April Wine - Power Play

April Wine was striking while the iron was hot, or in this case platinum. The band had finally cracked the US market with The Nature of the Beast and at home the band had released consecutive gold or platinum albums since 1975's breakthrough Stand Back. Power Play managed to ride the band's momentum to platinum status in Canada, but despite the album cracking the top 40 on the US album charts it didn't translate into sales.

The album was produced by Mike Stone and Myles Goodwin, and the classic line up was still intact.

• Brian Greenway - guitar, vocals
• Myles Goodwyn - vocals, guitars, keyboards
• Gary Moffet -guitar, background vocals
• Steve Lang - bass, background vocals
•  Jerry Mercer - drums

Heck the album cover was awesome. There was Myles with his three pick up Les Paul slung over his shoulder arms splayed out basking in the moment. I loved that guitar. Two pickups good. THREE BETTERER! Take that Peter Frampton!

The only problem was the songs.

The band had been cranking out hit records like they were sausages and I suppose it was only a matter of time before they started shovelling the waste off the floor to make wieners. The album opens with "Everything You Want, You Got It" a song that had all the ingredients, but felt like a rejected song from the previous album. I mean it rocks and all, but it's missing something. The whole album for the most part just felt like the band was trying to replicate their past success and it just wasn't working. The songs sounded okay, many of the ingredients were there but they weren't anything special.

The one and only redeeming track on the album was "Enough is Enough" a killer April Wine track that is quirky and awesome. It was the only song I really liked back in '82 and time hasn't done anything to make the other tracks any better.

"If You See Kay" ... F...U...C...K, get it? Har de har har har. Yeah, it was pure cringe. Which still surprises me as when I was a teenager I was the self appointed prince of the double entendre and this wasn't clever ... it was stupid. I don't think the rest of the band was all the enamoured with it either, but April Wine was never a democracy, it was Myles band.

Now just so you don't think I've just unbuttoned my trousers just so I can take a dump on the record, I have to say that this was still APRIL WINE and as such there was a degree or respect and repeated plays that had to accompany an April Wine record. I did play this quite a bit, and to be honest the album is enjoyable for all that. Even the ill advised cover of The Powder Blues "Doin' It Right" is okay. It the same song, just rocked up with more crunchy guitars.

April Wine was at heart a '70s band and the times were a changing. Power Play was already feeling out of touch with what was going on in rock. The classic line up would release their final album Animal Grace a couple of years later. 

It was a retooled band trying to adapt, and frankly I loved it, but it marked the end of the band's commercial run.

Power Play was so disappointing, especially when you consider the run string of great albums that came before. "Enough is Enough" almost made up for it ... almost.