I'll freely admit that as a kid I was completely bullish on Bachman–Turner Overdrive - but I also stopped paying attention after Head On. Oh I still liked the band, but I wasn't interested in keeping up. When Freeways dropped I thought about it, and then passed. After Randy left, Jim Clench, who had previously been in April Wine before they became APRIL FREAKIN' WINE for those few killer albums, was now in B.T.O., as they were legally allowed to be called.
I saw those last two B.T.O. albums many times back in the day. I would often look, and even touch, but that was about it. Over the years I came to the conclusion, without any evidence, that those two latter day albums must have been terrible. Heck, it seemed like even the band during their classic rock touring days didn't touch anything on those records with a ten foot pole. I could be wrong ... but I doubt it.
Then in the early '90s Anthology was released and it contained two songs from this forgotten era, "I'm in Love" and "Heartaches," both of which I thought were pretty darn decent. Particularly Fred's "Heartaches," which was phenomenal. A few years ago I downloaded the albums from iTunes, and actually listened to them quite a bit. They were better, much better than I expected, but this was B.T.O., not Bachman–Turner Overdrive and there was a difference. While they were good, and it was cool to hear Blair get his shot at guitar glory, and it could be argued that Fred still had one of the best rock voices in the game - the albums were missing a spark. They were a step out of sync with what was happening. In short, they seemed to be trying to capture the past while music was moving forward without them.
Which was too bad. Listening to them now, after all these years, their first album as B.T.O., Street Action, felt like a deliberate attempt to recapture their old form. Even if the remaining guys wouldn't admit it, Randy was the band's chief cook and bottle washer and Bachman–Turner Overdrive was his band, his musical vision, and his way or you could just roll on down the highway. In short he was a "My Way or the Freeways" (sorry, not sorry) kind of leader. There are a lot of stories out there about why Randy left, and I suspect there's a little bit of truth in there, but we'll never really know, and frankly does it matter? Randy wanted to take a break, while Fred, Robin and Blair, and by all accounts manager Bruce Allen, wanted to stay on the treadmill. The golden goose may have stopped laying gold records, but B.T.O. still had a recording contract, and who knows, maybe the goose just needed something new to produce a little more gold.
After Street Action, which was truly a band effort from writing to production, didn't catch on, they turned to journeyman producer and songwriter Jim Vallance to help with Rock N' Roll Nights. Jim would contribute a few songs, and a young Bryan Adams would also contribute a song to the album. "Wastin' Time" while not great is a passable song and you can almost hear him finding his voice. Of the nine songs here, Jim Clench would sing lead vocals on six, and here and there he would at times affect his best Randy impression, which was honestly pretty good. I've never really been all that partial to Jim's singing and songs, but I have to admit that he was pretty front and centre on this one and he used his voice in a variety of ways that was honestly surprising - in a good way.
So how is this thing anyway?
That's a tricky one, there are a couple ways to skin this cat ... first you have to recognize this isn't a Bachman–Turner Overdrive album ... this is a B.T.O. record, and can be viewed as the next logical step following Street Action as they tried to evolve their sound. If you wanted the bearskin wearing Fred belting out boogie rock this would taste like ashes in your ears (I really should pick a lane and stay in it) but if you try and view this as a band trying to find its own identity after splitting with Randy, this was pretty good, in fact at times it was really really good. The problem wasn't so much with the band, or the material, it was timing. Heck, even Dick Clark once asked the band if they were worried about disco and the new trends in music. Turns out it was a pretty prophetic question, as the landscape was weirdly populated by disco acts and upcoming new wave acts like The Talking Heads ... rock and roll was still alive, but it was a new breed and a new sound. It was adapt or die, and B.T.O. put it all on the line with Rock N' Roll Nights.
The once loyal fans, myself included, were nowhere to be found. Was it really just that the band had simply played itself out, and people had moved on? I had somewhat pointedly (okay, it was completely pointed) said that the last two albums were missing a spark. At least that's how I seem to remember them. I'll likely contradict myself shortly. Memory is an intractable thing that's hard to rely on as a reliable witness.
With the passage of time, and the benefit of hindsight, which is better than hindtalking, as that's simply the talking out of your ass ... B.T.O.'s swansong is a strangely bittersweet effort that is far better than people realize. When I say "People" I mean me. I missed out, and frankly if you were a fan at all - you did too. The band went out swinging for the fences ... life just threw a curve ball.
Listening, I mean really listening to B.T.O.'s final record of the '70s Rock N' Roll Nights reveals a band who was trying to find its voice. Thankfully it had a voice and one of the best in the business in Fred Turner. The thick fat foot stompin' boogie rock from the band's first three albums had been refined and distilled into a blend of rock that was more in tune with the late '70s. I suspect this was due as much to Jim Vallance in the producer's chair and Bruce Allen trying to steer them toward radio success.
Right from the opening riff to "Jamaica," written by Vallance, the band sounded great. This was a really good song, and years later Rick Springfield would hear it, love the music and rewrite the lyrics. The result was "Kristina" and it would appear on his 1982 album Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet.
However, if there was a song that truly showcased this era of B.T.O. it was C.F. Turner's "Heartaches." It was a mid tempo rocker that just oozed swagger. Fred's vocals are a masterclass. How this guy isn't in the conversation when rock's greatest voices are discussed is a mystery.
"Rock and Roll Hell" is another song that would get a second life when KISS included a heavily revised version that was rewritten with Bryan Adams and Gene Simmons for their album Creatures of the Night, also released in '82.
And maybe that's what makes this record so interesting to me now. It isn't the album I remembered, and it certainly isn't the album I expected it to be. It's B.T.O. trying to become something other than Bachman–Turner Overdrive at exactly the wrong moment. With the passage of time, I think they deserved more credit for trying.
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