Wheatfield Soul
| Wheatfield Soul | ||||
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| Studio album by The Guess Who | ||||
| Released | March 1969 (CAN) April 26, 1969 (US) |
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| Recorded | September 1968 | |||
| Studio | A & R Studios, New York | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:27 | |||
| Label | Nimbus 9 (CAN) RCA Victor (US) Iconoclassic (re-release) |
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| Producer | Jack Richardson | |||
| The Guess Who chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Wheatfield Soul | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
   link
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| Robert Christgau | B– |
| Rolling Stone | (positivie) |
Wheatfield Soul is the fourth studio album by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. This album is notable for being the first full-length "Guess Who" album to feature Burton Cummings on lead vocals and the first without original lead singer Chad Allan.
Wheatfield Soul, while not a major success, is still a favorite among the band's fan base. "These Eyes" was their breakthrough single and a radio favorite across the world. "Pink Wine Sparkles in the Glass" has notable lyrics and is also a radio favorite in Winnipeg. "I Found Her in a Star" is an underrated ballad written by Cummings which features fuzz guitar by Bachman. The song "Lightfoot" is a tribute to fellow Canadian Gordon Lightfoot. Wheatfield Soul is the group's first psychedelic LP that also focuses on British influenced pop and rock.
The most notable track on the album, is "Friends of Mine". Strange Days by The Doors had just been released a year prior to the recording of this song and Strange Days contained "When the Music's Over", which is clearly an influence to "Friends of Mine", as many of the vocal chords are similar, the song is lengthy and the lyrics are an attempt by Cummings to sound like his then influence, Doors' lead singer Jim Morrison.
An original version of "Friends of Mine" can be found on the Guess Who's posthumous compilation This Time Long Ago. The track features Cummings singing about "doing it" with "your very own mother" and smothering six-month-old babies. RCA most likely advised the group to not release that version on Wheatfield Soul.
Side two begins with "When You Touch Me", which has an opening guitar riff that sounds identical to that of Tiny Bradshaw's "Train Kept A-Rollin'". "A Wednesday In Your Garden" is another underrated track. A sole composition by Bachman, the song features jazz chords, perhaps inspired by The Zombies' usage of the same sound on many of their hit records. "Lightfoot" is written about fellow Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot. "Love and a Yellow Rose" showcases many of the Guess Who's musical talents, as Peterson plays the tablas and Bachman plays a sitar and a fuzz guitar on the song.
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Wikipedia