  In this Sun Media exclusive photo, Fred Turner (left) and Randy Bachman are back in the studio making a new album for the first time in over a decade. The rockers plan to head out on the road after the album is released in the spring. (Marcel Cretain, Sun Media) |
"I really like this one," says Randy Bachman, sitting at the console of a Winnipeg recording studio. "It's got a BTO-meets-Rolling Stones feel."
The engineer clicks a mouse and the song -- Rollin' Along -- erupts from the speakers.
True to Bachman's word, the riffy rocker crosses Brown Sugar and Roll on Down the Highway. But what really grabs your ear is the beefy, growling and unmistakable vocal driving the tune.
It belongs to Fred Turner, Bachman's old foil -- and his new one -- who's standing behind him at the console.
Yes, the men at the heart of '70s Can-Rock kings Bachman-Turner Overdrive are takin' care of business again.
And on Saturday, I joined them in the studio for an exclusive preview of their comeback CD.
"This is the rock 'n' roll Everly Brothers," laughs Randy, introducing another cut.
He and Fred trade smiles and start to sing along to the thumping midtempo rocker.
"Clap your hands in the air and shout," it goes. "Rock 'n' roll is the only way out."
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In the '60s, rock was the way out of Winnipeg's North End for Bachman. Today, it's brought him full circle.
"It's funny," recalls the 66-year-old singer-guitarist outside the studio.
"I spent a little over nine years in The Guess Who. Then I started a solo thing that Fred joined, and that became BTO. Now, it's been a little over nine years since The Guess Who reformed. This year I started another solo thing, and Fred has come in and made it really cool."
The energetic Bachman's latest "solo thing" was supposed to be an album peppered with vocals from old friends, he says.
"I got Neil Young to do one track. I've got Jeff Healey. I thought I would get Burton Cummings on one and get Turner to do a track. So I sent Fred the song Rock 'n' Roll is the Only Way Out -- and when I got back his mp3, it gave me goosebumps. It was incredible.
"I said, 'Do you want to do some more?' He said, 'Sure.' So I put my album on the shelf, and now we're doing a Bachman and Turner album. It's the most exciting music I've played in a long time."
For the 66-year-old Turner -- who kept BTO alive after Bachman's 1991 departure, only to hang up his bass in 2004 -- it's the only music he's played aside from karaoke.
"I was retired, totally," he says. "But when Randy sent me that song, I got excited to do something new. That's what drew me into it. And after I talked to him, I realized how much I missed it and how much I wanted to go back."
They're also going forward. The duo -- who officially announce their reunion tomorrow -- will hit the road after the album drops in spring.
But when they roll on down the highway again, they won't be in Overdrive. Their ex-bandmates -- guitarist Blair Thornton and drummer Robbie Bachman, Randy's estranged younger brother -- have sued to prevent them from using their old handle.
Bachman can't comment on the suit, but claims he and Turner -- who will be backed by Randy's band -- never intended to reunite BTO.
"None of this was planned; it just happened," he says, adding he's barely spoken to his brother in 20 years. "And really, we're excited about the new music -- though when we play, we're certainly going to honour the songs we wrote and sang."
Those songs include Let it Ride, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet, Blue Collar, Not Fragile and, of course, Takin' Care of Business.
Sure, Randy's played most of them for decades. But not like this, he says.
"When Fred and I get together, there's something more. It's like a third person comes in. It's a very rare thing. I've had it twice in my life: Once with Burton and again with Fred. And now we're back together, and we're both on the same page and in the same groove."
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Speaking of grooves, back in the studio, Bachman and Turner unveil a few more tunes.
There's the funky Hendrix-style Moonlight Rider; the gospel-rocker called See the Light; a slow-burning blues shuffle; and a blast of garage-punk (complete with sizzling, distorted vocal) that Bachman says was inspired by The Black Keys.
While styles vary, nearly all the cuts boast the big chords and choruses you expect from the men of BTO. And as Bachman said, there's something more: An unbridled joy and enthusiasm.
If this is a sign of things to come, it seems fans ain't seen -- or heard -- nothin' yet.
