Electric, eclectic, Canadian: issues of genre and identity in the music of the Guess Who

Abstract

Conducting musical analyses over three case studies, Electric, Eclectic, Canadian: Issues of Genre and Identity in the Music of the Guess Who considers issues of genre, culture, and identity in the music of Canadian rock band the Guess Who. The first case study discusses soft rock transformations in the songs “These Eyes” (1968), “Laughing” (1969), and “Undun” (1969). The second case study examines changes in audience identification with the song “American Woman” (1970), performing comparative analyses of the Guess Who original release to Lenny Kravitz’s version (1999). The final case study discusses ideas of authenticity in the folk rock-inspired protest songs “Hand Me Down World” (1970), “Share the Land” (1970), and “Guns, Guns, Guns” (1972), comparing them to the iconic songs “For What It’s Worth” (Buffalo Springfield, 1967), “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970), “Ohio” (Neil Young, 1970 and “Southern Man” (Young, 1970). The conclusions summarise various musical and socio-political aspects of the Guess Who’s output and places it in relation to questions of national identity.