  Performing together since 1964 in The Marcatos, brothers Francis and John Webster moved to Toronto in ’67 where they revamped the line-up into a seven-piece orchestrated pop ensemble. They released one album later that year on Sound Canada Records called DAVID, which featured covers of “Hey Jude” and “House of the Rising Sun.” It got airplay throughout the GTA, but by the following spring, the brothers decided to fold the group and try something different.They played southern Ontario’s nighclubs, dance halls, and churches for the better part of the year, until drummer Tony Lecaillon, a Marcatos hold-over who’d been in his native England for a few months, rejoined the Websters to form Bridge. With Francis on guitars and vocals and John on bass, they developed a unique combination of country, folk, rock, and even a bit of jazz, and continued to tour the region while writing some material. They returned to Sound Canada studios in the early part of 1971, and released their self-titled debut album later that year on Vintage Records. The songs were full of simple arrangements with clean, unburdened production with few overdubs, and had a bit of an acid rock feel to it. No singles were released, but songs like the lead-off “I Had It But I Lost It,” “Ain’t My Day,” and “Running Away” were a throwback to traditional country roots. “Simple Blues Form” had a ragtime piano powering it, while “Brand New Day” and “Born To The Country” seemed tailored for a lounge lizard jazz crowd on acid. As well, a touch of psychadelia was more than a little evident in tracks like “It’s My Life” and their nine-plus minutes rendition of Little Richard’s “You’re My Girl.” But by the fall of that year, and after some more intimate dates around Ontario, the band folded and everyone went on to other projects, or got out of the business all together. Erebus Records re-released the album on CD in the mid ’00s. |
