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Non-Prog CD Reviews

The Guess Who

The Best of the Guess Who (Hybrid SACD 4.0 Multichannel)

Review by Gary Hill

I’ve always loved the Guess Who. There’s no better place to get some of their best works than right here. At least, it’s an excellent place to start. This multi-channel remaster sounds great. The songs hold up very well after all those years, too. This release is numbered and limited edition, making it an excellent collector’s item, too.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2015  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
These Eyes

This early classic is such a great song. It has a great soulful vibe with some real rock and roll in the mix, too. It’s a great tune and holds up quite well all these years later.

Laughing
This hit features both great vocal harmonies and some solid hooks. I think I prefer “These Eyes,”  but this one is quite good, too.
Undun
I absolutely love this song. It has a great jazz sound on the guitars. Add in some hippie vocals and you’re on the right track. This is one of my favorites from The Guess Who, but I like pretty much everything they ever did. The section later in the track is particularly classy.
No Time
With strong vocal harmonies, this is a pretty standard Guess Who number. It’s a real testament to their talent that it’s as great as it is.
American Woman
One of their biggest hits, I’ve never been completely taken with the mellow introduction to this. When it launches out into the song proper, though, it’s magic.
No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature
Here we get another that for a lot of bands would be a total highlight, yet for the Guess Who it’s kind of standard fare. That said, this two-fer is a great hippie rock song.
Hand Me Down World
Although this song might not be quite the same magnitude of hit of some of the others, it’s every bit as strong. I love the vocal harmonies on it.
Bus Rider
There is definitely a lot of jazz in the mix on this number. It’s an energetic rocker that works extremely well. There is also quite a bit of Beatles influence here. The piano works quite well on this piece, too.
Share the Land
This is without question one of my favorites from this band. I love the harmonies, of course, but even the lyrics are classic hippie music. This song is just so classy and powerful.
Do You Miss Me Darlin’
If there’s one that doesn’t work as well as some of the rest for me, it’s this one. There is a little bit of a country edge to some of the guitar on this. This song is still pretty good, but it doesn’t reach the same level of magic as some of the rest do. The mellower movement that builds out later is good, though.
Hang On To Your Life
More of a standard Guess Who rocker for the majority of the cut, it works out to a weird little poetry reading section at the end. It’s all good stuff through and through, though.

 

 
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