THE GUESS WHO
''FLAVOURS''
OCTOBER 1974
40:44
********************
1 Dancin’ Fool 03:33
2 Hoe Down Time 03:51
3 Nobody Knows His Name 03:19
4 Diggin' Yourself 03:41
5 Seems Like I Can't Live With You, But I Can't Live Without You 05:27
6 Dirty 05:29
7 Eye 03:56
8 Loves Me Like A Brother 03:26
9 Long Gone 07:57
All Tracks By Burton Cummings & Domenic Troiano
********************
Burton Cummings – lead vocals, piano, keyboards
Garry Peterson – drums, percussion, vocals
Domenic Troiano – guitars, mandolin, vocals
Bill Wallace – bass guitar, vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Joe Viglione
Flavours was the first of the final two official Guess Who albums from the 1970s, and yet another change in direction, despite the band getting chart action with the previous Road Food disc. After more than a two-and-a-half-year absence on the Top 40, and four albums all containing some material that should have become very popular, Burton Cummings shook up the proceedings at this critical juncture where pop success had returned to the storied band. Journeyman guitarist Domenic Troiano, who actually played on Randy Bachman's first album away from the band he co-founded, 1970's Axe, listed there as a Don Troiano, is the sole guitarist here, following Don McDougal, Kurt Winter, and Greg Leskiw in attempt to fill Bachman's shoes. Yes, Cummings having a true collaborator gave the nine songs here and nine tunes on Power in the Music that concise presentation found on the Canned Wheat and American Woman albums, but once again there's a distinct lack of angst, Troiano complementing rather than battling with the lead singer. "Dancin' Fool" went Top 30 at the end of 1974, but there was the enormous attention garnered by "Star Baby" and "Clap for the Wolfman," evidence that the band was showing signs of AM radio life again. Any competent song would have been able to ride that wave. "Dancin' Fool," though decent, is hardly the most memorable of the band's 14 hits, and not as familiar as "Heartbroken Bopper," "Sour Suite," or "Glamour Boy," records that failed to dent the Top 40 but still somehow got heard. The material here is better than on this album's follow-up, Power in the Music, "Loves Me Like a Brother" a nice moment, while "Diggin' Yourself," "Hoe Down Time," and "Nobody Knows His Name" are all very listenable. "Long Gone" tries its hand at emulating the Mothers of Invention, Cummings still experimenting with styles when a touch of Troiano's days with the James Gang should have done the trick. RCA sure allowed the band exquisite packaging, printed lyrics, an impressive inner sleeve, but as AMG writer Jim Newsom noted "...very little fire, a going-through-the-motions feel, all combined to condemn this album to instant obscurity." While impressive as a collaboration between two talented rock & roll artists who had the luxury of having the Guess Who's longtime producer, engineer, and rhythm section, this could actually be considered the first Burton Cummings solo album. One dynamite number like "Star Baby" could have changed the dynamics considerably.
********************
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.
********************
BIO/WIKIPEDIA
********************
TO THE TOP
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''FLAVOURS''
OCTOBER 1974
40:44
********************
1 Dancin’ Fool 03:33
2 Hoe Down Time 03:51
3 Nobody Knows His Name 03:19
4 Diggin' Yourself 03:41
5 Seems Like I Can't Live With You, But I Can't Live Without You 05:27
6 Dirty 05:29
7 Eye 03:56
8 Loves Me Like A Brother 03:26
9 Long Gone 07:57
All Tracks By Burton Cummings & Domenic Troiano
********************
Burton Cummings – lead vocals, piano, keyboards
Garry Peterson – drums, percussion, vocals
Domenic Troiano – guitars, mandolin, vocals
Bill Wallace – bass guitar, vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Joe Viglione
Flavours was the first of the final two official Guess Who albums from the 1970s, and yet another change in direction, despite the band getting chart action with the previous Road Food disc. After more than a two-and-a-half-year absence on the Top 40, and four albums all containing some material that should have become very popular, Burton Cummings shook up the proceedings at this critical juncture where pop success had returned to the storied band. Journeyman guitarist Domenic Troiano, who actually played on Randy Bachman's first album away from the band he co-founded, 1970's Axe, listed there as a Don Troiano, is the sole guitarist here, following Don McDougal, Kurt Winter, and Greg Leskiw in attempt to fill Bachman's shoes. Yes, Cummings having a true collaborator gave the nine songs here and nine tunes on Power in the Music that concise presentation found on the Canned Wheat and American Woman albums, but once again there's a distinct lack of angst, Troiano complementing rather than battling with the lead singer. "Dancin' Fool" went Top 30 at the end of 1974, but there was the enormous attention garnered by "Star Baby" and "Clap for the Wolfman," evidence that the band was showing signs of AM radio life again. Any competent song would have been able to ride that wave. "Dancin' Fool," though decent, is hardly the most memorable of the band's 14 hits, and not as familiar as "Heartbroken Bopper," "Sour Suite," or "Glamour Boy," records that failed to dent the Top 40 but still somehow got heard. The material here is better than on this album's follow-up, Power in the Music, "Loves Me Like a Brother" a nice moment, while "Diggin' Yourself," "Hoe Down Time," and "Nobody Knows His Name" are all very listenable. "Long Gone" tries its hand at emulating the Mothers of Invention, Cummings still experimenting with styles when a touch of Troiano's days with the James Gang should have done the trick. RCA sure allowed the band exquisite packaging, printed lyrics, an impressive inner sleeve, but as AMG writer Jim Newsom noted "...very little fire, a going-through-the-motions feel, all combined to condemn this album to instant obscurity." While impressive as a collaboration between two talented rock & roll artists who had the luxury of having the Guess Who's longtime producer, engineer, and rhythm section, this could actually be considered the first Burton Cummings solo album. One dynamite number like "Star Baby" could have changed the dynamics considerably.
********************
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.
********************
BIO/WIKIPEDIA
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
