Think of Randy Bachman and you associate this iconic Winnipegger with beefy power rock bands like Bachman-Turner Overdrive or the more melodic Guess Who – but two girls? That’s what you get with Bachman’s first studio record in five years as he teams up with drummer Dale Anne Brendon and bassist Anna Ruddick to lay down 11 blues-flavoured tracks. Inspired by Neil Young, who encouraged Bachman to dare himself to be different on any new venture, Bachman and his female duo sequestered themselves at Mississauga’s Metalwork Studios for five days in May 2014 with ace producer Kevin Shirley (Journey, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden) and recorded the tracks live off the floor. Additional guitar parts by the likes of Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Scott Holliday, Luke Doucet, Joe Bonamassa and Robert Randolph, and yes even a clip from former guitar great Jeff Healey were inserted during the mix. The result is a tasty batch of blues rock tracks that spotlight Bachman as an accomplished blues guitar player with an added vibrancy of his new female rhythm section. The lead off track, “The Edge” is especially punchy and Young ads his own unique guitar style in “Little Girl Lost” and you can’t help but identify Healey’s playing on “Confessin’ to the Devil”. Overall, a satisfying effort that lives up to Young’s challenge for Bachman to record something different, it will be interesting to catch Bachman’s future tour dates, which hopefully will feature his new lineup.
Download: “The Edge”, “Little Girl Lost”, “Confessin’ to the Devil”
