Still, I’d now be interested to hear more by them

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    1. I think the reason for the “no hit” is because…well to me…they didn’t polish it to death…and that is the reason I liked it. It has an edge to their vocals that someone like the eagles would not have.
      I just picked this one at random Dave…I heard some more and liked them A LOT! I will have a playlist with these guys on it.

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    1. Yea…it’s like I was telling someone…someone said Eagles…I disagree with that. These vocals are not polished and the music is rawer…a little more of a back porch feel to it.

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  9. I checked them out the other day when someone mentioned them on one of your posts. I think they’re incredible, and I can’t believe I’ve never heard of them before now. Of course I’ve heard of the Cowsills, and Susan Cowsill was once married to Peter Holsapple, who had connections with R.E.M., so maybe they had this type of music in them all along.

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    1. You saw Warren’s comment. I was in the same place…I can’t believe I never heard of these guys…and then to find out it was one of the Cowsills…yea that was shocking to me. BTW I’m liking Chris Smither a lot. You will see him coming up in the next couple of weeks. I just have to pick a song.

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    2. M.Y. Susan turns up on a lot. I first became aware of her from Giant Sand and Calexico (Two fave bands). I was a little surprised at first considering her beginnings. Same as when I first caught Billy. Long way from the teenage clean cut days. Max exposed some good stuff here. Very cool.

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    1. Again…you were one of the people I was thinking of when I wrote this…the same with me Lisa…first time I heard it….I knew…yes! Those harmonies are so good and they put more country in than others.

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      10. Crispin Glover because I think he looks like Hank and has the right aura for it. It might be a good idea to have a real musician play him though, so my vote goes to Chris Isaak.

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      11. It would be hard to cast. I’m not a big bio pic guy (Love the docs). Tender Mercies was a great film and I think Duvall based the character loosley on Nelson, Haggard and your fave Jones. Interesting if we played producer and auditioned young actors for the role. Go strictly indie Lisa. I’ll make sandwiches and coffee, you can do the creative part

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  11. Mannnn….now that’s some kick’n music. I didn’t know of this band, but I do know about the Cowsills. They never got the credit they deserved in the pop rock world of the 60s. They were excellent musicians and vocalist, and still are, the few that are left. I can see the ole Possum in that tune, as well as Byrds, CSN, and Poco. I once had a Ric like that one, so hard to play and keep in tune, I needed a second 12 just to get through a set. Now there are stomp boxes for that sound. Great pick, Max.

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    1. Thanks Phil! Sometimes songs have to grow on me…but the sound of this…yes! I liked it first listen. You are right…those bands would be perfect for this as well. Thanks Phil!

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