APRIL WINE — Stand Back (review)

APRIL WINE — Stand Back album cover Album · 1975 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
voila_la_scorie
I bought this album on CD probably some 15 years ago because I was into homegrown (Canadian) bands and I loved the sweet melodic power chord semi-slow, "Tonite is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love". I was delighted at the time to discover another song I knew from classic rock radio, "Cum Hear the Band" with has a beautiful dual guitar solo. I think I didn't give this album much thought past those two songs and eventually left it to sit in a box of CDs that got shipped to me years later in Japan.

The other week, inspired by Thundermug's album which I reviewed here, I began researching other Canadian hard rock bands from the seventies and I recalled metal writer Martin Popoff saying that April Wine was one of his favourite bands. April Wine? Metal? Rock to be sure, non? So out came the CD and in it went to iTunes and onto my phone. And wow! What an album!

This was a pleasant surprise. It's actually a much harder rocking album than I first believed. "Oowatanite" is a typical hard rock song about spending a night together. But "Don't Push Me Around" and "Victim for Your Love" have a really heavy, buzzing distortion sound that sounds great loud. Especially "Victim for Your Love" is quite a heavy rocker.

Another song that I can't believe I didn't notice before is "Highway Hard Run" which actually begins like a metal tune before going back to hard rock. And "Wouldn't Want Your Love (any other way)", though it has a catchy chorus, also features some pretty heavy rocking guitar.

"I Wouldn't Want to Lose Your Love" is a sweet nearly ballad which was also a hit song off the album. Other songs include "Not for You, Not for Rock N Roll" which is a catchy upbeat hard rock tune and "Slow Poke", a song about exactly what your dirty mind has conjectured. I'm sure bassist Jim Clench is singing this one otherwise Myles Goodwyn is taking care of most of the lead vocals. "Baby Done Got Some Soul" sounds a little closer to a seventies dance number but the hard rock guitar still muscles its way in aplenty.

Since being blown away with this hard rock/rock collection I've been trying to find what other April Wine albums might be so good. It seems that their second and third albums are the best bet but "Electric Jewels" (the third album) is not easy to find except on iTunes. It sounds pretty good though. The two albums after "Stand Back" don't sound as hard rocking. I'll keep checking out April Wine anyway.
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