Disc #11: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO's Greatest)

Artist: Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Album: BTO's Greatest
Relesed by PolyGram Records in 1986

As I mentioned in the blog about Yes' greatest hits compilation, these albums are a great way to get into a band if you're not sure what album to purchase. After you find out what you like, you can start buying some studio albums. However, in some cases you might not need to go any further than the "best of" album.

I picked up this album, second-hand, during my stint of 70s music a few years back. In my opinion, it's a must have for any Canadian Rock 'n Roll fan. It contains massive hits such as "Lookin' Out For No.1", "Roll on Down the Highway", "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", and "Let it Ride". Not the least of these is one of the most recognizable Canadian rock tunes of them all, "Takin' Care of Business". I doubt there is a Canadian over the age of 15 who hasn't heard this song.

All these songs are great and I enjoyed listening to them. After the first run-through (this time around), of which I am dedicated to listening to the album in its entirety, I found myself skipping from hit to hit, avoiding the other tracks. It's not that they weren't familiar to me, it's simply that they're just not that catchy.

I want to return to my previous comment about not needing to listen to more than a greatest hits album for some artists. This is a band that I believe fits into that category. Over the course of about 10 albums, they had just a handful of hits. Understood, these hits were huge and are worth listening to, but there's not much else going on. Unless you're a huge BTO fan, this album is all you need.

I like most of this album, but I'm really only lookin' out for the number ones. The rest of the tracks can just let it ride. On THE MIKE JONES SCALE OF DISC AWESOMENESS, BTO scores a:

5

Join me next time as the experiment continues and we take care of more business in the "B" section with Disc #12: Barenaked Ladies (Gordon).