Customer Reviews

Stand Back

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

... and worse.

Some of the material on Stand Back just feels somewhat generic and uninteresting compared to the first three *brilliant* April Wine albums. I'm only disappointed some of the time though.

"Slow Poke" is definitely not one of the more appealing songs. The sleazy, plodding style of the vocal melody and lyrics doesn't interest me a whole lot to be quite honest, but hey -to shine the track in a different light- at least some of the bluesy guitar playing is pretty good.

"Victim for Your Love" is another disappointment. It has a guitar riff, and it has a nice beat but... it's missing that special distinctive quality to really elevate it to new heights. It's too ordinary for my tastes. We already had artists like Bad Company and Foreigner giving us typical rock music back in the mid 70's, so the ordinary songwriting on an album like Stand Back very well might explain April Wine's lack of commercial success outside of Canada.

This is why I love the first three April Wine albums so much- those three albums offer consistently pleasing songwriting, diverse styles, unpredictability and just better guitar playing.

Elsewhere songs like "Tonight is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love" just continues with the generic commercial approach April Wine was going for at the time. The guitar riff just plods along so predictably and it's sooooo uninteresting... ugh. What happened? "I Wouldn't Want to Lose Your Love" is a piano-based ballad, but the piano playing has no charm or interesting quality to it whatsoever. The vocal melody is really mediocre as well. This song actually reminds me of Air Supply. We went from UFO and Montrose to... Air Supply and sappy ballads. What?

"Oowatanite" is a really good party rocker. Such a great way to open an album. I really like the verse melody and the chorus equally.

Other tracks like "Highway Hard Run" begins with a REALLY good guitar riff. Definitely reminiscent of Bachman Turner Overdrive. Then, to my COMPLETE surprise, about a minute later the lead singers vocals morph into Brian Wilson (from the Beach Boys). That's definitely a pleasant and unpredictable surprise! I actually like this entire song quite a bit. It's like BTO, the Beach Boys and Sweet all combined. Really good guitar playing at the end, too. This song really takes advantage of the reason I fell in love with April Wine to begin with- a combination of creativity and excellent songwriting.

I have to warn everyone- this is probably not the best album to start out your collection of April Wine's discography because I honestly don't feel it's on the same level as the first three albums they made. However, Stand Back still gets a pretty high rating of 4 out of 5 because it's not horrible by any means- the songwriting is good enough. It's just that the lack of true creativity and a desire to go commercial is VERY evident, but hey, if that's what the band wanted all along they did get what they wanted at least.

I owned the album almost 25 years ago,lent it to a friend,and never got it back.Found the tape in a 99cent bin 15 years ago,a roomate wore it out.Just got the CD.Had to have it after trying to play the tape again.I own about 3000 pieces of music and have found myself going back to a few of the old pieces more these days.This is my favorite by the band.Ive heard them all and Its sticky sweet I know.No King Crimson thats for sure but for some reason I always loved this album.Buy it and fall in love>

There remains a debate amongst April Wine fans as to which of their albums is " the best". Certainly `Stand Back' isn't their most commercial success, but there is no doubt that this is the album that lifted the band out of of the muddle of casual popularity in Canada and saw their popularity explode worldwide.

This is a great album, and is a must-have not just for April Wine fans, but for all fans of classic rock. From the opening bells and thundering riffs of Oowatanite to the final echoes of "Tonight Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love", this album offers straight ahead rock'n'roll, beautifully written ballads, and even some R&B for everyone's listening pleasure. And I do mean pleasure. Almost every song is a standout - particular highlights for me are "Cum Hear The Band", Don't Push Me Around", and "Victim Of Your Love", but it was the fact that "Tonight Is a Wonderful Time to Fall In Love" topped AM and FM charts for months that drove this album to multi-platinum status. "New" April Wine members Gary Moffet and Jerry Mercer (they joined the band during the recording of "Electic Jewels") really find their stride on this album, and the album represents the culmination (and regrettably, the demise) of the Myles Goodwyn/Jim Clench songwriting partnership.

Finally there is something to enjoy! After three relatively mediocre albums April Wine finally created the first near-masterpiece of their career. Some of the songs are a little too sappy but melodically this is a breakthrough. "Oowatanite" and "Tonite is a Wonderful Time To Fall In Love" (which was later done even better on Frigate) are prime examples of the sappy power ballad but the quality is there - let's appreciate it and remember that this was 1975 and AW was therefore one of the founding fathers of the genre. "Slow Poke" is really a lot of fun, "Cum Hear the Band" is very enjoyable with its change of style. "I Wouldn't Want To Lose Your Love" is again a very good ballad and "Not For You Not For Rock & Roll" is fine stomping rocker.

"I wouldn't want to lose your love" is one of my favorite Wine songs... I really like the ballads.. thay are more than moving, although these guys can really rock. After "First Glance" I think they started to wane somewhat...but the early stuff still [is great]. I highly recommend this one.

This is a must have album for any April Wine fans! It contains the classic "Oowatanite" with the opening bells. An awesome way to start the show. Plus other hard edge songs and classic ballads that showcase AW talents.

When not out buying records, I would often go to a shop like Don's Discs in Thornton, Colorado, and just look at LPs and covers by my favorite bands. I was always amazed at how many albums April Wine released before "Roller" and "I Like to Rock" broke in America in the late 70s. At random I selected the Stand Back LP from this group of early records and was not disappointed; the album contains several terrific songs, two of which are "Oowatanite" and "Tonite Is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love." Listening to "Wonderful Time" now (along with its 1994 update on the Frigate CD), I'm more convinced than ever that Myles Goodwyn is (and always was) one of rock's great songwriters.

I just got this, and it rocks. Never heard this album before but something in me is making me seek some old classic rock, that I missed the first time around, and this is a sweet find. I am a fan of the Harder..faster & Nature of the beast albums, and I can see how this lead to those. Excellent rock, that isn't to polished from success yet. Definitely a sound they lost when they got popular (MTV style).

STAND BACK, the first April Wine album that the band produced themselves, is also their first masterpiece. The album features several fine rockers, including "Oowatanite", "Don't Push Me Around", "Victim For Your Love", "Cum Hear The Band", the lovely "Tonite Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love", and the angry "Not For You, Not For Rock And Roll." The latter could, in the wake of leader Myles Goodwyn's opposition to Indonesia's trumped-up 2005 drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist, be seen as a guy saying he'll never fall victim to the temptation to wear clothing made in Indonesia for any reason, even if it means disappointing the woman he loves or looking totally out of style. The same could be said of "Don't Push Me Around." This is a wonderful CD that shouldn't be passed up under any circumstances.