So Long, Bannatyne (2003 Remastered)

1st heard this on vinyl in the late 70's at a friends house, he grew up in Canada near the band where they used to have block parties. When the Guess Who got big, they left Bannatyne, so the bluesy title song says it all. Up all night till we passed out, listening to the cool tracks of Fiddlin' (singing along) & One Man Army, you'll never know this side of the Guess Who unless you listen to this album in full tilt. Just recently saw Bachman & Turner and they are still rockin' it...

This album has great songs, strongly rcemend buying it.(Even though "Flidding" is messed up big time)

This album is certainly not the Top 40 sound of some of The Guess Who's releases, and in many ways certainly is not probably a well remembered album. Saying that, I remember purchasing it when it came out in '71 and was immediately attracted to some of the cuts. My personal favorite is "Grey Day" (glad it is available on I Tunes). It is a jazzy, clean cut highlighting the bands diverse musical talents. After all these years I have never tired of playing it "Rain Dance" was the "big"" hit from the album, though not necessarily a "big" hit, it did get quite of bit of airplay. "Life in the Bloodstream" is a walk back to the late 50's, and considering in 1971 and for a couple of years after that the musical scene was about to embrace a resurrection of 50's music and artists (think of Chuck Berry in London, Rick Nelson at the Garden, Elvis at Madison Square Garden) and many others, this song essentially was a step ahead. It is a good song with great vocals, a few minutes of thinking of a simpler (for me at least) time. "Fiddlin" is a waste of time. "Goin' a Little Crazy" a not much. "She Might Have Been a Nice Girl" is mediocre. The album as a whole has flashes of excellence, but forgettable moments. It sounds very dated in spots, and I always thought the sound quality of the production was lacking. But I keep for three songs in particular: "Grey Day" "Rain Dance" and "Life in the Blooodstream". My recommendation is purchase those songs and not the entire album.