No one represented North American meat-and-potatoes hard rock better back in the day than Canada’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Unfortunately, the group fell apart over the years – until an accidental reunion of co-leaders Randy Bachman and Fred Turner.
Despite the time away, Bachman and Turner arrived on Sept. 7, 2010 boasting all of the spirit of the old BTO.
Bachman initially invited Turner to make a vocal appearance on a track for Bachman’s next solo project. Then the guest turn sparked a full-fledged joining of forces, and Turner ended up contributing tracks as well as more vocals, while Bachman shelved tracks that didn’t fit, including cuts that featured other Canadian icons like Jeff Healey and Neil Young.
That’s how good Randy Bachman must have felt about this reunion. As it turns out, his vibe was right.
Fred Turner’s full throated voice was completely intact, as were Bachman’s massive riffs and chops. For anyone else playing guitar like that, I’d be tempted to call it clichéd, but Randy Bachman invented these much-imitated licks.
Nearly every song on Bachman and Turner was trying to be a rock ‘n’ roll anthem, and many of them succeeded: Listening to “Rollin’ Along,” “Moonlight Rider,” “Slave to the Rhythm” and “Repo Man” was almost like tuning in to an AM rock radio station back in the day.
“Can’t Go Back to Memphis” was great blooz rock, while “That’s What It Is” was powered by Bachman’s trademark shuffle. “Rock and Roll Is the Only Way Out” is a half-hearted attempt at rap, the only real misstep on the entire record.
So, why not make it official and call it a Bachman-Turner Overdrive album? Blame it on some legal stuff. But it doesn’t take a lawyer to figure out that Bachman and Turner was a record by the same masterminds behind one of the most successful hard-rockin’ bands of the Watergate era.
There couldn’t have been a more welcome return for the two co-frontmen in a group that made some great feel-good rockers. Bachman and Turner brought back that same feeling.
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