The Guess Who - The Best Of (Remastered 2006) - Rock

RELEASE DATE: 2006-01-17
RIP DATE: 2006-01-12

Track List
----------
01. These Eyes 3:46
02. Laughing 2:42
03. Undun 3:25
04. No Time 3:48
05. American Woman 3:54
06. No Sugar Tonight/New Mother 4:54
Nature
07. Hand Me Down World 3:28
08. Bus Rider 2:57
09. Share The Land 3:55
10. Do You Miss Me Darlin 3:56
11. Hang On To Your Life 4:10
12. Albert Flasher (bonus track) 2:27
13. Broken (bonus track) 3:08
14. Rain Dance (bonus track) 2:44

Release Notes:

1971 album remastered, with three bonus tracks. Enjoy!

While the Guess Who did have several hits in America, they were superstars in their
home country of Canada during the 1960s and early '70s. The band grew out of
vocalist/guitarist Chad Allan (born Allan Kobel) and guitarist Randy Bachman's
Winnipeg-based group Chad Allan and the Expressions, originally known as first the
Silvertones and then the Reflections. The remainder of the lineup featured bassist
Jim Kale, pianist Bob Ashley, and drummer Garry Peterson. The Expressions recorded
a cover of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over" in 1965, which became a
surprise hit in Canada and reached the U.S. Top 40. When the Expressions recorded
an entire album of the same name, its record company, Quality, listed their name
as "Guess Who?" on the jacket, hoping to fool record buyers into thinking that the
British Invasion-influenced music was actually by a more famous group in disguise.
Ashley had been replaced by keyboardist/vocalist Burton Cummings, who became lead
vocalist when Allan departed in 1966. The Guess Who embarked on an unsuccessful
tour of England and returned home to record commercials and appear on the
television program Let's Go, hosted by Chad Allan. However, further American
success eluded the Guess Who until the 1969 Top Ten hit "These Eyes"; the
recording session for the accompanying album, Wheatfield Soul, was paid for by
producer Jack Richardson, who mortgaged his house to do so. Canned Wheat Packed by
the Guess Who produced three Top 40 singles later that year. In 1970, the Guess
Who released the cuttingly sarcastic riff-rocker "American Woman," which, given
its anti-American putdowns, ironically became their only U.S. chart-topper. The
album of the same name became their first U.S. Top Ten and first gold album, and
the group performed for President and Mrs. Nixon and Prince Charles at the White
House. (Pat Nixon requested that "American Woman" be dropped from the set list.)

Trouble was brewing on the horizon, though. Guitarist Bachman, having recently
converted to Mormonism, took issue with the band's typical rock & roll lifestyle,
leading to clashes with Cummings. Finding the atmosphere unbearable, Bachman left
the group in July 1970 and formed Brave Belt with Chad Allan, which later evolved
into Bachman-Turner Overdrive. His place in the Guess Who was taken by Kurt Winter
and Greg Leskiw, and the title track from their next album, "Share the Land,"
climbed into the Top Ten later that year, and several more singles charted
afterwards. The group returned to the Top Ten one last time in 1974 with the
novelty single "Clap for the Wolfman," featuring dialogue by deejay Wolfman Jack.
Burdened by shifting personnel and loss of direction, Cummings broke up the band
in 1975 and tried a solo career. The lineup from the Guess Who's glory years
reunited in 1983, and a version of the group with constantly shifting musicians
(occasionally original members) continues to tour.