This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If you think Randy Bachman is just a rock ’n’ roller, baby, you ain’t heard n-n-n-nothing yet.
Sure, he wrote American Woman and Takin’ Care Of Business. But the venerable Winnipeg guitarist also penned Blue Collar, Undun and Lookin’ Out for #1. So it’s really no shock that Bachman is finally getting back in the swing of things with his new solo CD JazzThing. Though it is pleasantly surprising how smoothly he makes the transition.
These 11 new tracks capture the same breezy cocktail-lounge vibe as those older hits, with Randy fronting a crisp little combo, deftly plucking burbling melodic solos like Wes Montgomery and intimately vocalizing in a husky rasp reminiscent at times of a more mature Chet Baker. Interestingly enough, most of the tracks are Bachman originals instead of the standards you might expect, though Randy does find time to jazz up Johnny Cash’s I Walk The Line and sing along with some old solo recordings by his mentor, the late great jazz guitarist Lenny Breau.
Admittedly, JazzThing’s commercial, easy-listening nature probably isn’t going to earn Bachman any Down Beat awards. But we think it’ll go down just fine next time he plays an intimate show in this town (or yours).
