Wheatfield Soul by
the Guess Who has become a collectors item of sorts over the years, fetching various prices in fan circles, and it is an important "first" step for the reconstituted group which initially hit with "Shakin' All Over" when it was led by
Chad Allan. The album is
Jack Richardson's excellent production of
Randy Bachman and
Burton Cummings' music played by this particular four-piece unit, which Peter Clayton's liner notes claim were together "for three years when they cut this album in late 1968." The naïve sound of
Cummings' voice on the album tracks is charming, but the hit "These Eyes" has that authority which the band would repeat on diverse chart songs like "No Time," "American Woman," and even "Star Baby" further down the road. "Pink Wine Sparkles in the Glass" is a precursor to "New Mother Nature," but the solo
Cummings composition "I Found Her in a Star" is very nice
Guess Who-style pop that their fans adore. "Friends of Mine" is a strange one, though, ten minutes and three seconds of
Burton Cummings imitating
Jim Morrison, not just
Morrison, but the copping of his vocal riffs straight from "When the Music's Over." This is a band stretching and searching for direction, and rather than hit you with hard
Randy Bachman assaults which were a welcome addition to future long-players by this group, as well as
Bachman-Turner Overdrive,
Wheatfield Soul concentrates on Brit-pop and experimental songs.
Randy Bachman's "A Wednesday in Your Garden" is British rock meets jazz, and is one of the LP's most interesting numbers. The
Chick Crumpacker and
Don Wardell liner notes to Ultimate Collection note that "These Eyes" "was technically the 18th release by the band." The key is that it was the first from the quartet of
Cummings,
Bachman,
Kale, and
Peterson as produced by
Jack Richardson. Ultimate Collection also notes that "Lightfoot" was written for "fellow Canadian
Gordon Lightfoot." The notes go on to point out that "Maple Fudge" and "We're Coming to Dinner" were real oddities, but a style that would reappear over the band's long and illustrious catalog. Maybe that's what makes
Wheatfield Soul so sought after, inventive themes that eventually found their way onto later albums like
Artificial Paradise and
Rockin'. Perhaps the tragedy is that they didn't get to work with
Frank Zappa --
the Guess Who's left-field musings would have been the perfect follow-up to
Zappa's work with
Grand Funk. Take two of "Lightfoot" appears on Ultimate Collection, which only utilized three songs from this important first album after the band was reborn. But for all the musical wandering, it is "These Eyes" which remains timeless, the song that stands out as the masterpiece on this creative adventure. ~ Joe Viglione