With an impressive total of 10 Blue Rodeo studio recordings and five Juno awards in 20 years, Canada’s most consistent country-pop kings have stuck to what they do well on Are You Ready: making toe-tappin’ music that fans of torch and twang will welcome with open arms. The disc’s kickoff track, "Can’t Help Wondering Why" is a three-minute, sunshine-y joyride that leads straight into the rockabilly-riffs of the Orbison-esque number "Are You Ready?" Near the end of the CD, however, the exact opposite emotion is evoked. "Tired of Pretending" brings Keelor’s full-frontal passion to the surface, the result is a compelling, gut-busting rant about apathy, where the co-frontman screams out "I’m tired of pretending that I still care."

Rockabilly pokes its head out on more than one occasion; a strong Celtic influence bleeds through as well, courtesy of Keelor’s "Phaedra’s Meadow" which features the legendary Paddy Moloney from the Chieftains on the Aeolian pipes and flute. The song’s sparse, spooky opening verse proves to be the disc’s highlight, a musical moment in time that is neither country, nor pop, but shows that the boys of Blue Rodeo continue to take inspiration from a host of styles, ultimately making their own rich, warm musical melee. --Denise Sheppard