Bachman-Turner Overdrive – often referred to simply as BTO – had a very good year in 1974.
First, the Canadian band scaled the radio dial with a pair of hit singles – “Let It Ride” and “Takin’ Care of Business” – while maintaining a booked tour itinerary. BTO (which featured former Guess Who guitarist, singer and songwriter Randy Bachman, guitarist and vocalist Blair Thornton, bassist and vocalist CF Turner and drummer Robbie Bachman) still managed to find time during this busy period to produce new material.
Released in August 1974, Not Fragile (Mercury Records) plugged in as Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s third album and kept them firmly in the limelight.
Grunting and grinding with power and volume, Not Fragile portrayed Bachman-Turner Overdrive as hard-rocking ninjas. A dual guitar drive, complemented by a taut and anchored rhythm section, parented a pose exploding with energy and excitement.
Big and brash vocals, combined with a thudding tenor geared to rattle windows and shatter glass, crowd the heavy-metal groan of “Sledgehammer,” while “Free Wheelin'” is a romping instrumental sprinkled with dashes of swinging jazz-inspired licks.
The title track – which owes a cheeky wink to the 1971 Fragile album by Yes – blazes with blistering chords slapped upon pounding grooves, and “Blue Moanin'” involves a bout of slinky slide-guitar action, sparking a bit of a boogie beat.
A wry commentary on being in the biz, Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Rock Is My Life, and This Is My Song” entails priceless lyrics such as “You’re only as good as your last record / We know that someday we’ll be gone,” while speaking of fans in the audience, waving their hands in the air. Starting out on a rather low-key note, the song soon increases in weight and intensity, resulting in a fiery little jam.
However, the most popular piece on Not Fragile is “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” which shot to the No. 1 post on the charts in the autumn of 1974. Steered by stuttering vocals, the winning song bounces to a ringing shuffle and also proposes a snappy melody and a pounding break.
“Roll On Down the Highway” was another tune picked as a single from Not Fragile. Peaking at No. 14 in early 1975, the irresistibly catchy cut is bolted tight with head-banging hooks, pumping riffs and a barking chorus.
Although Bachman-Turner Overdrive carried on until 1979, they never revisited the massive commercial success Not Fragile gleaned.
Restructured versions of the band – as well as a reunion with original members – appeared over the next few decades. But in the end, Bachman-Turner Overdrive will always be remembered for their great ’70s recordings – especially Not Fragile, which stands as the ultimate classic hard-rock album.
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