by Richard Skelly » Sat Jul 15, 2017 3:43 am
BTO was a juggernaut in 1973-74. Spurred by a series of memorable rock singles from Bachman Turner Overdrive II and Not Fragile, the quartet was poised to be one of the world's top concert draws. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, rushing out Four Wheel Drive--which included Quick Change Artist--presaged future problems. Reportedly long on songs that failed to make the cut for Not Fragile, it was a slapdash effort. Spurred by the middling success of Hey You--Randy Bachman's veiled putdown of nemesis Burton Cummings--the album entered the Billboard top ten, but fell back quickly.
One easy criticism: Randy was taking way too many lead vocals. Classic howler Fred Turner sang too few. Randy''s forte was disguising a so-so delivery with tricks like stuttering, talkin' blues or fine tuning a song he'd first attempted with the Guess Who until it eventually evolved into Takin' Care of Business.
Behind the scenes, trouble also brewed as bandmates wanted to share publishing and have more input on recording. All four members would later concede they should have taken a hiatus instead of continuing to crank out increasingly spotty records. BTO should have enjoyed a long and relevant career like labelmates and fellow Canadians Rush. But haste made waste. Quick Change Artist remains pale beer compared to the '45s preceding it.