APRIL WINE — April Wine (review)

Album · 1971 · Hard Rock

3/5 · 2015-06-19
voila_la_scorie

Debut albums are often both the beginning and the end of a chapter in a band's career. The band forms and spends the next year or two or more doing cover songs and writing their first songs. They perform in small venues and test their material. Then they finally get that recording contract and choose what songs they'll commit to recording history. The album is released to moderate success and there's a single in the top 100. The record company takes notice and step in to get that band on the road, opening for big established acts and encouraging - even demanding - a new album and single. One or two of the founding members might quit, unhappy about playing the larger venues, the pressure of the big time, or having his songwriting skills dictated from above. By the time the second album comes out, there is a new line-up, the recording was rushed, and the band finds itself struggling between capitalizing on the success of the debut format and working at taking the music in a new direction.

April Wine formed in 1969 with the brothers David and Ritchie Henman, cousin Jim Henman, and Myles Goodwyn. Their self-titled debut was released in September of 1971. Though the band would climb to stardom as a hard rock act through the seventies, this first effort offers a glimpse into what April Wine had sounded like in the early days. This album is a bit like the Scorpions' "Lonesome Crow" or Judas Priest's "Rocka Rolla" as the songs and the style are very different from what would ultimately bring the band to fame.

Given the year, it's no surprise to find a variety of styles on this album, often combined in a single track. There's hard rock in a rudimentary format with some hard hitting on the guitar chords and the drums and April Wine's early vocal harmonies. But there's also some psychedelic leftovers from '69, a bit of folk, a touch of jazziness in a spot or too, some eastern scale guitar soloing, and a progressive approach to some of the longer songs.

Though April Wine's later material is certainly easier to get into, I personally find this album an enjoyable listen. It seems to me that April Wine started out with such a wide range of material and weren't afraid to explore musical possibilities. As the seventies wore on, the band streamlined their sound toward catchy stadium rock hard hitters and a few power ballads. Thus, many people will not like this album (and what's with the dirty feet on the cover anyway?). You have to think of this almost as a separate band. Indeed, Myles Goodwyn - the only founding member to still be with the band consistently and who would soon become the primary songwriter and vocalist- has only two self-penned contributions here: "Fast Train" and "Listen Mister". Listeners would be better of considering this first and only recorded incarnation of April Wine as a heavy psych / proto-metal band with progressive tendencies.

After this initial vinyl offering, cousin Jim would leave the band, and the second album would see a progression in sound and style, though still with some psychedelic and folk influences lingering on. The Henman brothers would then also leave, and under the leadership of Myles Goodwyn the band would really begin to emerge as a hard rock act.

I personally rate this album higher for its creativity and uniqueness; however, fans of April Wine and seventies hard rock might not be as impressed as me. So three stars for MMA.