For the love of rock
Vol III, Issue 15 – You ain’t seen nothing yet (01 Aug 2018)
www.intheloveofrock.com
Name of song– You ain’t seen nothing yet
Band – Bachman Turner Overdrive
Album- Not Fragile
Writer– Randy Bachman
Release year– 1974
Similar Artists- The Guess Who, Foghat, James Gang, Grand Funk Railroad
Peak chart positions (1974)
# 1 – Canadian Top Singles
# 1 – Danish Singles Chart
# 1 – German Media Control chart
# 1 – New Zealand Singles Chart
# 1 – South African Singles Chart
# 1 – US Billboard Hot 100
# 2 – UK Singles Chart
# 2 – Yugoslavian Singles Chart
You ain’t seen nothing yet
Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha
“Bachman Turner Overdrive” is a classic rock band of the seventies from Winnipeg, Canada. After Randy Bachman quit “The Guess Who,” he was looking for opportunity and after various tryouts, he subsequently formed the BTO with his brothers Tim Bachman (Guitars), Robbie Bachman (Drums) and C. Fred Turner (Vocals/bass). Subsequently they were one of the most successful rock bands of the seventies to emerge from Canada. With 5 albums among top 40 and 6 singles among US top 40, they sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Their famous singles like “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” “Let it ride,” “Hey you,” “Takin’ care of business” etc receive significant air play in classic rock stations even today. Having endured several line-up changes, they are active to this day.
They debuted in 1973 with their eponymous debut album which didn’t have a hit single but fared well on the charts. Their second album “Bachman Turner Overdrive II” in 1974 was a breakthrough success and had several hit singles and made them superstars overnight.
“Not Fragile” is their third album released in 1974. The album charted all over the world and solidified their success. It was definitely the pinnacle of their musical career and the most successful album for them. The album had several hit singles including their best known one- “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” It is interesting that initially this song was not included in the album as Randy considered it to be not good enough. However, when Charlie Fach listened to it, he forced it to be included. Randy subsequently agreed to release it as a single after 3 weeks of release of the album! And once released, there was no looking back, as the song climbed the charts all over the world, becoming their most successful single ever.
The song is takes its place midway between heavy and light rock. With Randy’s famous riff, the song is pretty melodious. However, Randy’s vocals with special stuttering (which was meant to be a joke intended for his brother Gary who used to stutter) is perhaps the main highlight of the song. The rumor has it that it was re-recorded without stuttering for the release, but they considered it bland and left it as it is. The song starts with gentle acoustic rhythm by Randy and Blair Thornton along with soft bass by Turner and catchy drums by Robbie Bachman. Randy starts to describe his encounter with a devil woman who is symbolic of his first wife. The song narrates the story of the encounter and the theme that the lady is guiding him. The way Randy sings the main chorus with the typical stutter forms the highlight of the song. The song would really have been bland without the stutter. The gentle solo guitar by Randy is also very mellow and well suited to the song. After the second stanza, the solo is dually played by Randy and Thornton and is a classic example of harmonious melody between electric and acoustic guitar. The song then fades away with the repeated stuttering along with the solo in the background.
“Bachman Turner Overdrive” may have been one of the most successful bands to have emerged from Canada during the seventies, but had it not been for “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” they would not have reached the present status. Yes, if any of you rock fans has not heard it, definitely, you ain’t heard nothing yet!!!
Happy listening!!
Resources– Wikipedia.org, Allmusic.com
You ain’t seen nothing yet
I met a devil woman, she took my heart away
She said, I’ve had it comin’ to me, but I wanted it that way
I think that any love is good lovin’, so I took what I could get, mmh
Oooh, oooh she looked at me with big brown eyes
And said, You ain’t seen nothin’ yet
B-b-b-baby, you just ain’t seen n-n-nothin’ yet
Here’s something that you’re never gonna forget
B-b-b-baby, you just ain’t seen n-n-nothin’ yet, nothin’ yet, you ain’t been around
That’s what they told me
And now I’m feelin’ better, cause I found out for sure
She took me to her doctor, and he told me of a cure
He said that any love is good love, so I took what I could get
Yes, I took what I could get, and then she looked at me with them big brown eyes
And said, You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, B-b-b-baby, you just ain’t seen n-n-nothin’ yet
Here’s something, here’s something you’re never gonna forget, baby
You know, you know, you know you just ain’t seen nothin’ yet
You need educatin’, you got to go to school
Any love is good lovin’, so I took what I could get
Yes, I took what I could get
And then, and then, and then
She looked at me with them big brown eyes And said,You ain’t seen nothin’ yet
Baby, you just ain’t seen n-n-nothin’ yet
Here’s something, here’s something
Here’s something that you’re never gonna forget, baby
Baby, baby, baby you ain’t seen n-n-nothin’ yet
You ain’t been around, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet
That’s what she told me, she said, I needed educatin’, go to school
I know I ain’t seen nothin’ yet, I know I ain’t seen nothin’ yet
Got something for you right now
Feels good, alright, how do you do that?
But I ain’t seen nothin’ yet, I deserve it one of these days
Woohoo, but I ain’t seen nothin’ yet
Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah
I ain’t seen nothin’ yet,
I’ll wait, I’ll wait, I’ll wait
If you want to show me what I ain’t seen, where I ain’t been
Lalalalalala
Lyrics link – https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/176220/You+Ain%27t+Seen+Nothing+Yet
Video link – https://youtu.be/2w1iwr3lZgo