While The Guess Who had their moment in the sun, they certainly didn’t enjoy the success of other 70s rockers like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or The Who. Nonetheless, it surprises how many of my peers are unaware of The Guess Who. “You know, they did that song ‘American Woman,’” I say. “Oh, okay.”

In fact, the song “American Woman” was the first song by a Canadian band to hit #1 on the USA rock charts. Other recognizable songs on this album are “No Time” and “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature”. “No Sugar Tonight” is one of those songs that causes me to turn the volume up when I happen to catch it playing on the radio, and “American Woman” is a decent enough rock song, so I decided I’d check out the album and see what other gems it might hold. The first thing I noticed was that the album version of “American Woman” has a delightful acoustic blues intro that never gets aired on the radio. Also I noticed was that there is not one bad song on the album. “Talisman” might seem a little out of place at first, but only because it is a slower song sandwiched between some good rock tunes. “969 (The Oldest Man)” is a short little instrumental that might not be for everyone for no other reason than the fact that it is instrumental, but I like it just fine.

In this digital age, it was far more convenient to buy this album on compact disc than to track down an original LP (and setup my turntable in my already cluttered room). These days record labels keep putting on bonus tracks and messing up with the continuity, so the version I bought was a 30th anniversary remaster with one bonus track, “Got To Find Another Way”. Granted, it’s a good song, but the album really should end with the “Humpty’s Blues/American Woman (Epilogue)” which mirrors the acoustic intro and brings the album full circle.

Truly Excellent Songs:

• Track 1: American Woman
• Track 4: No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
• Track 8: Proper Stranger – If you happened upon a jukebox with “No Time”, you might have heard this spectacular b-side.
• Track 9: Humpty’s Blues/American Woman (Epilogue) – Burton Cummings’ vocals on this song are amazing. The lyrics are said to be about band memeber Garry Peterson.

Songs I Could Do Without: Not a single one. I’m a firm believer that the initial length limitations of a vinyl LP kept the artists from only putting out their best stuff. These days there is more and more pressure from labels on artists to fill an eighty minute compact disc as best they can (though this is rapidly changing with widespread acceptance of mp3s), which makes for songs that feel like filler.

Songs that will grow on you:

• Track 3: Talisman

Odd bits of Guess Who trivia: Originally known as “Chad Allan & The Expressions”. Randy Bachman left the group three weeks after “American Woman” hit #1 on the charts in the US, possibly due to his religious beliefs; he later formed the band Brave Belt which became Bachman Turner Overdrive.

Filed under: Album Reviews, Reviews by John