The Tragically Hip to release super-deluxe edition of Fully Completely

When you love the Tragically Hip as much as I do—or did, anyway, back in the '90s—it's hard to pinpoint one favourite album. But let's try anyway.

But then I'll recall how blown away I was by the Kingston guitar-rockers' full-length debut of '89, Up to Here—the one with "Blow at High Dough" and "New Orleans Is Sinking" and "38 Years Old" and all that other good stuff—and that'll look like my personal chart-topper.

Road Apples? Why, yes, who wouldn't put the '91 album with "Little Bones" and "Born in the Water" in the number one position?

Then there's 1992's Fully Completely, which was maybe the most "Canadian" of the Hip's dozen or so albums. Is there one dud among that sprawling disc's 12 tracks? I seriously doubt it.

Okay, it's settled then. Fully Completely is my favourite Tragically Hip album. Case closed.

And now that I've made my final decision, let me be the first to say fuckin-AAA! The Hip just announced that it'll release a super-deluxe edition of Fully Completely next month!

This sweet package includes the original album remastered by Bob Ludwig, two previously unreleased studio tracks, a live album recorded at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern in 1992, a DVD of the 1993 Heksenketel tour documentary, five lithographs, and a hard-bound collector's book with rare photos, expanded artwork, and Hip memorabilia.

And if that weren't enough to rile up anyone who just decided that Fully Completely was their fave Hip disc, the group has also announced that it will tour North America next year—with a stop in Vancouver on February 6—and that it will be playing that album in its entirety, from start to finish. That means there's no way you're not gonna hear "Looking for a Place to Happen", "Locked in the Trunk of a Car", and "Fifty Mission Cap" that night.

See ya there.