Bachman-Turner Overdrive Essentials

A commercial powerhouse in the '70s, Canada's Bachman-Turner Overdrive were never going to win any awards for innovation, but then they weren't trying to change the face of music. All they wanted to do was boogie—and boogie hard. BTO started off with a slightly more mellow sound, but quickly realized their future lay in loud guitars. Heavy blues bands were a dime a dozen at the time, but while they still cut loose on their albums and onstage, BTO were also smart enough to chop the sprawling boogie sound down to tight pop singles. They were masters of the kind of choruses that you couldn't forget after just one listen, throwing in all sorts of hiccupping hooks and silly ad-libs. And their solos, at least on the hits, were concise, powerful, and memorable.