Ironhorse is the band that Randy Bachman built after his tenure in the hugely successful Guess Who. While Ironhorse would not become a household name like his previous band, it is not for want of quality rock and pop songs. The band did manage to squeeze out two charting hits, the first in 1979. "Sweet Lui-Louise" reached #36 and then "What's Your Hurry Darlin'" got to #89 in 1980. "Try A Little Harder" comes from the band's second and final album, "Everything Is Grey," a gorgeous album worth tracking down. How this one fell through the cracks is beyond me.
The Guess Who was formed in the 60s in Canada and underwent an interesting course of evolution from garage rock to pop to jazz rock. The band achieved great success by the end of 60s and into the 70s with classic hits like "These Eyes" (#6), "Laughing" (#10), "No Time" (#5), and "American Woman" (#1 for 3 weeks). The band made stars out of some of the individual members, including Randy Bachman, who went on to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and Burton Cummings who had a moderately successful solo career as we discussed earlier. "It's My Pride" takes us back to 1966, when the band was still fresh from the garage and burning with an intensity that might surprise those who know the Guess Who only from their hits.
After writing a slew of hits for the Guess Who, it seemed a safe bet that key songwriter, singer, and keyboardist Burton Cummings would have a sustained presence on the charts as a solo artist. Things got off to a promising start with "Stand Tall", his top 10 debut single from 1976. However, Cummings never broached the top 10 again. "Stand Tall" helped push his self-titled album to #30. He had some other modest hits through the years, such as the well-known song "I'm Scared" (#61) and "You Saved My Soul" (#37). While selling extremely well in his native Canada, his third album, 1978's "Dream Of A Child", didn't even chart on the US Top 200. Why remains a mystery. The album is filled with diverse musical styles from a smooth cover of "When A Man Loves A Woman" to the rollicking blues of "Roll With The Punches". My favorite cut from this record is the upbeat rocker, "Meanin' So Much", arguably one of his most "Guess Who" sounding efforts.
