In 1992 APRIL WINE returned to performing live. I got to see the band at what was then called Route 66 in St Catharines. At the time, my friends and I bought tickets based on the name, and weren’t sure who was even in the band (it was billed as “original members”). The place was packed, the band was energetic and loud, and it was great to see Jim Clench in the band, who hadn’t been in it in ’84 when I first saw the band, featuring Myles Goodwyn, Jerry Mercer, Brian Greenway, and a new guitarist – Steve Segal. From then on I would see April Wine numerous times over the next few decades.
Soon after this ’92 show, a new album was announced, and eventually a single was being played on the radio in ’93. It was the ballad “If You Believe In Me”, that not only sounded like classic 80s April Wine, but it was a heavy guitar ballad that was easily likable and suited to radio . It was one of two songs credited to (or co-credited) to Canadian songwriters Todd Kennedy & Stewart Gray. Attitude contained 14 songs, And despite being a bit long (like most ’90s albums), it contained plenty of stand-out tracks, in particular rockers “Here’s Lookin At You Kid”, “Givin It, Takin It”, and “That’s Love”, as well as a few more good ballads like “Hour Of Need”, and “Can’t Take Another Night” (written by Brian Greenway & Jeff Nystrom), The album reached #19 on the Canadian charts, with 4 singles in the top 100; “If You Believe In Me” charting highest at #19. With Attitude, the band also made a couple of videos for airing on Canada’s MuchMusic.
Attitude was produced by Goodwyn along with Montreal producer George Lagios (RIP), who’d previously worked on albums by Pagliaro, Walter Rossi, and Teaze. This new album got a lot of Canadian press at the time, and those of us that were fans were please with it. The cover featured Goodwyn’s son. Originally only released on CD (and cassette), Unidisc issued Attitude on vinyl in 2022, but chopped off 4 songs!
The band had been signed to FRE (Flood-Ross Ent), and in 1994 the follow up album Frigate was released. This 2nd album would be a mix of new rock tracks, covers, and experimental cuts. Not as strong as Attitude, but Frigate offered some outstanding songs. The lead off rocker “Look Into The Sun” – one of the heaviest songs the band ever recorded, but as far as the originals here, that is the only real heavy rocker. Overall Frigate is a mix of originals, covers, and experimental cuts. After the outstanding opener comes one of 3 covers, Willie Dixon’s “I Just Wanna Make Love To You”, Traffic’s “I’m A Man”, and the band cover themselves with a new arrangement of “Tonite Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love”. Not sure why the band opted to do any of these. Assuming Myles liked his own song, originally from Stand Back, and wanted to re-work it, the fact that the original was a Top 10 hit 18 years earlier . “I’m A Man” isn’t bad; I prefer it to “I Just Wanna Make Love To You”, which although sounds a bit rockier and up to date, I am not as keen on (especially in comparison to the old Foghat version). There’s also a trio of ballads, “Whatever It Takes” (credited to Brian Greenway & Goodwyn), “If I Was A Stranger” (written by members of the band CRUISER), as well as “Hard To Believe”. The ballads are the better ones here, though this album could’ve used another rocker or 2. Frigate ends with 2 very different tracks, the ’50s sounding “Keep On Rockin'” and the experimental “Mind Over Matter”, which features more keyboards…oddly after so many years I find this last song has grown on me a bit. I don’t recall the band playing much from this album at the time, aside from the new arrangement of “Tonite Is A Wonderful Time…” and the cover of “I Just Wanna Make Love To You”, and I don’t think anything stayed in the setlist for very long. A fine album, but (again) I wasn’t so keen on the covers, and lack of rockers. Gotta wonder if this album was a bit hurried, coming out just a year after Attitude. It certainly didn’t seem to get either the push or the press at the time. And I don’t recall any videos from it.(?) Neither the album or the 3 singles charted in Canada.
It would be another seven years before the next April Wine album. During those years in between the band toured regularly, mainly in Canada. The band announced an album they intended to have out in 1999, but that wouldn’t happen until 2001 when Myles Goodwyn put together Civilian Records. This label would serve the next few April Wine albums on CD.
First was Back To The Mansion. It had been originally announced with the title of Deal With It, , but this was seen as negative, so they changed the title, and it came with a fitting cover. The band was now down to a 4-piece, opting to tone down the hard-rock sound, and let go of guitarist Steve Segal. Back To The Mansion featured less covers, and it included a couple of tracks written and sang by Brian Greenway. Barry Stock who is credited with ‘additional guitar’ is also co-credited on 2 tracks with Myles Goodwyn. The album’s lone cover version is the last track, a take of Simon & Garfunkel’s “I Am A Rock”, in which all 4 bandmembers share vocals. This album would be a more laid back and simpler production than Frigate, and to me, it’s the dark horse of the band’s catalogue. No big rockers here, not too many syrupy ballads, but just a lot of really good, enjoyable songs like “Won’t Go There”, “Paradise”, “I’ll Give You That”, “Looking For A Place (We’ve Never Been)”, and “Holiday”.
Following the release of Back To The Mansion, the band were looking for an additional player for live shows, and added Carl Dixon (Coney Hatch) to add guitar and keyboards where needed. The band’s live show would feature classics like “Electric Jewels”, “Victim For Your Love”, “Cum Hear The Band”, and “The Band Has Just Begun”, among the standard hits and concert favorites. These would all be included in the 2003 2CD release Greatest Hits Live 2003 . This featured 21 live tracks, plus 2 new studio tracks – “That’s Who I Am, This Is What I Do”, a rockier song that was performed live, as well as the softer “Strong Silent Type”. I preferred the latter, although both songs would’ve suited the Back To The Mansion album fine.
In late 2006, Roughly Speaking was released, and this would be the last studio album released as April Wine. Roughly Speaking features just 8 songs, 7 written by Myles Goodwyn, plus a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Night Life”. This one was another change of direction. It kinda feels like it might’ve started as a Myles’ solo project, as the band take on a blues rock sound. Recorded on 24-track, 2 inch tape, like they had decades before, and dropping any computerized, digital recording techniques, giving Roughly Speaking a nice vintage feel. This is another one in the catalog that is so different it has taken me years of warming up to it. Again, there’s some excellent tracks here such as “I’ve Had Enough For Now”, “I Am, I Am”, “You Don’t Even Know…”, and “Life Goes On”. A heavier guitar album than the previous 2; love the guitar sound throughout this. This one came out kind of quietly, and is now hard to find and pricy, if you do find it. Roughly Speaking also dropped the band’s signature logo.
The band continued to tour, with Jim Clench leaving the band in 2007, and Jerry Mercer would retire a few years later. Over the next few years April Wine changed drummers and bass players a few times, finally getting some stability with Richard Lanthier (bass, 2011) and Roy Nichol (drums, 2012) Myles Goodwyn would later record 3 solo albums before retiring in 2023. Goodwyn chose his own replacement in Marc Parent.
This post-reunion period is worth checking out, but I wish there was more to it. No new albums for 20 years now, very few archived releases, and no later reissues or vinyl issues of the albums from 1994-2007. Here’s hoping someone takes interest in getting proper reissues (including vinyl – with proper trackilistings), legit archived releases, any (possible?) outtakes….
The current line-up of April Wine has undergone a few major tours, last year opening for Uriah Heep, as well as BTO, and most recently were openers for Triumph’s 50th Anniversary North American tour. It’d be interesting to hear something new or live (official) from the band, as well.
Tim Durling’s latest book is On Record: The April Wine Album Review. It is the first book dedicated to the legendary Canadian band’s catalogue, with each studio album being discussed by panels of fans, as asked by Tim. So, I am honored to be included among in it. I recently spoke with Tim about On Record, April Wine, and putting this book together. As well we touched on Tim’s future plans.
You can order On Record: The April Wine Album Review on Amazon. It’s 222 pages of perspectives, recollections, and information on each of the band’s 16 studio albums. Tim’s doing a lot of promo to reach April Wine fans, and you can catch him on his channel Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, as he features deep-dives on each album over the next few months, as wll as appearing on various other Youtube channels, and in online publications.
Tim:I’ve done Grant’s Rock Warehouse so far, and I’ve done John Clauser’s channel, My Music Corner, and I’ve got a bunch of other things booked. So, the usual channels I go on, like The Contrarians and things like that and reaching out to other people and saying, see if you’re interested. So yeah, any exposure, I appreciate any chance to talk about it. I appreciate it. And for people to share on social media, it seems like a simple thing, but none of us have the exact same friends base or reach. So, all it takes is somebody to see a post that would have never normally seen a post and go, Oh, there’s a book about April Wine. It’s a simple thing, but it can mean a lot.
*Click on the banner below to order.
You’ve always done books, like you mentioned before, books on bands that don’t normally have anything written about them. Is that a large part of where this went, because there’s not a lot of books on April Wine other than Myles’ book or Ritchie Henman’s.
Yeah, there really hasn’t been any books that have been sort of studies into the band’s music, and I like being able to fill in that void. So, you’re right. Most of the books I’ve done have been bands that have hardly any books written on them or almost no books written on them. I mean, Myles’ memoir, Just Between You And Me, that he put out in 2016 is kind of the story from April Wine from his perspective, but I wanted something to go into each one of the studio albums, talk about all the songs, just like a lot of my previous books have been, and I think every classic rock band deserves to have something commemorating their career in this way.
Do you learn much from talking to everybody because you’re not doing interviews with band members and people that were actually there. It’s kind of just a fan analysis type thing.
Yeah, absolutely. The books that I’ve done like this have totally been based on Martin Popoff’s Album-By-Album series that he did. I just thought that What a great format to use; just like having a bunch of people sitting around a table and somebody poses a question, Hey, I think this is their best album, what do you guys think? And then everybody gives you their opinions. And so, I kind of adopted that concept. That’s certainly what I did for Y&T, for Kansas, and for Night Ranger, and for this April Wine one. And I find I learn a lot from talking to fans, especially fans that were either fans longer than I have been and have been there, can remember when albums came out and going to see them on that tour, or even younger fans that just discovered the band a few years ago. Sometimes they’ll hear stuff that I’ve heard for years but never picked up on. So, yeah, I’ve learned something each time around I’ve done one of these books, I’ve come out of it knowing more about the music or having a deeper appreciation for the music than I had before.
You have a wide variety of people, obviously, there’s, (I don’t know), how many people ended up in the book!? (Tim counts 29). I imagine, because I have probably a favorite five or six albums. Is it easier to find people that say, “Yeah, I’ll talk about Nature of the Beast, and I’ll talk about Harder…Faster”, and then when you get to certain albums, you’re kind of struggling to find people that have a good recall?
Yeah, absolutely. It’s like when I did my Night Ranger book, everybody wanted to talk about the first three albums, and I had a little bit of a harder time getting people to talk about the more recent ones. When I did the Y&T book a lot of people wanted to talk about Black Tiger and Mean Streak. So, with this book, it was no different. It was no problem getting people to talk about Stand Back or Harder…Faster or Nature of the Beast.
I did have a hard time finding people that wanted to talk about, say, Walking Through Fire or Roughly Speaking or Forever for Now, but I was able to fill it up to get a sufficient amount of people per chapter.
I could have talked about a few of those, but I think those three probably sit at the bottom of my April Wine list. I imagine you want to find people that have something positive to say as well!?
Not necessarily all the way through. It is great to have some differing opinions; we all hear these things differently. But, hen you’re really into something, I think that’s when the best content comes up, because if you’re really passionate about an album and passionate about a song, it’ll come out because you’ve listened to it so many times and you’ve analyzed it and you you’re like, Oh, I love this mid-section right here. I love the harmony vocals there. I love this verse right here, the way Myles sings it – or whatever. So, there are some dissenting opinions in some of the chapters.
Certainly, I would say in the in the first album chapter, you know, there’s a overwhelmingly, I don’t want to say negative, but it’s not that high on many people’s list, that first album. But there are some people that like that early stuff and that’s great.
Yeah, it’s a hard, I wouldn’t say a hard one to get into, but it’s definitely for particular tastes, right!?
I find that if I want to listen to the first April Wine album, it’s more of an intellectual exercise, like I shall now listen to the first April Wine album as opposed to I got to hear that debut album. It’s like that.
Obviously you’re doing a lot of promotion and that for this. Have you gotten any feedback from anybody connected to the band?
No, I really haven’t. At this point, the book’s been out for a couple of weeks or so. So, it’s still quite new. I have posted on, not the official band’s Facebook, but the fan page is there. And a lot of people have seen that. I know Dave Cameron liked one of my posts, so Dave Cameron’s pretty well connected in the April Wine world. People know that name. I don’t think that there’s anything particularly… it’s not about dirt – it’s just a bunch of fans and our opinions on these albums.
As far as beyond the reviews and the comments and stuff about the albums, you did a list of songs the band covered with the originals in that.
Yeah.
Was there anything you could have put in the book? One thing I really liked was your (and it’s a whole other topic), was your review of the live show, recently.
That was a really happy accident, because obviously I started this book quite some time ago, long before the Triumph reunion was announced and long before it was announced that April Wine would be opening for it.
I was so glad that it happened the way it did, and I got to see that show, because being completely honest, I was sort of in the background thinking, Boy, the idea of April Wine playing without Myles. It just seemed so strange to me because, he was the main voice, the main songwriter, one of the main guitar players. In a lot of ways, Myles was the sound of April Wine. So, the idea of somebody else doing that, I don’t know!? I’ve seen plenty of shows with replacement singers, but it just so happened that I really wanted to go see this Triumph reunion and April Wine were opening. And I came out of it, I was convinced that this music is in good hands now. Marc does a great job with the vocals. He doesn’t try to sound like Myles. I like the fact that they didn’t do what, say, Journey and Foreigner did and tried to find somebody that could sing like Myles because he’s got such a unique voice.
They just got somebody that could sing very well, deliver the songs. I will say that he’s really, I get the feeling that Marc has really taken time to study Myles’ guitar parts because when it came time for the lead parts, he had them down. And that that I would go see them on their own now. I would go see a full headline show from this lineup.
I saw him last year as part of the BTO thing and I was kind of the same thing. I kind of thought there’s one guy that’s played on albums here. I was, not skeptical, but I just…. But Marc brings a lot of energy to it.
Yeah, very much. And they talk about Myles a lot. He just sings those songs very well. That that opening set went over very well for the Triumph crowd.
As a matter of fact, I think that the crowd sang along louder to April Wine. But I think that also has a lot to do with the fact that, Triumph – I love Triumph; they’re one of my favorites. In Canada, they’ve got like maybe three or four songs that get a lot of radio airplay, whereas April Wine have maybe a dozen. So, like people just know those songs, right!? And they’re marginally not as heavy as Triumph. So, it kind of makes sense that it’s got more radio friendly appeal.
Triumph were great. But I just noticed that people were into that April Wine show from the get go, and you could hear them all singing along from the moment they started with “Oowatanite” til they finished with “Roller”.
So, was there anything you wanted in the book, you just didn’t get around to or anything kind of like a list of stuff or anything?
Not really, I tried to make sure I covered every officially released song. So if we got to, for instance, B-Sides, I put them in context of the album that they would have been affiliated with if they were a B-Side from On Record or Electric Jewels or whatever. Songs that are on live albums that weren’t on any studio albums. I think I just about got everything covered.
So far, I haven’t looked at and gone, Oh, I wish I had mentioned this or that. No, I’m kind of happy with the way it turned out.
I know all these things get brought up in the discussions from album to album, but there was no list of like related albums or just band personnel in general.
No. I think I try and cover the changing lineups as they occurred. I know one thing that, maybe some people thought I should have covered but I didn’t, was solo albums. I did talk briefly about the two blues albums that Myles did post-April Wine, because I find that those are probably the closest people were going to get to another April Wine album. It is kind of sad that Roughly Speaking, will probably go on to be their last album. And it was I mean, first of all, it was really short and I didn’t mind some of the songs. I just wish they’d made more music.
Yeah, it’s unfortunate they went from 2007 until now, not recording. I think Styx went for the same period of time until they finally put something out.
Yeah, Kansas did the same. They were16 years before they started putting out albums again. I suppose now, I don’t know. I can’t imagine there being a new studio album of newly written material, but you never know. It’s a good band. I will say that with Brian at the lead. And this music people still want to hear these songs.
Regarding your own favorite albums. Did you have any chapters you were looking forward to?
Sometimes it’s the albums that aren’t my favorites that I most look forward to because I really want to hear, because I always think that This is a good band. I just don’t happen to care for this particular album here. But somebody must like it. So, it’s always good to hear back when someone says, “I kind of like the late 60s vibe here…I kind of like….” I guess the two main ones would be the debut and Forever For Now. When it comes to, say, Harder…Faster, Nature Of The Beast, those are well-loved albums…Stand Back. So, I know it was no problem to come up with people that wanted to talk about those and were really passionate about them. But I kind of almost look forward to those lesser albums. And I’m interested to what people, think of them, especially if they’re albums that in some cases, I know that people have discovered them in recent years because of YouTube and being on different shows. One that I find has really risen amongst people that I communicate with is Back To The Mansion. I think that’s a really good latter day April Wine album.
I think once you get over the fact that it’s not a hard rock album.
Yeah, it’s not it’s not. Attitude was a pretty pedal to the floor, borderline heavy album. Frigate not quite so much, but there are a few songs on there.
But yeah, Back To The Mansion is nothing like that. Back To The Mansion really has more of the spirit of something like even lighter than say Powerplay. There are great songs to be found on there. I love that Brian sings two songs. It’s just it’s a really strong album. And I had no problem with them doing that blues sort of thing with Roughly Speaking, I just wish it was a longer album. The whole thing’s about 25 minutes long; so it’s barely an album.
I like the guitars on the album, but yeah, it’s too short. And it took me a long time to get into it. Same with Back To The Mansion, when it first came out, I was kind of like, It’s good, but, there’s no like, Frigate had “Look Into The Sun”.
Yeah, there’s nothing really driving on there. And that’s another thing I remember, because I got into the band when Attitude was a new album. I mean, I’d certainly heard of them for years before, but when I first started buying the albums and listening to them, it was when Attitude was out. And then Frigate came out just a year later, which was pretty rare in the 90s. So I remember thinking, Okay, we’re going to start to get some, a bunch of albums from them in pretty short order. Obviously, that didn’t happen. And I just think that’s a shame. I think there was a lot of talk about albums coming out, but it just it didn’t seem to happen. And I think I understand why, because obviously, there’s more money to be made on the road.
Have you read the other April Wine related books, Myles or Ritchie’s?
I’ve got to get Ritchie’s book. I don’t have it. I have Myles book, and I enjoyed it. When Myles talks about growing up, you know Myles was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, which is my hometown. I was born there. Myles did not live there, and that’s the important difference, but still the Maritime provinces. So, I can picture a lot of things he was talking about when he was growing up. It’s pretty amazing, considering that band started in Waverly, Nova Scotia, made their way to Montreal, and then they had albums all over the world. They toured all over the world, and they did quite well for themselves.
Are you getting feedback on this outside of Canada?
Yeah, I’ve sold a lot of books to to folks in the States that I’ve talked to, and in the UK. I think it’s really important, and one of the goals of this book is to let people know that they didn’t just have those six albums on Capitol Records, from First Glance to Walking Through Fire; there’s a quite a career here, quite a distinguished career. The fact that First Glance comes out, lot of people might have thought that was their first album, but then in Canada, the next thing that comes out is their first Greatest Hits because they’d been doing it for almost a decade at that point. So, it’s a rich catalog to go back and discover. And I think people would be really surprised if they only know, say, those Capitol years, the big songs, how eclectic those earlier albums are.
Do you plan on doing anything further as far as the band goes down the road? Do you see any kind of follow up as far as April Wine goes? I’m just saying this because I know there’s not a lot out there on them.
I’m thinking that I don’t know what else there would be, unless somebody approached me and said, We’d like you to do their biography, and then I’d have to do some serious research. I’d have to borrow a lot from existing material, like Myles’ book. And, it’s my understanding, like some of those guys, like Gary Moffet, they just don’t want to talk about it. But somebody should; there really should be because it’s an unlikely story. The whole idea of them traveling from Halifax to Montreal, and they really didn’t have an invitation. It was sort of a nicely worded Don’t call us, We’ll call you, that they got from the guys that ended up starting Aquarius. It could have been a totally different story. So it’s unlikely, but they just they kept at it. They kept putting out records. And sooner or later, they made their mark. It’s interesting because, yes, in Canada, April Wine are kind of an institution as far as classic rock, and they’re mentioned up there with the biggest of names. Around the world it’s not like that, they’re sort of almost a mid-tier band if people remember them at all. And I think more people need to know about the band and know just how many albums they did, how much music they made.
What else do you have in the works?
I’ve got another book that at this point is proofread. It’s pretty much written and it’s proof-read. And I’ve been kind of on this schedule where I put a book out in early summer and then I put one out in the fall.
So, this next one will be coming out in the fall. I’m not saying who it’s about just yet, but it does follow along with a lot of the books that I’ve been already doing. I will say that it’s the next book that I’ve got it’s like my Sammy Hagar and my Fleetwood Mac books in that it’s all me. It’s an album by album, but it’s all me. And then I’ve got a couple other bands in mind. I don’t see any reason to stop.
I’m always looking around like, OK, so who do I really like!? I got to really like whoever it is before I commit to doing a book. And who also isn’t well represented in having something to pick up and read about them. I’m a huge Rush fan, but I don’t have a Rush book in me and there’s so many great books already written about them. So, it has to be something that really gets my interest when I’d really like digging into writing about these bands. And all right, Finally, I get to write about this band or I get to say what I think about this band and how great this album is. And more people need to hear it rather than saying, I think Moving Pictures is a great album. Well, so does most of the world. So, yeah, I’m going to keep on going, I think.
Is it getting easier to do? You started writing books, what, five years ago now or less?
Surprisingly enough – Yeah, it’s been about four years. It’s crazy in that time, I’ve got seven. And my good buddy, Matt Phillips, that works for his company’s Go North Design. He’s worked on all of my books. I’ve kind of got a system down, not a science, but we’ve both gotten better at, now that we’ve got a system, it’s working very well.
And I also want to thank my good friend Andy Campbell for doing the proof-reading, because that’s very important to me. I do not want to have grammar errors or spelling errors or factual errors. A good proofreader will find things that not just things that, it could be grammatically correct, and it could be something that if you’re a huge fan of the band, you’ll understand, but I’m trying to write my books for everybody.
So, I don’t want someone to write something that’s like an inside joke. And it’s like, Well, I don’t even understand what that means. So it’s like, Can you explain that a little more? That’s why there’s some editorial notes in there and stuff like that.
Do you have anything planned other than this just for a bookstore or anything like that?
Well, I do. As far as my channel, Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, every time I put out a book, as you know, I do a ‘deep dive’ series where I go through every one of the books. You’re in an upcoming one. And actually, what I’ve done this time that’s different than before, I’ve got two co-hosts per episode. So, I’ve got two people that are in the chapter for the albums. And so that’s going to take me into September because that’s 16 weeks.
And yeah, I’ve got actually in Woodstock, which I only live about a half an hour away from there now. I am doing an in-store for first Saturday in July at a local bookstore. So that’s coming up.
I’ve been doing, I’ve done Grant’s Rock Warehouse so far, and I’ve done John Clauser’s channel, My Music Corner, and I’ve got a bunch of other things booked. So, you know, the usual channels I go on, like The Contrarians and things like that and reaching out to other people and saying, see if you’re interested. So yeah, any exposure, I appreciate any chance to talk about it. I appreciate it. And sharing on social, for people to share on social media, it seems like a simple thing, but none of us have the exact same friends base or reach. So, all it takes is somebody to see a post that would have never normally seen a post and go, Oh, there’s a book about April Wine. It’s a simple thing, but it can mean a lot.
Back in 2014 APRIL WINE founder Myles Goodwyn expressed his desire to retire from playing live with the band, but it would be over 8 years, in December of 2022 that Marc Parent was announced, having been chosen by Myles, to take over the band’s lead vocal and guitar duties (alongside Brian Greenway). Parent debuted with the band last April. Sadly Myles Goodwyn passed away December 3 of 2023. But choosing Parent was so that the songs (mostly written by Goodwyn) would carry on to be enjoyed by fans. April Wine has had a busy year playing live, and 2025 looks to busier and very interesting, with festival shows, as well as a UK tour as openers for Uriah Heep, followed by a Canadian tour opening for Randy Bachman’s BTO. In this interview Marc discussed his past, previous bands, influences, how he came to join April Wine, how things are working in the band, highlights, and a few surprises.
*Check out the links at the bottom of the page for more info, tour dates, etc…
Can you tell me a bit about your earlier stuff, your musical influences and some of the stuff you grew up on listening to?
I’m a total classic rock guy. first album I ever got; I traded a buddy of mine for a Playboy magazine. It was the first Boston album. He wanted the Playboy and I wanted his Boston album. So, we swapped.
So, I’m pretty much a classic rock guy; grew up listening to that and a lot of progressive rock and I got into, after Kiss, Styx and Boston, I got into Genesis and Gentle Giant and Yes.
And I was also studying to be a jazz guitar player, so I was interested in Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton, Lee Rittenour and Wes Montgomery and all those guitar gods.
In your early days what was the scene up there? Did you play in a lot of cover bands or beforehand, in the 80s and 90s?
No, actually, the first band I ever played in was like an original band out of high school. We were called ‘Sigma’. And, the first gig I ever did I was 17 years old and we were doing originals. We had an electric violinist, we had a girl on bass, we had a sax player, we did original tunes. At that point I had a music teacher, his name was Regean Gauvreau and he was very influential because he had a big band and he would work; every weekend he would book his big band at the Chateau Laurier Hotel, in Ottawa or at the Congress Center or he would do these corporate events, and he would hire me as the guitar player in this big band. So, I had to be able to read music and I had to wear a suit, and he really taught me a lot about the business of being a professional musician. This would be, like, early 80s.
So, then I was studying to be more like a jazz guitar player, and I ended up – my neighbor was going out with a bass player in a band called ‘Eight Seconds’ in Ottawa. And she would listen to me practice, in my bedroom and she said ‘You gotta come see my boyfriend’s band’. So I went to see Eight Seconds play and I said to myself ‘I could do better than that guitar player’. You know, just as a typical 20-year-old, watching the guy play with my arms crossed in front of the stage kind of deal. And, it’s very weird, at the same time I was working in a music store in Aylmer, Quebec, my hometown; and this guy walked in and gave me some business cards and said ‘I just opened up a local recording studio and if you know any musicians who want to do demos, I would appreciate it if you would hand them my card’. And I said ‘well, I’m a guitar player and I’ve never really recorded in the studio’; he said ‘well, come on over and you can play guitar on a couple of my songs’. I did that and at the same time, Eight Seconds were recording demos at his studio. And they, at the same time, decided they wanted to trade up, or change guitar players. So, this gentleman, Manfred Leidecker, said ‘well, listen to this kid I just recorded him’. And they gave me an audition and I got the gig with Eight Seconds. The band that my neighbor took me to go see, maybe a month before. Next thing I knew I was in that band, and I was 23 years old. And the first gig I ever did with them was opening up for ‘Luba’ at the Ottawa Congress Center. And they scored a number one hit in Canada with “Kiss You When It’s Dangerous”. We opened up for David Bowie and Wang Chung and Paul Young and we did a North American tour. The next thing I knew I was living the dream. From ’85 to ’87, it was unbelievable!
And how many albums did you guys do? Just a couple or…?
I was on Ottawa Rima, which is a self-produced first album. Then that generated the interest of Rupert Hine and Polygram Records. So, then we did Almacantar, which had the “Kiss You When It’s Dangerous” hit on it. And, and then they did a great album. I got the boot in ’87 and they decided to go without a guitar player. It was very support oriented, in those years. And they did another album, which is in my opinion, was their best album, which is called Big Houses. And they produced that one at Le Studio, in Morin Heights. I was not on that one, Bill Beaudoin played the guitar on that one. That was in 1990.
Were you a writer?
Yeah, I wrote some stuff on Almacantar. Not complete songs, but melodies and, certain choruses and stuff like that. I was just getting my feet wet, as the singer, guitar player, writer. That was basically my first attempt was with Eight Seconds.
Was there any other recording bands or did you, like, locally throughout the years before April Wine came along?
After Eight Seconds, I moved to Montreal in ’87 and did a bachelor’s degree in music at Concordia University, And realized that the scene in Montreal, there was a strong blues scene. A lot of clubs had bands that played blues. Three sets, four sets a night, four – 45-minute sets. So, I put together a band that still exists to this day. It’s called Wang Dang Doodle. I put that band together in 1989. And just learned the craft of playing live and singing and fronting a band, in the clubs in Quebec and Ontario. And I still play with that band once a month, just because it’s fun.
And playing the Quebec blues circuit, I met Richard Lanthier, who was playing bass in that same circuit. And I hired Richard a few times to play in my band. And he hired me to play with Carl Tremblay’s band. We basically knew each other. When Myles Goodwyn’s health issues got a little worse about eight years ago, Richard recommended me. And I auditioned for Myles on the phone. He liked what he heard and offered me the gig. And I, you know, I just had my first child, and I had a pretty good day job. Unfortunately, I had to refuse. So, I actually said no to April Wine eight years ago. And I couldn’t believe it. I was telling all my friends; I can’t believe I just said no to April Wine.
And they kept going. Myles hung in there for another eight years. Luckily for me, they didn’t find a replacement for Myles. And then Myles’ issue post-COVID, became worse. And then he said, ‘how about that Marc guy that we auditioned eight years ago?’ At that point my girls were more grown up. And I had returned to being a full-time musician. So, the timing was just right. I didn’t say no the second time around.
That’s interesting, because I remember that post going up years ago that he wanted to step back. And people flooded the April Wine groups with names and stuff and suggestions. And then there was nothing said for years.
I think a couple of guys, Myles was very, very picky in what he wanted. And I think he put a couple of guys through the ringer there, they auditioned for him, and I think it was pretty tough. I was just in the right place at the right time. Like, lucky for me, he didn’t find his guy. You know, and he liked, and he liked me. So, my voice naturally sounds like his. I don’t try to imitate Myles when I sing. I just respect the melody of the song as close as I can to the record. And I just put my own energy into it, my own vocal style. And I respect Myles’ vocal style. I try to be as close to the original as possible. But I don’t imitate. I’m not an impersonator. I don’t do that.
And he had a pretty recognizable, distinctive voice.
Absolutely! All the great singers do.
Do you remember what you were required to learn to audition with?
Well, I did “Roller” and “Gypsy Queen” for him, on the phone eight years ago. And then this time around, when I got the call the second time, I took out my iPhone and an acoustic guitar, and I just did a rough demo. And I sent it to him, and I said ‘listen, this is as rough as it gets’. It’s my friggin’ phone and an acoustic guitar. Nothing else. ‘And if you like the tone of the voice and you like what you hear, then maybe we’re onto something here.’
And he was listening to it in his studio and a friend of his called him on the phone and he asks his friend ‘What do you think of this?’, and his friend says ‘Well, what? That’s just you singing and playing guitar’. And Myles said ‘Okay. That’s the guy!’ And so, whoever that guy is, I have no idea who that guy is, but that guy got me the gig.
That’s funny.
The guy thought it was Myles.
I’ve watched the live clips on YouTube and obviously nobody can sound like Myles, but you’re close enough that the sound, the songs aren’t losing anything, you know?
Yeah. It’s all about the song, right!? It’s all about the memories that we, that the songs evoke in us. So, my, my job is to serve the song and make sure that when you come see the show, you hear that song the way you remember it and you get all those nice, warm, fuzzy feelings that you had when you were 16 years old. You know what I mean!? That’s my job.
I think for Canadians; I think April Wine is a special band because guys in our age group kind of grew up with them and they had so many hits, so many radio hits. We know all those songs, so just still getting to hear them is great.
I think so too. That’s my approach. When you come and hear the show, you want to hear the song, then we are, our mantra is to play the song as close as possible to the record. That’s what we said we were going to do and that’s what we’re doing and making sure you have a really good time. Yeah. So, you come out, you hear the songs as you remember them, you have tons of energy on stage – Brian Greenway is 72 years old, he’s still kicking ass. And Richard Lanthier and Roy Nichol have been there for like 12 and 14 years. They’re a powerhouse rhythm section. We’re a really tight band. And we’ve got great songs, great hits to play. It’s fun for us too!
It’s a huge catalog. I’m curious how familiar were you with the entire catalog before all this?
Oh, not that familiar. I was familiar with the same songs you were familiar with. I grew up listening to April Wine on the radio. So, I mean, at one point I’d learned maybe 30 songs, and then Brian comes up with the list, he says ‘Okay, here’s seven more songs, these are the American hits’. And I go ‘Excuse me?’ He goes ‘Yeah, these songs were big in the States.’ I go ‘Oh my God.’
I have the entire catalog, so like I’ve followed them since the early 80s, there’s so much to it, right? You have kind of have three phases of the band, the early band until the mid 70s, and then when Brian joined, and then the post reunion stuff. So, how much of that catalog do you guys play? Do you change it up a lot, or are you, is there a set list that you gotta keep to?
When we’re headlining, we have an hour and a half Canadian set, we have an American set, which has different songs, not all different, but there’s a few more American hit songs that are in there that are not in the Canadian set.
We have an opening act set, so, you know, we’re going to England and we’re going to be playing pretty much just the hits, because we have 45 minutes. And then we’re doing the Bachman Turner Overdrive tour in April, I believe that’s a 45 or a 60-minute set, so, again, and that’s a Canadian tour, so that’ll be just the hits, because that’s what people want to hear.
And even though I say just the hits, there’s a couple of deep tracks in there as well. Just so, you know, for the connoisseurs, there are some deep tracks in there as well. But when you have 45 minutes and you have as many hits as April Wine has, you got to pick and choose. It’s a good problem to have.
Now that you’ve been in the band for a while, have you had a chance to go back through the catalog, and listen to everything and kind of put in ideas that may be things you want to try or things that aren’t in the setlist?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Brian came up with a bunch of songs the other day and sometimes he brings out tunes and I go ‘Man, I haven’t heard that one yet!’ It’s such a huge catalog. I’ll go back and listen to the albums, listen to a bunch of stuff and I’ll come up with a suggestion, and he might say ‘That one didn’t really stick with the public…’, and he knows; he’s been there since ’77, so he knows what was popular, and what wasn’t.
When Myles was still with you guys, you guys had gone into the studio at one point. Was there anything finished or kind of any plans to finish any of that stuff?
I had the honor of writing a song with Myles. He had this song lying around and he and I worked on it and then when he did his last show in Nova Scotia, he brought the guys in and they recorded it and I put some vocals on it, played some guitar. So, there’s a song out there. It’ll probably end up on a live album.
There’s a live recording of Myles’ last show. So that’s in the works right now. I can’t say more because I don’t know where we’re at in that process. Where the powers that be are at in the process. But I’m pretty sure that we’re going to have a bonus track on that album and it’ll be, you know, Myles’ last song.
And you’re on it!?
Yeah.
Have you done any recordings with you in the band? Taped any live shows or anything or any live video professionally that can be used for promotion or for release?
If you go on the website, there’s a video that hits you as soon as you open the website. That’s a promo video that was professionally done. They just took a clip of “Roller” and put it on there as an audio track. So that video, we’re really proud of it. It gives you an idea of the energy of the show live. But there’s no audio yet. There’s no audio that I know of anyways, no professional live recording.
I think that would be a cool idea kind of to reintroduce the band that this is what we sound like now.
Totally agree. I think that even when Myles’ last live show, you could have a package in there where there’s some live songs of us now, so you get a bit of everything. I think that’s what they’re working on. Maybe that’s why it’s not out yet.
Has there been any discussion of eventually recording some new material?
Well, that’s a tricky situation because I think Myles was the main songwriter and Kim, who is Myles’ widow, her job is to really preserve Myles’ legacy.
So, to bring out new songs, they would have to be things that Myles has had a hand in. And he’s got a bunch of snippets on his phone. So, I think one of these days we’re going to have to go through all those snippets and see if there’s good ideas in there, which I’m sure there are, that we could potentially turn into songs.
The other option is, I know when the Thin Lizzy guys wanted to record without Phil Lynott, they ended up finding a new name. Not that you guys need to find a new name, but even… alter the name a bit or ‘featuring’…. But it’d be cool to hear the band, something live and in the studio, as is.
I totally agree.
We’ll have to see. Right now, there’s a lot happening right now just for us, playing live. So, it’d be nice. We’re going to be touring a lot, so it’d be nice to set something up where we could record the shows. We always want to be better musicians. We always want to get better and make the show better. So, there’s nothing like recording video and audio to listen to yourself and to watch yourself. That’s the best way to critique and get better.
It’s interesting because Myles, for years, was very dead set against people recording at shows and taking pictures. So there was a scarcity of stuff out there for a long time.
I think he was a little… I didn’t know the man as well as the other guys. I didn’t get to spend much time with him, unfortunately. But I think he was a little resistant of the new technology until he wrapped his head around it, then he really embraced it. You know!? Even just GPS. I mean, he still liked using maps until he understood it more and then he loved it. Maybe that’s why he didn’t like people taking pictures and shooting video because he was afraid, they would use it in a context that he didn’t approve of.
Do you have any favorite albums in the catalog now that you’ve gone through it all?
Harder, Faster – for sure. Live stuff is always great. There’s great energy. I love the ’81 show in London, they’re really firing on all cylinders. There’s so much out there. Now that I get to sing it, it’s like I like them all. I like them all and I hear them in a different way now.
Do you have any other plans to do anything… Recording-wise – outside of the band?
I had to keep busy during COVID. So, I did like 50 videos of other people’s material. It’s started out as just an I-Phone and a guitar and ended up being productions that would take 3-4 months. it was really fun. So, I’m always interested in recording and getting back to that. I’m always coming up with ideas and putting them on my phone. I just have to take the time to elaborate on them, writing songs. Now that I’m going to be touring a bit more, I have 2 young daughters, so me to take time off, I have to spend as much time with them as I can, so right now I’m more in to ‘papa’ mode because I know I’m going to be leaving soon. So, I’m taking care of my daughters, and spending as much as time as I can with them before I take off.
To answer your question, there’s always songs in my head, and I’m always interested in recording and putting ideas down. I can’t wait to get back to that. I was really into it during COVID when I had more time on my hands. But now, it’s really fun to concentrate on making the April Wine show as good as possible and making it the best people have ever seen. April Wine were a powerhouse in the 70s when there were 5 people in it, and a lot of people were blown away by that show, and our idea is to bring it in to today and still give it that great energy, playing those great songs.
Has there been any talk over time about adding a 3rd guitarist back?
At first, Myles’ idea was to do exactly that. And what happened was, logistically, nowadays it costs so much to be on the road, so expensive to fly to a gig, and fly equipment around, stuff like that. So, it just turned out that was easier logistically for 4 guys (instead of 5) in terms of transportation, in terms of everybody flying out of Montreal. Gary Borden, who is Sass Jordan’s guitar player, had the gig, and at the last minute we had to pull the plug on Gary, unfortunately. And it had nothing to do with him or his playing, anything like that – he’s great! It’s just that it didn’t make sense to bring in a guy from Niagara Falls compared to guys flying out of Montreal. So that’s why it’s a 4 piece, because it’s just too damn expensive to be on the road today, and bring a show to people, and keep shows at a reasonable price. So, maybe one day we’ll get back to that idea of the 5 piece like the early 80s.
That’d be cool! have you had a chance to meet any of the band alumni, like Gary Moffett, Jerry Mercer, and some of those guys?
Well not Gary Moffett, not yet – but I can’t wait! But Jerry Mercer came and kicked our ass in Montreal. He’s 84 years old. Have you seen the video of him playing with us? (Yes). And he said ‘I want to play “Roller”‘, and I thought ‘oh boy it’s going to be like geriatric Roller tempo or something. and Holy Shit (!), man, he came out and kicked our ass! Wow! i want to be like Jerry Mercer at 84, I want to have that energy. He was just amazing!
I saw them in ’84 on the farewell tour, and then a number times in the ’90s when they came back. And Jerry’s solo was always a highlight of the show. It wasn’t like any other drum solo (where you might run to the bathroom), it was pretty intense, and you stuck around and watched it.
Well, if you’re a drum solo fan, you’re going to love Roy Nichols’ solo, it’s really cool; it’s very original. It’s one of the highlights of the show. There might not be time for it when we’re the opening act, but when we’re the headliner we have a drum solo and a bass solo, and we stretch out a little more, which is fun.
Roy sings as well!?
Oh, Roy’s a great singer, a great producer. He’s got his own studio. He’s a super-talented guy!
I’ve seen clips of him online doing Journey.
Yeah, he’s got a Journey tribute band. And Richard Lanthier has a Harmonium tribute band, and a Deep Purple tribute band. I had a Steely Dan tribute band before getting this gig. As musicians we have to have a lot of projects on the go to stay busy; and that’s the nature of the beast (haha).
Do you listen to a lot of music, whether on Spotify or buy anything?
I tend to listen to a lot of blues-oriented stuff, a lot of new stuff – Spotify’s throwing stuff at me all the time. I have all kinds of different tastes – Kasey Musgraves, and I like Blackberry Smoke, and Joe Bonamassa’s band with Glenn Hughes (Black Country Communion). I like Slash’s stuff. I like all kinds of new stuff too. Kasey Musgraves is a great singer-songwriter, who I listen to all the time with my daughters. And my daughters like all kinds of new stuff, so they’re keeping me hip to newer stuff. (lol) And every so often I’ll get sick of it and say ‘OK, sit down, these are The Beatles, these are the Stones, and this is Led Zeppelin.’
Did you have a big record collection, growing up?
Yeah. I had a good vinyl collection, and then it turned into cassettes, because we would do these cassette recording blitzes because we could listen to cassettes in our cars. We would get together on Sundays and spend the whole day just recording albums on to cassettes.
A sad day for Canadian music with the passing of APRIL WINE founding member, guitarist, singer, and songwriter – Myles Goodwyn. This one hits hard because being Canadian, April Wine was one of the first bands I ever saw live, and the band was a regular on Canadian radio. The band was formed out east in 1969, relocated to Montreal and signed to Aquarius Records, where they would go on to be the label’s biggest band. By the time of the band’s third studio album, Electric Jewels, Goodwyn would be the sole remaining founding member, and would go on to guide the band to huge success, particularly in the early late 70s -80s with the albums First Glance, Harder…Faster, Nature Of The Beast and Powerplay. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Goodwyn wrote, sang, and produced a steady string of singles and hits for the band, even before the band became a hit in the US. Anyone growing up in Canada could not turn on the radio here without hearing an April Wine song at some point. Many of the band’s favorites still feature on FM radio here, whether it’s the early ones like “You Could Have Been A Lady” or late 70s-80s classics like “Say Hello”, “Just Between You And Me”, or the band’s epic take on Lorence Hud’s “Sign Of The Gypsy Queen”. Not to mention “Roller” , the band’s breakthrough US hit, which can still be heard not only on radio, but at arenas during hockey games (Junior & pro…). Being Canadian, if you grew up in the 70s or 80s — you had heard Myles with April Wine; the band played high schools and arenas across the country in the 70s, and was a staple of Canadian radio.
Earlier this year Myles announced his retirement from touring with the band and selected his own replacement (Marc Parent). In the last few years, Goodwyn recorded and released his own solo albums Myles Goodwyn and Friends Of The Blues (1 & 2) , as well as his 2016 autobiography Just Between You and Me. RIP Myles, a Canadian rock n roll legend.
Below are 10 classics April Wine tracks written and sang by Myles Goodwyn.
Roller
from the band’s 1978 breakthrough (US) single and album (First Glance).
Rock N Roll Is A Vicious Game
Also from First Glance. A classic April Wine number, once tributed to Bon Scott (AC/DC) ; nicely covered by Sebastien Bach of Skid Row.
Comin’ Right Down On Top Of Me – also fromFirst Glance
Say Hello – from 1979’sHarder…Faster
Also from Harder…Faster
Just Between You And Me
From the band’s biggest album Nature Of The Beast
Sign Of The Gypsy Queen
Enough Is Enough
The first single from 1982’s Powerplay
Anything You Want You Want It
Also from Powerplay, a great opening number.
This Could Be The Right One
The first single and only track play played live from 1984’s Animal Grace.
Sons Of The Pioneers
Another single and great track from the underrated Animal Grace album. This would mark the end of the band’s most successful line-up and era.
Love Has Remembered Me
the hit single from the 1985 album Walking Through Fire
If You Believe In Me
In 1993 April Wine returned with the album Attitude, which was ful of Myles Goodwyn gems, and April Wine favorites.
Also from Attitude
Look Into The Sun
From 1994’s Frigate album. Perhaps the heaviest thing Myles and AW ever recorded. The best track on the album!
For many rock fans familiar with Canadian band APRIL WINE, the band made it big internationally between the late ’70s and early ’80s, with such albums as Harder…Faster, Nature Of The Beast, and Powerplay. But prior to the addition of 3rd guitarist Brian Greenway, and the band’s US breakthrough hit “Roller” from First Glance, the band had already released 6 studio albums and 2 live albums. The band’s US and UK releases of some of these albums were through smaller labels like Big Tree , then London Records. The band, originally from Nova Scotia included Myles Goodwyn, Ritchie Henman, (brother)David Henman, and (cousin) Jim Henman, and got started in 1969, after the Henmans had a band named ‘Prism’, and later regrouped and added Goodwyn to form a new band. Upon misinterpreting a polite rejection letter to their demo submitted to Aquarius Records, the band packed up and relocated to Montreal on April 1st, 1970, and eventually wound up being one of the first band’s signed to the newly independent label. Although they would have a hit single on their debut album, it was 2 covers they recorded for their 2nd album that gave the band a bigger breakthrough in Canada and a foot in the US – with Hot Chocolate’s “You Could Have Been A Lady” and Elton John’s “Bad Side of The Moon”; both were big hits in Canada. These songs saw the band on TV, and are still featured on Canadian classic rock radio, and are performed by the band live. My list below features the band’s own songs from the band’s ’70s period prior to changing to the ‘classic’ 5-man line-up . I am pretty sure albums like Stand Back and Electric Jewels rank highly among April Wine fans. *Feel free to add in your own comments and choices in the comments.
Fast Train
April Wine’s first album, self-titled, was released in the fall of 1971. It was a Canadian-only release (or so I thought), until I saw a release in Brazil (on Discogs) in ’72, and a mention in Billboard of the single getting an Australian issue (on Festival Records) . Anyway, April Wine was far from the sound that they’d later become a huge success for, and with all band-members contributing to the songwriting and vocals. “Fast Train”, penned solely by Myles Goodwyn is the obvious standout track, and closest thing to what the band’s more commercial pop-rock sound would evolve into. The single charted in Canada, in the summer of ’71, at #38 (RPM charts). A follow up single “Listen Mister” (also penned by Goodwyn) was issued as a follow up single, but didn’t chart or have the lasting impact that “Fast Train” did.
Page Five
Although the band’s first album has become largely overlooked, save for “Fast Train”, by older fans, and those curious about the feet on the cover, it does feature some other interesting songs, and songs that were of the time, sound-wise, mixing acoustic and heavier guitars, backing vocals, kinda psychedelic in places, and some fine guitar solos. Bandmembers had a vast range of influences, notably Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa. In some ways the mix of all those things mentioned and unclear direction of all this kinda reminds me of those first 2 Alice Cooper albums (particularly Easy Action). But tracks like “Wench” and “Time” (which I almost picked here) feature some heavy guitar solos). “Page Five”, one of 2 tracks written by guitarist David Henman is pretty cool mid range rock track for the time, with plenty of changes, drum fills from brother Ritchie, and a big guitar solo. It’s also the longest track on the album. Following this album Jim Henman left the band to return home, not being keen on what the rock n roll lifestyle might bring. He did contribute 3 songs to the debut, notably “Time” and the acoustic ballad “Song For Mary”. In later years Jim Henman has been doing acoustic shows with Myles Goodwyn on occasion.
Drop Your Guns
Th band followed up with On Record, which saw the debut of Jim Clench on bass (ex Allison Gross). On Record also featured a number of good bandmember penned songs, such as Jim Clench’s ballad “Didn’t You”, Myles Goodwyn’s “Refuge”, and “Drop Your Guns” – the 3rd single (in Canada) written by David Henman, but sang Myles Goodwyn. A good rocker, and an early April Wine classic, “Drop Your Guns” would hit #34 in Canada, but wouldn’t be released (as a single) anywhere else. Driven by one of the band’s more memorable riffs. “Drop Your Guns” came out in a picture-sleeve, originally, as well the album would be released as the band’s ‘debut’ in the US with a different cover (featuring the bandmember photos from the inner gatefold)
Work All Day
Also from On Record. Written and sang by Myles Goodwyn. The album’s heaviest track; one of the band’s underrated gems from this period, and cool opening riffs. Interesting thing about this album is all those strings that linked the songs together would make tracks, aside from the singles, too difficult for album formatted radio stations to play cuts like this. “Work All Day” would make for an interesting live cut for the current touring band.
Electric Jewels
April Wine’s third album would take longer, and include 2 versions of the band, as the band essentially broke up while making this one. The title track was written by Goodwyn and Clench (as most of this album is credited to) about frustrations with the record companies and the business at the time “electric jewels in the hands of fools” – with the jewels being the artists and the fools being record company execs. It featured a number of changes, along with keyboards and acoustic guitars, a pretty progressive number for the band at the time, and one of my favorite ‘Wine songs. It is during a change in the song, to the 2nd movement that band changes from the Henmans to new members Gary Moffett (guitar) and Jerry Mercer (drums, ex Mashmakhan, Roy Buchanan). Also released as a single, edited down severely. David & Ritchie Henman would be listed among the ‘additional personnel’ in the credits, which also include Pierre Senecal on organ, also from Mashmakhan. The album was fully recorded with the Henmans, but once David and Ritchie were no longer in the band the 2 songs that David Henman had contributed to the album were removed and replaced. David & Ritchie went on to record under the band name SILVER (https://www.discogs.com/release/6358635-Silver-Serpent-In-The-Street)
Cat’s Claw
Electric Jewels included 9 tracks, side 2 containing 5, and well, I prefer this side, just a great run of songs. “Cat’s Claw”, sang by Jim Clench is a favorite here, a good mix of acoustic and heavy lead guitar. As much as I like the song and Clench’s vocals here it is the heavy guitar solo and extended guitar outro that really make this one stand out.
Come On Along
As Electric Jewels and Stand Back would be in my top 3 or 4 AW albums, it is a challenge to pick just a few from each. After the Henman’s split and before Moffett and Mercer joined Goodwyn and Clench, the latter went to England for a short time to try and do some writing there. Goodwyn & Clench would share lead vocals on a few songs. “Come On Along”, which opens side 2 is a great example of how well this shared vocals worked. Good tune, excellent production. There are a number of good songs on this album that I am sure others will feel should be included here, notably Robert Wright’s “Weeping Widow” (sang by Jim Clench), and “Lady Run, Lady Hide”, written about the environment (Mother Nature) – both singles. Following Electric Jewels the band released their first ‘Live’ album, with the set including a few songs that were originally only released as A & B-side singles – notably a cover of David Elliot’s “I’m On Fire For You Baby” , which was a minor hit. Both the single and the Live album were produced by The Rascals Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish.
Oohwatanite
One of the band’s trademark songs. Penned and sang by Jim Clench from the Stand Back album, which would be produced by the band. Unlike Electric Jewels – Stand Back saw Myles Goodwyn and Jim Clench credited on their own to the songs, and featured a much more polished sound and direction. “Oohwatanite” was 1 of 2 solely credited to Clench (and sang by), and his greatest contribution to the band. “Oowatanite” has always remained a highpoint of the band’s live set, set off by the train-crossing bell and light. Clench’s replacement (Steve Lang) would later sing the song (as credited) for Live At The El Mocambo, and Goodwyn would sing it for years after that.
Victim Of Your Love
Stand Back featured 11 tracks, and seems to have been penned with singles in mind, because almost every track sounds like they would’ve made for fine single releases. So, picking just a few from this album was pretty difficult. “Victim Of Your Love” is one of a few outstanding guitar driven rockers, memorable riff, the solo, the harmonies and lead vocal all make for a great production. I wondered if the song’s title was originally incorrect, as the line being sung is “victim for your love”, but I see it was listed as “Victim For Your Love” on the Greatest Hits Love 2003 release. Also, the only song that’s over 4 minutes long on this album.
Highway Hard Run
Another Myles Goodwyn track from Stand Back. interesting story in the tune (I often wonder who might be the band in the song’s tale?). Also, the B-side to “Oowatanite”. Perhaps my favorite (non-A side single) album rocker from this era, love the performances and changes in this one.
Gimme Love
In 1975Jim Clench left the band and would go on to record 2 albums with BTO, as well as 451 (Degrees), and rejoined April Wine in the early ’90s. Clench was replaced by Steve Lang (ex Devotion, Mashmakhan). The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy was another solid album, tho’ not quite as loaded with potential hit singles as Stand Back. It was produced by Myles Goodwyn and would feature a few guests, as well as co-writes. “Gimme Love” was a strong opening track, a good upbeat rock tune, with a few nice changes, co-written with Havoness Hagopian (of Moonquake). Another from the band’s vast catalogue that might be cool to hear in the live show again. Strangely this was also released as a B-side to a non-LP A single. The album featured the Mad Hatter on the cover, one of the band’s most memorable album covers from Aquarius in-house artist Bob Lemm.
So Bad
Also from The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy. Probably the heaviest track the band did during this period, with the legendary Frank Marino guesting on guitar. The Canadian and American versions of this album would differ in track selections, with the US having an extra track, and including a couple more ballads – songs that would appear on the band’s next release. ” When April Wine was hitting it big, their manager – Terry Flood, came and asked me how to penetrate the American border and make it big. Terry and other Canadian bands came to me because I was huge in the States. In fact, to this day, aside from Montreal, I have still not played very many gigs in my own country. I told them – don’t ask me! I just stumbled into this …!” (Frank M. – https://rickkeenemusicscene.com/2012/09/03/frank-marino-anti-establishment-101/ ) Other favorites on this album include “Rock n Roll Woman” (which I almost picked here), and “Wings Of Love”.
Holly Would
OK, so now I am at #13. And honestly I am not a big fan of Forever For Now, not for lack of good songs, just not much in the way of rockers here. But, I believe this album did start out as a Myles Goodwyn solo album, with the band brought in to complete it and use the band name (record company decision?). There;s a lot of (good) ballads here, and a few different things, but the title track is a good upbeat rock track, and this one would be my favorite here, “Holly Would” – a neat wording. Asides from Canada, Forever For Now only got released in Greece. Following this album April Wine would famously open for The Rolling Stones (ie The Cockroaches) and release Live At The El Mocambo from it, which (again) featured a number of non-LP songs, notably 2 tracks from Bob Segarini (The Wackers).
Ritchie Henman was a founding member of legendary Canadian band April Wine. Formed in 1969 by Ritchie (drums), brother David (guitar, vocals), cousin Jim Henman (bass), and Myles Goodwyn (guitar, vocals). The band moved from Nova Scotia to Montreal early on with the hopes of landing gigs and a record deal, on the basis of a misunderstood response from a well known promoter. Ritchie and David Henman wrote and played on the first 3 albums, before leaving the band and moving on to other projects. In that time April Wine made an impact on the Canadian charts with such hits as “Fast Train”, “Could Have Been A Lady”, “Bad Side Of The Moon”, and “Drop Your Guns”. Ritchie also played on the excellent album by Cruiser – Rollin’ With The Times, from 1980.
Anyway, after all these years Ritchie Henman has written his own story in the newly released – High Adventure – Tales Of Canadian Rock & Roll Survival, which details his earliest days in Novav Scotia to his days as the original drummer in April Wine as the band was gaining popularity early on. On to the band The Dudes, Cruiser, and others, on to (presumably) his post-rock days.
High Adventure – Tales Of Canadian Rock & Roll Survival is available on Amazon, as well as the publisher’s site. For more info check out the links below.
*There will be a book launch for High Adventure, with Ritchie, at the Dorval Library on May 17. Go to http://www.ritchiehenman.com for more info and to register.
Canada’s APRIL WINE got together in 1968, moved to Montreal, signed to Aquarius Records, and released their first album in 1970. That album featured the hit single “Fast Train”. And from there, April Wine went on to become one of the biggest band’s in Canada. By the time the band’s 3rd album was released Myles Goodwyn was the lone original member. He sang lead, played guitar, and wrote the majority of the band’s material. Over time, he would go on to write almost all of the band’s material, add keyboards, and produce. Guitarist Brian Greenway joined in 1977, and the band took off with the hit “Roller”, from the album First Glance. April Wine split in the mid ’80s, but reformed in the early ’90s, recording more studio albums, and touring extensively. After a number of personal changes only Goodwyn and Greenway remained from the band’s classic late 70s-early 80s classic era. Now Myles Goodwyn has announced his retirement from touring with the band that he lead for 5 decades. Replacing him will be Montreal musician Marc Parent, from the Ottawa based band Eight Seconds. Goodwyn posted on Facebook on December 19 (with the above photo): “New April Wine group to hit stages everywhere in 2023. (l to r) Brian Greenway, Marc Parent, Richard Lanthier and Roy Nichol. Although I’m still in the band writing, recording the guys and producing, I am now officially retired from touring. My last stage performance after 50+ yrs. on the road, will be in Nova Scotia, March 2, 2023. It all started here and ends here for me. I will miss the shows, the fans and the other bands that have been friends for years, but health reasons have made this decision necessary. Cheers everyone and thanks for all the support over the years.”
Brian Greenway commented (further on) – “The new fellow’s name is Marc Parent from the band 8 Seconds. He plays excellent guitar and sings great! He was hand picked and is a gift as he can play and sing a lot like Myles. The song book will carry on. It’s all about the songs.”
In recent years Myles Goodwyn has recorded and released 3 solo albums – Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues (2018), Friends of the Blues 2 (2019), and his most recent (2021) Long Pants. There has also been talk of a new April Wine album over the last couple of years, hopefully that will still happen. The band’s catalogue has more recently been reissued on colored vinyl via Unidisc.
Outsider Rock 