Day 48: An Album A Day - April Wine First Glance

It's the dog days of "A's" in the album collection as we plough through the remaining three bands before picking another letter. I can tell AC/DC, Aerosmith, and April Wine are wearing both of us down but an album a day persists.

This evening we listened to a transformative album for the great Canadian band April Wine. While my favourite April Wine albums are the earlier versions, the band took a turn towards a harder, edgier sound. Tracks like Hot on the Wheels of Love, Right Down to it, and the highly successful Roller are arena rock pleasers. There are still the trade mark April Wine ballads on the album. While Roller was the top album hit peaking at #24 in Canada, ballads Rock and Roll is a Vicious Game and Comin Right Down on Top of Me charted at #27 and #46 respectively. I had the pleasure of seeing Myles Goodwyn play the piano on Comin Right Down on Top of Me twice and its moments I'll never forget.

First Glance was a refreshing studio release after disappointments in Forever, For Now and The Whole World's Going Crazy (an album for current times). I remember as a young teenager listening to the album over and over in the summer of '79 in my friend's garage. The album was, and still is, a rocker with a few great ballads for good measure. It wasn't their strongest release but it set the stage for future albums that would prove highly successful for the band beyond the Canadian borders. For me, it's a sentimental favourite tied to many positive memories from my early teenage years.