Burton Cummings

Former Guess Who mainstay Burton Cummings emerges on his first solo album as a nouveau
riche smoothie with enough smarts to lay the groundwork for a lucrative MOR future. And
to help effect the transition, he has found the ideal producer in Richard Perry, whose
classy arrangements, with their punched up drums, add a dramatic backdrop to very
ordinary songs and vocal performances. While Cummings' light, creamy voice an... More >

"Stand Tall" was a deserving hit that generated a great follow-up: "I'm Scared," the uncommitted prayer for faith of a skeptic who knows the religious tensions of a materialistic epoch firsthand. But when a slickie like Cummings turns rock crooner, credibility is a continuing problem, and while everything else on this honestly crafted solo debut is passable or better, the only other cut I'd call convincing is a big-band mock-up of former small-bandmate Randy Bachman. (Grade: B)