Mark Farrell - I enjoy your reviews of The Guess Who.
It is obvious that you admire Burton Cummings as a singer/musician/songwriter.
Why do you call him a moron and other derogatory names? Do you know him
personally and dislike him? What do you base your view on him as a person?
Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks for the feedback! I'm
glad that you enjoyed The Guess Who reviews. As for my comments on Burton, I
guess I should have backed up that comment about him being a "moron" with more
concrete evidence, but I was partly joking. I must admit that I've never met
him, but based on what I've seen of him in interviews on TV his personality
appears to be an unappealing mixture of egotistical and dumb. Maybe he only acts
up for the cameras, and he's such a big talent that I should probably give him
the benefit of the doubt, but somehow I have a feeling he truly is a moron. That
being said, I love his music, so who really cares what he acts like off the
stage?
Although I haven't met Cummings before, I have met Randy
Bachman on a couple of occasions (1997-1998-ish). I was writing songs for a band
that Randy was interested in producing (my cousin, who I wrote songs with, was
in the band), and he came over to my cousin's house to talk business and play
over a few tracks. Oddly enough, he spent quite a bit of time talking about
Burton's misadventures over the years, and basically just lectured us that if we
didn't stay clear of drugs we would end up like poor old Burton - an old
burn-out who accomplished a lot but could've done even more if he would've
stayed off the sauce (and various other substances). Bachman came off as a
pretty decent guy, and although the music collaboration thing didn't work out in
the end, it was interesting being involved with him. He said he really liked my
songs, which was a huge compliment, especially seeing as he was one of my heroes
growing up.
By the way, I just posted a new review of Live At The
Paramount, just in case you're interested. If you have any more comments,
feel free to send them this way.
Andrew Frost - Hello Ian. I just wanted to compliment
you on your fantastic music review site. I especially enjoy your review of the
Guess Who as no other web reviewer even seems to acknowledge they existed. I was
wonder what artists you were planning on reviewing next. If I could make a
suggestion, I would enjoy your take on the Tragically Hip and Neil Young. Thanks
again for
the great site and good luck in the future.
Ian's Music Reviews
- Thanks! Neil Young is definitely on my "to do" list.
Esal - I just wanted to say a
couple of things about your review of The Guess Who's - Wheatfield Soul. First
of all I agree with the other fella who said how nice it is to see a reviewer on
the net actually recognize they existed. Your review is pretty evenhanded even
if you do say some nasty things about Burt personally. For some reason he seems
to invite that a lot. Either way I agree that he's a fantastic songwriter
(actually I don't think you said that but I will) and a great rock vocalist.
When FRIENDS OF MINE first came out I really liked it but it doesn't seem to
have aged very well does it (chuckle)?! For some bizarre reason I've always
liked gallows tunes including that terrible Zeppelin piece (even if you don't
think it's so 'groovy'). Actually my favorite gallows tune is probably
David Cousins - The Hangman & The Papist but that's another story.
All in all WHEATFIELD SOUL is a really great first album. A true indication of
some fine talent and you're right their sound is tough to "pigeon-hole".
Definite diverse musical influences at work here. Even 'We're Coming To Dinner'
is musically interesting despite the lyrics... mark it up to growing pains!
Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks for writing, and for your
kind words! I'm glad that somebody out there enjoys the Guess Who as much as I
do. Yeah, you're right - the Guess Who are almost completely forgotten by most
web reviewers, which is a shame. They really were a great band. In terms
of who's on my "to do" list, I'm definitely planning to review Neil Young in the
near future. As for the Tragically Hip, I'm not really a big fan, and I don't
own any of their albums, but I certainly would consider reviewing them sometime
down the road.
Thanks again for the
feedback. I too have been disappointed with the lack of attention The Guess Who
have received amongst web reviewers. This band is definitely one of the most
underrated in rock history. I never get tired of their music, probably because
it is so varied, and because Burton Cummings is one of the best vocalists ever.
I think part of the problem may be American Woman (and to a lesser extent, the
band's other successful singles like These Eyes). The song was so big that
people pigeon-holed them as a "lightweight" singles band, when in fact they were
a great album group as well. Most of the band's albums (even after Bachman's
departure) were very solid, and showcased the The Guess Who's diversity and
creativity.
And speaking on Burton, I know I'm a little bit hard on him, but he strikes me
as being a tool. I can't really put my finger on why he seems to rub so many
people the wrong way, but then again his talent is so immense that it doesn't
really matter anyway. I'm surprised I didn't specifically praise his songwriting
skills though...maybe I'll have to go back and add that to my Guess Who reviews.
He is a great songwriter though.
Friends of Mine is a peculiar song. On one hand, the spoken-word section is
terrible, but on the other hand, there are some interesting musical bits that
almost make the track worthwhile. Overall, though, it is an embarrassment.
And yeah, you're probably right about the connection between Winnipeg's lousy
weather and the number of high quality musicians that have come from that city.
I've never lived there, but I grew up in a small town in the interior of British
Columbia where the weather is almost as crappy (nearly as cold, but minus the
incessant wind). Growing up, there wasn't much else to do except play and listen
to music.