Search - Guess Who :: The Best of The Guess Who

A Rock Classic

Charles Szabla | Cleveland OH | 03/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why the Guess Who has not been inducted (or even nominated for that matter) into the Rock N Roll Hall o' Fame is a complete mystery to me. Is it because they sold gobs of records and hit #1 on the charts? Is it because they're Canadian? Is it because there's a bunch of politically-oriented knuckleheads running that place? I dunno, but maybe those in charge should take a good hard listen to the incredible string of songs the boys from Winnipeg churned out in the scant 4 years (1968-71) represented on this disc. Burton Cummings was (and still is) one of the greatest voices in rock. Robert Plant was once asked "If he could sing like anybody else, who it would be?" The legendary voice of Led Zeppelin replied, "Burton Cummings". Mighty high praise indeed. I have no qualms about the extra songs included on this reissue but if you want to dig a bit deeper into the Guess Who's impressive range of material try the 2 disc set "Anthology" which is still in print and also available from Amazon at a bargain price. Not only does the "Anthology" collection include the aforementioned "Clap for the Wolfman" but also their first hit "Shakin All Over" along with the FM radio gems "Pain Train", "Heartbroken Bopper", "Running Back To Saskatoon", "Glamour Boy", and "Star Baby". Listen and you will understand what the big deal about the Guess Who is."

Anthology is Better

Music Brains | Tupelo,MS | 02/07/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first vinyl album I ever bought. I always thought it was the greatest. Then later on in the years when I was buying discs and wanted some Guess Who, I purchased their anthology which consists of everything on this plus more. It is two discs at a reasonable price. I highly reccomend buying the anthology instead of this one."

Canadian Hit Machine

Jim Newsom | Norfolk, VA | 04/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sure it's good, but is it necessary? The Guess Who were a great singles band at the turn of the `70s, when FM album rock stations were taking over from AM Top 40 outlets. Led by the distinctive voice of Burton Cummings, the band had a six-year string of catchy tunes that were an essential part of the era's soundtrack. Here, the group's Best of album from 1971 gets the Legacy treatment, with three extra tracks. But the 1999 disc, Greatest Hits, still trumps it because it has post-'71 material like "Star Bay" and "Clap for the Wolfman" and the long version of "American Woman." (There's also a two-disc Anthology.) What the record company should do is add "Bus Rider," "Do You Miss Me Darlin" and "Broken" from this collection to the Greatest Hits confab, and release a definitive 21-track single CD that really could be called "Best" or "Greatest."



Originally published in Port Folio Weekly, 1/24/06

Copyright 2006 Port Folio Weekly. Used by permission."