Discovery

Ron Hynes’ first solo album, Discovery, appeared in 1972 after several years of moving between Newfoundland and Toronto in search of a place for his songs. The back cover tells the story in contemporary terms: the long distance from St. John’s to Toronto, travelling however he could, carrying a guitar and a change of clothes, and working his way from a St. John’s folk club through church basements, bars and drop-in centres to the coffee houses of Yorkville.

Hynes later remembered the period less romantically. After returning to Newfoundland in 1971, he worked in theatre at the Eastport Festival and spent the winter writing and performing around St. John’s. Another attempt to establish himself in Toronto followed, with Hynes spending months trying to interest publishers and record companies in his songs. He eventually returned home discouraged and questioning whether songwriting offered much of a future. The opportunity to make Discovery came when Audat was looking for Newfoundland material to record.

The sessions took Hynes to Audio Atlantic in Halifax, where Al Feeney produced and engineered the album for Media Artists Services/Fivetake Group Productions. Ten Ron Hynes originals were recorded: ‘Sunday Song’, ‘Ballad Of A Seeker’, ‘Lonesome Road Again’, ‘Coley’, ‘Loves Refrain’, ‘Meadowview’, ‘Under Attack’, ‘Cowboy Coloured Day’, ‘Melody Bittersweet’ and ‘Ode To Long Beach’. The record was issued by Audat as 477-9026, with all ten songs published by Creemore Music.

Discovery occupies an important place in Newfoundland recording history. The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame identifies it as the first recording by a Newfoundlander made entirely from the artist’s own original songs. At a time when much of the province’s recorded output drew on traditional repertoire and established songs, Hynes arrived with an LP built entirely around his own writing.

The record did not immediately establish the career for which Hynes would later become known. He continued moving between Newfoundland and Ontario, playing clubs and working in theatre. The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador notes that Hynes later distanced himself from Discovery, although the album helped him secure bookings in Toronto. No reliable account located so far explains what he disliked about the record, so the reason for that later distance remains unclear.

That makes Discovery an especially revealing beginning. It predates the Wonderful Grand Band, ‘Sonny’s Dream’, the major-label years and the national recognition that eventually followed. What survives here is Hynes at the beginning of his recorded career, already working entirely from his own material and already writing about distance, searching, place and departure, subjects that would continue to run through his work.

-Robert Williston