The Guess Who
The Best of The Guess Who

(RCA/Legacy)

First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2006, Volume 13, #3

Written by John Metzger

Despite the fact that The Guess Who never fully managed to transcend its influences, it did succeed, during its heyday between 1968 and 1970, in parlaying its chameleon-like tendencies into a laudable string of addictive hits. All of these originally were compiled on The Best of The Guess Who, the band’s 35-year-old (and still remarkably stellar) retrospective. Beginning with the soft, brassy shimmer of These Eyes — which not only welcomed singer Burton Cummings to the ensemble but also carried it across the Canadian border and onto the American music charts — and continuing with the Buffalo Springfield-style folk-pop of Laughing; the jazz-inflected, British Invasion-bred psychedelia of Undone; the Yardbirds-meets-Moody Blues headiness of No Time; and the blues-inflected snarl of American Woman, the album is a seamless suite of classic rock staples. In fact, of the original 11 songs featured on the collection, only Bus Rider, Do You Miss Me Darlin’, and Hang on to Your Life are unexciting and suitably have drifted into obscurity. In its latest incarnation, The Best of The Guess Who has been augmented with three more tracks — Albert Flasher, Broken, and Rain Dance — and although the group’s devoted followers likely will nitpick about the absence of Clap for the Wolfman, the set perfectly encapsulates the most important moments of The Guess Who’s career.

The Best of The Guess Who is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2006 The Music Box