Faithlift is a 1993 album by Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...

.

It is the band's best-selling album, and includes their biggest Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Top 40 hit, "And if Venice Is Sinking

And if Venice Is Sinking

"And if Venice Is Sinking" is a song written by John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly for the Canadian folk-rock band Spirit of the West. Spirit of the West recorded the song on their studio album Faithlift...

." The album peaked at #27 on RPM

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

s Top 100 albums chart the week of October 30, 1993.

Although Faithlift is one of the band's rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 albums, several songs (particularly "Sadness Grows" and "Death on the Beach") retain the Celtic folk

Celtic music

Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

 flavour that the band was previously known for.

The album includes many topical songs drawn from the news headlines: "Bone of Contention" mocks society's hypocrisy in the Pee-Wee Herman

Pee-wee Herman

Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his two television series and film series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an HBO special in 1981...

 controversy, "Mum's the Word" is about the 1992 Giant Mine

Giant Mine

The Giant Mine was a large gold mine located on the Ingraham Trail just outside ofYellowknife, Northwest Territories. Gold was discovered on the property in 1935 by Johnny Baker, but the true extent of the gold deposits were not known until 1944 when a massive gold-bearing shear zone was uncovered...

 explosion, "God's Apprentice" addresses the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal (which hit Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 several years earlier than it did the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

), and "Guildhall Witness" is about a race riot

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 which the band encountered during its tour of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with The Wonder Stuff

The Wonder Stuff

The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band, originally based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in the Black Country, England.-Origins:...

. "6th Floor" is about visiting Dallas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

 and finding it impossible to resist going to see Dealey Plaza

Dealey Plaza

Dealey Plaza , in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas , is the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...

, the spot where John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 was assassinated.

The album was reissued in 2008 on Rhino Records, concurrently with the release of the band's career retrospective Spirituality 1983-2008: The Consummate Compendium

Spirituality 1983-2008: The Consummate Compendium

Spirituality 1983–2008: The Consummate Compendium is a greatest hits album by Spirit of the West, released by Rhino Records on July 15, 2008....

.

Singles

• "And if Venice is Sinking
  And if Venice Is Sinking
  "And if Venice Is Sinking" is a song written by John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly for the Canadian folk-rock band Spirit of the West. Spirit of the West recorded the song on their studio album Faithlift...
  
  "

RPM

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

 Top 100: #30, November 20, 1993

RPM adult contemporary: #12, January 31, 1994

• "5 Free Minutes"

RPM Top 100: #55, February 28, 1994

RPM AC: #29, March 14, 1994

• "6th Floor"

did not chart

• "Sadness Grows"

RPM Top 100: #52, October 3, 1994

RPM AC: did not chart

• "Is This Where I Come In"

RPM Top 100: did not chart

RPM AC: #28, February 13, 1995

Track listing

All songs by John Mann

John Mann (musician)

John F. Mann is a Canadian rock musician and actor.-Music:He is the lead vocalist for the folk rock band Spirit of the West...

 and Geoffrey Kelly

Geoffrey Kelly

Geoffrey Kelly is a Canadian rock musician.He plays guitars, flutes and bodhran for the folk rock band Spirit of the West, for whom he is also the lead vocalist on some songs. He and John Mann are the band's primary songwriters.Kelly is also a full time member of The Paperboys, and released a solo...

.

1. "5 Free Minutes" – 4:00
2. "Sadness Grows" – 3:02
3. "Is This Where I Come In" – 3:47
4. "Bone of Contention" – 5:38
5. "Slow Learner" – 4:19
6. "And if Venice Is Sinking
   And if Venice Is Sinking
   "And if Venice Is Sinking" is a song written by John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly for the Canadian folk-rock band Spirit of the West. Spirit of the West recorded the song on their studio album Faithlift...
   
   " – 3:52
7. "Mum's the Word" – 5:56
8. "Death on the Beach" – 5:01
9. "Sincerely Yours" – 2:32
10. "God's Apprentice" – 3:39
11. "Guildhall Witness" – 2:25
12. "6th Floor" – 5:49