A Foot in Coldwater - Breaking Through

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Save it All for Me	03:24
	2	The Night's Still Young	03:54
	3	Play My Guitar	04:17
	4	Goodnight My Love	04:00

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Why	03:49
	2	I Knew She Would	02:31
	3	Driftaway	03:42
	4	Yes I'm Smiling - Breaking Through	06:58

Photos

Videos

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Information/Write-up

By 1977, A Foot in Coldwater had weathered a rapidly changing musical landscape. The golden days of Canadian progressive rock were giving way to a more commercialized era, and the band, once a fixture on Daffodil Records, found themselves releasing their fourth and final album under the banner of Anthem—the new home of Rush and Max Webster. Breaking Through arrived three years after All Around Us, and while it never received a reissue nor the marketing push it deserved, it remains one of the band’s most sincere and underappreciated statements.

The core lineup for Breaking Through featured Alex Machin on lead vocals, Paul Naumann handling all guitar work, Hughie Leggat on bass and vocals, and Danny Taylor on drums, percussion, and additional vocals. Bob Horne, who had left the group after the third album, returned briefly to contribute keyboards to the track “Why,” joined by Doni Underhill (of Trooper) on backing vocals.

The album was recorded and mixed at Sounds Interchange in Toronto by Mike "Tea Bag" Jones, with assistance from Mark Grendel and Greg Marshall, and mastered at The Record Plant in New York with thanks to Joe Bresail. Notably, the production was handled in-house: Paul Naumann produced the majority of the album, with Hughie Leggat producing the track “The Night’s Still Young.” This marked a shift toward greater creative control, even as external support waned.

Visually, Breaking Through was packaged with art direction and photography by David Street, with graphics by Rich Whyte. While not as iconic as the Paul Weldon-designed earlier records, it presented a modernized aesthetic that reflected the times—and the band’s maturity.

Despite being passed over commercially, Breaking Through is a confident and musically ambitious record that deserves reassessment. With no charting singles and no CD reissue, it has remained largely unavailable in high-quality formats—streamable only through archival digital uploads and private collectors. Yet those who find it often cite it as a hidden treasure of late-'70s Canadian rock: thoughtful, well-crafted, and emotionally resonant.

The album’s closing lyrics—“Now that we've come alive, we'll reach for the other side... You see, we're breaking through”—read almost like a parting message. Fittingly, “Breaking Through” would be the last track on the last AFIC studio album. There would be reunions and compilations, but this was their final proper studio statement.

Though overlooked at the time of release, Breaking Through stands today as a testament to A Foot in Coldwater’s resilience and artistic integrity. It captures a band not fading out, but burning brightly to the end—on their own terms.
-Robert Williston

Now that we've come alive
We'll reach for the other side
It's no time to hide
There's too much love inside

As you can see we're friends
We'll make it to the end
Don't count us out cause
There's no where but up from here

You see...we're breaking though

Alex Machin: lead vocals
Paul Naumann: all guitars
Hugh Leggat: bass, vocals
Danny Taylor: vocals, drums, percussion
Doni Underhill: backing vocals (on 'Why')
Bob Horne: keyboards (on 'Why')

Produced by Paul Naumann and A Foot in Coldwater except 'The Night's Still Young' produced by Hugh Leggat
Engineered by Mike "Tea Bag" Jones, assisted by Mark Grendel & Greg Marshall
Recorded and mixed at Sounds Interchange, Toronto, Ontario
Mastered at the Record Plant, New York, NY with thanks to Joe Bresail

Art direction and photography by David Street
Graphics by Rich Whyte

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