On Record

Album review

Here, one can hear the Canadians blatantly attempt to capitalize on the limited commercial success of "Fast Train" from the debut. "You Could Have Been a Lady" fit the band and hit the airwaves, pushing the quartet out of the sophomore slump that almost dissolved April Wine before its time; producer Ralph Murthy provides backup vocals on the reworking of this Hot Chocolate pilferage, which remains a lost electric jewel -- dusty but cool. Murthy additionally brought the boys another British obscurity, Elton John's "Bad Side of the Moon," which features flute in the fade. Unfortunately, Murthy also added a curious noise between tracks for reasons that evaded even the band. David Henman nabs the riff from "Shine On" for "Drop Your Guns," another forgotten relic from rock's friendliest era, the '70s. All within the group was not friendly, however, as Goodwyn's dominance led to the Henman brothers' exit. Thus, the band didn't tour to capitalize on this early success but, honestly, except for a few shards, this rockpile just doesn't quite stack up to the mightiest slabs of the day, anyway. Engineer Terry Brown went on to navigate Rush.
© Doug Stone /TiVo