April Wine (like any good wine) got better with age, and the Canadians' brightest moment only arrived over a decade into their career with 1981's
The Nature of the Beast. Opener "All Over Town" lurches into action on a lopsided riff before finding its awesome groove, -- a groove they seldom abandon through and to the end of the disc. All-around frontman Myles Goodwyn is in top form, leading the band through some of their most aggressive material ever ("Bad Boys," "Crash and Burn"), as well as through the band's career-defining power ballad "Just Between You and Me." While "Caught in the Crossfire" and "Future Tense" suffer from some cheesy sci-fi lyrics, melodic hard rockers such as "Big City Girls," "One More Time," and "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" (featuring
Thin Lizzy-like dual guitar harmonies) pick up the slack in spades. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia