BTO recorded live at the Agora in Cleveland between the 2nd and 3rd LP's. "Not Fragile" was released in August of '74 and considering that all songs come from the first 2 releases this would lead one to believe early 1974 is the ballpark date.
Tracklist
01 Don't Get Yourself In Trouble > Little Gandy Dancer
Bachman Turner Overdrive was a muscular boogie band from canada, both musically and literally (frontmen Randy Bachman and Fred Turner could have played line for any number of football teams! )this album marked the band's commercial breakthrough with the monster hit "Takin' care of business" (still heard regularly on office depot commercials) and minor hits "Let it ride" and "Welcome home." the sound is hard rock from start to finish, but not as metallic as the next effort 'not fragile' would be. the boogie is still here (eg., "business" and "tramp"), as well as a glimpse of mr. Bachman's jazz chops (check out the end of "welcome home," an almost completely different song as the band gets into a brubeck groove), as was "Blue collar" from their first album. this album captures the live feel, not far removed from the bar room. no studio gimmicks, no subtlety, just power chords and hard rock joy! (By P Dizzle) Tracklist 01- "Blown" (R. Bachman, T. Bachman) – 4:18 - (vocals: T. Bachman) 02- "Welcome Home" (R. Bachman) – 5:29 - (vocals: R. Bachman) 03- "Stonegates" (Turner) – 5:35 - (vocals: Turner) 04- "Let It Ride" (R. Bachman, Turner) – 4:27 - (vocals: Turner) 05- "Give It Time" (Turner) – 5:44 - (vocals: Turner) 06- "Tramp" (R. Bachman, T. Bachman) – 4:02 - (vocals: R. Bachman) 07- "I Don't Have to Hide" (T. Bachman) – 4:22 - (vocals: T. Bachman) 08- "Takin' Care of Business" (R. Bachman) – 4:50 - (vocals: R. Bachman)
Credits Randy Bachman - guitar, vocals Robbie Bachman - percussion, drums Tim Bachman - guitar, vocals Fred Turner - bass, vocals Norman Durkee - piano on "Takin' Care of Business" Here
The first was the best... Some bands need time to get up to stride; others come up with their best stuff when they still toiled in relative obscurity. BTO fits in the latter. Their first album is easily their best, starting off right away with "Gimme Your Money Please", a tune sure to please with the heavy guitar riffs and snarling vocals of C F Turner. That's followed by "Hold Back the Water", which was the flip side of the single "Blue Collar", which is also great. You may remember "Blue Collar" as a bluesy tune; unfortunately the band never explored that side of their music much, because this track works. Other good tracks include "Stayed Awake All Night" and "Down and Out Man", a rare vocal by early member Tim Bachman. Commercial success probably led them to go down the safe and easy path with subsequent releases, although their fourth album "Four Wheel Drive" rebounds a bit before the band personnel changed and BTO plummeted. This album and "Four Wheel Drive" are the ones you want. If you're a fan, the other albums work, too. But this is their best one, hands down.(By Mark R. Van Wagenen)
