Bachman glad to be back

Kirk Baird

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 8:58 a.m.

It was 32 years ago that Randy Bachman left the Guess Who.

And it took the band nearly that long to get the guitarist/vocalist back.

But such is the power of a hit single, even when it's performed by another artist -- in this case, Lenny Kravitz, who covered the Guess Who's 1970 anthem "American Woman" two years ago.

Kravitz' version, which he recorded for the soundtrack of "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and included on his album "5," isn't the typical near-identical adaption many artists attempt when covering hits.

Instead it's more of a variation of the original, with quicker, angrier guitars, less-emotive vocals and a subtle hip-hop beat. The Kravitz recording, in fact, is radically different enough that many FM radio stations felt comfortable playing his version and the Guess Who's original recording back-to-back.

Through the added radio exposure, Bachman said, the Guess Who, which performs tonight at Mandalay Bay Events Center, developed increased recognition and popularity among younger audiences unfamiliar with the band.

"And that's why we're back," Bachman said in a recent interview from a hotel room just outside Detroit. "I'm here doing the 'American Woman Tour' that I couldn't do in 1970 when I left the band."

The first Guess Who reunion to feature the original lineup -- including lead singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings -- was for the 1999 Pan American Games in the band's hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The group had performed a small show at the Pan Am Games in 1967, so 32 years later, when the Games returned, it was natural the band was asked to perform again, this time during closing ceremonies.

With a "huge amount of money" thrown the band's way for a four-song show, plus the opportunity to play in front a sold-out stadium and an estimated 200 million people watching the Games on TV, Bachman said the lure was too great.

"We thought what the heck, four songs isn't that bad," he said. "We know these songs; we've been playing them all of our lives."

It was while the Guess Who was onstage, however, that band members received an unexpected gift: a surge of youth.

"I said (to Burton), 'If we could bottle this, package and sell it -- it's like the Fountain of Youth,' " Bachman said. "He said, 'We don't need to bottle it. We know how to get it. Let's just keep playing together.' "

The quartet made arrangements to perform at an opening of a new baseball stadium in Winnipeg in 2000. It was proceeded by a few dates in spring.

The audience response to each show was overwhelming, Bachman said, so the band went on a brief tour across Canada.

"We sold out every single seat, and had great reviews from absolutely every critic. We were dumbfounded," he said. "We were pretty much disbelieving the whole thing."

During the tour, the Guess Who dipped into the United States for a few dates with fellow classic rock acts the Steve Miller Band and the Doobie Brothers. After experiencing the same enthusiastic reaction from American audiences, the band decided to embark on a nearly four-month-long series of concerts across the United States.

"None of us has ever stopped playing. We're selling shoes or insurance or whatever, but we've been in bands playing these songs for 30 years," said Bachman, who enjoyed a very successful post-Guess Who career with Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

"And the thing about writing and playing music is it's a learning process. And the older you get, the better you get."

As to where all this touring will lead, Bachman said the Guess Who is considering recording an album in November after the tour is complete. In the meantime, he said, any lingering bad feelings he and the other members of the band may have toward each other are long-since forgotten.

"When it gets right down to it, they are my oldest and dearest friends in the world," he said of his bandmates. "And the one thing that got us together in the first place, rocking out, to get together and do it again is just incredible."