HELIX: More 'Smash Hits Unplugged' Details Revealed

More video footage from the recording sessions for "Smash Hits Unplugged", the forthcoming acoustic album from Canadian hard rock veterans HELIX, can be viewed below. Tentatively due in early November, the CD was recorded at A Studios in London, Ontario with co-producer Aaron Murray and is comprised of "all our hits plus the JAMES LEROY song 'A Touch of Magic' which I've always wanted to record," states singer Brian Vollmer.

"Smash Hits Unplugged" track listing:

* Rock You
* Heavy Metal Love
* Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'
* Make Me Do (Anything You Want)
* Wild In The Streets/No Rest For The Wicked
* Deep Cuts The Knife
* The Kids Are All Shakin'
* Dream On
* That Day Is Gonna Come
* Good To The Last Drop
* A Touch of Magic (JAMES LEROY cover)

Commented Vollmer: "As usual, it was right down to the wire getting the new CD recorded, mixed, mastered, and the artwork all done, but we made it thanks to hard work from all involved. It was round the clock for co-producer, engineer, and mixer Aaron Murray. Aaron has been involved in the last four HELIX CDs and always has done a great job. He's the protégé of Danny Broadbeck, who last year won a Juno for his engineering work with Delores O'Reardon of the CRANBERRIES. Danny is the protégé of Jack Richardson, who produced the GUESS WHO albums.

"The artwork for the CD was executed by Matt Brooks of Babyjack Design. He also designed the 'Vagabond Bones' [the most recent HELIX studio album] cover and we received tons of positive feedback on that artwork. We used Carvello Mastering once again, as they did such a great job on 'Vagabond Bones'.

"The whole CD was a pleasant surprise from start to finish. It was Sean Kelly (CRASH KELLY) who kept pushing me to record it and finally I caved in.

"We got the band together at Brent's place and hammered out some arrangements and then it was off to the studio. We had a rough idea of other instruments we were going to use, but it wasn't until we actually got there and tried a lot of them that we actually knew whether they would work or not. We also brought in outside musicians and singers. On 'The Kids are all Shakin' Wendy Wright came in to play fiddle, and Cheryl Lescom (one of the greatest undiscovered female singers in Canada) sang (or should I say wailed!) background vocals. Sean also added guitar, dobro, and banjo on several songs. For the football vocals on 'Rock You' we utilized the services of my old friend Doug Weir of SYRE and my student John Edwards, who just happens to be Fritz's nephew. Douglas Legg and Kellen DeVos, friends of Aaron's, also participated. And a good time was had by all!

"Brent came up with some great arrangement ideas and as well as playing guitar, tried his hand at playing mandolin in a couple of tracks. Daryl went over and above, arriving early and staying late. He played everything from his bass to keyboards, washboard, bodhran, and harmonica, as well as singing his ass off. Fritz experimented with different beats and used brushes on a few songs (a HELIX first!) and Kaleb showed his maturity by playing guitar like an old pro. Aaron was living on a steady diet of energy drinks which had him getting as little as a couple of hours of sleep per night. When you think about it though, rock and roll is meant to be spontaneous. We didn't have much choice. LOL.

"Fans may now put in their purchase order to get the CD as soon as it comes out. We hope to have it in our hands, back from John Ball Media, as early as November 5th. Makes a great Christmas present!"

As previously reported, HELIX is putting together a compilation album consisting of songs that were released between 2000 and 2010, including three tracks that originally appeared on singer Brian Vollmer's solo album.

The track listing for this CD is tentatively as follows:

* I'm A Live Frankenstein
* X-Ray Eyes
* King Of The Hill
* Get Up!
* Fill Your Head With Rock
* Cyberspace Girl
* The Animal Inside
* Make 'Em Dance
* Hung Over (But Still Hanging In)

Bonus tracks:

* The William Tell Overture
* It's a Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock N' Roll (AC/DC cover)

HELIX's latest album, "Vagabond Bones", was released in Canada via Universal/Fontana and in the U.S. through Perris Records. Vocalist Brian Vollmer collaborated with Sean Kelly (CRASH KELLY) on material for the CD, which was mixed by engineer Aaron Murray.