RANDY BACHMAN UNDERDRIVE

So . . . back in September I sang the praises of Shivers, the new CD from the New Guitar Summit, singling out for particular praise the inclusion of vocals by once-and-future rock star Randy Bachman (The Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive). I’m not about to recant . . . but I feel that I must spare any readers of this blog the pain that I experienced when I purchased from the iTunes store a few more tunes from that same session, gathered under the CD title Jazz Thing, Vol. 2. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Bachman’s vocal style can do justice to the languorous melodies and lyrics of Mose Allison. But please take my word on this: he is really and truly out of his league with the rest of the tunes that I bought—“Exactly Like You,” “Two Trains Runnin’,” “Closing Time,” “Runaway,” and a super-lame jazzed-down version of the BTO rock anthem “Takin’ Care of Business.”

Randy Bachman doing his “jazz thing”? Avoid it all costs—including free!