Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West emerged as a leading folk-rock group from Vancouver, British Columbia, and ranked among Canada's most prominent alt-rock bands throughout the 1990s. John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly established the outfit in 1983, after which its distinctive fusion of roots rock, Celtic music, folk, and radio-friendly alt-pop earned frequent nods to acts such as the Waterboys, Saw Doctors, Wonder Stuff, and Blue Rodeo. Following the 1984 arrival of the band's self-titled debut, dozens of albums and singles appeared over the years, among them the platinum-certified Save This House in 1990, the gold-certified Go Figure in 1991, and 1993's Faithlift, which yielded the act's most widely recognized international single, "If Venice Is Sinking." The group sustained both live performances and fresh recordings deep into the 2000s before disbanding in 2015.