A few years ago Budda Records reissued The Guess Who’s classic seventies album “American Woman” after Lenny Kravitz covered the title song in 1999, bringing about a rebirth of the smash hit single. The Guess Who’s version also graced the film “Austin Powers – The Spy Who Shagged Me” and the TV series soundtrack from “Due South”.

The Guess Who was invited to perform at the Whitehouse in the early seventies. For decades it was rumoured that the band was asked to not play American Woman because of the somewhat anti-American lyrics such as “American woman, stay away from me… I don’t need your war machines; I don’t need your ghetto scenes.” In a recent TV appearance the band confided that that story was really just a public relations trick, which seemed to backfire on them because the “legitimate” rock community questioned their participation in the Whitehouse event at all, given the politics of the time.

On the American Woman album, the band’s personnel featured lead vocals of Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman on guitar, Jim Kale on bass and percussionist Garry Peterson. This lineup was reunited briefly for the “Running Back Thru Canada Tour” in 2000 until Jim Kale bowed out making way for another former bass player of the band, Bill Wallace.

The previously unreleased bonus track included on the album is the Cummings/Bachman song “Got To Find Another Way.” While this tune wasn’t included on the 1970 release of American Woman, it is especially interesting to hear this version now. A more polished version of the song was included on Burton Cumming’s solo album “My Own Way To Rock”, which also featured Randy Bachman on guitars.

Bachman left the band after the success of “American Woman.” Remarkably, both he and The Guess Who would enjoy success on their separate paths before reuniting. Bachman went on to found another rock supergroup in Bachman-Turner Overdrive while Cummings and company followed with another smash album “Share The Land” which included the hit singles “Bus Rider”, “Hand Me Down World” and the title song.

Guess Who fans will be pleased to find that Burton Cummings has written liner notes for this release, from the perspective of three decades past. Also included are liner notes by Frank Ursoleo, who says the ballad “Talisman” was briefly used as a change of pace in concerts promoting the album. Interestingly, this contradicts Cummings’ spoken introduction to the song recorded on the band’s live BMG album “Running Back Thru Canada” from 2000. He says that up until that summer tour, they had never performed “Talisman” in public. We must remember that the song is from the seventies era…Regardless of the details, the song still remains a fan favourite album cut after three and a half decades.

This 30th anniversary version of the American Woman album offers a digitally remastered flashback to a rock classic.
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For another article from the above source on classic rock stars and their performing sons, please check out: http://www.xomba.com/father_son_rock_stars

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