Customer Reviews

Burton Cummings

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4 star:		(5)
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Burton Cummings first solo album was so much more than just an album.

Cummings was largely recognized for his work as front-man of Guess Who, but it was clear that his musical direction was unique and went far deeper than the collective works of Guess Who.

When I bought this album back in 1977, I was simply amazed at the sound Burton Cummings created and captured. You could actually hear the hybrid sounds of upstate New York and Ontario, blended together in what can only be described as creative bliss.

The big hit, Stand Tall was good, but the rest of the album was so much more. Songs like "Sugartime Flashback Joys" and "I'm Scared" demonstrate Burton Cummings' uniqueness as a songwriter and musician, and his ability to take a song he makes up in his head come to life in such a way that you see what he sees and you hear what he hears.

Perhaps my favorite song on the album, as if there could only be one, was "Your Back Yard", a song that transports one to the roots of good-time rock and roll, all-fun, and at a pace that keeps you hitting the "repeat" button. Even my 13-year-old daughter loves this album.

Enjoy a great slice of Canadian rock and roll history, and see why even now, Burton Cummings music is timeless and priceless.

I have been a Guess Who fan since I was a teen and I am 40 now and I have yet to hear a voice that compares to Burton Cummings...His ballads are amazing. I watched a movie he was in called Melanie in the early 1980's it was a great movie and with GREAT songs by Burton. A must buy for anyone who can appeciate
vocal talent such as his. His voice gives me goosebumps.

There is no need for me to write a long review because I happen to agree with most of the other reviews on here about this cd.Simply put, it's fabulous.I love Burton with or without the Guess Who.He shows exactly what talent he has in this cd.It is his first solo album and I owned it back in the 70's.I bought it again in cd so that says enough about it.Buy it.It's GREAT!

As a member of The Guess Who Burton Cummings played an enormous role in getting Canadian music in the international charts. After a decade with them he finally disbanded the group he had come to outgrow, and worked hard on making his first solo project an unforgettable gem.

Every song on this album is performed to perfection, and, along with a half-dozen originals, all of which rank with his very best writing efforts (especially "Is It Really Right", his best song ever, and also his personal favourite from this album) he includes a diverse selection of well chosen cover songs, ranging from a superb reading of Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Nothing Rhymed" to the jokey big band version of "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", which, curiously, led to a rekindling of friendship between Cummings and former bandmate Randy Bachman.

Elsewhere "Stand Tall" provided him with his only truly substantial US hit as a solo artist, although "I'm Scared" also made an appearance on the charts, but every song is a highlight, and the album deservingly charted higher than any Guess Who album since 1970s "Share the Land".

This is some of the most beautiful music I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I first heard the album(yes, I said album), around 1980. The song, "I'm scared", brought tears to my eyes. Burton, if you ever read any of these, let me just say that your voice is beatiful! I enjoyed all the songs on the album, and when I found clips of the songs on the net, I had to listen. It brought back so many wonderful memories. If you are a Burton Cummings fan, you must own this one!

I was saddened when the Guess Who broke up in 1975, and highly excited when this record hit the stores a year and a half later. There is some excellent material such as I'm Scared and Nothing Rhymed (written by Gilbert O'Sullivan). The big band version of You ain't seen nothing yet is hilarious. Yet this is an older and wiser Burton Cummings - it is missing the wild and crazy screaming Cummings of the early 1970's - and also missing his nasty-funny satiric bent which is exhibited on Guess Who songs such as Shoe Biz Shoes. This album is more introspective. Still, I would recommend this album to anyone who loves that voice, and I certainly do.

This was Burton's first solo album after leaving the Guess Who. It is a excellent blend of a few covers along with some of his best originals, coupled with at that time, one of the industries best producers, Richard Perry. When this was released in late 1976, the talk around was that Burton was destined for super stardom. Being a lifelong Guess Who (& later Burton Cummings) fan, I always wondered what he might of achieved if he stuck with the formula from this great album on his subsequent solo efforts. Although those did have many gems, they weren't as strong as this one. As we found out with the Guess Who, Burton was never one to go with the flow & just try to churn out commercial attempts at hits unless the songs were under his terms. "Stand Tall" was the big hit from this one but its probably the cut I play the least. "I'm Scared" (a song he wrote with the Guess Who & they rejected) is one of my all time favorites. "Nothing Rhymed", "Is it really right", "Your Backyard" & "Sugartown Flashback Joys" are excellent. The remastering job, not only on this cd, but the other 3 Cummings solo releases is super. My only complaint with this series of Cummings remasters is they stopped with "Woman Love". "Sweet Sweet" (in my opinion, Burton's best solo effort since this one) still remains available only on vinyl. I wish the folks at RCA-BMG would have put the same kind of effort into ALL the Guess Who cd releases that CBS put into these.

Cummings first solo album since departure from The Guess Who is remarkable. Here he lets his unique piano-singing style shine through, unhindered by his former band. "Stand Tall" was a huge surprise hit for him, showing his blue-eyed soul, and "I'm Scared" is as heartfelt as yearnful tunes can get.

The rest of the album is filled with fast-paced rock 'n roll originals with some fancy keyboards and great guitar work. "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" is a slow version of the Bachman tune with the clever stutter turned into a hungry ballad.

The two demo's of "Blossom" and "I'm Scared" are excellent examples of Cummings raw talent and enough reason alone to purchase this set.

A great number of talented Canadians are out there, but Cummings was one of the first.

Burton Cummings has written some of the best songs of any Guess Who fan. This CD has him again with his piano and an orchestra and the music is wonderful again...to listen to his different renditions of "I'm Scared" are amazing. This is other great CD for Burton Cummings fans to add to their collection.

I was listening to a Guess Who CD about a week ago, and decided I wanted to own again the Burton Cummings CD I remember from 1976/1977. Burton Cummings was the lead singer of the Guess Who. I know high school girl things about him, and not much else. The CD has the famous, STAND TALL, a lesser known song called I'M SCARED, and several others that have intelligence and energy. The CD arrived within two days, I think, and I have played it through maybe six times already.