Live At The Belle Claire

If I had the power of time travel, I'd go back and change this cover to make it a little more timeless. The front cover (on the left) pretty much screams 1970. The back cover, a black-and-white photo of Mr. Joly shows him in a much more intriguing light: he looks like a road-weary guitar-playing troubador, which it seems is exactly what he was.

After listening to this LP, I'm truly shocked that I can't find any more information about Mr. Joly. This album is brilliant. It features mostly Joly originals, except for a token Johnny Cash song, and a couple of medleys of more popular songs. Recorded, as the title suggests, live at the Belle Claire Hotel in downtown Ottawa, this is a live recording of Joly's night-club act, and while he plays a lot of his own material, he mixes in some covers to make sure the audience keeps paying attention.

The liner notes, in their entirety:

Here exemplified on the grooves of this recording is an example of the versatility of one Gerry Joly duo, on stage, recorded without abbreviation or gimmicry at the Belle Claire Hotel in the heart of the nightlife scene of Ottawa. This hotel has long been known as the "second home" of the Ottawa Rough Riders football club, a place to lick their wounds of celebrate their victories.

The unexpurgated music Mr. Joly presents is without a doubt a briskly blended science of his own compositions, along with various known songs. Gerry has been on the Ottawa-Hull and eastern Ontario circuit since the late 50s, gaining a steadily increasing following for his guitar virtuoso. he has broken all house records for a performing artist at the Belle Claire.

His long overdue recognition has finally been visualized in this, his first entry into the recording media. From the haunting strains of the flamenco to the aflfuent folk-western, Mr. Joly puts his best fingers forward to influence all the phrases of his musical talent. he is without exaggeration a fresh new addition to the eastern Ontario scene. with his song "mile after mile" that was #1 across the country, we are confident that success will not elude him, and he will continue to be one of the foremost song writers in Canada.

The Duo are Gerry Joly on guitar and vocals, with Reo Pilon on bass guitar. The songs are all great folk-country numbers, suggesting some of the great country acts of the day, but without any mimickry. Gerry Joly, sounding very French-Canadian, has a unique voice all his own.
-Kevin McGowan