American Woman (album)

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American Woman
Studio album by
The Guess Who
ReleasedJanuary 1970
RecordedAugust – November 1969
StudioRCA Mid-America Recording Center, Studio B, Chicago, Illinois
Genre
Length38:17
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerJack Richardson
The Guess Who chronology
Canned Wheat
(1969) 		American Woman
(1970) 		Share the Land
(1970)
Singles from American Woman
  1. "No Time"
    Released: November 1969
  2. "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight"
    Released: March 1970
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone(favorable) [2]
The Village VoiceB+[3]

American Woman is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released in January 1970. It was the last to feature lead guitarist Randy Bachman until a reformation effort in 1983. The album was one of their most successful releases, receiving Gold certification in the United States.[4]

The album contains several of the group's most popular hits, including the title cut and "No Sugar Tonight", which together reached number one in Canada and the US, and a remake of "No Time", a song the group previously recorded for Canned Wheat. The newer version was released as a single and is the one most familiar to listeners. The album's musical styles consists of psychedelic rock and hard rock.[5][6]

Release history[edit]

In addition to the usual 2 channel stereo version a 4 channel quadraphonic mix was also released by RCA on the 8-track tape format. American Woman was first released on CD by RCA in 1998. Buddha Records released a remastered version in 2000 and included a bonus track, "Got to Find Another Way". In 2017, Iconoclassic Records released a two-disc deluxe version featuring various single edits, outtakes, and the entire 1976 The Way They Were release, which is a collection of tracks recorded in 1970 before Randy Bachman quit the band, intended for the follow-up album to American Woman.[7]

In 2019 the album was reissued again in the UK by Dutton Vocalion on the Super Audio CD format. This disc is a 2 albums on 1 disc compilation which also contains the 1970 Guess Who album Share the Land. The Dutton Vocalion release contains the complete stereo and quad versions of both albums.[8]

Reception[edit]

American Woman became the Guess Who's only album to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, peaking at number 9 and staying 55 weeks on the charts.[9] The album also reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart.

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings except as noted.

Side one
  1. "American Woman" (Bachman, Cummings, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson) – 5:07
  2. "No Time" – 3:45
  3. "Talisman" – 5:05
  4. "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" – 4:52
Side two
  2. "969 (The Oldest Man)" (instrumental) (Bachman) – 2:58
  3. "When Friends Fall Out" – 2:58
  4. "8:15" – 3:26
  5. "Proper Stranger" – 4:47
  6. "Humpty's Blues/American Woman (Epilogue)" (Bachman, Cummings, Kale, Peterson) – 6:11
2017 Iconoclassic Records deluxe 2-disc re-issue [10]

Disc 1: Bonus Tracks[edit]

  2. "American Woman" [single edit] (Bachman, Cummings, Kale, Peterson) – 3:50
  3. "No Sugar Tonight" [single edit] – 2:04
  4. "Got To Find Another Way" [session outtake] – 2:51
  5. "Close Up The Honky Tonks" [session outtake] (Red Simpson) – 3:33
  6. "Not to Return" [takes 1&2] – 3:30
  7. "Talisman" [take 1] – 4:30
  8. "Talisman" [session chatter] – 2:05
  9. "No Sugar Tonight" [takes 1&2] – 6:59
  10. "American Woman" [take 1] (Bachman, Cummings, Kale, Peterson) – 4:44

Disc 2: The Way They Were[edit]

  1. "Silver Bird" – 2:41
  2. "Species Hawk" – 3:29
  3. "Runnin’ Down the Street" (Kale, Peterson) – 4:16
  4. "Miss Frizzy" – 5:08
  5. "Palmyra" – 5:50
  6. "The Answer" – 3:54
  7. "Take the Long Way Home" (Bachman) – 5:43

Personnel[edit]

The Guess Who
Production
  • Jack Richardson – producer
  • Brian Christian – engineer
  • Vic Anesini – 2017 remaster (Iconoclassic Records deluxe 2-disc re-issue)

Charts[edit]

Chart (1970) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 1
US Billboard 200[12] 9

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ American Woman at AllMusic
  2. ^ Young, J.R. (7 March 1970). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 53. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. p. 50. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (April 23, 1969). "Consumer Guide (9)". The Village Voice. Music section. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn (1995). Top 40 Albums. Billboard.
  5. ^ Dave Marsh; John Swenson (12 October 1983). The new Rolling stone record guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-394-72107-1.
  6. ^ American Woman at AllMusic
  7. ^ "Iconoclassic Records... Reissues Done Right". www.iconoclassicrecords.com.
  8. ^ The Guess Who – American Woman & Share The Land release on SACD Retrieved August 11, 2019
  9. ^ The Guess Who, American Woman Chart Position Retrieved March 17, 2015
  10. ^ The Guess Who – American Woman Iconoclassic Records Retrieved February 12, 2019 at Discogs
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5009". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Guess Who Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Canada" (PDF). Cash Box. September 18, 1971. p. 42. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "American album certifications – Guess Who – American Woman". Recording Industry Association of America.
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