By 1985, April Wine were a pale imitation of themselves. By this point, AW were not really a band as such, more a duo.
Written by: Lee South Africa
ARTIST: April Wine
ALBUM: Walking Through Fire
LABEL: Aquarius (Can), Capitol (USA)
SERIAL: AQR540, ST-12433
YEAR: 1985
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Myles Goodwyn – vocals, guitars * Brian Greenway – vocals, guitars * Jean Pellerin – bass * Daniel Barbe – keyboards * Marty Simon – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Rock Myself To Sleep * 02 Wanted Dead Or Alive * 03 Beg For Your Love * 04 Love Has Remembered Me * 05 Anejo * 06 Open Soul Surgery * 07 You Don’t Have To Act That Way * 08 Hold On * 09 All It Will Ever Be * 10 Wait Any More
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
By 1985, April Wine were a pale imitation of themselves. By this point, AW were not really a band as such, more a duo. Technically, the band fractured after 1984’s ‘Animal Grace’, but still had an album to deliver on their Capitol contract. Goodwyn and Greenway were the two who kept the fires burning, and bought a trio of Montreal studio hounds to plug the gaps.
Mind you, the trio bought in have severe credits. Drummer Marty Simon (Leslie West, Brian Eno, The Bombers, Sharks), keyboardist Daniel Barbe (Aldo Nova, Roch Voisine, Luba, The Bombers) and bassist Jean Pellerin (Robert Charlebois).
The Songs
Many of the songs are well-known versions of covers in the hard rock community, and I for one think they sound OK, given the band’s (or duo) circumstances. ‘Rock Myself To Sleep’ was written by members of Katrina And The Waves and was probably better remembered on Starship‘s mega LP ‘Knee Deep In The Hoopla’ released around the same time. Still April Wine’s version is quite tough.
‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ sounds pretty spectacular, of course we know this song from the 1983 LP from Arcangel. ‘Beg For Your Love’ is an Eddie Schwartz penned tune but I don’t recall ever seeing any other artist cover this. ‘Love Has Remembered Me’ was written by Myle Goodwyn, and strikes at the pomp end of the spectrum, with a pull toward piano and keyboards. Good song. ‘Anejo’ is a very cool operator tune, but not really in the vein of traditional April Wine. It’s very hi-tech/synth oriented.
‘Open Soul Surgery’ is a revamped Prism track from the pen of Jim Vallance, sounding nothing like the original, but listenable nonetheless. ‘You Don’t Have To Act That Way’ is smooth sounding radio rock a la The City and Novo Combo. I don’t think this style really suited Goodwyn and Greenway to be honest, but considering they were on a hiding to nothing, they could afford to take chances at this late stage.
‘Hold On’ is the album’s big ballad, and it would be a bit of a stretch to say they trying to reinvent their other hit singles ‘Just Between You And Me’ or ‘What If We Fall In Love’. Toward the end, ‘All It Will Ever Be’ returns to a harder vein, thanks to the robust guitar work. ‘Wait Any More’ is an unfortunate song-title, because it’s like the studio engineers have packed up and gone home, leaving Myles and Brian to clean up the aftermath.
In Summary
This was the end of the line for April Wine, and their Capitol/Aquarius deal was at an end. As an album, it’s ok, but you can tell that the desire wasn’t there nor the soul. Goodwyn and Greenway both released solo albums in 1988, while after nearly fifteen years, April Wine reunited, and have since remained a classic rock entity out there on the Canadian golden oldies circuit. They have many albums to choose from, use our guide to establish which works best for you.
Video
Rock Myself To Sleep
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
