BACHMAN CUMMINGS:
Kent –
What concert were YOU at???
They have been entertaining us since they were 18 years old.
They got out there ... one more time, one more time
They are not 18 years old …
None of us are …
That is just how it is...
Let’s remember that Burton Cummings is coming up on his 74th birthday. (He was born December 31, 1947.)
At Age 70 (May 18th, 2018), he was in a car crash while driving in Los Angeles, involved in a collision with another car. He suffered minor cuts to his arms and a severe concussion. The other driver ran a red light, as proven by neighboring security cameras, with his family and child in the car, and broadsided Cummings, forcing Cummings' car into a Street Pole. Though he was wearing a seat belt, Cummings hit his head on the windshield.
Cummings has said in interviews that he frequently relived the crash and was considering therapy. Cummings returned to playing concerts in mid-June 2018.
Kent,
These guy's 'Kicked Ass' on Takin’ Care of Business: https://youtu.be/roqXDktaEY0
This particular song has a very special ‘Remember When' factor for me ...
We were right there.
It was 1973 / 74 and we were playing Brook Park Road in Cleveland. This night it was The Blue Moon Lounge. The place was jumping and I had my cow bell and drum stick and we were Takin’ Care of Business, the extended version.
Also check out American Woman: https://youtu.be/Alrn70MyE4Y
LJ Coon
A correspondence between FH Readers Tom Cuddy and Brad Joblin that they shared with me ... and some clarification from yours truly ...
Oh dear ...
To hear that Burton was off is hard to fathom. I’m confused. At first, I thought Kent was writing this as if he was there at the show but is he saying he watched a stream or broadcast? Where? I’d like to see just went wrong.
I know Randy’s voice is off from recent clips. He’s done a weekly stream with Tal, through the pandemic. It was nice to see them trying, especially good father / son chemistry.
Tom Cuddy
Hi Kent,
Hope all’s well!
Where and how did you
watch this Bachman-Cummings show? Might the stream still be available?
I don’t enjoy train wrecks but, like you, I really love these guys and in
the past ten years have been so lucky to enjoy quality time with them. I
drove Randy from his Ridgefield Playhouse gig to his hotel in New York. A
fantastic one hour conversation. And Burton played here, too, twice. Both
did amazing shows.
Brad Joblin
It was an online stream celebrating Manitoba’s 150th Anniversary last Saturday Night and Bachman-Cummings were the headliners. (We promoted the show, albeit with very short notice, once we found out that streaming it was an option.) As it turns out, the stream was only supposed to go out to Canadians, but we found a way to watch it here at home … and then, after all that anticipation, were sorry to report that it was SUCH a disappointment.
I can’t think of anything I’ve
looked more forward to than the Bachman Cummings show coming to Chicago for the
past two years. (I word it this way
because of all the postponements and rescheduling that happened due to Covid
restrictions and delays, as well as their own ability to travel across Canada’s
border as a result of Covid protocol north of our shared borders) We held on to our second row seats
and just waited and waited and waited until they finally called off the entire
U.S. portion of the tour a couple of weeks ago.
I was heartbroken, figuring that this was going to be my absolute last chance to see them perform together again … so when the Manitoba stream came up, I was all in and jumped at the chance to watch it.
And they just died.
Randy’s never had much of a voice to begin with … but Burton has been letter-perfect every time we’ve ever seen him … so when his voice started cracking right out of the box (and I mean on nearly EVERY line he sang or spoke), I knew they were in trouble.
After viewing this performance, I think it is safe to say that there is absolutely no way they could have possibly sustained a full American tour. (Scroll back to Monday of this week and you’ll find my full review … along with reader commentary on Tuesday)
On the one hand, I felt a sigh of relief, as we had just received our $330 ticket refund that same afternoon! Now I was seeing the show for free (and had I actually paid $330 to see and hear a show this bad, I would have been even more disappointed than I already was watching it at home.)
I have yet to see the whole show posted but two really good chunks of it can be found on Burton Cummings’ Facebook Page. (Interestingly enough, the first four or five songs have been excised from the clip … and for good reason … they truly were God-Awful … and downright embarrassing!)
I love BOTH of these guys and
appreciate every note of music they’ve ever shared with us … that’s why this
hurt as badly as it did … but honestly, I just hated to see them go out on such
a low note. They deserve better and
should be remembered for who and what they really were and not judged by the quality (or lack there of) of this particular show.
It's bad enough that The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame has slighted them for the past thirty years … they just don’t need another black mark against them at this stage of the game. Still, as Canada’s all-time premier band, they can hold their heads up high and say “Look at all we accomplished” … and then honestly just leave it at that. (kk)
When you talk about your celebrated songwriting teams, Bachman-Cummings put together a pretty impressive list of tunes in a very short period of time.
“These Eyes” (#3, 1969), “Laughing” (#5, 1969), “Undun” (written by Randy Bachman alone, #22, 1969), “No Time” (#3, 1970), “American Woman” (#1, 1970) and its tag-along B-Side “No Sugar Tonight” (#39 … and also written by Randy Bachman only … but probably best known as the Classic Rock Album Medley of “No Sugar Tonight” / “New Mother Nature,” which was written by Burton Cummings only … two totally separate songs that just happened to fit together perfectly!) … some would say the “hey day” of The Guess Who. In the scheme of things, their collaborative venture only lasted a couple of years … yet the Bachman-Cummings “team” is still regarded as pure gold magic. (Surprisingly, and perhaps disappointingly, the duo have never written together again, despite numerous reunions over the past four decades. Instead, they’ve chosen to let their legacy stand with this impressive body of work that has virtually never been off the radio in over forty years.)
Randy Bachman left The Guess Who after the making of their “American Woman” album. He would reappear a couple of years later fronting Bachman-Turner Overdrive, where he would go on to have some of his greatest chart success … seven more National Top 40 Hits, including the #1 smash “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” in 1974 and the Classic Rock classic ‘Takin’ Care Of Business” (#6, 1974). Cummings, meanwhile, continued to lead The Guess Who through nine more Top 40 Hits of their own before leaving for a solo career in 1976, where he would score the Top Ten Hit “Stand Tall.” (#5, 1977)
ALL of this music is now being highlighted on a brand new Bachman-Cummings 7-CD (and vinyl) box set collection, currently due out in late October. (It has been “coming” for over years now … but this time it looks like the real deal.) kk
This Bachman Cummings Collectors Box is coming …
And now even on vinyl!
Clark Besch
Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings are getting ready to launch The Collection, a special edition box set from these two former Guess Who bandmates.
The illustrious box set from two of Canada’s most celebrated musicians and songwriters includes five albums from The Guess Who from their 1969 – 1971 period alongside material from both Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Burton Cummings. This 7 CD or 7 LP set will include an expanded booklet of rare and unpublished publicity, studio and master tape photography and detailed liner notes. Both LP and CD boxes are available for pre-order now.
Bachman and Cummings rose to international fame as members of the supergroup The Guess Who. Bachman broke from the band in 1970, forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Cummings departed in 1975 for a solo career.
The Guess Who laid the groundwork for Canada’s breakthrough songwriting partnership in Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, as the first three albums of the Bachman Cummings Collection – Wheatfield Soul and Canned Wheat, both released in 1969 – and 1970’s American Woman – attest. The Guess Who’s trailblazing run of U.S. chart and sales successes continued with the albums Share The Land and So Long, Bannatyne. With Toronto-born Jack Richardson working his magic in producing Bachman-Cummings’ hook-filled gems for instant radio appeal, The Guess Who became Canada’s first rock star collective.
As songwriters, there was chemistry: from the moment Burton Cummings sat down at the piano with Randy Bachman “Burton and I would get together every Saturday morning at 10 or 11 a.m. and I would play him ideas I had for songs,” Bachman recalls. “We wrote very quickly. No song was a labour. If it didn’t work, we threw it away.”
Often using Beatles or Chuck Berry songs as starting points, the duo employed a healthy rivalry. “The competition between us made us a pretty good songwriting team. We were force-fed many musical styles and that crept into our work,” adds Cummings.
Whether collaborating or through the individual endeavors of Randy Bachman (like Bachman-Turner Overdrive) or Burton Cummings’ collected work, the body of songwriting is arguably among the best of rock n’ roll history.
Of
the legacy, Cummings says, “I’ve lived a pretty full life. I’ve been all over
the world. And I’ve realized, better than ever, every year that I go out and
sing those songs again, it’s more special to the audience, besides being more
special to me”.
Bachman adds, “These songs are bigger than us or any differences that we might
have had in the past. Getting together to celebrate the songs is a real triumph
for us”.
Bachman Cummings The Collection will be released internationally on October 29, 2021.
TRACK LISTING:
The Guess Who – Wheatfield Soul
These
Eyes
Pink Wine Sparkles In The Glass
I Found Her In A Star
Friends Of Mine
When
You Touch Me
A Wednesday In Your Garden
Lightfoot
Love And A Yellow Rose
Maple Fudge
We’re Coming To Dinner
The Guess Who – American Woman
Side
A
American Woman
No Time
Talisman
No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
Side
B
969 (The Oldest Man)
When Friends Fall Out
8:15
Proper Stranger
Humpty’s Blues / American Woman (Epilogue)
The Guess Who – So Long, Bannatyne
Side
A
Rain Dance
She Might Have Been a Nice Girl
Goin’ a Little Crazy
Fiddlin’
Pain Train
One Divided
Side
B
Grey Day
Life In the Bloodstream
One Man Army
Sour Suite
So Long, Bannatyne
Bachman-Turner Overdrive – Collected
Side
A
Hold Back The Water
Stayed Awake All Night
Let It Ride
Takin’ Care Of Business
Rock Is My Life, And This Is My Song
Side
B
You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet
Four Wheel Drive
Hey You
Lookin’ Out For #1
Down, Down
The Guess Who – Canned Wheat
No
Time
Minstrel Boy
Laughing
Undun
6 A.M. or Nearer
Old
Joe
Of a Dropping Pin
Key
Fairing Warning
The Guess Who – Share The Land
Side
A
Bus Rider
Do You Miss Me Darlin’
Hand Me Down World
Moan for You Joe
Share The Land
Side
B
Hang On to Your Life
Coming Down Off the Money Bag
Three More Days
Burton Cummings – Collected
Side
A
I’m Scared
Your Back Yard
Is It Really Right
Stand Tall
My Own Way To Rock
Side
B
Timeless Love
Break It To Them Gently
I Will Play A Rhapsody
Dream Of A Child
Heavenly Blue
Fine State Of Affairs
It’s a GREAT collection … but good luck finding it!!!
This has been supposedly "coming" (or available) for over almost two years now ... and yet NOBODY has ever had it in stock. (I've tried to order it numerous times over the past couple of years without success ... but according to what I've read in the past 48 hours, it sounds like THIS may be the actual "official" release ... although Amazon.com still doesn't show it that way.)
I already have all of these recordings ... and then some … but to have them all collected in a neat little box set would be awesome. I'd still opt for the CD edition over the vinyl, 'tho, as that's just a more accessible option for me right now.
It's been listed on Amazon for over a year ... I've tried to order, pre-order and/or back-order several times and it has never been in stock even once, usually with a disclaimer to the effect of "Don't know when ... or IF we'll have this item in stock again," implying that they DID have it at some point in time. Apparently not based on this new announcement.
I've even ordering it thru Amazon of Canada (who claim that they can't let me order it because they are not allowed to ship it to me here in The United States!)
Honestly, I wish there was a bit more to it ... a lot of great music has been left off this collection … but this is still a pretty impressive set. I will continue to try and preorder it. (Maybe now that it’s officially been announced and is being promoted in the media, Amazon will do a little better as far as actually being able to fill orders for this once it is finally released.) kk
Speaking of new releases, what a year this has been for Beatles fans!!!
The Fest For Beatles Fans just published this list …
Here
is what has been or is being released in 2021:
January
- McCartney III, released
at the end of 2020, began this year at the top of the charts
March -
Ringo - Zoom in
April
- John Lennon - Plastic
Ono Band
May
- Ram On Tribute
CD with Denny Seiwell & Friends
July
- McCartney III Imagined
August
- George's All Things Must
Pass massive release
September
- Ringo - Change The World
EP
October
- Let It Be
releases and the Get Back
Book
November
- Paul McCartney, The Lyrics
Book
Thanksgiving
Weekend - Get
Back Film on Disney +
December
- What's left????
Meanwhile, watch for a very special 8-CD Set commemorating Steppenwolf’s career with ABC/Dunhill Records.
The discs will include EVERY track the band recorded for the label between 1967 and 1971, as well as the special mono single mixes of the hits and a whole bunch of live cuts.
It’s the latest career-spanning compilation from Cherry Red Records and is expected to hit the streets on October 29th or November 5th. (More details to come)
A complete track list is shown below …
Magic Carpet Ride – The Dunhill/ABC Years, 1967-1971 Track Listing
DISC ONE:
Steppenwolf – Released in January 1968
1 Sookie Sookie
2 Everybody’s Next One
3 Berry Rides Again
4 Hootchie Kootchie Man
5 Born To Be Wild
6 Your Wall’s Too High
7 Desperation
8 The Pusher
9 A Girl I Knew
10 Take What You Need
11 The Ostrich
Bonus tracks (Mono Single Versions)
12 Sookie Sookie
13 Born To Be Wild
14 Everybody’s Next One
15 Take What You Need
16 A Girl I Knew
17 The Ostrich
18 The Pusher
19 Berry Rides Again
DISC TWO:
The Second – Released in October 1968
1 Faster Than The Speed Of Life
2 Tighten Up Your Wig
3 None Of Your Doing
4 Spiritual Fantasy
5 Don’t Step On The Grass Sam
6 28
7 Magic Carpet Ride
8 Disappointment Number (Unknown)
9 Lost And Found By Trial And Error
10 Hodge, Podge, Strained Through A Leslie
11 Resurrection
12 Reflections
Bonus tracks
13 Magic Carpet Ride (mono single version)
14 Spiritual Fantasy (mono single version)
DISC THREE:
At Your Birthday Party – Released in March 1969
1 Don’t Cry
2 Chicken Wolf
3 Lovely Meter
4 Round And Down
5 It’s Never Too Late
6 Sleeping Dreaming
7 Jupiter Child
8 She’ll Be Better
9 Cat Killer
10 Rock Me
11 God Fearing Man
12 Mango Juice
13 Happy Birthday
Bonus tracks (MONO SINGLE VERSIONS)
14 Rock Me
15 Jupiter Child
16 It’s Never Too Late
17 Happy Birthday
DISC FOUR:
Early Steppenwolf – Released in July 1969 (Live at The Matrix 1967)
1 Power Play
2 Howlin’ For My Baby
3 Goin’ Upstairs
4 Corina, Corina
5 Tighten Up Your Wig
6 The Pusher
DISC FIVE:
Monster – Released in November 1969
1 Monster / Suicide / America
2 Draft Resister
3 Power Play
4 Move Over
5 Fag
6 What Would You Do (If I Did That to You)
7 From Here to There Eventually
Bonus tracks
8 Monster (single version)
9 Move Over (mono single version)
10 Power Play (mono single version)
DISC SIX:
Steppenwolf Live – Released in April 1970
1 Sookie Sookie
2 Don’t Step On The Grass
3 Tighten Up Your Wig
4 Monster
5 Draft Resister
6 Power Play
7 Corina, Corina
8 Twisted
9 From Here To There Eventually
10 Hey Lawdy Mama
11 Magic Carpet Ride
12 The Pusher
13 Born To Be Wild
Bonus tracks (MONO SINGLE VERSIONS)
14 Hey Lawdy Mama
15 Twisted
16 Corina, Corina
DISC SEVEN:
Steppenwolf 7 – Released in November 1970
1 Ball Crusher
2 Forty Days And Forty Nights
3 Fat Jack
4 Renegade
5 Foggy Mental Breakdown
6 Snow Blind Friend
7 Who Needs Ya
8 Earschplittenloudenboomer
9 Hippo Stomp
Bonus tracks
10 Screaming Night Hog
11 Snowblind Friend (single version)
12 Hippo Stomp (single version)
DISC EIGHT:
For Ladies Only – Released in November 1971
1 For Ladies Only
2 I’m Asking
3 Shackles And Chains
4 Tenderness
5 The Night Time’s For You
6 Jaded Strumpet
7 Sparkle Eyes
8 Black Pit
9 Ride with Me
10 In Hopes Of A Garden
Bonus tracks:
11 For Madmen Only
12 For Ladies Only (single version)
13 Ride With Me (mono single version)
You can also look forward to a brand new Alan Parsons live album in November, recorded in 2019 in The Netherlands …
“The NeverEnding Show: Live In The Netherlands” hits the streets on November 5th.
(It also includes a brand new studio track from which it takes its title, “The NeverEnding Show.” A new studio album from The Alan Parsons Live Project is expected next year.
The NeverEnding Show: Live in the Netherlands Tracklist
CD1
1. One Note Symphony
2. Damned If I Do
3. Don’t Answer Me
4. Time
5. Breakdown + The Raven (Medley)
6. I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You
7. Psychobabble
8. Luciferama
CD2
1. Don’t Let It Show
2. I Robot
3. Limelight
4. Standing On Higher Ground
5. As Lights Fall
6. I Can’t Get There From Here
7. Prime Time
8. Sirius + Eye In The Sky (Medley)
9. Old And Wise
10. (The System Of) Dr. Tarr And Professor Fether
11. Games People Play
12. The Never Ending Show (New Studio Audio Track) Bonus Track
Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying the new Beach Boys Box Set “Feel Flows,” covering the sessions from their “Sunflower” and “Surf’s Up” albums.
And, our buddy Spud just sent us the third installment of these brand new “Feel Flows” video tributes …
Presenting The Beach Boys Feel Flows … Chapter 3: Growing In Soul,
A visual exploration of this metamorphic and highly influential 1969-1971 period of the band's legendary career: https://youtu.be/R2J1F0J1e30
Buy the Feel Flows box set here: https://shop.thebeachboys.com/collections/feel-flows
Is the audience still there for ABBA?
I’d have to say the answer to THAT question is a resounding “YES!!!”
Within the first 24 hours of posting two new Tik-Tok videos, over four million people viewed them.
That means that probably 2-3 TIMES that many people have already registered on the ABBAVoyage site for the special announcement coming tomorrow (September 2nd!)
As we draw closer to that date, it’s sounding more and more like the big ABBA announcement will be the release of a full album’s worth of new material AND the start up of the much-anticipated (and oft-delayed) Hologram Tour, an avatar concert of their greatest hits, performed with a live band, traveling around the world.
That’s what the rumor mill is saying anyway … guess we’ll all just have to wait until tomorrow in order to find out for sure. (kk)
And, only in Forgotten Hits … from ABBA to Iron Butterfly!!!
Ron Bushy, drummer on ALL SIX Iron Butterfly albums, has passed away.
He may not be #3 of the Everly / Watts image stars, but Ron's great drum solo on In A Gadda Da Vida is unmistakably one of the greatest things in 60's rock. His work with many other Butterfly songs is amazing as well. Truly a talented drummer, IMO.
https://www.tmz.com/2021/08/29/iron-butterfly-drummer-ron-bushy-dead-dies/
Clark Besch
Another Great Loss … Ron Bushy, probably best known for his 15-minte drum solo on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. ;-(
Mike Wolstein
Last week we told you that Paul Stanley of Kiss tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. Now bandmate Gene Simmons has also tested positive. (Kiss had already postponed their upcoming shows to give Stanley ample quarantine time … and Paul had stated at the time that the band and all their crew go through regular, rigorous Covid protocol and testing … so this diagnosis came completely out of the blue. Meanwhile, with Simmons now also down, Kiss’ upcoming plans are a bit up in the air. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.
Stanley has stated that his symptoms were mild compared to many others … but, in his words, “Let me tell you, it kicked my ass! It’s over now.” (As a result, Kiss postponed their scheduled show in Burgettstown, PA.)
Now that Gene Simmons has also tested positive, he says that "The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next ten days.” Doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on September 9th at FivePoint Amphitheater in Irvine, California. Meanwhile, Simmons says that he is experiencing mild symptoms. (One of those newly postponed shows was right here at The Hollywood Casino Amphitheater right here in Tinley Park.) kk
John Drake, lead singer of The Amboy Dukes on their Top 20 1968 Hit “Journey To The Center Of The Mind” also passed away last Sunday (August 29th), as did Emmy Winning Actor Ed Asner (a TV icon) and Producer / Songwriter Lee “Scratch” Perry. (A sad, sad Sunday)
So sharing a smile, also from Mike Wolstein … and one we’ve run a few times before …
They run this every September. ;-)
And it’s that time again!
Another Smile:
But my Smile of the Week goes to Chuck Buell …
Why Fix It When a Graphic Will Do?!
Here's a Clever "Wile E. Smile E" for you today!
CB! ( which stands for "Cartoon Boy!" )
Almost makes you wanna go out and get hit, doesn't it?!?! (I said "almost"!!!) kk
