BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE: BEST OF B.T.O.

Factory Sealed Album

• Roll on Down the Highway
• Hey You
• Looking Out for #1
• Gimme Your Money Please
• Let It Ride
• Take It Like a Man
• You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
• Blue Collar
• Takin' Care of Business

• Mark Smith: Engineer
• Buzz Richmond: Engineer
• Little Richard: Piano
• Norman Durkee: Piano
• Joe Kotleba: Album design
• Brian D. McLaughlin: Photography
• Richard Braaten: Photography
• Randy Bachman: Lead guitar, vocals
• C.F. "Fred" Turner: Bass, vocals
• Blair Thornton: 2nd lead guitar, backing vocals
• Robbie Bachman: Drums
• Tim Bachman: Guitar, backing vocals

• This nine-song collection released in 1976 was the first of close to two dozen "Best Of," "Greatest Hits," and "Greatest Hits Live" collections by the Guess Who's major competition when Randy Bachman left that venerable Canadian band. If you add "Free Wheelin'" (not included on this initial compilation), Bachman-Turner Overdrive equaled the seven hits the Guess Who had after Bachman bolted from them and they entered their "Hand Me Down World" phase. "Roll on Down the Highway" has a great riff, a sparkling neo-Led Zeppelin vamp, mutating "Black Dog" somewhat, slowed up and made commercial -- it's an almost forgotten rock & roll call to arms that doesn't get the airplay it deserves years later -- and it's the biggest hit they had that was not written by Randy Bachman. "Hey You," a reworking of the "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" chord changes and perhaps a dig at Burton Cummings in the same way that Lennon gave "How Do You Sleep?" to McCartney, clocks in at five seconds less than "Roll on Down the Highway," and is as equally forgotten years later, classics hits radio stations opting for B.T.O.'s first three hits for the narrow rotation that is that format. These songs are culled from the group's first five albums, 1973's Bachman Turner Overdrive debut up to 1975's Head On. They ruled the charts as a North American counterpart to the British Bad Company, whose first version charted during the same time period with almost the same amount of hits. Five of the nine songs were composed all or in part by Randy Bachman, including the song that didn't break the Top 40 but should have, "Looking Out for #1." Its "Girl From Ipanema" riff and majestic performance was touted by Mercury in the trades as their next number one, but for some inexplicable reason, it fizzled. This album has been re-mastered and refined over the years, but it is what it is, a compact collection of their hits released over a two-year period.

• Following his 1970 departure from the Guess Who, guitarist Randy Bachman recorded a solo album (Axe) and planned a project with ex-Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson (later canceled due to illness) before forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive in 1972. Originally called "Brave Belt," the metal group was comprised of singer/guitarist Bachman, fellow Guess Who alum Chad Allan, bassist C.F. "Fred" Turner, and Randy's brother, drummer Robbie; after a pair of LPs (Brave Belt I and Brave Belt II), Allan was replaced by another Bachman brother, guitarist Tim, and in homage to the trucker's magazine Overdrive, the unit became BTO.
• While their self-titled 1973 debut caused little impact in the U.S. or the band's native Canada, Bachman-Turner Overdrive II was a smash, netting a hit single with the anthemic "Takin' Care of Business." Prior to the release of 1974's Not Fragile, Tim Bachman exited the group to begin a career in production, and was replaced by Blair Thornton; the album was a chart-topping success, and notched a number one single with "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet."
• After 1977's Freeways, Randy Bachman left the group for a solo career and formed another group, Ironhorse. Bachman-Turner Overdrive continued on in his absence with replacement Jim Clench for two more albums, Street Action and Rock n' Roll Nights (both 1978), eventually changing their name to simply BTO. At the tail-end of the decade, the band dissolved, but in the 1980s they re-grouped to tour as both Bachman-Turner Overdrive (led by Randy) and BTO (led by Robbie); the ensuing confusion the name game triggered ultimately resulted in Randy Bachman filing suit against his one-time bandmates for rights to the group's logo.

Stuff to mull over:

• All pictures are of the exact item being sold. Some of the pictures might show a reflection of my camera and tripod. Feel free to email me if you need any better pictures.
• All album reviews and artist biographies are from All Music Guide. If you haven't been to their web site, you have to check it out. It's one of the most comprehensive music references on the internet.
• Album credits are also from All Music Guide. In some cases, credits also include reissue (CD) information. Obviously any credits referenced to CDs do not apply to these album releases.
• This record is from a store called "Phantasmagoria" that was located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Phantasmagoria went out of business in 1978. I purchased their leftover inventory some years later when I owned a new & used record store in Catasauqua called "Music Madness". Music Madness is still listed in the phone book if you want to try to contact me.
• Phantasmagoria used round colored stickers to indicate the price of the albums. They had a sign on the wall with the color sticker combinations for the customers to use so they knew the price of the albums. Most of the albums still have these stickers on them, and in some rare cases, the stickers are written on.
• All sealed albums are being sold as collector's items and cannot be returned due to manufacturer's defects. It may be virtually impossible to replace many of the sealed albums that I am selling.
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