Up to Here is the debutstudio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, released in September 1989. It is one of the band's most successful albums: it has achieved diamond status in Canada for sales of over a million copies, earned the bandJuno Award for Most Promising Artist, and introduced fan-favourite songs such as "Blow at High Dough", "New Orleans Is Sinking", and "38 Years Old". The album reached on RPMs Canadian Albums Chart, and both "Blow at High Dough" and "New Orleans is Sinking" reached on the RPMCanadian Content singles charts.
Background
The Tragically Hip toured intensively behind their first release, the EP The Tragically Hip, which had earned considerable airplay on Canadian FM radio and the MuchMusic video station. The band found an audience on US college radio as well and drew the attention of MCA representative Bruce Dickinson while performing at the CMJ New Music Festival in New York City in late 1988. That December Dickinson travelled to Toronto to see the band perform at the Toronto Music Awards, and MCA signed the band later that month. Dickinson recommended the band record in Memphis, Tennessee, with producer Don Smith. The band entered Ardent Studios with a set of songs they had extensive experience playing live. Smith and the band further developed the arrangements in the studio before recording.
Release and reception
Up to Here appeared on 5 September 1989. It sold copies within its first year in Canada and ranked 14th Canadian Content album for 1989, 5th for 1990, and 1st for 1991. The album peaked at in February 1990 on RPMs Canadian Albums Chart. The album went gold in Canada in January 1990 and platinum that March and later that year earned the band a Juno Award for Most Promising Artist. By 1999 Up to Here had sold enough to gain diamond status. Up to Here was the band's first release in the US. In 1990 the album peaked on the Billboard 200 album charts at and "New Orleans is Sinking" reached on Billboards Mainstream Rock singles charts. Despite strong sales and sustained popularity in Canada, the band and album failed to find a significant international audience; American sales of the album were in its first year and from 1991 to 1997 amounted to copies. The Tragically Hip's relative lack of success in the US has been a frequent topic by commenters and interviewers, to the irritation of members of the band. The songs are credited to the whole band. Typically the instrumentalists of the band developed the backing music while lead singerGord Downie came up with his poetic lyrics separately, writing them in a notebook and selecting something to fit when the band was ready.
Singles
The hard-rocking lead single "Blow at High Dough" appeared in April 1989, before the album's release. It had a strong showing on Canadian radio and was the band's first charting single, reaching on the RPM singles chart and on the RPM Canadian Content singles charts. "Blow at High Dough" was the theme song to the CBCcomedy-dramaMade in Canada. In November 1989 appeared the second single, "New Orleans Is Sinking", a loose jam piece which had taken a key place at the band's live shows. In the midst of "New Orleans" the band often débuted new songs or gave Downie the spotlight to improvise. Like "Blow at High Dough", it reached on the RPM Canadian Content singles charts, and on the RPM singles charts. Music videos appeared for both "Blow at High Dough" and "New Orleans is Sinking". "Boots or Hearts" came out as the third single in February 1990, and "38 Years Old" that April as the fourth, peaking at on the RPM singles charts. Downie's memories of a jailbreak in at the maximum-security Millhaven Institution inspired the lyrics to "38 Years Old", whose ringing acoustic guitar backing is overlaid with distorted electric guitar leads.
Touring
The Tragically Hip went on tour from June 1989, before the album's release. The band continued to tour Canada and the US through 1990, and made its first European appearance at a sold-out headlining show in Rotterdam. The band gained a reputation for its energetic live show and the enthusiasm of its fans. The band introduced new material while touring that appeared on their next album Road Apples in 1991, as well as numerous songs that have never been officially released.
