Shakin' All Over
View on Discogs
View on Wikipedia
Album Summary
By 1972, The Guess Who were road-hardened veterans of the Canadian rock scene, and 'Shakin' All Over' found them digging back into their roots with a rawness that felt like a band reminding the world where they came from. Released on RCA Records and produced during a period when the band was navigating lineup changes and evolving pressures of the early seventies rock landscape, this album leaned into a gritty, blues-inflected energy that honored the spirit of the original Johnny Kidd and the Pirates classic that anchored its title track. It was a record born out of resilience — a group of prairie boys from Winnipeg who had already proven themselves on both sides of the border, laying down tracks with the kind of lived-in confidence that only comes from years of playing every club and ballroom that would have them.
Reception
- The album did not produce a major charting single in the way the band's earlier work had, landing during a commercially transitional period for the group.
- Critical response was modest, with reviewers acknowledging the band's tightness and blues credibility while noting the album felt more like a roots exercise than a commercial push.
- The title track, a cover of the 1960 Johnny Kidd and the Pirates classic, was recognized as a spirited and faithful homage that showcased the band's hard rock chops.
Significance
- The album stands as a testament to The Guess Who's deep reverence for British Invasion and early rock and roll roots, with the title track cover functioning as a full-circle moment for a band that grew up idolizing that era's raw electric energy.
- Tracks like 'I Want You To Love Me' and 'Turn Around And Walk Away' reflect the band's continued command of soulful, blues-drenched rock at a time when many of their contemporaries were drifting toward softer sounds or country crossover territory.
- As one of the defining Canadian rock acts of their generation, The Guess Who's willingness to record an album steeped in working-class, unpretentious hard rock on 'Shakin' All Over' helped cement their legacy as authentic custodians of the form rather than trend-chasers.
Tracklist
-
A1 Shakin' All Over 123
2:38
-
A2 Seven Long Years 133
2:40
-
A3 And She's Mine 93
2:37
-
A4 Clock On The Wall 117
3:01
-
B1 Baby's Birthday —
1:54
-
B2 I Want You To Love Me 119
2:22
-
B3 I'd Rather Be Alone 128
2:15
-
B4 I've Been Away 75
2:10
-
B5 Turn Around And Walk Away 118
2:34
Artist Details
The Guess Who are a legendary rock band that came together in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, back in the early 1960s, cooking up a sound that blended hard rock, psychedelic rock, and good old-fashioned pop sensibility in a way that just grabbed you by the collar and wouldn't let go. They became the first Canadian rock group to score a number one hit in the United States with "American Woman" in 1970, a raw, electrifying anthem that put Canada on the rock and roll map in a serious way, while Burton Cummings' powerhouse vocals and Randy Bachman's razor-sharp guitar work made them a force that radio programmers simply couldn't ignore. Their legacy lives on as a proud symbol of Canadian rock royalty, proving that world-class music could come roaring out of the Great White North with just as much fire and soul as anything coming out of New York or Los Angeles.
