Search - April Wine :: April Wine

I was impressed

bubblegas | Adamanasmpras, Texaxo | 07/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The more I listen to these guys, the more I like them. Certainly they were overshadowed in their time by rocks greats, even in their home country Canada they were overshadowed perhaps by better bands. They got pretty heavy at times, and that is one of their appeals. Growing out of pyscahdelia, they seemd to go for the hook heavy riff rock. The album is solid throughout, with some heavy sets.I love cranking this album...through all the well crafted songs and waiting till it kicks in. And it does. Production is decent.A good purchase for the hard-rock collector.It woulnt earn the fourth star in its day, but it hold up much of todays overall weaker music, earning it a 4th star.April Wine had a few more good albums. On the Record was even better than this prehpas there heaviest. The whole worlds Going Crazy had its chunky moments was well, but also a few weak tracks. The band cheesed out and lost their edge somewhere in the 80s. I also think their record companies really screwed them. All you can really find is Greatest Hits and repackages of their tune. Please consider the original albums.This is pretty good."

Rare issue - not great but very listenable

skyfoxx | Boston, MA USA | 01/12/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This record is perhaps worth getting simply because it has forgotten gem of "Can't Find The Town" on it. "Fast Train" is also a hit but it is available on some compilations while "Can't Find The Town" is absolutely beautiful song that disappeared from the face of the earth and was never heard of since. Some of the other songs mostly closer to the end of the album while not as stunning are still enjoyable."

Okay, not their finest moment, but...

Glen Bourgeois | Cheticamp, Nova Scotia Canada | 03/07/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Here we see the Wine as a democratic unit, before Myles' good sense took over and the Henmans eventually all left. Although one could easily dismiss most this album as fodder (as the All-Music Guide reviewer states above), there is a little bit more than meets the eye. Recorded soon after the band's move to Montreal, the album seems to be influenced a great deal from Montreal's music scene at that time. "Listen Mister" comes across as a non-classical prog number that remains a very entertaining listen, mixing fast-rock sections with laid-back, shimmering moments, with samba-rock a la Santana and some 3/4 rock thrown in for the extended solo section. That said, however, "Fast Train" and "Listen Mister" (coincidentally, Myles' two songs on the album, not counting the band-writted "Wench") are perhaps the best quarter of the album. "Oceana" only ceases to be embarrassing when one realizes April Wine were not the only group dabbling in post-psychedelia... and not necessarily succeeding in the process. "Can't Find the Town" and "Song for Mary" seem like a wandering folkie wandered into the studio during the band's lunch break and quickly recorded two numbers. "Page Five" may be the most progressive moment on the album, but not necessarily the best. (One notices at least half the album is plagued by weak vocals by the Henmans.) "Time" sees Myles regain lead vocal duties, albeit on a song not written by him. A blues-rock number similar to early Iron Butterfly (only more somber in its choice of chords), at least the band plays a better card walking out than it did walking it with "Oceana". Faced with this varied set, one wonders what would have become of the group had they chosen a different direction... say, the interesting prog leanings. Though later tracks such as "Electric Jewels" and "Child's Garden" still flirted with non-classical progressive notions, most Henman contributions were kept away from the albums. Though perhaps a wise move (in light of this album), this relegated enjoyable tracks such as "Teacher" (another prog-friendly number) and "I Get Bad" (a T-Rex pastiche) to single B-sides. I was able to enjoy April Wine live in concert Friday night, and I'm _not_ _complaining_ about any of the choices Myles made, all of which made April Wine a much better rock band. ("Electric Jewels" rocks!)"