The Guess Who: All This for a Song [Bonus Tracks] : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

With All This For a Song, the Guess Who has another go at the brass ring after a few years' dormancy. These days, however, you have to guess who the Guess Who is, since bassist Jim Kale is the sole survivor from the original band. While "C'mon Little Mama" recaptures some of the pop-'n'-fresh, wheat-field spirit that once made the group such welcome guests on American Top Forty, the new crew mostly peddles a paltry selection of blues-rock shuffles ("Sweet Young Thing" and "It's Getting Pretty Bad" are sad examples) that's distinguished only by a serious lack of musical imagination and lyrical chops. Even a promising rocker like "Moon Wave Maker" is deadened by the sleepy pace at which these guys move. The Guess Who sing about "raisin' hell on the prairies," but they raise precious little of it here.

Ironhorse — ex-Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman by still another name — fares only a bit better on its debut album. This time, Bachman downplays the heavy-metal macho he was selling in Bachman-Turner Overdrive and instead casts his lot with the Foreigners and Totos. Ironhorse fashions a tight, professional but ultimately gutless hard rock that's all polish (perfect harmonies, squeaky-clean guitar sound, impeccable production) and no spit (drab vocals, an undistinguished rhythm section). Though "Jump Back in the Light" and "Tumbleweed" pack a half-decent kick, the rest of the songs—all written by Bachman and guitarist Tom Sparks—are just more FM fodder of no particular distinction.