Secrets of the Alibi

About one year after recording their successful debut album, the Northern Pikes returned to the studio in the Spring of 1988 to record the follow-up. The resulting production had a more serious tone than their first, no longer talking about "Teenland" but themes of growing up and a political awareness of the world at large.

The first track on the album is "Place That's Insane", apparently about a pretty waitress who works in a smokey bar, as the lyrics describe "The girl that works in the club downtown / Knows all about life, man, she's been around". The guitar sound in this track is representative of the live sound throughout the album. A remixed version of this track was released on the 12" single.

The first single "Wait for Me" is a sad remembrance of love lost written and sung by Jay Semko. As guitarist Bryan Potvin recalls: "Our demo process was always an intense thorough exercise and we came very close to some true magic with this song. The demo version was very relaxed and rather melancholy. Another killer chorus though, can't lose no matter how you play it." The video was directed by Ron Berti and nominated for "Best Video" at the 1989 Juno Awards.

The second single was the offbeat "Hopes Go Astray" written by Potvin, complete with a strange video of the band members in household situations in the middle of a prairie field. The song was one of Potvin's first attempts at song writing and dated back to 1986, before the band was signed to Virgin Records. Jay Semko said "I think this was a breakthrough for Bryan as a singer and a writer. I recall the sessions at Bearsville with Bryan singing the break ('Now the princess washes dishes...') as a pretty cool evolution."

The band would tour extensively to support this album, including the opening spot for Robert Palmer's 1989 tour.

1. "Place That's Insane" (Jay Semko) – 4:19
2. "Walk Away" (Semko, Bryan Potvin, Don Schmid, Merl Bryck) – 3:18
3. "Wait for Me" (Semko) – 4:21
4. "One Good Reason" (Semko) – 4:47
5. "Blood She Wants" (Semko) – 4:01
6. "Let's Pretend" (Semko) – 4:08
7. "Better Twice" (Bryck) – 3:04
8. "Hopes Go Astray" (Potvin) – 3:38
9. "Stars in the Sky" (Semko) – 3:53
10. "Hole in the Ground" (Bryck) – 3:43
11. "One Good Reason (Extended mix)" – 9:08

Note: The Extended Mix of "One Good Reason" was added to the CD release of the album.

Secrets of the Alibi made its debut on the Canadian Album charts on August 27, 1988 and stayed in the charts until December 17, 1988. The album returned to the charts on January 28, 1989 and stayed for 7 more weeks until March 11, 1989.

The album was certified Gold in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association on July 18, 1991.[1]

• Liner notes from The Northern Pikes:Hits and Assorted Secrets 1984-1993.