Song Bell Bottom Bliss: “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” by the Guess Who
posted by on August 3 at 13:45 PM
Why isn’t this song heard more often? Like, every damn day? The Guess Who’s 1970 radio hit is actually two songs in one, and when they fuse together at the end they make for an ecstatic union (sorta blown here in this dopey video, though it was the best version I found, and it’s great that young kids are rocking out, albeit dopily, to this song).
The repeated organ lick (is that a Rhodes?) that kicks off “New Mother Nature” is a thing of groovy garage rock beauty.
Fact: The Guess Who, like Steppenwolf and the BTO—the band the Guess Who later became—was Canadian. They made some certifiably excellent music, much of it found on their worldwide breakthrough American Woman. “No Sugar/Mother Nature” is them in all their mutton chop-sideburned, jeans-vested best: “A bag of goodies and a bottle of wine, we’re gonna get it on right tonight.”
totally heard it last night on KZOK, 10pm ish.
JZ, you've been really scraping the bottom of the barrel with these bell bottom blues things....Guess Who? Molly Hatchet? What's next? America? Bread? Keep on truckin'.
You know, I was a kid listening to all this bell-bottom bliss stuff back in the 70s (and yes, I wore bell bottoms). It's amusing to see people 'rediscovering' this music, but honestly, today's music is so much better that I'm not even a little bit nostalgic for all this old cheese.
@1, nice!
SSL, america and bread aren't on this particular comp, but i do love em both. "the tin man?" are you kidding me? great tune.
and randy, "not even a little bit nostalgic," eh? maybe the tide's turning--up til the last two posts, every comment about BBB has been very positive.
ive got a lot more coming, but maybe i should quit now?
JZ,
That is in fact a Wurlitzer (think Reflections by the Supremes and Where It's At by Beck). Bitchen song. If you want another new favorite, dig up the long-forgotten Rockin' album (1972), a song called Back to the City might strike your fancy.
Later
Hey, I didn't say not to post about it! It's amusing, and I'm even learning a few new things (no internet, where you can learn everything about everything, back in the day). Just that I listened to this music SO MUCH that I think I'll get hives if I listen to any of it again.
America? Bread? LOL, my PARENTS were listening to that stuff! My sister used to call it 'music to die by'.
The Guess Who are underrated. Bus Rider? No Time? Undun?
Good shit.
@7 is right--the Guess Who are totally underrated.
"No Time" and "American Woman" are such stinging, taut songs, and cathartic as hell. They had a lot of strong tunes that have held up really well over the decades. Maybe because they were Canadians, people didn't take 'em as seriously as they should've? I dunno. It's baffling.
But Bread and America? I'll pass. Give me Seals & Croft any day...
JZ--I was just kidding, I love these posts of yours. What about Kansas? Dust In The Wind? Carry On Wayward Son?
JZ - You are a remarkable dude to resurrect this song and this band. You must have impeccable taste in music, unlike Megan Seling - oh yeah, that's right, just ask to see her New Kids collection...! If you get a chance, check out "The Guess Who - Live at the Paramount" - taped in Seattle, of course. Megan knows someone who has the disc if'n you can't find it. Their music was well-crafted for the times; Lenny Kravitz doesn't do American Woman justice -- you just have to hear it out of the context of oldies radio. Anyone who disagrees with your posts deserves to rot in Christina Aguilera Hell...! There's a bunch of good music today (props to @3) and there's bunches of good music from the past. The trick is to live in the past and present, musically anyway. As one Seattle DJ used to put it when it came to the study of rock (and he probably stole it from someone else): You have to know where you've been to know where you're going. Hang onto those bell bottom blues. Peace out, etc.
hey alright, nice to hear the support from you guys. i got worried for a minute there that maybe some of this stuff was going unappreciated.
im in the midst of conceiving a story about classic rock and whether or not its a dead genre, whether its very name pegs it as a thing of the past by default. like the guess who, a lot of it wast classic at the time it was made--its only seen as such in hindsight. are there any new classic rock bands today? pearl jam? wilco? the flaming lips? id venture that "the soft bulletin" and "yankee hotel foxtrot" are the only genuinely classic albums of the new millennium. classic being both high selling/popular as well as groundbreaking/really good.
have any of you guys heard the lonely h? four 18 year old kids from port angeles that sound like yes meeting thin lizzy at ludlow garage.
Check out the "Live At The Paramount" album recorded here in Seattle.
I love the feature, but I think it would be much better if you stayed away from the overplayedbyclassicrockradio stuff and dug a little deeper for tracks.
Keep digging through the Capicorn catalog as well!!
I work at the UW and a lot of the "kids" I work with are getting into 70's music, like when I was kid in the 70s and first discovered Buddy Holly and the American Graffiti soundtrack. (In the 80's I switched to psychedelic rock and prog).
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