Arias & Symphonies is the second album by the Burlington band Spoons. It contains the highly successful singles "Nova Heart" and "Arias & Symphonies". It was first released on compact disc in 2000. In 2012, a 30th Anniversary Edition of the album was released on CD with bonus tracks, which are mostly live recordings from Barrymore's, Ottawa, October 26, 1982, originally recorded and broadcast by CHEZ-FM. The iTunes download version includes an extra "live CD" of their performance at the El Mocambo in Toronto, June 26, 1982, which was originally broadcast by CHUM-FM.[2]
After the release of the band's first album, Stick Figure Neighbourhood, Gordon Deppe stated "the album, it wasn't a good representation of what we were capable of...we've got the same kind of attitude towards life but...the songs are taking us around the world. We're getting out of the neighbourhood."[3]
Deppe continued by noting that the songs for Arias and Symphonies would be more dance oriented, as their European influences, such as OMD and Peter Hammill, have done.[3]
Arias and Symphonies was named one of the 20 Most Influential Albums of the 1980s by The Chart Magazine, and the song "Nova Heart" garnered a spot in Bob Mercereau's book "The Top 100 Canadian Singles".[4]
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