Customer Reviews

Anthology

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

RCA finally got it right this time by releasing "The Guess Who Anthology", which is an excellent 2-cd set that covers the band's career from the early sixties to the mid- seventy's. What's nice about this collection is that it includes their first hit "Shakin' All Over" (also covered by The Who) as well as a few other rarities from that time period (60's). You have most of the choice songs from each Guess Who studio album ever released with the exception of "Friends Of Mine" (from Wheatfield Soul) but that song was 10 minutes long so it's understandable that because of it's time length it was omitted from this collection. The hits such as "These Eyes", "Laughing", "Undun", "No Time", "American Woman", "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature", "Hand Me Down World", "Share The Land", "Hang On To Your Life", "Albert Flasher", "Rain Dance", "Glamour Boy" and "Star Baby" are all here plus twenty seven other songs as well (including more hits). This collection is also remastered and sounds great, much better than other collections I've owned. If you enjoy listening to groups such as Three Dog Night, Bread, Grand Funk, etc, then you'll love this latest Guess Who collection.

At first I thought do we really need another Guess Who collection? But really this is by far the best place to start. Strongest track selection on any Guess Who album, period! It contains just about all the essential album stuff and a few excellent hard to find single tracks but no filler. Contrary to what some said here the sound first rate! I just compared tracks on this to the excellent Buddha remasters and there was no distinguishable difference. The sound is a big improvement over many previous releases, especially the strange remastering of "Ultimate Collection", which had too much dynamic range compression. But for me the best part of this collection is probably the 3 radio advertisment recordings hidden at the ends of the discs. The "Canadian Invasion" ad which promoted "These Eyes" is hilarious!

Now this is more like it. This is what I consider the complete "Guess Who". While all of the hits are there and since they have all been reviewed to death over the years especially (dare I say it) "American Woman" I'll focus on some of the songs that should have been hits or overlooked album cuts that are also happily included . From the "B' side of the hit "Laughing" is "Broken", one of the best "B" side ballads never released on its own. The practice that took place back in the 70's in Canada anyways was to sometimes release a single as a two sided hit hence it was known as "Laughing/Broken". Also is the pre Guess Who tune by the then named "Chad Allen and the Expressions" "Shakin' all Over" as well as an alternate version of "Shakin'" Other songs that deserved to be included " Smoke Big Factory" and "Shoe Biz Shoes" are also represented. Randy Bachman the lead guitarist and Burton Cummings the main vocalist and keyboard player were a terific duo as songwriting partners. They had differences and Bachman had other successes with the groups "Brave Belt, Union, Ironhorse and of course Bachman-Turner Overdrive" as well as both he and Cummings having solo successes. They reunited over the last year and seeing them together again was pure magic. If you can't see them live you can relive it through these cuts. Or buy their live CD and DVD as well to complete the set.

The sound quality on this CD is as good as any remastered work I have ever heard. Burton Cummings' voice is first rate and the remastering work done here make the playback of his voice and the band's musicality like you are live and upfront in a small concert hall. Whether you are a casual fan or serious afficionado of this group this CD is a must.

If you're a fan or have more than a single-disc, passing interest in the Guess Who, this set is exactly what you need. It is essential in multiple respects.

Previous Guess Who compilations have been marred in any number of ways, first by limited song selection, then later by lackluster mastering. Early comps were issued in the days of vinyl and as such were designed for the space limitations of that medium. Fine for their day, they did not translate to an expanded digital format all that well. Attempting to give the band their due, RCA surprised even fanatics by issuing an exhaustive, three-disc collection back in the mid-'90s. At first glance, it appeared to contain all the Guess Who one would need. A few fan-favorite tracks were missing - not an uncommon complaint with comps - but a generous helping of obscure album tracks were included. Unfortunately, the so-called mastering engineer over-equalized and compressed the everloving s**t out of the tracks, resulting in excessive, distorted frequencies and hiss, and leaving the music with virtually no dynamic range or room to breathe. It quite literally sounded like listening to a bad FM broadcast.

Most previous grievances are rectified with "Anthology", a nearly perfect retrospective. First, the track selection is superb. All the hits from 1965-1975 are here including "Shakin' All Over", making this the first and only truly comprehensive Guess Who compilation to be had. Second, a handful of tracks are represented by their rare, superior single mixes, appealing to collectors. As with other GW comps, a few fan favorites are absent but scarsely missed as outstanding album tracks such as "Pain Train", "The Answer" and "Cardboard Empire" make their U.S. digital debut here. Lastly, kudos to mastering engineer Vic Anesini, who makes no ill-advised, vain attempts to over-compress, over-EQ, or over-modulate volume levels, easily making this the best-sounding GW comp ever.

My only complaint with the set is that the "Canned Wheat" tracks run a bit too fast. I suppose it is possible that that album and its singles have always been mastered at the wrong speed and the intent was to correct that anomaly, but they sound sharp and unnaturally fast here. (This would not be an unprecedented move: when it was discovered that the Stones' "Beggars Banquet" and side one of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" had always been mastered too slow, decisions were made to restore those classics to their intended, faster pitch on subsequent reissues.)

Prior to obtaining this excellent CD release I was an occasional listener of The Guess Who. This CD has made me a 'full time' listener. This band was tight. All the songs on this CD grow on you, some catch your attention right away. With each album they grew musically, you can hear it as the music progresses year by year. Burton Cummings was the "jewel" that made this band shine. His contribution was essential to their success. After hearing this CD I'm ready to purchase The Guess Who's entire collection. Purchase "Anthology" you won't be disappointed.

Like virtually all of the other reviewers so far, I find this set to be hands-down the best-sounding Guess Who compilation out there. It's one of those that instantly becomes a treasured part of your collection.

It's great to finally have "Shakin' All Over", too hard to find on cd for too long. But that's just one track among almost forty and every one shines. Burton Cummings has got one of rock's greatest voices. Randy Bachman and Kurt Winter are both terrifically talented guitarists. The songs are top-notch and the selection and sequencing of this set, impeccable.

The booklet features very well-written notes and full track details with some great photos.

If you don't own any GW on cd, this is the one to get, alright. If you do, you should still get this, you won't be disappointed.

I had gotten "The Guess Who at Thier Best" 3 years ago but this Anthology is the best and closest thing you will come to a greatest hits package from TGW. I knew of most of the songs but there are so many gems that I hadnt heard I was very pleased with them. The first disc I had heard most of the songs but hearing The Answer, Broken, Pain Train, When Friends Fall Out (Single Version), It's My Pride, Do You Miss Me Darlin', and Shakin' All Over was very cool. The second disc had the majourity of stuff I hadnt heard and thier are a couple of songs that stick for me which include, Smoke Big Factory, Samantha's Living Room (Donnie Mcdougal sings this song, which is quite different considering I thought Burton would sing it), Those Show Biz Shoes, Carboard Empire, and the Domenic Trioano co-written song When The Band Was Singin' Shakin All Over.
If you looking for the ULTIMATE greatest hits compolation, from The Guess Who this is the one to get!

I've written a few reviews over the past year on some of these "so called" remastered cd's that have been negative but I finally found one to be totally positive about. I usually write about the sound quality of the product because with these older re-releases, most are totally familiar with the material. This by far is the best sounding Guess Who collection ever put out on cd. My only criticism is it should have been a 3 cd set rather than 2. This is totally superior to "The Ultimate Collection" & "Track record The Guess Who Collection" Songs like "Broken" & the studio version of "Albert Flasher" never sounded better. I only wish the sound engineers would have worked the same magic on some of the other Guess Who cd releases.

If you love the Guess Who, you'll love this compilation. Not only does it include most of (if not all) the hits, it contains a lot of songs that didn't really get airplay but which will be known to fans of their albums. I was very impressed with the quality of the recordings - there was nothing lost from the original LP releases in the remastering as can often be the case. This is just a great sounding collection. I agree with another reviewer who said they could easily have added a 3rd cd to include even more material. Listening to this leaves me wanting to hear more! Definitely a must for fans of the band.