Album review: THE GUESS WHO – Plein D’Amour

Deko Entertainment [Release date 07.07.23]

The Guess Who’s 2018 album, ‘The Future IS What It Used to Be’, wasn’t bad at all, maybe a bit too AOR/melodic rock for diehard fans, possibly due to Styx’s Tommy Shaw having a large input into the songwriting. He doesn’t seem to appear at all on this album, which still has a strong melodic feel, with a few dips into 70s rock and prog sounds.

The band line-up has also had a couple of changes, with former Lou Gramm guitarist Michael Staertow and ex-Whitesnake bassist Michael Devin, joining the trio of vocalist Derek Sharp, keys/sax player Leonard Shaw and drummer (& sole original member) Garry Peterson.

‘The King’ was released as the first single/album taster and it is a fine bit of 70s pomp rock. Styx and Queen come to mind when listening to this, along with the much missed Jellyfish. In fact, if you didn’t know better you’d swear this was an unreleased Jellyfish song. Song of the album, along with the title track, by a country mile.

The psychedelic ‘Across The Line’ and the summery pop rock of ‘People Around Me’ are both strong tunes. ‘Headline’ mines the CSN vibe highlighting the vocal talents of the Guess Who. Like the two aforementioned songs, perfect for playing on a summer’s day.

The title track throws a lot into the musical pot, with a nice, big 70′s guitar sound, vocal harmonies and a touch of prog.

Despite containing eight songs, the album clocks in at just over thirty minutes but then better than having fillers or songs overstaying their welcome.

The Guess Who certainly deserve a fair listen as they are another classic band on a purple patch. An album that grows on you the more you play it and that’s always the sign of good music. ***1/2

Review by Jason Ritchie

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)