Fully Completely is the third studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album was released in October 1992 and produced by Chris Tsangarides. The album produced six singles: "Locked in the Trunk of a Car", "Fifty Mission Cap", "Courage (For Hugh MacLennan)", "At the Hundredth Meridian", "Looking for a Place to Happen", and "Fully Completely".
Background
The Tragically Hip had released two full-length albums (Up To Here and Road Apples) before Fully Completely, working with producer Don Smith. While the albums had been successful in Canada, the Tragically Hip had not broken into the American market in a significant way. Hip guitarist Rob Baker later voiced the opinion that collaborating with the same producer on multiple projects (as the Hip had done with their first two albums) becomes troublesome because "little politics and intrigues enter into things". In late 1992, Producer Chris Tsangarides had just completed production on an album by Concrete Blonde, and was eager to work with the Tragically Hip. MCA, responsible for the financial success of the album, favored Tsangarides because of his proven ability to generate an American radio-friendly sound. During production of the second album, singer Gordon Downie had announced that he would no longer sing lyrics written by other members of the band. Fully Completely was the first album that would follow that decision by Downie.
Recording and production
Fully Completely was recorded under the supervision of producer Chris Tsangarides at Battery Studios in London, England. In contrast to the band’s first two albums, the production techniques did not try to mimic what the band was performing on stage. Each track was built instrument by instrument over the course of five weeks, with only three days dedicated to vocals. The band expected recording in London to be a "grand experience," but had a mixed experience upon arriving. Some band members found the nights and weekends outside the studio to be, "dull and isolating". The art budget for the album was $30,000, and the total budget for the album was an estimated $185,000. The band has described the making of the album as being "about us wanting to learn".
Album artwork
The cover art for Fully Completely was designed by Dutch artist Lieve Prins. Prins was given the idea of a "bacchanalian sort of scene – lots of decadence, decay and rebirth," by Hip guitarist Rob Baker, and was left to work with the idea. Prins also drew inspiration from I ching symbols and numbers. The final artwork was created using a Canon colour photocopier. The cover consists of 30 segmented photocopied images pasted together. The band was granted licensing privileges to the artwork, but Prins retained the ownership of the actual artwork. In the late 1990s, the Tragically Hip bought the piece from a gallery in Los Angeles. It now hangs prominently in their studio near Kingston, Ontario.
Themes
The lyrics on Fully Completely are heavily centred on Canadian icons and history. Writer Rob Mitchell has described the album as, "a trippy Canadiana dream/nightmare – like The Odessy [sic] directed by Atom Egoyan". The title of the first track on the album, "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)" makes reference to Canadian author Hugh MacLennan, and was inspired by his novel "The Watch That Ends the Night". The second track, "Looking for a Place to Happen", deals with the subject of European encroachment and the eventual annexation of indigenous lands in North America, making specific reference to explorer Jacques Cartier. The third track, "At the Hundredth Meridian", references the line of longitude that separates much of Western Canada from the Central and Atlantic regions. The ninth track. "Fifty Mission Cap", references the life, career, and death of Toronto Maple Leafs player Bill Barilko, as well as fifty mission caps, which were provided to elite bomber pilots of the allied air forces during World War II.