After earlier forecasts of thunderstorms at the open air Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY evolved into a pleasant summer evening, New York-area fans gathered for the first local appearance in 25 years of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada’s best rock & roll band, The Guess Who, who were on the second week of their Takin’ It Back tour, dubbed so after founding members & primary songwriters Burton Cummings (vocals, keyboards, guitar, tambourine, flute) and Randy Bachman (guitar, vocals) were able to resolve lengthy and convoluted trademark disputes with founding rhythm section Jim Kale (bass) & Garry Peterson (drums), who collectively and individually toured using an unauthorized Guess Who name from 2006-2024.
The Guess Who emerged from a late ‘50s rock band founded by Chad Allan, with Bachman, Kale, and Peterson in the Chad Allan & The Reflections lineup from 1962, and, after an American group named The Reflections forced a name change to Chad Allan & The Expressions, ended up recording a 1965 #1 Canadian hit single cover of proto-beat group Johnny Kidd & the Pirates 1960 U.K. #1 banger “Shakin’ All Over” (unfortunately, though understandably, not included in the setlist as it predated Cummings joining the group) that their record company released with a further name change to Guess Who? to spark intrigue about it being from a new British Invasion group (perhaps à la London’s The Who, who were breaking through in 1965 and also covered “Shakin’ All Over”, first released on their monumental 1970 LP Live at Leeds, and were stylistically in sync with The Guess Who in the early ‘70s).
After founding keyboardist-vocalist Bob Ashley left the band in 1966, Bachman recruited fellow Winnipeg teen-band scenester 18-year-old Cummings to join as a replacement. After Allan left a few months later, he became the sole lead singer. By 1968, Bachman & Cummings had become a formidable songwriting partnership inspired by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Chuck Berry, and scored their first U.S. Top 10 hit with “These Eyes”, a soul power pop gem that established Cummings as a tremendous bluesy belter on par with like-minded contemporaries Steve Marriott of Small Faces and Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals.
This success was followed by a quick succession of three LPs, the thematically-named 1969 albums Wheatfield Soul (which included “These Eyes”) and Canned Wheat (which included the double-side Top 10 charting single “Laughing”/“Undun” (the latter on which Cummings delighted the crowd with his nimble flute solo after warning that he was “no Ian Anderson [the wild-eyed flautist leader of Jethro Tull]” on the woodwind instrument), and 1970’s American Woman, which featured two top 10 hits, the Buffalo Springfield-influenced breakup harmony masterpiece “No Time” (there was mutual inspiration and influence between The Guess Who and Buffalo Springfield’s fellow Winnipeg native Neil Young) and the chart-topping Vietnam War subtext of title track, whose on-stage improvisational riff origins matched with Cummings’s raw vocal prowess also evokes an early blueprint for the vibe of Jack White’s recordings (the 10+ minute extended live performance interpolated The Doors “Roadhouse Blues” into the talking blues intro section), and it’s two-fer B-side hit “No Sugar Tonight” / “New Mother Nature”.
Despite this raft of creative and commercial validation, Bachman’s touring exhaustion and friction with Cummings led to his departure in 1970 (Kale left in 1972), after which The Guess Who carried on with a handful of LPs, which included Top 10 hits 1970’s “Share the Land” and “Clap for the Wolfman”, the 1974 tribute to radio DJ Wolfman Jack, before calling it a day in 1975. Bachman went on to form his own hitmaking hard rock juggernaut with Bachman—Turner Overdrive, including classic rock radio staples “Takin’ Care of Business” (covered by generations of bar bands and by fan request at a wild 1985 show by The Replacements, later released on the cassette The Shit Hits the Fans), “Let It Ride”, and the Dave Mason (“Only You Know and I Know”) / The Who (“Baba O’Riley”) inspired 1974 ringing riff chart topper “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”, all of which the band played with equal gusto as their own songs (interestingly, these all had the mostly-boomer-aged crowd standing, cheering, and singing along with more enthusiasm, which speaks to the immense taste-shaping power of ‘80s classic rock radio). Cummings continued to make well-received solo LPs (the setlist included “My Own Way to Rock”) and eventually reconciled with Bachman for a classic lineup reunion appearance in 1979, leading to occasional shows and tours in the ‘80s/’90s/’00s before the trademark issue splintered the group.
While the venue was only 2/3rds full, the audience was rewarded with a fantastic 20-song setlist that included all of the above singles as well as splendid versions of deeper cuts including “Albert Flasher”, “Guns Guns Guns”, “Bus Rider”, and “Star Baby”, and Cummings (clad in a Creem magazine R. Crumb designed Boy Howdy! mascot t-shirt and an open button-down shirt with iron-on patches of his influences Elvis Presley, The Doors, and The Beatles on his literal sleeves), despite not having his once-phenomenal higher register vocal range, is still an excellent singer and an energetic, spirited frontman, sharing poignant stories about the songwriting and expressing gratitude to all who bought millions of vinyl & 8-track releases during the original era of The Guess Who, and the 82-year-old Bachman, while mostly silent between songs and sitting on stool, wielded his Gibson Les Paul with precision and passion, a still-potent duo who, with a dynamic new backing band of Sean Fitzsimons (drums, vocals), Jeff Jones (bass, backing vocals; formerly of ‘70s Toronto gospel rock band Ocean), Nick Sinopoli (percussion, vocals), Tim Bovaconti (guitar, vocals), and Joe Augello (guitar, vocals; played with Jennifer Hudson), many whom have toured with Cummings’s solo projects, make this reunion tour a can’t-miss for longtime listeners as well as for people who may know only a few of the hits.
The Guess Who setlist:
Hang On to Your Life
Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon
Proper Stranger
Hand Me Down World
These Eyes
Albert Flasher
Let It Ride (Bachman–Turner Overdrive cover)
Clap for the Wolfman
Laughing
Guns Guns Guns
Undun
Star Baby
You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Bachman–Turner Overdrive cover)
My Own Way to Rock (Burton Cummings song)
Bus Rider
American Woman (with extended intro featuring The Doors cover “Roadhouse Blues”)
No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature
No Time
Encore:
Share the Land
Takin’ Care of Business (Bachman–Turner Overdrive cover)
Gainesville, FL-originated southern rock guitar master Don Felder (vocals, guitar) was an apt opener as another classic rocker whose starmaking era as the lead guitarist for country rock supergroup Eagles ended after an acrimonious departure in 2001 (before joining the Eagles, he learned slide guitar from Duane Allman, backed David Crosby & Graham Nash in the early ’70s, and talked about giving guitar lessons to hometown hopeful Tom Petty in the mid-60s) played a fine nine-song set, seven of which were rockier versions of Eagles songs that highlighted his legacy with that group.
Felder’s vocals and dexterous finger-picking/leads impressed throughout, especially when he closed with the titular 6-minute worldwide hit from the 1976 Eagles LP Hotel California, for which he wrote the music (the instrumental demo was called “Mexican Reggae” due to its Latin dubby vibe), with excellent backing from his band of classic rock/country veterans Jeff Coffey (bass/vocals) Seth Rausch (drums) & Dave Amato (guitar, vocals), with whom he harmonized on his white Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck guitar on the still-spellbinding, legendary “Hotel California” extensive guitar solo.
Don Felder setlist:Already Gone (Robb Strandlund cover) (Eagles released “Already Gone” in 1974; Strandlund recorded in 1976.)
One of These Nights (Eagles song)
Victim of Love (Eagles song)
Seven Bridges Road (Eagles version of a Steve Young cover)
Hollywood Victim
Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)
Heartache Tonight (Eagles song)
Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles song)
Hotel California (Eagles song)
