A$# 046 Guess Who | Road Food / Power In The Music

This week I'm highlighting two albums at once, both by the fabulous Guess Who: Road Food (1974) and Power In The Music (1975). The two records were paired in a 2004 twofer CD release, so it seems logical to focus on them both in one post.

The CD was one of four TGW twofers released that year by BMG, and many have criticized the lack of remastering, and the curious pairings of some of the albums. For example, Road Food and Power In The Music don't seem like a natural fit, since RF is from the period of guitarists Kurt Winter and Donnie McDougall, and PITM is from the Domenic Troiano period. It would have made more sense to match PITM with the other Dom album from 1975, Flavours. The style of the group changed dramatically when Kurt (and fellow guitarist Donnie McDougall) left and then Dom ushered in a much jazzier type of sound.

Nonetheless, this makes for an interesting pairing, in that both represented different kinds of endings - RF being the last Kurt/Donnie album, and PITM being the last, period, by the classic era TGW.

(Note: RCA issued The Way They Were in 1976 (which had been recorded back in 1970 before Randy Bachman left), an excellent set, but by this time the group had broken up. Original bass player Jim Kale would later head up klone lineups under the TGW moniker. I've written about this before. In my mind the only legit configurations of The Guess Who post 1975 were the reunions involving Burton and Randy, in 1983 and 1999-2003.)

Now to the albums: Kurt and Donnie's influence is not that evident on Road Food, because they had by all accounts pretty much lost interest int he group by then. They participated in early sessions in LA, but barely at all when the record was finished up in Toronto. Burton was definitely taking the lead role, ably helped by bassist Bill Wallace.

You probably know the two hits that the album generated: Star Baby and Clap For The Wolfman. They enjoyed singles chart success with the latter that they had not seen for quite awhile. That's not all there is to the album, though. (TGW scholar John Einarson says "the album enjoys a consistency throughout not found since [1972's] Rockin'.") Some songs explore the road-weariness of touring and recording (Atilla's Blues, title song Road Food, The Ballad Of The Last Five Years), the tribulations of the workaday world (One Way Road To Hell), the amorous activities of a groupie (Pleasin' For Reason), jazz influences (Straighten Out) or an odd anger song (Don't You Want Me, which the group had earlier recorded in 1972 as part of the Hi Rockers medley on Rockin'). My faves are Pleasin' For Reason, Road Food and Star Baby.

Power In The Music is an underappreciated record. (The earlier Dom album, Flavours, featured a minor hit, Dancin' Fool. But PITM's two singles didn't do a whole lot, though I quite like both songs.) A lot of Guess Who fans didn't quite know what to make of the new sound. Perhaps the group members didn't either...

As John Einarson wrote in American Woman: The Story Of The Guess Who:

Somewhat confused, the band returned to Toronto's Soundstage Studios in March 1975 to begin recording Power In The Music. Once again Domenic was largely in charge in the studio, providing the guitar riffs for Burton's lyrics. The results this time, though were generally more satisfying [than on Flavours], with a couple of genuine grabbers in Rosanne ... and When The Band Was Singin' (Shakin' All Over), which harkened back to the good old days when tings were a lot more innocent. You can just feel the exhilaration in the studio as Burton hollers out in the fade out, "Stomp it out, Willy" to Bill Wallace. Another highlight was the Cummings-dominated Dreams, a hint of what was to be in store for his future. The title track was an ambitious attempt to combine a cool jazz-rock feel to the story of the development of popular music, capped off with a typical Troinaoesque progression that built to a climax.

I agree that there is power in this music. I particularly like Women, Rosanne, WTBWSSAO, Dreams and the first half of the title song.

Unfortunately, the album did not fare well, and the stage was set for Burton to disband the group and set out on his successful solo career. Three decades later, though, PITM and RF bear reconsideration.

Track listing:

1. Star Baby
2. Attila's Blues
3. Straighten Out
4. Don't You Want Me
5. One Way Road to Hell
6. Clap for the Wolfman
7. Pleasin' for Reason
8. Road Food
9. Ballad of the Last Five Years
10. Down and Out Woman
11. Women
12. When the Band Was Singin' (Shakin' All Over)
13. Dreams
14. Rich World - Poor World
15. Rosanne
16. Coors for Sunday
17. Shopping Bag Lady
18. Power in the Music