Shakin' All Over

Guess Who LPs titled Shakin' All Over appeared in both the US and Canada in 1965, but they weren't the same records, though some of the same tracks were included on each release. The American Shakin' All Over was issued on the Scepter label; the Canadian one came out on Quality, and has been reissued on CD, making it much more widely available outside of Canada. The one being addressed in this review is the US version, which actually drew from tracks that appeared on the group's two 1965 Canadian LPs on Quality, Shakin' All Over and Hey Ho (What You Do to Me). Aside from the title track (itself not as good as the Johnny Kidd original), the American LP titled Shakin' All Over was a rather thin effort typical of the period, padding the hit single with various covers and a few Randy Bachman originals. "Stop Teasing Me" — here presented in a milder version than the superior re-recording included on Hey Ho (What You Do to Me) — is one of the most accurate Merseybeat imitations ever waxed, but on the whole this sounds a lot closer to a harder-rocking Gerry & the Pacemakers than the group would have liked to admit a few years later. Since all of the tracks appear on the two 1965 Canadian LPs, and since those Canadian LPs have been reissued on CD, there's little reason to make an effort to find the American Shakin' All Over LP.