THE GUESS WHO – Plein D’Amour (2023)
Legendary band THE GUESS WHO influenced many musicians and bands not only from the Canadian rock scene, but world-wide. Still lead by founding member Garry Peterson, THE GUESS WHO will release a new studio album, “Plein D’Amour“, on June 30 through its new partnership with Deko Entertainment. Artwork for the LP is provided by iconic graphic designer Ioannis (Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin).
“Plein D’Amour” was recorded at Villa Sound in Singhampton, Ontario, Canada, with Adam Fair, and it features such standout tracks such as “Headline”, “Across The Line”, the title song – all delivering the band’s unique sound: timeless Classic Rock.
The band has crafted a collection of songs that raises the bar and continues to take it up a notch both musically and sonically, conjuring THE GUESS WHO’s very own style with references to ’70s like Queen, Mountain, Aerosmith, and more.
The Guess Who’s 2018 album was pretty much melodic rock, possibly due to Styx’s Tommy Shaw having a large input into the songwriting. He doesn’t seem to appear at all on this new album “Plein D’Amour”, 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 / original member Garry Peterson.
‘The King’ is a fine bit of 70s pomp rock. Styx and Queen come to mind when listening to this. Onr of the best songs of the album, along with the title track. 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 70s guitar sound, vocal harmonies and a touch of progressive, very melodic at the same time. 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’s “Plein D’Amour” certainly deserve a fair listen as they are another classic band on a purple patch. This is timeless rock, and a good one.
Highly Recommended
01 – The King
02 – Across the Line
03 – People Around Me
04 – Headline
05 – Pursuit of no Regret
06 – Spaces
07 – Free
08 – Plein D’Amour
Garry Peterson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Derek Sharp – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
Leonard Shaw – keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals
Michael Staertow – lead guitar, backing vocals
Michael Devin – bass, backing vocals
Pre order:
amazon.com/Plein-DAmour-Guess-Who/dp/B0C4V6KRHW
