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(More customer reviews)There have been many, many cheap, sketchy best-ofs issued of this Vancouver-based quartet's 1970s catalogue. But only Gold and 1993's The Anthology (both double-CD packages) are worth owning. And Gold compares favourably.
The good: Gold doesn't skimp on the grossly underrated 1977 effort Freeways (which led to leader/guitarist/vocalist Randy Bachman's first departure from the band). Where The Anthology just had Shotgun Rider, Gold comes up with that song, plus Life Still Goes On (bassist C.F. Turner's only contribution to that album), My Wheels Won't Turn and Down Down.
As well, Gold makes up for the ridiculous gimmick of remixing some songs for quadrophonic sound. I mean, who had quad systems? Those remixes on The Anthology (Not Fragile, Rock Is My Life and This is my Song, Free Wheelin' and Flat Broke Love) sound dry and lifeless. Gold doesn't touch the mixes, thankfully.
Gold is also better packaged, allowing the slim, two-disc set to be easily taken in a car. The Anthology is an awkward double-width case and the booklet was sized for the box everything came in, so unless you kept everything together (not easy to do with many CD towers or in vehicles), it was one more awkward packaging moment.
This is a small item, but as a true fan, a good one: Gold finally puts Quick Change Artist on a compilation album. Quick Change was the first single off 1975's Four Wheel Drive, an excellent rock-pop song that was played a lot. Yet, until Gold, it was inexplicably ignored every time a compilation was issued.
The bad: Gold sticks strictly to the officially released Mercury studio albums. That means no unreleased bonuses (The Anthology had three, all from 1973 when BTO's first official album came out). It also means nothing from the band's 1980s or '90s releases (two studio and two live albums). Finally, it means nothing from Japan Tour Live, a recording of the band's 1976 (I think...) tour which, despite what The Anthology's notes say, WAS released in Canada. Anyway, The Anthology had a bitchin' version of Don't Get Yourself in Trouble complete with extended Randy Bachman guitar solo that didn't make Gold. It stuck with the inferior, original 1973 studio version, sadly. So, true fans are still waiting for a COMPLETE compilation.
Otherwise, Gold comes with an essay by Larry Leblanc, a veteran Billboard writer who also penned the notes for The Anthology. He simply lifted much of that original essay and added on a surprisingly complete and valuable update of all the members' recording activities since the '70s. Strangely, he left a glaring error from the original essay stand. It suggested the hit Take It Like A Man was from Four Wheel Drive. But it came a year later, from 1976's Head On.
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