We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
From the black and white cover…to the choice of cover songs and even some of the originals, Burton Cummings and the Guess Who were channeling their childhoods in the 1950s with this collection of tunes.
It was the last LP for guitarist Greg Leskiw who, along with Kurt Winter, had replaced Randy Bachman three records ago. The twin guitars of Leskew and Winter were always tasty and standout on a number of these tracks including the singles ‘Heartbroken Bopper” and the dark ecological number “Guns Guns Guns”. Those two songs are standouts on what otherwise is a weird record.
A cover of Running Bear? A mishmash of Cummings and someone else conversing (not wittely) while Sea of Love plays in the background? Not good…a Cummings pop song called Nashville Sneakers hearkens back to a different time too.
Some tunes that work better…’Smoke Big Factory” and “Arriverderci Girl” and the boogie-woogie of “Get Your Ribbons On’ has some energy.
Heartbroken Bopper and Guns Guns Guns are solid additions to the Guess Who canon. The rest? Not so much
Comments