Banki
02-24-2009, 03:17 AM
http://i34.tinypic.com/s5wei8.jpg
1. All Over Town
2. Tellin' Me Lies
3. Sign Of The Gypsy Queen
4. Just Between You And Me
5. Wanna Rock
6. Caught In The Crossfire
7. Future Tense
8. Big City Girls
9. Crash And Burn
10. Bad Boys
11. One More Time
...for only one song. The power ballad "Just Between You & Me"
was by far the most-played song by April Wine on American radio
in the early 1980's. Played mainly on the hard rock stations,
the single went up to about #60 or so on the Billboard charts.
The album, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1981)---not to be confused
with British metallers Iron Maiden's 1982 release THE NUMBER
OF THE BEAST---briefly broke the American Top 40. Considering
how good it is, it should have done even better!
This album starts out with a clear modern-sounding '80's tinge
with "All Over Town," a brief (3-minute), medium-paced,
surprising hybrid of Hard Rock/New Wave that sounds jarringly
different for April Wine. Not great, but somewhat catchy. The
next track, "Tellin' Me Lies," follows pretty much in the same
vein: Again, it is a 3-minute medium-paced HR/NW song; however,
it is very repetitive and not one of April Wine's better songs.
At this point, you're thinking the rest of the album's gonna be
quite lame, but---ah!---things immediately get better with the
more Wine-like, evocative "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen." At nearly
4:30, it is the longest track on this rather short album, and
it is wonderful: Beginning with a brisk-paced Hard Rock/Heay
Metal instrumental intro theme, Myles Goodwin gives a melodic
and emotional performance as he sings about a town that was
predicted for doom & destruction by a local Gypsy Queen. The
song features a slow, two-minute instrumental mid-section in
which Myles plays bluesy guitar notes, before returning to the
final verse/chorus that speeds back up again. The song really
paints a picture; indeed, you can see a desert town somewhere
out West, under darkening skies, with people trying to escape a
coming storm on horseback. The song never fails to give me
chills to this day, and is still one of AW's all-time greatest!
Then comes the equally-good "Just Between You & Me": The album's
lone hit, it is a beautiful melodic power ballad that features
early-'70's-type fuzzbox guitar from Myles Goodwyn, who is every
bit as talented a guitarist as he is a singer. I love the
French lyrics in the final chorus repitition! The bass-playing
by Gary Moffet is slow, pronounced and deep---evocative of the
sadness associated with lost love. The drums by bald, bearded
Jerry Mercer are slow but contain a certain upbeatness on the
verses. Again, one of this band's greatest songs ever!
"Wanna Rock" is a fast, very short (2:06) electronic-sounding
combo of bluesy Hard Rock with a New Wave beat. As cheesy as
it has been described as being by a previous reviewer, it is
actually kind of catchy. When I play songs from this album,
I usually play it. "Caught In The Crossfire" is like a great
Sci-Fi story set to music, and is extremely well-done. "Future
Tense" keeps up the Sci-Fi bent, and is not as good as the
previous track but still okay. But then, AW hit gold on THE
NATURE OF THE BEAST's final four songs, beginning with "Big
City Girls," their ode to "ladies in the night" which has a
crunching guitar riff that sounds vaguely similar to the
Scorpions' "Big City Nights" (which, by the way, was not
recorded until 1984, so April Wine had the idea first).
Then comes the speed-Metal (yes, you read that right) of
"Crash And Burn," a two-and-a-half-minute explosion of
fuzz-guitar riffs and one incredible solo by Myles himself
(as good of a guitarist as Brian Greenway was, Myles' g
uitar is what dominates throughout most of this set). "Bad Boys
" has a Bad Company-ish hard guitar riff and some good lyrics
about a guy trying to leave a life of gangs for the girl he
loves. Lastly, Song #11 is the very hard, upbeat & positive
anthem "One More Time" which ends this great album on a
multi-layered note, consisting of great work by all three
guitarists in this incredible band.
What else can I say? April Wine is one of the greatest unsung
veteran Hard Rock/Heavy Metal bands in history, and THE NATURE
OF THE BEAST is probably their all-time greatest album.
If you download, please say thanks. This will help me to be able to keep
bringing you music. Also Check my music Blog http://thisnightstealstime dot blogspot dot com/ . Thanks!
http://rapidshare.com/files/167758330/April_Wine_-_The_Nature_of_The_Beast.rar
1. All Over Town
2. Tellin' Me Lies
3. Sign Of The Gypsy Queen
4. Just Between You And Me
5. Wanna Rock
6. Caught In The Crossfire
7. Future Tense
8. Big City Girls
9. Crash And Burn
10. Bad Boys
11. One More Time
...for only one song. The power ballad "Just Between You & Me"
was by far the most-played song by April Wine on American radio
in the early 1980's. Played mainly on the hard rock stations,
the single went up to about #60 or so on the Billboard charts.
The album, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1981)---not to be confused
with British metallers Iron Maiden's 1982 release THE NUMBER
OF THE BEAST---briefly broke the American Top 40. Considering
how good it is, it should have done even better!
This album starts out with a clear modern-sounding '80's tinge
with "All Over Town," a brief (3-minute), medium-paced,
surprising hybrid of Hard Rock/New Wave that sounds jarringly
different for April Wine. Not great, but somewhat catchy. The
next track, "Tellin' Me Lies," follows pretty much in the same
vein: Again, it is a 3-minute medium-paced HR/NW song; however,
it is very repetitive and not one of April Wine's better songs.
At this point, you're thinking the rest of the album's gonna be
quite lame, but---ah!---things immediately get better with the
more Wine-like, evocative "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen." At nearly
4:30, it is the longest track on this rather short album, and
it is wonderful: Beginning with a brisk-paced Hard Rock/Heay
Metal instrumental intro theme, Myles Goodwin gives a melodic
and emotional performance as he sings about a town that was
predicted for doom & destruction by a local Gypsy Queen. The
song features a slow, two-minute instrumental mid-section in
which Myles plays bluesy guitar notes, before returning to the
final verse/chorus that speeds back up again. The song really
paints a picture; indeed, you can see a desert town somewhere
out West, under darkening skies, with people trying to escape a
coming storm on horseback. The song never fails to give me
chills to this day, and is still one of AW's all-time greatest!
Then comes the equally-good "Just Between You & Me": The album's
lone hit, it is a beautiful melodic power ballad that features
early-'70's-type fuzzbox guitar from Myles Goodwyn, who is every
bit as talented a guitarist as he is a singer. I love the
French lyrics in the final chorus repitition! The bass-playing
by Gary Moffet is slow, pronounced and deep---evocative of the
sadness associated with lost love. The drums by bald, bearded
Jerry Mercer are slow but contain a certain upbeatness on the
verses. Again, one of this band's greatest songs ever!
"Wanna Rock" is a fast, very short (2:06) electronic-sounding
combo of bluesy Hard Rock with a New Wave beat. As cheesy as
it has been described as being by a previous reviewer, it is
actually kind of catchy. When I play songs from this album,
I usually play it. "Caught In The Crossfire" is like a great
Sci-Fi story set to music, and is extremely well-done. "Future
Tense" keeps up the Sci-Fi bent, and is not as good as the
previous track but still okay. But then, AW hit gold on THE
NATURE OF THE BEAST's final four songs, beginning with "Big
City Girls," their ode to "ladies in the night" which has a
crunching guitar riff that sounds vaguely similar to the
Scorpions' "Big City Nights" (which, by the way, was not
recorded until 1984, so April Wine had the idea first).
Then comes the speed-Metal (yes, you read that right) of
"Crash And Burn," a two-and-a-half-minute explosion of
fuzz-guitar riffs and one incredible solo by Myles himself
(as good of a guitarist as Brian Greenway was, Myles' g
uitar is what dominates throughout most of this set). "Bad Boys
" has a Bad Company-ish hard guitar riff and some good lyrics
about a guy trying to leave a life of gangs for the girl he
loves. Lastly, Song #11 is the very hard, upbeat & positive
anthem "One More Time" which ends this great album on a
multi-layered note, consisting of great work by all three
guitarists in this incredible band.
What else can I say? April Wine is one of the greatest unsung
veteran Hard Rock/Heavy Metal bands in history, and THE NATURE
OF THE BEAST is probably their all-time greatest album.
If you download, please say thanks. This will help me to be able to keep
bringing you music. Also Check my music Blog http://thisnightstealstime dot blogspot dot com/ . Thanks!
http://rapidshare.com/files/167758330/April_Wine_-_The_Nature_of_The_Beast.rar