But now I feel like I was attacked

Although I love their version of "Shaking All Over" as The Guess Who? back when Chad Allen was lead singer, it's a bit hit and miss in my opinion. Not to dismiss their playing, but there were only moments where they stood out.

They were not that bad in The Late 60's-1970, but I think that only the American Woman album seriously stands out from the rest and is something that is a nice example of music from that time. From what I remember, Wheatfield Soul and Canned Wheat were OK but a little too light, and when Randy Bachman left after American Woman, their work since then turned very erratic ("Clap For the Wolfman" was a bit cheesy in retrospect listening for example - it was a hit when I was a kid).

American Woman is the one album I can direct new listeners to, although there are those who will also say Canned Wheat for some good reasons. If they would have kept up that level, I could have imagined them being better known today rather than the originators of a song that has been covered numerous times (Butthole Surfers and Lenny Kravitz are two I know right away).

I would be naive to think that the Guess Who are the only artist that has bowed to corporate pressure. But when I heard the original version of 'No Time' and found out the version that everyone knows was a label requested recording, I lost some respect for them. They sound fairly similar (outside of the dissonant intro on the original), but the new version is slightly sped up and significantly less noisy than the original. Essentially, a neutered version of their song for the label. Again, they're not the only band that has done this, but I just disappointed me when I found out.

Original Version


Version all y'all know

Speaking about songs re-recoded for American Woman, here's one that was turned into a heavy song although both sounded good. "When Friends Fall Out" was originally a little more Garage-like, and in my opinion is actually better than the 1970 version, although I can see others thinking that the slower version is possibly more fitting for the lyrics.


Two videos featuring the original version.

On a Canadian TV show...


The "better sound with slideshow" presentation...

Neil Young, Joni, and Rush > The Guess Who.

Not really sure about The Guess Who, their songs aren't really that striking or much of interest for that matter. I'd rather listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I think that they were best in their Garage days, but then again that's where my music tastes lay when it comes to 60's-70's.



Now that's MY type of Guess Who? in my opinion (The ? was part of the name for a while until they dropped it early on). This version has stood the test of time with a pretty influential version of a rock and Roll classic. This possibly is the real reason why they still have a place, along with "American Woman" in Canadian Rock history in my view.


I don't play the compare game anymore, and I think that at least for passable bands that had a heyday that at least people remember, they did OK if not spectacular to my tastes, sometimes being too MOR or Easy Rock ("These Eyes" and "Undone" have the style that Lounge Lizards could imitate). Still, for those who do listen to them, I think that they dropped their progression after the American Woman album or at least their potential to actually have a long standing life.

I'd never heard this, thanks for posting!