Thorney, Tim - Villa Freud

Tracks

		Track Name	Length
	1	Free	05:35
	2	I Was There	03:42
	3	Too Far Gone	03:39
	4	Fear	06:09
	5	It's Not About You	04:58
	6	Home	04:28
	7	It's Never Gonna be That Way	04:12
	8	The Other Side	04:13
	9	Good	05:03
	10	Me, God & Weed	03:02
	11	Eyes of Love	03:02

Photos

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Information/Write-up

Timothy James Thorney was born on February 4, 1955, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and from an early age seemed destined to live a life immersed in music. By eleven, he was already playing community clubs around the city, a precocious guitarist with a quick ear and an unshakable belief that music was his calling. At River East Collegiate he became something of a legend—once lowering himself from the auditorium rafters in a prank that got him expelled, though not before he’d left an impression of charisma and mischief that would follow him his entire life. He eventually graduated from Nelson McIntyre Collegiate despite barely showing up for class. His grades remained high, sustained more by instinct and intelligence than study. He later studied religion and economics at the University of Winnipeg, but the pull of the stage, of the studio, of that particular alchemy between people and sound, proved irresistible.

In the mid-1970s Winnipeg’s small but lively music scene was full of young talent, and Thorney quickly made his mark as a gifted guitarist and songwriter. He lived for a time with his bandmates in an unheated house on Chevrier Boulevard, rehearsing in subzero conditions simply because he believed in paying his dues. It was during those years that Burton Cummings, already a national icon, heard Thorney perform and would later record his song “Draggin’ ’Em Down the Line.” The compliment meant everything; the friendship that followed meant even more.

In 1979, at a post-session gathering in a Winnipeg studio, Thorney met Lisa Dal Bello, another young artist beginning her own ascent. Sitting together in a corner, he sang and played piano, his voice rough, intimate, and strikingly original. Dal Bello convinced him to move to Toronto, where they began writing together. The result was her 1981 album Drastic Measures, a striking fusion of rock, pop, and art-school theatricality, featuring Thorney’s fingerprints across nearly every track. His collaboration with Dal Bello opened the door to a broader creative world—sessions with Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, and Bob Ezrin—and marked the beginning of his long career as a songwriter and producer of rare empathy and precision.

Through the 1980s Thorney’s versatility and work ethic became legendary. He played in The Front, releasing two albums that blended arena rock with introspective lyricism, and at the same time found an unlikely niche in commercial music. With his brother Tom and partner Jody Colero he formed the Einstein Bros., later known as Great Big Music and eventually Tattoo Music, a powerhouse of Toronto’s advertising and production world. Their work reshaped the sound of Canadian commercials: catchy, human, and impeccably crafted. They wrote beer jingles that became folk memory—“Our beer around here is OV”—and turned Glenn Frey’s “The Heat Is On” into a Pontiac campaign anthem. They produced themes for 7Up, FedEx, and Sympatico, and their audio signature could be heard in living rooms and hockey arenas across the country.

But beneath the swagger and studio precision, Thorney was driven by something more personal: the joy of collaboration, the vulnerability of shared creativity. His partnership with former MuchMusic VJ Erica Ehm is a perfect example. After she quit her job, distraught and uncertain, she called Thorney in tears. His first response wasn’t to console her but to challenge her—“Can you write songs?”—and within a day they were writing together at his home north of Toronto. Their handshake deal was simple: everything fifty-fifty, no matter what. Together they wrote material for Joel Feeney and Cassandra Vasik, among others, helping to define the early ’90s Canadian country-pop sound.

His deepest creative connection came with Alanis Morissette. Thorney first met her when she was still a teenager, hiring her for background vocals in Toronto. Years later, after the explosion of Jagged Little Pill, Morissette turned to him in search of a space free from expectation and pressure. Thorney provided exactly that. When she arrived too anxious to write, he simply suggested they go see a movie. That evening, relaxed and laughing, she came home ready to write “Heart of the House,” the first song for Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Thorney helped her rediscover the joy of writing without judgment, acting less as producer and more as guardian of the creative process. She later said, “With Tim, I felt zero judgment—only support and loyalty.” That same compassion guided their later work together on Under Rug Swept and So-Called Chaos, where Thorney designed a cocooned, candlelit recording space so she could work undisturbed.

Throughout these years he continued to record his own music—Some Other Time (1993), Extenuating Circus Dances (1999), and Villa Freud (2011)—albums that reflected a restless, reflective artist who still had something personal to say amid all the commercial success. In 2012 he founded Villa Sound with engineer Adam Fair, first in his Collingwood home and later in Fair’s restored farmhouse in Singhampton, Ontario. The studio became a creative refuge for countless musicians, a place defined by warmth, humour, and Thorney’s uncanny ability to draw out an artist’s truth.

Those who knew him remember a man of contradictions: burly, red-haired, leather-clad, and loud, yet gentle, introspective, and deeply spiritual. He could dominate a room or disappear into the shadows of the control booth, depending on what was needed. His friends and collaborators speak of a man who made everyone feel important, who listened as though your ideas were the most vital thing in the world. He believed music was not about the finished product but about the human connection forged in its making.

In his final years, Thorney faced kidney failure with courage and humour. Three times a week he would sit through dialysis, headphones on, listening to Ry Cooder and telling stories about every musician on the record. His companion was Buttercup, a miniature bulldog he adored. He lived quietly with his former wife Rachel Oldfield—herself a singer with The Pursuit of Happiness and Parachute Club—remaining close until the end.

Tim Thorney passed away on June 15, 2021, at his home in Collingwood, Ontario, at the age of sixty-six. His final meal was a Peanut Buster Parfait, a detail that seems perfectly in character—playful, irreverent, and sweet. Behind the jingles and hit records, behind the celebrity collaborations and industry awards, his true legacy lies in the generosity he extended to others: the countless artists he mentored, encouraged, and lifted. For every life he touched, he left behind a quiet reminder that the best producers don’t just shape sound—they shape spirit.
-Robert Williston

Tim Thorney: acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, electric piano, harmonium, synthesizer, lead vocals, harmony vocals
Brent Barkman: drum programming, organ, electric piano, harmonium, synthesizer, rhythm track navigation, string arrangements
Randy Cooke: drums
Ravi Naimpally: tablas
Pat Kilbride: bass
Hugh Marsh: violin
Brent Mason: electric and acoustic guitar
Sol Philcox: electric guitar
Eric Schenkman: electric guitar
Jay Vernali: organ
Lisa Lougheed: harmony vocals
Cassandra Vasik: harmony vocals

Executive Producer: Kim Zayac
Produced by Tim Thorney
Co-Produced by Adam Fair
Engineered by Adam Fair
Additional Engineering by Jay Vernali and Sol Philcox
Mixed by: Adam Fair
Mix Assistant Kevin O’Leary
Production Co-Ordinator: Katrina Harrison
Recorded at Apartment el Grande Estudio, WANTED Sound & Picture, Noble Street Studios, Jays Place (Nashville) and Emerald City (Los Angeles)
Mixed at Noble Street Studios
Mastered By Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering

“Eyes of Love” bonus track produced by Tim Thorney, and águilar and Adam Fair
and águilar: vocals, programming
Ali Raney: violin, background vocals
Tim Thorney: guitar
Pat Kilbride: bass

All songs written by Tim Thorney and and águilar, except “Too Far Gone” by Kim Zayac, Tim Thorney, and and águilar

“Calavera Tibetana” painting: Ignatius in progress
Buenos Aires photography: and águilar
Studio photography: Kim Zayac
Design: Elaine Hsu

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