****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is, quite simply, an extraordinary rock n' roll document. I own a boxload of these, and this is by far the best.What may be the most amazing thing of all is that this concert, in Winnipeg's Goldeyes Stadium, captures the hometown reunion of a bunch of guys who by all rights ought to be playing the oldies circuit at county fairgrounds. There are three of the original RCA-label members (Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, and drummer Garry Peterson--how long has it been since these fellas recorded "These Eyes" and "Laughing"?) Added to the mix are virtuoso guitarist Donnie McDougall and bassist Bill Wallace, who came along quite a bit later in the Guess Who's history, long after Bachman had left and founded Brave Belt--which soon morphed into Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Yeah, the guys have all put on a few years (and a few pounds). But like all serious musicians, over the years they have just gotten better.With due respect to the late Kurt Winter, Jim Kale, and others who played an important part in the Guess Who's long history, this just may be the band's best-ever incarnation. I have no idea how the "original three" hooked up with the other two, but the combination is genius. Even though Randy Bachman doesn't need guitar support from anyone (a very old joke has it that Bachman was so good that he had to be replaced by TWO guitarists), Don McDougall's strong vocals are a welcome addition to the band's structured harmonies and the fact that Bachman allows him his share of the guitar solos doesn't hurt either. Some of us may forget that McDougall bore a lot of the Guess Who's guitar burden in their later years.There is an awful lot of atmosphere that contributes to the overall vibe of this concert, some of it relating to the weather and some to the excellent cinematography. The opening shots feature Bachman and Cummings mounting the stage with an ominous prairie thunderstorm towering in the distance (Cummings mouths the word "whew!") while the opening bars of "Runnin' Back to Saskatoon" reverberate in the background. "Runnin'" here has considerably more edge than any version of the song you've heard before, and right away you can tell that this is a band reborn, here to take no prisoners. There are plenty of shots of Randy Bachman's incendiary guitar soloing during this opener, and even though "Runnin'" dates from the Kurt Winter era, you can tell from Randy's "air vocals" how much he loves the song. It gives a new meaning to the word "reunion."I guess that comparisons with 1972's "Live at the Paramount" (the first album, I believe, to feature McDougall--who turned in a great solo vocal on "Glace Bay Blues") are inevitable. Let's just say that the highlights of "Paramount"--"Pain Train," "Truckin' Off Across the Sky" and the aforementioned "Glace Bay"--are easily matched here by "Runnin' Back to Saskatoon" (the Paramount version pales in comparison), "Takin' Care of Business," and the old acoustic gem "Talisman." I am fully aware that many Guess Who fans believe that the Paramount version of "American Woman" could never be matched, but the version rendered here fixes what were to me a few problems at the Paramount: Excessive length, a rather overly-stoned guitar excursion by Winter that goes nowhere, and, yes, the lack of Randy Bachman, who co-authored the song and gave it its unique guitar snarl.Let's keep in mind, too, that "Paramount" was recorded 28 years before "Running Back Thru Canada." That's a mighty long time, and some reviewers have taken from that not much more than that Burton Cummings' voice isn't quite what it was in, well, 1972. That may be true, but he does a fine job regardless (he may not go for ALL the old high notes, but he doesn't hit clinkers either) and as some others have noted, his piano and harmonica skills have increased exponentially since the "good old days." No one drags this show down, and that goes for Burton as well. He has a hard job, singing all these difficult songs one after another, and you can tell how grateful he is when he takes a long swig of water and turns the lead vocals over to Randy for a song or two (the audience seems to love the one-two punch of Guess Who classics followed by BTO standards--just look at all those Canadian flags waving).Another strength of this collection is the set list. In addition to all of the Guess Who warhorses you might expect, there is some unexpected back catalogue ("Guns, Guns, Guns", "Heartbroken Bopper", and the aforementioned "Talisman"); Cummings gets to stretch out his old lounge-lizard persona on chestnuts like "Glamour Boy" and "Sour Suite" ("the song with the zip code!" Cummings exults). Best of all, Bachman shows off his incredible jazz guitar chops on the Guess Who's "Undun" and BTO's "Looking Out for Number One." And I would be remiss if I did not mention a very interesting "coffee-house" version of "Let It Ride," which features a fine acoustic solo by McDougall.I think you can see that this is a can't-miss concert event for any fan of the Guess Who (or, for that matter, Bachman-Turner Overdrive). The dramatic weather, the enthusiastic hometown crowd that endures an hour-long downpour without budging an inch, and the eclectic set list all add up to an unforgettable viewing experience. Some reviewers have noted the cumbersome feature of the six "bonus tracks" being cut off from the rest of the show, but that's really not such a great drawback. I've owned the abridged audio CD of this concert for years, and I'd much rather have to "click and choose" to hear the bonus tracks (with video, of course) than to miss out on some very significant inclusions to what was one of rock's greatest reunion shows.By the way, the "rehearsal hall" bonus clip shows why the truly great rock n' roll bands sound better than all the other rock n' roll bands out there. Pay attention, young musicians!
