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

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

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

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
  1. "969 (The Oldest Man)" (instrumental) (Bachman) – 2:58
  2. "When Friends Fall Out" – 2:58
  3. "8:15" – 3:26
  4. "Proper Stranger" – 4:47
  5. "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

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

Disc 2: The Way They Were

  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

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

Charts

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

Certifications

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

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  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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