Wheatfield Soul
by
the Guess Who
has become a collectors item of sorts over the years, fetching various prices in fan circles, and it is an important "first" step for the reconstituted group which initially hit with
"Shakin' All Over"
when it was led by
Chad Allan
. The album is
Jack Richardson
's excellent production of
Randy Bachman
and
Burton Cummings
' music played by this particular four-piece unit, which
Peter Clayton
's liner notes claim were together "for three years when they cut this album in late 1968." The naive sound of
Cummings
' voice on the album tracks is charming, but the hit
"These Eyes"
has that authority which the band would repeat on diverse chart songs like
"No Time,"
"American Woman,"
and even
"Star Baby"
further down the road.
"Pink Wine Sparkles in the Glass"
is a precursor to
"New Mother Nature,"
but the solo
composition
"I Found Her in a Star"
is very nice
Guess Who
-style
pop
that their fans adore.
"Friends of Mine"
is a strange one, though, ten minutes and three seconds of
imitating
Jim Morrison
, not just
Morrison
, but the copping of his vocal riffs straight from
"When the Music's Over."
This is a band stretching and searching for direction, and rather than hit you with hard
assaults which were a welcome addition to future long-players by this group, as well as
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
,
concentrates on
Brit-pop
and experimental songs.
's
"A Wednesday in Your Garden"
is
British rock
meets
jazz
, and is one of the LP's most interesting numbers. The
Chick Crumpacker
Don Wardell
liner notes to
Ultimate Collection
note that
"was technically the 18th release by the band." The key is that it was the first from the quartet of
Bachman
Kale
, and
Peterson
as produced by
.
also notes that
"Lightfoot"
was written for "fellow Canadian
Gordon Lightfoot
." The notes go on to point out that
"Maple Fudge"
"We're Coming to Dinner"
were real oddities, but a style that would reappear over the band's long and illustrious catalog. Maybe that's what makes
so sought after, inventive themes that eventually found their way onto later albums like
Artificial Paradise
Rockin'
. Perhaps the tragedy is that they didn't get to work with
Frank Zappa
--
's left-field musings would have been the perfect follow-up to
Zappa
's work with
Grand Funk
. Take two of
appears on
, which only utilized three songs from this important first album after the band was reborn. But for all the musical wandering, it is
which remains timeless, the song that stands out as the masterpiece on this creative adventure. ~ Joe Viglione