Burton Cummings - Up Close And Alone (1996)

Burton Cummings unplugged, in a fashion, performing 18 songs from throughout his career on solo piano. Recorded in December 1995 in front of a small but very vocal and appreciative audience. The repertoire includes reprises of old Guess Who hits (including "Undun," where Cummings sounds, probably unintentionally, like a lounge singer deliberately taking the piss out of the tune) and a cover of "Ferry Cross the Mersey," as well as the brief and weird "Gordon Lightfoot Does Maggie May." Mostly it's his own compositions, though; not a recipe that's bound for success in the U.S., but one that worked quite well in Canada, where Cummings retains a devoted audience, and where this album went gold.