Bachman & Turner Coming to Artpark

After many years of gentle prodding by music fans and industry aficionados, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, two giants of rock n' roll, are finally back together as Bachman & Turner after being apart for over 20 years. The group is giving away the first track “Rock n' Roll is the Only Way Out” on their website www.bachmanandturner.com - a glimpse into Bachman & Turner's brand new album slated for release September 7, 2010 through E1 Music.

The yet-unnamed studio album, will be stocked with great new tracks - all penned by Randy Bachman and Fred Turner - that seamlessly fit among their classic rock anthems.

"I'm thrilled to be working on new music with Fred and feel a sense of excitement and anticipation," says Randy Bachman. "I feel like I'm coming full circle with a completeness that I never ever thought I'd feel again."

In the mid-70s, after Randy Bachman's colossal success in Winnipeg rock band the Guess Who, including the #1 Billboard hit "American Woman" (a first for any Canadian act); he soared even further with Fred Turner in Bachman-Turner Overdrive, which became nothing short of a musical phenomenon. Their success was extraordinary and spread across the globe. At the pinnacle of their career, the band's distinctive brand of stripped-down, blue collar, meat 'n' potatoes rock headlined some of the biggest arenas in the world from New York's Madison Square Garden, London's Hammersmith Odeon, Hamburg's Congress Centrum to the Falkoner Center in Copenhagen.

Over a four year run, Bachman-Turner Overdrive sold in excess of 30 million records, earning a staggering 120 platinum, gold and silver discs, and notching up hits in more than 20 countries. The band reached #1 on Billboard's singles chart ("You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet") and album chart (Not Fragile), as well as charting another handful of hits including "Taking Care of Business" "Hey You," "My Wheels Won't Turn" and "Looking Out For #1."

When Fred Turner and he went their separate ways in 1977, Randy Bachman would not be stopped; he continued to pursue his unwavering love for music as a solo artist and part of the much-celebrated Guess Who reunion, then Bachman-Cummings, as well as establishing himself as a jazz artist and host of CBC/Sirius radio show, "Vinyl Tap." Fred Turner, on the other hand, carried on with the other members of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, before actually retiring from music at the end of the '90s to indulge his passion for cars.

Lingering feelings that the two weren't done just yet persisted for over a decade. Then last year, Randy Bachman was working on a solo album intending to invite different vocalists to sing on the tracks; he first asked Fred Turner to lay down a vocal on a song called "Rock 'n' Roll is the Only Way Out." "It was perfect for his gritty, refrigerator-sized voice," explains Randy Bachman. "It turned out so incredible that I asked if he wanted to sing on a few more, send me some of his original material and from that it morphed into a Bachman & Turner project."

Sharing lead vocal duties, the album features smoking mid-tempo thumpers, "Rock 'N' Roll is the Only Way Out" and "Rolling Along"; a funky riff-centric, "Moonlight Rider"; a slow-burning blues shuffle, "Waiting Game"; a gratifying fusion of chords and choruses, "Slave to the Rhythm"; and the distinctive growling vocals as heard on such Bachman-Turner Overdrive classics such as "Let it Ride," "Roll on Down the Highway," and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."

Finally, the duo will hit the road together, performing their vast catalogue of hits and previewing a selection of the new songs from the upcoming album, which after everything was all Fred Turner needed to come out of retirement. "If I had a chance to go out and play new things and grow, then I'll be offering people something," explains Fred Turner. It's all about the music, the creative process, collaboration and teamwork of two old friends and partners.

Reunited, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner are offering their legion of fans something new and taking care of some 'unfinished' business as well. Bachman & Turner are backed by Brent Howard, Marc LaFrance and Mick Dalla-Vee; this sovereign trio has been performing together for over 20 years.

Bachman & Turner will be kicking off their world debut in June 2010 at the Sweden Rock Festival alongside some of their contemporaries including Aerosmith, Guns n' Roses and Billy Idol.

They'll be at Artpark in Lewiston on August 27.

e-mail from Eric Alper, E1 Music