Customer Reviews

Guess Who - Running Back Thru Canada

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was lucky enough to both see this band in Montreal on the 2000 tour and catch the CBC special after the tour wrapped up. This is an extended version of the special, and a magical night it was for Winnipegers and GW fans everywhere. The night they played Montreal, the video cameras were on them as they were headed to the stage, and the thunder that came from the audience would make you think God had approached the stage...Bachman and Cummings are the Lennon & McCartney of the Great White North, and from the performances that night and on the CD...they're playing better than they ever did the first time around (and I had seen them back in 1971). Some people may consider Mr. Cummings a bit full of himself...but he's earned it if he comes across that way...the legendary material he and Randy (and all his other collaborators in the band including the late Kurt Winter) have given us over the years is some truly great rock & roll...this band deserves a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...if the powers that be ever get their heads in the right geographical location. The morning after I saw the Guess Who in Montreal, the morning guy on CHOM-FM said it all: "I've been to a ton of concerts over the years, but I've never been to a show where I sang along with every single song all the way through... but I did last night." This is one of those shows...worth your money and worth them taking it on the road again next year (and hopefully to the US as well as Canada...if not, I guess I'll just travel north again). Bravo Burton, Randy, Bill, Donnie and Garry. After 35, nearly 40 years I am still a solid fan!

I rate this Guess Who concert above and beyond the standard 5 stars. It's fabulous.There are about 22 songs including their bonus songs.Burton Cummings has not lost anything over the years. Not even his boyish and crazy charm with adorable,sexy expressions.He looks great and is as gorgeous as ever.If possible, Burtons voice is better than it ever was.They do all their hits almost exactly in the original format with alot of extra added to them.I loved them back in the 60's and 70's and do still now.Randys incredible on the guitar too with mega closeups of his hands playing.Infact, ever solitary one of them are incredible musicians.Better than I remember.American woman was done in such an incredible way but one song that sticks out as well is Talisman.They have never performed it in concert other than in their Finland concert tour.It seems to me that all the groups that were popular when I was young(Not that I'm that old.I am 48 to be exact) are coming back or or are still going strong.It goes to show exactly where all the musical talents lie and there is no doubt in my mind that The Guess Who is back and will be for a very long time.The songs performed are:Albert Flasher, No Time, These Eyes,Glamour Boy,Rain Dance,American Woman,Talisman,No Sugar Tonight,Lookin' Out for #1,Share the Land,New Mother Nature,Runnin' Back to Saskatoon,Takin' Care of Business,Laughing,Bus Rider & Undun.Plus you get 6 bonus songs and a 20 minute interview and rehersal hall segment.The Guess Who plays for their home town crowd in Winnipeg and the crowd adores them and it is very obvious.Infact, the group performed in a very bad thunder and lightening storm that included severe down pours but never the less with the bad storm and all the entire crowd didn't budge.They stayed for the entire concert rain and all.It was so dangerous that the group had to leave the stage for about an hour and when they returned everyone was still there.Absolutely one incredible and very exciting concert from one of the best musical talents in the world.I recommend this to everyone.It is well worth the price.I have many concerts plus I am a musician and this has got to be now my favorite.I don't know what else to say other than if you are a Guess Who fan then you will most assuredly love this dvd.I recommend buying it before you can't anymore.The entire concert is over 2 hours.Also....the camera man did one heck of a job filming this with many closeups of all their faces and their hands playing.The band features Burton Cummings,Randy Bachman,Garry Peterson,Donnie Mc Dougall and Bill Wallace.Simply awesome!!!!What a performance they give!!!!!

First, I want to let everyone know that I think this band and this concert is absolutely fantastic! My problem with the DVD is that there are six bonus songs that must be accessed on their own menu, and most of the songs they consider bonus songs are from the concert this very concert. What makes them bonus songs??? To make matters worse, there is no option to simply choose to play all of the bonus songs. You have to choose each one individually to hear it. I almost rated this 4 stars instead of 5 for this bit of stupidity on the part of the DVD programmer. But, I love the band and wish them all the best. Buy this disk anyway and enjoy it. But, as for the person responsible for the bogus bonus songs, they deserve a spanking!

Yeah, the picture quality of the DVD isn't what it could be, but once these five seasoned pros take the stage in Winnipeg, it doesn't make any difference. This really is great. From "Running Back to Saskatoon" on through the anthemic "Share The Land," Cummings, Bachman, McDougall, Wallace and Peterson are all in top form. What really surprised me (since I never had the chance to see the band live back in the Seventies) is hearing and seeing how great a guitarist Donnie McDougall is. Randy Bachman, sure, he's as terrific here as I thought he'd be, but McDougall holds his own with him just fine and his solos on "Guns, Guns, Guns" (featured in the "Bonus Songs" section) really smoke!

Reunions of bands from the 60s, 70s and 80s often end up being very disappointing, but the Guess Who reunion, as seen on this DVD, is a thrill to watch, great to sing along with and, for this 50-something, a great reason to strap on the air-guitar and rock with the band. Real fine!

I was not sure how well these guys could still play, after all they have been around a long time. Well I can now safely say I was not disappointed. They still sounded great although a bit toned down in the vocal department, which is understandable being that they are pushing past 60 in some cases. Randy Bachman
seems to benifit from the years of playing beyond The Guess Who,he really hits every note and jams the solo's more than ever. He was a real joy to watch and the standout of the show.
The sound and visual quality of the show were quite good. The mixing was well done, and the set list was great. There was a Thunder and Lightening rumbling in the backround, which was quite fitting, as The Guess Who were creating some sparks of their own. Only one thing bugged me just a little about the DVD, it has six bonus tracks which is great but you can not play them along with the regular show. You have to go into a seperate menu and start each song, one by one kind of dumb. I mean ok gimmie bonus/encore tracks let me just watch them without all the monkey business. Otherwise top flight DVD of one of the most classic rock bands ever. GET IT TODAY!

I've been a fan since high school, in fact I still have "Wheatfield Soul" on cassette. I saw them in the Boston area a couple of years ago and they were great! All their hits are here, plus several BTO songs. The version of "American Woman" on this is worth the price itself. Good extra features,interviews with Burton and Randy and rehearsals. You won't be sorry.

Another old time fan here. Complaints ... they did not include Orly on the DVD and yes the picture quality is not terribly good, but it not that bad really. Back in 2000, I bought the Running Back Thru Canada cd when it came out, I was a bit disappointed in it mostly because I thought the thing was poorly mixed and frankly sounded like crap. I played it once or twice and put it on the shelf. I figured that this DVD would be a companion piece to the cd and to be honest, I bought it for my collection not expecting much. I put it on and I have to say that this is the most exciting thing that the band has put out in 30 years. The sound is excellent! The sound guys did an amazing job with all of the bad weather and all. The line up is my dream (with respect to Curt Winter) Guess Who and they did not disappoint . It is obvious that all of these guys have been playing music over all of these years because they were "smokin". This is not a typical band reunion of a bunch of 70's used to be's fatties. This is good stuff and make no mistake ... these guys CAN play! The Guess Who version of Let it Ride is worth the cost of the DVD alone. It was obviously a magic night in Winnipeg for this concert. I'm glad that they caught it! I think that it is a must for the hard core Guess Who fan.

As I was shopping with my Mom, I spotted the newly released Guess Who DVD, Running Back Thru Canada, which was filmed at the Goldeyes' baseball park in Winnipeg, in June, 2000. I was at the concert and I will never forget it. I can recall the darkening, menacing skies, with lightening flickering all over the area. Would we be spared from a downpour? We weren't, but with an unforcasted intermission, the show went on. The ten-minute intermission lasted over an hour due to the weather. Fortunately, the rain didn't last all evening. They actually risked electrocution by playing on instead of calling it a night, which made the evening all the more special. From watching the DVD commentary in between songs, the band was actually more concerned about the wind picking up and blowing apart the covered stage.

The band sounded fantastic. You might expect the sound at an outdoor show to be mediocre, but that wasn't the case from I stood, on the field. Seeing Randy Bachman play live only enhanced, in my mind, his status as a guitar virtuoso. Witness his euphoric, dazzling soloing on the jam part of American Woman. The Guess Who are my favorite Canadian band and at this warm summer evening show, I was in my glory. I only wish they had played another encore. Clearly, they left the audience wanting more. I know I would see them again and again and again, if I could.

The Guess Who have a huge amount of strong material, much more than they could play in a show. Some of the lesser known, but equally appealing songs that were played included: Rain Dance, Guns Guns Guns, Talisman and Glamour Boy. Also included was the Bachman-penned BTO hit, Takin' Care of Business and Takin' Care of Number One.

The now swelte Bachman looked liked a well-fed grandfather, with the beard and a bit too much girth. Donnie McDoougall and Bill Wallace on guitar and bass, respectively, didn't look anywhere near their 50-something years from my vantage point. Burton Cummings looked like he was in his 40s. Drummer Gary Peterson looked like he could lose a lot of weight, but he was solid in his performance and that's all that really matters.

There are some things you see in the DVD that I didn't notice from the show. During the American Woman jam, Bachman took a drumstick from Cummings and used it to run up and down the fretboard, which resulted in a string breaking, You suddenly see the broken string swaying by itself in the camera close-up.

There are a couple of things about the DVD that I was disappointed in. The concert was originally filmed for a 2-hour television broadcast. Consequently, six of the tracks are not part of the main feature, but they are relegated to the bonus section of the disc. It would have been better if all 21 tracks were played sequentially. There an inlay card, but no extensive liner notes. There's nothing that actually tells you who is in the lineup on the card.

The DVD also includes an interview and footage from one of their rehearsals. Although the concert was already aired on TV, I'm glad I purcased the DVD and I know I will watch it over and over again.

Let me say, first off, that I've been a fan of this band since the late 60's. So I'm no "Guess Who fan come lately," by any means. Let me also say that this is a fine concert -- the band is really on, playing before friends and family during a violent thunderstorm in Winnipeg. The performance is great, and the production (meaning sound quality, in the sense of balance and clarity) is great, too.

So why only 2 stars? Because the volume of the DVD is variable, not constant, as if there were some sort of limiter in the processing. It's loud, then suddenly it's soft, then suddenly it's loud again, for no good reason. And this variability simply ruin the DVD. Since it's highly unlikely this is a manufacturing defect, I'm rather surprised no other reviewer has noticed. Really a shame, too -- if this problem were fixed, the DVD would a priceless addition to the library of any Guess Who fan. I can only speculate that a complete idiot was in charge of the final mix.

Guess I'll just have to stick with the VHS tape of the band's earlier Toronto reunion concert. And when will THAT fine concert be coming out on DVD, I wonder? We're waiting, fellas . . . !

Yes, I admit it: I'm old. Sometimes it bothers me, most times it doesn't, but being able to have been a Guess who fan all these years is NEVER a regret, and this DVD shows why. Two generations later, and they're better than ever!!!

The DVD is pretty well done (ok it's not perfect, but it was shot in the middle of a major Canadian storm) and where else can you see a show like this? It includes so many hits by what is arguably the greatest band ever to come out of the Great White North (some would say anywhere) and for those that are wondering, no it doesn't restrict itself to just tracks by TGW alone. When they performed Takin' Care of Business from the BTO days, even the dog stopped what he was doing to watch... The originals like American Woman, These Eyes, etc., are pure gems. The concert includes some of their lesser known tracks as well, which is nice because it takes you on a trip down memory lane that you usually don't get without pulling out the vinyl, since they almost never show up on the oldies stations. This is Rock when it was ROCK!!!

Call together the children, and the grandchildren. There is no Parental Advisory on this stuff - Just good solid music by one of the greatest groups, and one of the greatest song writing duos ever. Show them that not everything in history is boring. Enjoy!!!!!!