Old Enough to Forget

Stand Back is one of those infamous albums from my childhood. I only had a couple of records as a little kid. One of them was Bill Cosby's 1964 release I Started Out as a Child , that I was gifted when I was 10 (the other one was The Tale of Jemima-Puddle Duck  by Vivien Leigh - yes I still have it). I played that album near to death. I remember when I was in grade 7 and one Friday we were allowed to bring in records to listen to. I brought in my record and played "The Lone Ranger" expecting the class to erupt in spontaneous laughter ... only to have the needle unceremoniously lifted before it ended. "That's not music!" One of the cool kids brought in a copy of Stand Back . "THIS IS MUSIC!" There was a lot of kerfuffle as someone thought he heard Myles say the "C" word ... not cancer, on "Highway Hard Run" so they spent several minutes lifting the needle and trying to hear the offending word. I find it weird that this is still...

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 ...

Mashmakhan was one of those mysterious bands who was often referenced in articles related to April Wine. Drummer Jerry Mercer came from the band, and later incarnations would spit out guitarist Steve Lang and Brian Greenway (not at the same time) all of whom would land in April Wine and be part of the classic line up. This just added to the mystery. What was Mashmakhan?  I found a slightly beat up copy a while ago and I'd finally get my answer. The first clue should have been the hippy dippy trippy cover. The kaleidoscope image of the floating heads was a give away, but then again it was the '70s. I have friends who had family portraits that had superimposed images that looked similar so it was actually more normal than it seemed. The second clue, and one I was not aware of until I started reading up on the band was that a drug dealer in Montreal sold a variety of hash called mashmakhan. Yeah I'm sure the kids thought that was far out man. From the first track, this was ver...

The Nature of the Beast was third album from the classic five man iteration of April Wine. The triple threat on guitar: Myles Goodwin who sang most of the songs, Brian Greenway, and Gary Moffet who were backed by the ever rock solid rhythm section of Steve Lang on bass and Jerry Mercer on drums. When I think of the band this is the line up that gets my motor running.  April Wine was by this point well established here in Canada, having eight studio albums and two live albums under their belts. You'd think they would have started to coast and rest on their laurels a little. Nope. The band hit height of their commercial and creative peak with their 1981 release The Nature of the Beast . It was quite a feat too - as I loved First Glance , especially "Roller" then the band dropped Harder...Faster and the one two gut punch of "I Like to Rock" and that three guitar medley at the end of the song just blew my mind and "Say Hello" were amazing. I mean could t...

The first time I bought this I found it at a second hand store (Over the years I'd end up buying it a few times in different formats). The same place I got my comics and Robert A. Heinlein paperbacks. It was an awesome place. LIVE! is an overlooked gem from April Wine's early albums just before the band really broke wide open in Canada. They were already a pretty big deal, about to become more bigger. I think I got this just before First Glance came out (which is another story for another day), and I played it pretty much to death, or at the least to the irritation of my parents. There are so many killer songs here, and these versions were my introduction to the band. Of course being the 70s there's a blistery (yes, I chose that word on purpose) guitar solo to start off "The Band Has Just Begun" that my best friend thought was me with my fingers stuck in the strings. I thought that was a little harsh, but listening to it now I can't say I don't hear it - ...