APRIL WINE — On Record (review)

Album · 1972 · Hard Rock

3/5 · 2015-06-29
voila_la_scorie

For their second album, April Wine took a big step away from their debut, which was a interesting blend of early hard rock, heavy psych, folk, and prog, and release an album with more stripped back songs. Though still a diverse and creative album, each song adheres more closely to a style instead of abruptly changing or mixing tempos and atmosphere to the extent that some songs on the debut did. Also gone is bassist Jim Henman and instead Jim Clench, who would be an important contributor as a song writer and vocalist, joined the band. Of the original line up, the Henman brothers David and Ritchie (cousins of Jim Henman) and Myles Goodwyn remained. Perhaps a note of interest is that Terry Brown, who would later produce Rush, engineered this album.

This album is a bold transition from the 1971 version of the band and the mid-seventies hard rock act into which April Wine would evolve. Their cover of Hot Chocolate's "You Could Have Been a Lady" and the Elton John / Bernie Taupin-penned "Bad Side of the Moon" gave the band two hits that still rotate on classic rock radio. "Work All Day" features the band's heavy and hard rock side along with some of the fast-fingered lead guitar playing that appeared on the debut.

Other songs of interest to hard rock fans are "Drop Your Guns", "Refuge", and "Carry On". The remaining songs are mellower or more acoustic but in that way make the album interesting through variety.

The album, though only beginning to approach their later output, is a good blend of guitar-based music. The rhythm section holds up well with some of that good early seventies percussion and some ear-catching bass parts here and there. When the band goes acoustic, it works as effectively as any skilled seventies band could make it work. If I have any complaint it's the strange organ and piano parts that come in at the end of most tracks. Perhaps meant to be a connecting thread between songs, I find it unnecessary and intrusive. After one song would have been enough. It doesn't work and it comes across as a throwback from bigger psychedelic days.

On its own, this is rather a good album. I hesitate to compare it to Led Zeppelin because they styles are quite different. However, the mighty Zep never ploughed through an album with heavy rocker one after another and neither do April Wine. If you are interested in early seventies bands with a hard rock foundation but freely explore the possibilities of their talents, I suggest checking out April Wine's first three albums. Actually their first five are recommended by me but I like best the sounds and styles of their first three.

more than 2 years ago
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voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

siLLy puPPy, I find their stuff from 1977 to 1984 is a case of gradually becoming more mainstream until the music almost seems factory made. But their first three albums - being brewed in the early seventies - have much more variety, creativity and interest. Still, not all will agree.