Freeways was the final
Randy Bachman album of the first
BTO era, released in 1977 after their first of many "greatest-hits" collections put much of their chart activity in a tidy package on 1976's
Best of B.T.O. (So Far). The price for
Freeways fluctuates greatly, making the album one of the more collectible of the post-hit
BTO era. A Swedish seller listed it at six dollars in April of 2002 while a N.Y. merchant had it at $24.99. At Half.com it went for $100.01 and $89.99. Rare and out of print, there is also a combo CD pairing this classic up with
Bachman-Turner Overdrive II. "Can We All Come Together" isn't a bad album track, nor is
C.F. Turner's "Life Still Goes On (I'm Lonely)," but there are no nuggest as found on
Four Wheel Drive,
Not Fragile,
Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, or even
Head On. Everything flows nice enough, resulting in a consistent and easy-to-listen-to batch of songs; it's just that what's missing is the antagonism, the push and pull of
Bachman's partnership with a
Burton Cummings or someone else to vent his frustrations on -- the thing that makes for more interesting material. Having no one causing trouble or even the attitude to point fingers and get mad enough for another "Hey You" to creatively emerge, the band simply goes through the motions. "Shotgun Rider" is as passable as "Bus Rider" from
the Guess Who's
Share the Land album seven years earlier while "Just for You" might be the brightest track --
Randy's "My Generation" stuttering from "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" making its reprise. It's the closest thing to a potential hit, and has some real passion mixed with gliding guitar riffs. Seven of the eight compositions belong to
Randy Bachman and, outisde of a few standouts, it's all very B-grade non-offensive rock. "Wheels Won't Turn" comes off like
BTO's version of
Steve Winwood during
Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, so "Uninspired," which he was, and
BTO are here. The wheels aren't turning, he's going "Down, Down," and as the guitarist states in the title track "Drivin' in a beat up car/The highway's long but we come so far" (the title of the previous album).
Rob Bachman,
Blair Thornton, and
C.F. Turner would try to take the legacy further on 1978's
Street Action and the
Jim Vallance-enabled
Rock N' Roll Nights in 1979 with little success. In 1984, Tim Bachman,
C.F. Turner, and
Randy Bachman would team up with original Chad Allan & the Expressions/
Guess Who drummer
Garry Peterson to try to recapture the magic on the self-titled
Bachman-Turner Overdrive album on Compleat Records/Polygram, after a live Reunion album from
the Guess Who. Completists may want
Freeways for their collection, "Easy Groove" is certainly a fun little ditty from
Randy Bachman, but worth 100 dollars? -- only if you're the publisher willing to take a risk on possible future return. ~ Joe Viglione