THE GUESS WHO?
''''IT'S TIME''''
JUNE 1966
30:36
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1 All Right 02:23 (Ross, Vanadore)
2 And She's Mine 02:42 (Randy Bachman)
3 As 02:25 (Randy Bachman)
4 You Know He Did 02:06 (Al Ramson)
5 Baby Feelin' 02:02 (Johnny Kid)
6 Clock On The Wall 03:03 (Randy Bachman)
7 Don't Act So Bad 03:11 (Jim Kale)
8 Believe Me 02:55 (Randy Bachman)
9 Seven Long Years 02:48 (Burton Cummings)
10 One Day 02:03 (Randy Bachman)
11 Gonna Search 02:29 (Randy Bachman)
12 Guess I'll Find A Place 02:24 (Chad Allan)
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Alan Kobel (Chad Allan)/Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Randy Bachman/Lead Guitar, Vocals
Gary Petersen/Drums
Jim Kale/Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Burton Cummings/Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals On 1, 6, 7, 9
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
Though this Canadian LP was issued under the Guess Who name, the group still hadn't quite completed its evolution from its prior incarnation as Chad Allan & the Expressions. Indeed Allan himself was still in the band during sessions for the recording, writing one of the tracks, "Guess I'll Find a Place." But a couple British Invasion covers and guitarist Jim Kale's "Don't Act So Bad" excepted, every song was written by Randy Bachman. Even more crucially, much of the material went in a decidedly harder-rocking direction than much of what the group had previously cut, with newcomer Burton Cummings injecting a new raunchiness into the material on which he sang lead vocals. "Believe Me," which is very much in the style of Paul Revere & the Raiders' fiercest sides, is the clear standout, but the moody Manfred Mann-ish "Seven Long Years" and the surly garage rocker "Clock on the Wall" are also highlights. Other tracks go into a smoother poppier mold, like "And She's Mine," which sounds like a hybrid of the milder British Invasion groups and the harmony rock of the Beach Boys. Overall it's the effort of a band still finding their style, something you could say of innumerable releases from the era. But of the many such bands making derivative records such as this, the Guess Who were by this point one of the best such acts, both as musicians and writers. If that sounds like damning with faint praise, it's not meant to. Even if this isn't as original as the best British and American groups of the time, or indeed as Guess Who themselves would later become, it's still respectable and at times quite exciting, and certainly a good listen overall.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Steve Huey
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.
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TO THE TOP
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''''IT'S TIME''''
JUNE 1966
30:36
********************
1 All Right 02:23 (Ross, Vanadore)
2 And She's Mine 02:42 (Randy Bachman)
3 As 02:25 (Randy Bachman)
4 You Know He Did 02:06 (Al Ramson)
5 Baby Feelin' 02:02 (Johnny Kid)
6 Clock On The Wall 03:03 (Randy Bachman)
7 Don't Act So Bad 03:11 (Jim Kale)
8 Believe Me 02:55 (Randy Bachman)
9 Seven Long Years 02:48 (Burton Cummings)
10 One Day 02:03 (Randy Bachman)
11 Gonna Search 02:29 (Randy Bachman)
12 Guess I'll Find A Place 02:24 (Chad Allan)
********************
Alan Kobel (Chad Allan)/Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Randy Bachman/Lead Guitar, Vocals
Gary Petersen/Drums
Jim Kale/Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Burton Cummings/Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals On 1, 6, 7, 9
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
Though this Canadian LP was issued under the Guess Who name, the group still hadn't quite completed its evolution from its prior incarnation as Chad Allan & the Expressions. Indeed Allan himself was still in the band during sessions for the recording, writing one of the tracks, "Guess I'll Find a Place." But a couple British Invasion covers and guitarist Jim Kale's "Don't Act So Bad" excepted, every song was written by Randy Bachman. Even more crucially, much of the material went in a decidedly harder-rocking direction than much of what the group had previously cut, with newcomer Burton Cummings injecting a new raunchiness into the material on which he sang lead vocals. "Believe Me," which is very much in the style of Paul Revere & the Raiders' fiercest sides, is the clear standout, but the moody Manfred Mann-ish "Seven Long Years" and the surly garage rocker "Clock on the Wall" are also highlights. Other tracks go into a smoother poppier mold, like "And She's Mine," which sounds like a hybrid of the milder British Invasion groups and the harmony rock of the Beach Boys. Overall it's the effort of a band still finding their style, something you could say of innumerable releases from the era. But of the many such bands making derivative records such as this, the Guess Who were by this point one of the best such acts, both as musicians and writers. If that sounds like damning with faint praise, it's not meant to. Even if this isn't as original as the best British and American groups of the time, or indeed as Guess Who themselves would later become, it's still respectable and at times quite exciting, and certainly a good listen overall.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Steve Huey
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.
********************
TO THE TOP
**********
