Street Action

Street Action
Studio album by
Bachman–Turner Overdrive
ReleasedFebruary 1978
StudioCan-Base Studios, Mushroom Studios
GenreRock, hard rock
Length40:15
LabelMercury[1]
ProducerBTO
Bachman–Turner Overdrive chronology
Freeways
(1977) 		Street Action
(1978) 		Rock n' Roll Nights
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

Street Action is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO), released in 1978.[5] It was the first BTO album released after the 1977 departure of co-founder Randy Bachman. As part of an agreement upon leaving, Randy requested the rights to the full Bachman surname to use for his pending solo album, then sold the rights to "BTO" and its trademarks to the remaining three band members. Thus, the band was required to release its next two albums (the remaining two under their contract with Mercury Records) using only BTO as the band name, and not Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

BTO replaced Randy Bachman with bassist/vocalist Jim Clench, who had most recently been in April Wine.[6] Fred Turner, who played bass on all previous BTO releases, moved to rhythm guitar, and he shared lead vocal duties with Clench. Street Action had a distinctively heavier sound than the previous two BTO studio albums (Head On and Freeways).

The album was reissued in 2016 as part of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive Classic Albums Box Set.

Production

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The album was recorded at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia.[7]

Critical reception

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Street Action was met with negative reviews.

Rolling Stone wrote that "C.F. Turner suffers from Bachman’s ailment of being unable to sing a cliché with enough conviction to make you forget it’s a cliché."[8]

Track listing

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(All songs by Clench, Thornton, Turner and Robbie Bachman)

  1. "I'm in Love" – 3:52 (lead vocal: C.F. Turner)
  2. "Down the Road" – 4:03 (lead vocal: Jim Clench)
  3. "Takes a Lot of People" – 4:06 (lead vocal: Turner)
  4. "A Long Time for a Little While" – 3:52 (lead vocal: Clench)
  5. "Street Action" – 4:16 (lead vocal: Turner)
  6. "For Love" – 4:39 (lead vocal: Turner)
  7. "Madison Avenue" – 6:01 (lead vocal: Turner)
  8. "You're Gonna Miss Me" – 4:07 (lead vocal: Clench)
  9. "The World Is Waiting for a Love Song" – 5:04 (lead vocal: Turner)

Personnel

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with:

  • John Hall - piano on "I'm In Love"
  • Tom Keenlyside - saxophone on "Madison Avenue"

Production

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  • Engineer: Rolf Henneman
  • Assistant engineer: Jeff Tolman
  • Art direction: James OMara
  • Photography: James OMara

Charts

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Chart (1978) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 62
US Billboard 200[10] 130

References

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  1. ^ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin. ISBN 9781440229169 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 348.
  4. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 29.
  5. ^ "Bachman-Turner Overdrive | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "BTO gets a new driver". The Globe and Mail. 4 Jan 1978. p. P12.
  7. ^ "West's Labels, Studios". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 27, 1979 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Young, Charles M. (June 1, 1978). "Street Action". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5473b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "Bachman–Turner Overdrive Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
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