April Wine. I remember hearing songs from Stand Back when I was in elementary school, and thinking that one day when I had some money I'd buy that record. However, the first album I got of theirs was their LIVE album (which remains to this day unreleased on CD! WTF), and it got played to death. In my teens songs from First Glance, and Harder Faster fed my rock and roll dreams. I'd crank my guitar and play along to "I Like to Rock", and pretend I was in the band. It wasn't until I'd finally grown up that I'd finally pick up Stand Back - not to mention just about everything the band released (except for the compilation albums). It would take me many years But I finally did have the money to pick up Stand Back.

These guys were the original monsters of rock. They're still alive and well thank you very much, although a little older (you do the math - they've been around since the early 70's, they now tune to the old farts D# to give Myles a little extra head room for the high notes). They no longer sell out the really big rooms, but seem to have found a comfortable niche in the classic rock circuit.

Rock and Roll may be a vicious game, but these guys still have some bite.

Long may you run.

April Wine (©1971 Aquarius)

1: Oceana 2: Can't Find The Town 3: Fast Train 4: Listen Mister 5: Page Five 6: Song For Mary 7: Wench 8: Time

Not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the flavour of this one for its historical value. I have to remind myself that this was released in 1971, and I was just starting elementary school, so I have to cut it some slack. After thirty plus years it's bound to sound dated and stale in places, and so it should be no surprise that it does indeed sound dated and stale in places.

This release is noteworthy primarily for "Fast Train", a song which managed to firmly entrench itself into the April Wine classic catalog. It was also the song which gave Myles the edge in the band. Considering that at the time three of the four members were Henmans during the first couple of albums, this was a bit of a coup. In a couple more years the only original member would be Myles.

Although I said this isn't my cup of tea, it is an interesting time piece and it is still enjoyable to hear the echoes of the psychedelic movement and the wandering stream of consciousness. Hard to imagine that from these humble songs one of Canada's most endearing rock acts would evolve.

Reviewed August 24, 2003

Electric Jewels (©1973 Aquarius)

1: Weeping Widow 2: Just Like That 3: Electric Jewels 4: You Opened My Eyes 5: Come On Along 6: Lady Run, Lady Hide 7: I Can Hear You Callin' 8: Cat's Claw 9: The Band Has Just Begun

April Wine at this stage was no nonsense rock and roll band. This is time honoured stuff. Sure it sounds pretty dated now, it has been thirty years for crying out loud. This was the Goodwyn-Clench era and was the nucleus of the line-up that would go on and conquer Canada, and much of the western world.

There’re some pretty good songs here too. . Songs like "Weeping Widow", "Cat’s Claw", and "The Band Has Just Begun" are AW classics. Plus there were some songs I'd not heard before, since I didn't have the album when I was a kid. "You Opened My Eyes" is an acoustic rocker that holds up really well.

This is classic stuff. I was too young to really appreciate it when it was new, and when I was getting into April Wine in a big way in the late 70s and early 80s this was old stuff, and not as good as their new stuff (so I thought at the time).

Heck, it’s all old stuff now.

Reviewed October 28, 2003

Stand Back (©1975, 1991 Aquarius)

1: Oowatanite 2: Don't Push Me Around 3: Cum Hear The Band 4: Slow Poke 5: Victim Of Your Love 6: Baby Done Got Some Soul 7: I Wouldn't Want To Lose Your Love 8: Highway Hard Run 9: Not For You Not For Rock & Roll 10: Wouldn't Want Your Love (Any Other Way) 11: Tonite Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love

Sheesh, it took me almost 30 years (man I say that a lot when writing about these guys), but I finally bought myself a copy of Stand Back. There are a bunch of songs I haven't really heard before, and overall despite being dated and cheesy in places "Baby Done Got Some Soul" - okay, it was the 70's, so I can give them a break. Still overall this is a good album.

There are some classic April Wine songs here (I say that almost as much as I say "30 years"). The album kicks off with one of the greatest rock songs ever with "Oowatanite", and closes with a slow dance standard from my youth. April Wine was a band that got better with each album, and they were just on the edge of blowing wide open. At the time Stand Back kicked some serious ass.

I still remember sitting around my buddy's record player with a bunch of guys playing the quiet part of "Highway Hard Run" over and over where the chick says "kiss my ... " and we'd argue about what we were hearing. Ah the mystery of youth.

Reviewed October 8, 2004

April Wine 1: Gimmie Love 2: So Bad 3: Wings Of Love 4: We Can Be More Than We Are 5: Rock N' Roll Woman 6: Shotdown 7: Like A Lover, Like A Song 8: Kick Willy Road 9: The Whole World's Goin' Crazy

Holy crap, can it be that almost 30 years (there it is again) have come and gone since this one first hit the ground? I was in my early teens when this one first came out, but didn’t hear it all the way through until I got the CD last year. It was cool to hear this new so many years later, one of the weird things about hearing old stuff new is that there isn’t a lot of nostalgia attached to the songs.

Although this isn’t one of my favourite April Wine albums it does contain a few choice cuts that are vintage wine. “Gimme Love” is a straight ahead rocker that still sounds pretty good. The quirky “We Can Be More than We Are” is an odd little instrumental that features a phone call I’d bet money inspired Mike Myers’ Wayne’s World character. Of course there are the obligatory ballads, the most well known being “Like a Lover Like a Song.” The album closes with the title track complete with the Chipmunks background vocal choir; a song which never should have worked, but it does. It was the reason I bought this CD, as it was the one song I remembered from the album.

This was a big album for it’s time, and was laying the groundwork for the monstrous success (hey, in Canada these guys were HUGE!) they were about to experience. Considering they were a big deal about to get bigger – this was no mean feat (wow, great observations using the benefit of the present to predict the past).

Reviewed November 16, 2005

First Glance (©1978, 1992 Aquarius)

1: Get Ready For Love 2: Hot On The Wheels Of Love 3: Rock 'n' Roll Is A Vicious Game 4: Right Down To It 5: Roller 6: Comin' Right Down On Top Of Me 7: I'm Alive 8: Let Yourself Go 9: Silver Dollar

With the addition of Brian Greenway on guitar and vocals April Wine released the first of what I consider their penultimate triumvirate. Oh yeah, after thirty years much of this by today's standards is maudlin, clichéd, and horribly dated - but this album is 30 years old (WTF, where'd the time go?), and it still freakin' rocks. I can't imagine people in 1978 listening to stuff that was 30 years old going, "Yeah, that rocks my world." So I rest my case.

This is the album that hooked me on April Wine. Actually it was a single song. "Roller" - I remember being at summer camp when I discovered this song, and the hook blew me away. To this day it still bring a dumbass grin to my face when I hear it. As I would discover in time the whole album was killer. Even the slow songs were cool. But the biggest surprise was "Silver Dollar" a song that feels like a rock and roll spaghetti western. Which trust me is way cooler than how I've just described it.

It's too bad so many of the band's albums are out of print. There are loads of compilations for the band, from the rockers, and the ballads, and songs starting with the letter "J" - but the real treasures are often the deep cuts that never got radio-play.

Make no mistake, April Wine is a classic rock machine - and don't just go by your first glance. You need to take a closer look at what these guys did. It's worth the effort. Trust me on this one.

Reviewed February 1, 2008

Harder . . . . . Faster (©1979, 1991 Aquarius)

1: I Like To Rock 2: Say Hello 3: Tonite 4: Ladies' Man 5: Before The Dawn 6: Babes In Arms 7: Better Do It Well 8: 21st Century Schizoid Man

This was one of the best rock and roll albums in my collection as a kid. I must have clocked enough frequent air guitar miles to travel around the world with the band. Sure some of this is a little dated now, but it holds up better than the waistband of an old pair of underwear from the same period (don't ask me how I know this).

There are only 8 songs here, but it was 1979 and 22 minutes a side was the limit - although at 32 minutes this was a short one. However, there's a saying about quality over quantity. A little thing some of the newer bands might want to pay attention to in an age where you can stuff 80 minutes onto a CD.

The first two songs alone are worth the price of the CD. "I Like to Rock" is as killer today as it was over 20 years ago. I'm still blown away by the guitar interplay at the end. What a stroke of genius. Some bands would die to have one song in their career that good. April Wine is a veritable classic rock machine. "Say Hello" is another one of those songs that just gets better over time. The rest of the songs are great rock songs. Nothing as brilliant as the openers, but they aren't filler either.

The jury is still out of the cover of "21st Century Schizoid Man." April Wine seems to do the strangest covers, and over their career they've done some doozies. I think it's pretty good, but it never seemed to fit with the other songs. As if the boys gave a flying fig.

Reviewed July 1, 2003

The Nature of the Beast (©1981, 1989 Aquarius)

1: All Over Town 2: Tellin' Me Lies 3: Sign Of The Gypsy Queen 4: Just Between You And Me 5: Wanna Rock 6: Caught In The Crossfire 7: Future Tense 8: Big City Girls 9: Crash And Burn 10: Bad Boys 11: One More Time

I remember picking this up practically out of the box when it came out, and although my initial reaction was pretty luke warm it quickly grew on me and I played it constantly for about a year and a bit. I guess I was expecting Harder Faster II or something. Who knows, it was over 20 years ago cut me some slack. "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" ranks up there with the greatest songs ever recorded by the band - even if the guitar solo is lifted right out of David Gilmour's trick bag. I still hear "Comfortably Numb" whenever I hear it. "Crash and Burn" remains one of my favourites to this day.

The Nature of the Beast was April Wine's greatest commercial success. Sadly after this things more or less went down hill for the band, although they would put out a couple more albums before making a comeback of sorts in 1993.

This was rock and roll - before the hair metal took over and basically ground out the old school rock bands. April Wine always did what they wanted musically. They were a hard rock band who knew how to write a slow song. They also played with new wave - witness the horribly dated "Caught in the Crossfire." The little farty synth noises are funny now. Still for every bit of rock filler they'd pull out a winner - and there's very little filler here.

Note to the fine folks at Aquarius, how come the extreme budget packaging? A little in the way of the original liner notes would have been nice. Just another example of how the guys get no respect. At least it was released on CD - thank you for that much at least.

These guys are future Canadian hall of famers, mark my words. So what's the delay in giving the boys the recognition they deserve?

Reviewed June 30, 2003

Power Play (©1982)

1. Anything You Want, You Got It 2. Enough Is Enough 3. If You See Kay 4. What If We Fall in Love 5. Waiting on a Miracle 6. Doin' It Right 7. Ain't Got Your Love 8. Blood Money 9. Tell Me Why 10. Runners in the Night

Hot on the heals of The Nature of the Beast, the guys in the band were striking while the iron was hot. Sadly despite a couple of killer songs, the album always felt flat to me. This was one of the albums I liked least by the band, and I picked up the CD mainly because I wanted to complete my collection. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but hey - life is strange that way sometimes.

Now oddly enough it's been a long time since I'd pulled this one down, and it's was better than I remembered it. Yeah, it was a bit of a hit and miss affair, but considering the treadmill that band was on they were bound to have a clunker eventually.

Enough of the downside, there's enough upside to this to make it worthwhile. The album kicks off with "Anything You Want, You Got It" which has the same vibe and energy as "Crash and Burn", next up is "Enough is Enough" which is one of those songs that elicited a "WTF?" from me back in 1982, but over the years has become one of my favourite songs by the band. From there the album more of less craps out with better than average filler. "If You See Kay" is a headscratcher, but funny as a tongue in cheek play on words. "What If We Fall In Love" is actually a really decent rock ballad - few bands were as good at the syrupy stuff as Myles and company.

Of course there's a cover song. This time they borrow from Powder Blues and more or less bar band butcher "Doin' it Right" which never sounded so wrong. For an album called Power Play the guys sure conserved a lot of energy by including so many mid tempo songs.

Reviewed January 15, 2008

Animal Grace (©1984, 1992 CEMA Special Markets)

1: This Could be the Right One 2: Sons of the Pioneers 3: Without Your Love 4: Rock Tonite 5: Hard Rock Kid 6: Money Talks 7: Gimme That Thing Called Love 8: Too Hot to Handle 9: Last Time I'll Ever Sing the Blues

This had all the makings of a great transitional album. Sadly it would mark the end of the golden age. Animal Grace is perhaps one of April Wine's most musically cohesive albums, and was full of strong songs. "This Could Be The Right One" had single written all over it, but it stalled and never took off. I remember hearing "Sons of the Pioneers" as well as "Hard Rock Kid" on the radio a couple of times, but they didn't last long. "Without Your Love" is vintage Wine.

Synthesizers were more prevalent on this one, as was Jerry's use of a Simmons kit. Heck why not? The times were changing and the boys were going to change with them. Although it's kind of funny to hear the "Tom Sawyer" sound on "Hard Rock Kid." This wasn't techno or dance music by any stretch of the imagination, it was guitar driven rock through and through. Of course what this does twenty years later is place a big fat time stamp on the music. No one is going to mistake this for new music, it definitely falls into that 80's sound. Which, oddly enough is just old enough to trigger warm feelings of nostalgia.

Reviewed July 5, 2003

Walking Through Fire (©1986, 1993 Aquarius)

Tracks: Rock Myself To Sleep / Wanted Dead Or Alive / Beg For Your Love / Love Has Remembered Me / Anejo / Open Soul Surgery / You Don’t Have To Act That Way / Hold On / All It Will Ever Be/ Wait Any More

Can you say, "Contractual obligation?" April Wine was now Myles and Brian and some session players. The album is actually okay, and has moments of near goodness. The sucky ballad "Love Has Remembered Me" was the reason I bought this one. That and it was really cheap. Of course there's the obligatory cover. This time they've pulled out an old Prism gem and dusted off "Open Soul Surgery." It's okay, but the original was better. What was it with these guys and bad cover songs?

The problem with this one is that it's not an April Wine album, and Myles himself describes this one as a throwaway. Still, it's a slice of Canadiana, and even a bad April Wine album that wasn't intended to be an April Wine album is okay enough to warrant the occasional play.

Reviewed June 6, 2002

Attitude (©1993 Fre)

1: Givin' It, Takin' It 2: Good From Far (Far From Good) 3: If You Believe In Me 4: That's Love 5: It Hurts 6: Hour Of Need 7: Here's Lookin At You Kid 8: Better Slow Down 9: Strange Kind Of Love 10: Can't Take Another Nite 11: Luv Your Stuff 12: Emotional Dreams 13: Voice In My Heart 14: Girl In My Dreams

Time may not heal all wounds but it healed enough to get the bits and pieces of the band back together for another kick at the can. The boys proved they still had the chops and this one managed to go Gold at home in Canada - not bad for some old farts who had been written off as a trivial pursuit question.

In addition to Myles Goodwyn, and Brian Greenway, drummer Jerry Mercer and former bass player Jim Clench were back in the fold, along with new addition Steve Segal on guitar. The results were pretty solid, and surprised a lot of people, me included. The killer track on this one is "Here's Lookin at You Kid" - a song which rivals anything put out during their glory years. Of course, what April Wine album is complete without the rock ballad? Well, here it was "If You Believe in Me." - and it got a fair bit of radio attention. The rock songs are generic April Wine, which isn't a bad thing.

The boys rode the tail end of the hair rock craze - thankfully the boys stuck with rock and roll, and didn't try to squeeze into spandex. Strictly leather jackets and sunglasses baby.

Reviewed July 1, 2003

Frigate (©1994 Fre)

1: Look Into The Sun 2: I Just Wanna Make Love To You 3: If I Was A Stranger 4: Tonight Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love 5: Nothin' But A Kiss 6: I'm A Man 7: Whatever It Takes 8: Drivin' With My Eyes Closed 9: Hard To Believe 10: Keep On Rockin' 11: Mind Over Matter

Hot on the heels of Attitude the boys cranked out Frigate. This one didn't perform as well as Attitude, but in my opinion Frigate is the stronger of the two albums. The guys have obviously gelled a bit and worked out the ring rust. In many ways this is a band that has gotten better with age.

There are some excellent tunes here, heck all of the songs are strong (except for "Keep on Rockin'" - which is a fun little song it's own way, and the very strange "Mind Over Matter" - what the hell were the boys thinking?). They pull off a remake of "Tonite is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love." But the strangest song of them all, is the coolest too. I rank in the minority on this, since people I've played it for look at me like I've grown a third eye. I'm talking about their cover of "I'm a Man." This rocks. Note for note covers are for bar bands. Hats off to the boys for taking the song to another level. I know I've not been kind to some of the other covers you've pulled out of your trick bag.

Just when it seemed like April Wine was back in a big way they wouldn't be heard from again for years and years.

Reviewed July 1, 2003

Back to the Mansion (©2001 Civilian)

the songs: Won't Go There / Talk To Me / Paradise / Holiday / I'll Give You That / Wish I Could Sing / Looking For a Place (We've Never Been) / Falling Down / In Your World / Won't Walk That Road No More / I Am A Rock

I was just a kid when I first got into April Wine. Just about every Canadian kid who grew up in the mid 70's was a fan of April Wine. The guys could rock, and they could sing those sucky songs the girls liked. The first album I bought of theirs was April Wine Live. Wicked album - how come it's not on CD?

Over the years I would get just about everything of theirs on vinyl. First Glance, Harder Faster, Nature of the Beast and Animal Grace practically lived on my turntable (although I never did manage to pick up Stand Back). I haven't replaced all of them to CD (yet) but I still have a weakness for my favourite dinosaurs. Hence my excitement when I found a new album in the bin. Considering it's been a bunch of years since Frigate I was beginning to think they'd never put out another album.

I've been listening, and listening, and listening to it, trying to make it stick in my brain. There are a couple of moments when the guys come close to grasping the brass ring, but for the most part it's not quite there. Although I have to say that with each listen it gets a little closer. But then that's nothing new for an April Wine album. It seems they've always managed to put out the odd dud. Witness some of the songs from Power Play. Still it's an April Wine album and the world is a little better for it.

My favourite odd moment this time out is a perfectly horrible version (not in a good way) of the Paul Simon tune "I Am A Rock." Laugh, cringe, or tap your foot - only April Wine would even attempt a cover like this.

Reviewed June 25, 2001

Additional July 2003 - I've been listening to April Wine a lot recently and this one really has gotten better and better with each play.

Greatest Hits Live 2003 (©2003 Civilian Records)

disc 1 1: Oowatanite 2: Wanna Rock 3: The Band Has Just Begun 4: Say Hello 5: Enough Is Enough 6: Before The Dawn 7: Sign Of The Gypsy Queen 8: Tonite's A Wonderful Nite To Fall In Love 9: Cum Hear The Band 10: Won't Go There 11: Victim For Your Love 12: Weeping Widow 13: 21st Century Schizoid Man

disc 2 1: Like A Lover Like A Song 2: Rock N Roll Is A Vicious Game 3: Holiday 4: Bad Side Of The Moon 5: All Over Town 6: Roller 7: Just Between You & Me 8: I Like To Rock 9: That's Who I Am, This Is What I Do (Bonus Studio Track) 10: Strong Silent Type (Bonus Studio Track)

I must admit to a certain curiosity about April Wine's second incarnation as an oldies act. Pushing 30 years and the guys are still putting miles on the road, and flogging their old tunes while sprinkling in a few new ones here and there. Did they still have it, or have they degenerated into a self-parody themselves?.

On the plus side the lineup hasn’t changed for a number of years, Myles, Brian, Jim, and Jerry anchor the band. On the live disc the guys brought along Carl Dixon to round out the sonic assault.

So how is it? This is better than I expected. The guys still have their chops. Sure Jim’s voice is sounding a little worn, but there’s a lot of energy and April Wine recorded a lot of classic songs in their day - picking a set list to please their fans must be a righteous pain in the ass. For this recording it sounds like the boys were able to draw an enthusiastic crowd - the old and new were well received. Some of the editing is a little choppy in a couple of places, but not too noticeable.

The two studio pieces are generic throw aways and nothing special. No big deal, throw enough stuff against the wall, some of it is bound to stick, they just need to throw a few more things I guess.

I was a big fan in their heyday, and I’ve stuck with them through their last few albums. It’s good to see that there’s room for these guys out there. I’m sure it’s not easy, and it must be somewhat frustrating to play the smaller rooms without trying to relive their glory days.

Myles said it best all those years ago, “Rock and roll is a vicious game.” Which it is I'm sure, but they're still playing, and people are still listening.

Reviewed June 1, 2003

Roughly Speaking (©2006)

1: Saw Someone (That Wasn't There) 2: I've Had Enough For Now (I Wanna Go Home) 3: Night Life 4: Sheila 5: You Don't Even Know (How I Love You So) 6: I am, I am 7: Life Goes On 8: If You're Comin' (I'm Out Of Here)

I stumbled upon this one last summer, and picked it up right away. Despite their track record over the last few releases I still have a huge soft spot for these guys, and still plunk down my cash to support the band.

Roughly Speaking is a strange little album (clocking in at just over 24m) - it's like a collection of songs by a really good bar band (not a shot - the album has a great vibe, and feels like the guys just set up, pressed record, and let loose). It's mostly a four on the floor blues riff laden effort - with lots and lots of guitars. You can almost hear Myles and Brian egging each other on. The results are good cheesy fun. There are some clunkers, what's an April Wine album with the occasional misstep? Perhaps the biggest surprise was "Life Goes On" which captures some of the old magic - it's got the great riff, swagger and balls of the April Wine of my youth - for the most part the songs here are enjoyable, but somewhat forgettable.

However, if like me you've been along for the ride you'll not want to miss this one. It is after all April Wine.

Reviewed December 20, 2007