Search - The Guess Who :: So Long, Bannatyne

A ++++++ For ICONOCLASSIC !!!!

Lance Lazewski | Buffalo, New York | 01/28/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Superb job by Iconoclassic Records in the remastering of both this & Rockin'. Unlike Rockin', the original Canadian CD reissue wasn't bad but the 2nd time around with the "2 for 1" releases in 2004, So Long Bannatyne was awful (along with all the other titles !!!) Whoever did that remastering, ATTENTION: This is how its done !!!!! I was around 13 when Bannatyne was originally released & I've probably listened to it a thousand times, but now its like I'm hearing it for the first time ! There seems to be things that were burried in the mix I can now hear. Acoustic guitar parts that were barely audible are now up front !

This was viewed by many as sort of a strange follow up to the very successful "Share the Land". A few very unusual songs BUT there are also a few gems. I do agree that it would have been a much stronger LP if "Albert Flasher" & "Broken" were originally included (they are now as bonus tracks).

Anyway, if you want to hear "So Long Bannatyne" at its best, this version is it !!! Also, great liner notes & artwork, true to the original.

ICONOCLASSIC records, if your listening: ARTIFICIAL PARADISE, Please !!!!"

Bless Their Beaver Teeth!

John C. Onyun | Kensington, MD | 01/27/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, Iconoclassic Records comes through again!



First off, The Guess Who could PLAY. (I believe Neil Young rated Randy Bachman

as his most-influencial guitarist. Randy is gone by this album, but the dual-guitar attack by Winter-Leskiw here is superb).



The boys' 5th studio album for RCA is not their best, but a fine album nonetheless.



I have always loved about 80% of this album....the long, Zappa-like Goin' A Little Crazy I find semi-hard to listen to. The rest of the album is either pure joy (Rain Dance, Pain Train, the title track) or solid pop/rock. She Might Have Been A Nice Girl is a gorgeous, hidden ballad I had overlooked for many years.



The inclusion of the Albert Flasher single is welcome-- to me in the early 70s this was a re-birth of an unabashed Jerry Lee Lewis piano-rocker, although as an aging boomer I prefer the b-side Broken, now: a fine, soulful lyric and subtle power pop flash to boot.



Again, the expanded liner notes are worth the price of admission; the sound is lean and clean--nice, tight bass, but everything sounding natural--remastered by Vic Anesini as were Wheatfiel Soul and Rockin'.

A MUST for Guess Who fans. PLEASE, someone remaster a definitive American Woman and Share The Land---the two standout albums by this great Canadian band!"

If I could have only one Guess Who album...

JESSE R. MC Glown | Enterprise, AL | 04/02/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...So Long, Bannatyne would likely be it. I'd owned a cassette tape of this recording thirty five years ago. I'd forgotten just how good this music is! Classic Guess Who...tightly woven instrumentals, meticulous harmonies...and a couple of memorable hits interspersed. All the elements that made for a Guess Who album are here, including the welcome addition of two classic hits that have "hung in limbo" throughout the decades ( originally released as singles ): Albert Flasher and Broken...the perfect complement to an already great album. Goin' A Little Crazy, along with One Man Army, epitomize The Guess Who. Bands simply don't record excursions like these anymore."