Influences And Recollections of a Musical Mind

Written By Braddon S. Williams

Bachman -Turner Overdrive: Not Fragile

Not Fragile (1974) by Canada’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive was a thunderous party record full of loud guitars, gritty vocals, rock anthems, and good times to spare.

Spawning the monster hit You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, Not Fragile became BTO’s biggest selling album (aside from Greatest Hits compilations). I loved the differences in Randy Bachman’s and C.F. Turner’s vocal styles.

Bachman was more of a singer, while Turner possessed a mighty set of screaming lungs!

Bachman and new guitarist Blair Thornton shared lead guitar duties, and the whole album just sounded massive. Other standouts were Sledgehammer, Rock Is My Life And This Is My Song, Second Hand, Givin’ It All Away, Roll On Down The Highway, and the crushing title track.

I saw BTO open for Alice Cooper early in my concert-going career, and they kicked out the jams live, proving Rush wasn’t the only high decibel threat to come out of the Great White North.

Oh yeah, Not Fragile kind of poked fun at the Yes album titled Fragile. Just learned that little tidbit of information and thought I would share it here!