Wheatfield Soul

Wheatfield Soul is the fourth studio album by the Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released in March 1969. The album is notable for being the first full-length Guess Who album to feature Burton Cummings exclusively on lead vocals, without original lead singer Chad Allan. Featuring the US top 10 hit "These Eyes", it marked the beginning of the band's international success.

Wheatfield Soul
Studio album by The Guess Who
Released	March 1969
Recorded	September 1968
Studio	A & R Studios, New York
Genre	Rock pop psychedelic rock
Length	40:27
Label	Nimbus 9, RCA Records
Producer	Jack Richardson
The Guess Who chronology
It's Time (1966) Wheatfield Soul (1969) Canned Wheat (1969)
Singles from Wheatfield Soul
"These Eyes" Released: December 1968 (CAN) April 1969 (US)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B−^[2]
Rolling Stone	(positive)^[3]

Release history

Wheatfield Soul was not a commercial success. "These Eyes" was released as a single. Wheatfield Soul is the group's first psychedelic LP^[4] that also focuses on British influenced pop and rock.^[5] An original version of "Friends of Mine" is on the Guess Who's posthumous compilation This Time Long Ago.

Added to the 2009 remastered CD version was "When Friends Fall Out," "Guess Who Blues," and "Of a Dropping Pin." This version of "When Friends Fall Out" never made it to any original, early Guess Who albums. A later re-recording appeared on American Woman.

Track listing

Original release

All songs written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings except where noted.

Side one

1. "These Eyes" – 3:45
2. "Pink Wine Sparkles in the Glass" – 2:13
3. "I Found Her in a Star" (Cummings) – 2:36
4. "Friends of Mine" – 10:04

Side two

5. "When You Touch Me" (Bachman, Cummings, Rob Matheson) – 3:38
6. "A Wednesday in Your Garden" (Bachman) – 3:20
7. "Lightfoot" (Bachman, Cummings, Matheson) – 3:07
8. "Love and a Yellow Rose" – 5:05
9. "Maple Fudge" – 1:49
10. "We're Coming to Dinner" – 2:43

2009 Remastered CD (IconoClassic ICON 1008)

1. "These Eyes"
2. "Pink Wine Sparkles in the Glass"
3. "I Found Her in a Star"
4. "Friends of Mine"
5. "When You Touch Me"
6. "A Wednesday in Your Garden"
7. "Lightfoot"
8. "Love and a Yellow Rose"
9. "Maple Fudge"
10. "We're Coming to Dinner"
11. "When Friends Fall Out" – 3:17 (#75 Canada, July 1968)
12. "Guess Who Blues" – 3:31
13. "Of a Dropping Pin" – 3:24 (#97 Canada, December 1968)

Personnel

The Guess Who

• Burton Cummings – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, flute
• Randy Bachman – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jim Kale – bass, backing vocals
• Garry Peterson – drums

Production

• Jack Richardson - producer
• Ben McPeek - musical director
• David Greene - engineer
• Elliot Scheiner - engineer
• CD Mastered by Bob Irwin at Sundazed Studios, Coxsackie, New York, and Vic Anesini at Sony Music Studios, New York City

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1969	RPM Top 50^[6]	3
1969	Billboard 200^[7]	45

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1969	"These Eyes"	Canada^[8]	7
		Australia	100
		Billboard Hot 100^[9]	6

References

1. Wheatfield Soul at AllMusic
2. Christgau, Robert (July 31, 1969). "Consumer Guide (2)". The Village Voice. Music section. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
3. Edmonds, Nancy (14 June 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 35. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. p. 36.
4. Riley Haas (13 September 2013). The Beatles Are the Greatest Rock Band of All Time and I Can Prove It. Riley Haas. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-9921513-0-0.
5. Wheatfield Soul at AllMusic
6. "Top 50 Albums" (PDF). www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
7. The Guess Who, Wheatfield Soul Chart Position Retrieved March 16, 2015
8. The Guess Who, "These Eyes" Canadian Chart Position Retrieved March 16, 2015
9. The Guess Who, "These Eyes" U.S. Chart Position Retrieved March 16, 2015

External links

• Wheatfield Soul at Discogs (list of releases)