Customer Reviews

So Long Bannatyne

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Superb job by Iconoclassic Records in the remastering of both this & Rockin'. Unlike Rockin', the original Canadian CD reissue wasn't bad but the 2nd time around with the "2 for 1" releases in 2004, So Long Bannatyne was awful (along with all the other titles !!!) Whoever did that remastering, ATTENTION: This is how its done !!!!! I was around 12 when Bannatyne was originally released & I've probably listened to it a thousand times, but now its like I'm hearing it for the first time ! There seems to be things that were burried in the mix I can now hear. Acoustic guitar parts that were barely audible are now up front !
This was viewed by many as sort of a strange follow up to the very successful "Share the Land". A few very unusual songs BUT there are also a few gems. I do agree that it would have been a much stronger LP if "Albert Flasher" & "Broken" were originally included (they are now as bonus tracks).
Anyway, if you want to hear "So Long Bannatyne" at its best, this version is it !!! Also, great liner notes & artwork, true to the original.
ICONOCLASSIC records, if your listening: ARTIFICIAL PARADISE, Please !!!!

...So Long, Bannatyne would likely be it. I'd owned a cassette tape of this recording thirty five years ago. I'd forgotten just how good this music is! Classic Guess Who...tightly woven instrumentals, meticulous harmonies...and a couple of memorable hits interspersed. All the elements that made for a Guess Who album are here, including the welcome addition of two classic hits that have "hung in limbo" throughout the decades ( originally released as singles ): Albert Flasher and Broken...the perfect complement to an already great album. Goin' A Little Crazy, along with One Man Army, epitomize The Guess Who. Bands simply don't record excursions like these anymore.

Wow, Iconoclassic Records comes through again!

First off, The Guess Who could PLAY. (I believe Neil Young rated Randy Bachman
as his most-influencial guitarist. Randy is gone by this album, but the dual-guitar attack by Winter-Leskiw here is superb).

The boys' 5th studio album for RCA is not their best, but a fine album nonetheless.

I have always loved about 80% of this album....the long, Zappa-like Goin' A Little Crazy I find semi-hard to listen to. The rest of the album is either pure joy (Rain Dance, Pain Train, the title track) or solid pop/rock. She Might Have Been A Nice Girl is a gorgeous, hidden ballad I had overlooked for many years.

The inclusion of the Albert Flasher single is welcome-- to me in the early 70s this was a re-birth of an unabashed Jerry Lee Lewis piano-rocker, although as an aging boomer I prefer the b-side Broken, now: a fine, soulful lyric and subtle power pop flash to boot.

Again, the expanded liner notes are worth the price of admission; the sound is lean and clean--nice, tight bass, but everything sounding natural--remastered by Vic Anesini as were Wheatfiel Soul and Rockin'.
A MUST for Guess Who fans. PLEASE, someone remaster a definitive American Woman and Share The Land---the two standout albums by this great Canadian band!

I just... can't believe it. Such a good album from the early 70's, and nobody wants to appreciate it. Well guess what? There was a time when these Guess Who albums WERE well known and respected, but as time went on, apparently people made up their minds about what bands should be remembered and which ones shouldn't, and unfortunately the Guess Who fell into the second camp and became forgotten.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd EVER see the day when that'd happen. We're talking about a band with a bunch of radio hits. A band that sparked numerous hits, many of which are still played on FM stations today. This is NOT the kind of band that should slip through the cracks, or fade away over time. No no, instead the Guess Who should have been a band that people should remember for their diversity, their songwriting talents, and their ability to be likeable for just about anyone. Those are the qualities that made the Guess Who such a fantastic band back in the day.

So Long Bannatyne is pretty underrated for being "the sleeper album" I suppose you could say, because it didn't contain a variety of enormous hits like the previous three Guess Who albums did. However, it's the kind of album that probably takes many people back to the early 70's regardless of radio exposure and allows them to recall some very pleasant memories. It just has that atmosphere going for it.

"One Divided" is a nice, homemade-sounding track reminiscent of the stuff Paul McCartney was doing at the time. "Life in the Bloodstream" is pure danceable do wop similar to other early 70's rock bands attempting the same style such as Roxy Music. "So Long Bannatyne" is a terrific blues rocker/pop song- a combination of two styles the Guess Who were the masters at. The most interesting thing about the song is how it seems to get better as it goes along, so by the 4-minute mark, I'm really caught up in the lyrics and bluesy guitar work.

"Rain Dances" is just... incredibly catchy. It's actually pretty awesome. "Sour Suite" is EXACTLY why the 70's deserve to be remembered- this is just a really well-written song centered around a great, passionate vocal melody. Perhaps a Van Morrison influence, or who knows? Maybe Van Morrison was influenced by this.

I guess some people might dislike "Goin' a Little Crazy" because it sounds like the Guess Who is making an art-rock experiment, similar to Uriah Heep and others. It's a bit clunky in the way it was written and Burton's vocals feel disjointed, but it's alright. It's alright because "Pain Train" is next and talk about a VERY underrated track! Talk about great vocal work for its entire 4 minutes.

Probably the coolest and most frantic display of vocals I've ever heard from a Guess Who song are found on "Grey Day". It's definitely jazzy and very interesting. An acquired taste, I bet. "One Man Army" contains a humorous vocal melody that almost sounds like a German interpretation.

Come on, pick up this album, and pick up other Guess Who albums as well (besides just the greatest hits) and start up a collection. This is a fantastic band here folks, and time is not doing them well I'm afraid, so it's up to you to keep this music going.

American Woman was the last album Randy Bachman played on Kurt Winter and Greg Leskew replaced him on Share the Land,Moving to a MUCH heavier rock song.A notable exception being years later when the suits at RCA found the tapes that Randy was on that were to be the follow-up to American woman and put it out as "The Way They Were". After Randy's departure, and the arival of Kurt and Greg, Burton didn't want anything to do with the songs w/ Randy and started from scratch with the new band.

I just received my copy of The Guess Who's "So Long, Bannatyne" from Iconoclassics. I agree with a previous review that claims you really "hear" this album for the first time. All the instruments have their own space in the mix, and the sound is punchy with lots of dynamic range. Wait until you hear the "shimmer" in the cymbals, and the amazing kick drum sound. WOW. This is due to the incredible re-mastering job done by Vic Anesini. I have heard this man's work before, and he is the best in the business. He knows how re-mastering should be. The packaging for this release is also brilliant. It has original graphics and great liner notes. The attention to detail is demonstrated by even imprinting the original orange RCA label on the disc itself.
Now if we can convince Iconoclassics to re-release the rest of the Guess Who catalog...I hope one day to experience "Power In The Music" mastered this perfectly and with all the original graphics. Much Kudos to the people at Iconoclassics.

I've had the vinyl album since it first hit the stores. I've also owned the original CD release of "So Long, Bannatyne". I never went for the "2 for 1" because of the horrible job they did in remastering (after all, compressing 2 albums onto a single CD is going to get you lousy results). But this one is done the way it is meant to be!

Iconoclassic has written the book on remastering the old classic albums. With this album reissue, I felt like I was listening to it for the first time. They have found new life in those great tracks and brought it out to all of us fans again. The other reissues, "Rockin'" and "Wheatfield Soul" are equally brilliant in quality.

I'm looking forward to the release of "Artificial Paradise" and hopefully they will soon be bringing out the other titles such as "Road Food", "#10", "Flavours" and "Power in the Music".

If you did buy the "2 fer" CD, do yourself a huge favor and get this one while you can.

I won't go on about the genius of this album or the superlative playing on it. Chances are if you're interested in this recording you're already familiar with it. It is afterall one of those recordings that seems like an old friend. Which is why picking up this remaster is a must. My previous cd sounded like it was mastered from the last remaining piece of vinyl @ a garage sale. This edition is pristine. Welcome back Bannatyne!