Myles Goodwyn (1948–2023)

In the shocking stack of rock biographies out there, I sincerely doubt this will ever go down as anyone's favourite.

I grew up listening to April Wine and, like everyone around my age, absolutely loved songs like Roller, Oowatanite, Could Have Been a Lady, You Won't Dance With Me, Rock and Roll is a Vicious Game, and a parade of others. Hell, for a time in high school, April Wine's Greatest Hits was almost always on the turntable or tape deck. So, a memoir from the guy that wrote most of those? TAKE MY MONEY.

So, here's the thing, and I don't think anyone will ever disagree with me (feel free to, by the way): April Wine was a good band. Not a great one. And the reason for this is, they missed the memo about achieving greatness.

As far as I can see, achieving legendary status in the world of rock comes in four flavours...and these can all be mixed, matched, and combined in any way...

1 - Create at least one album that is almost completely full of hits. Think Fleetwood Mac with Rumours or Michael Jackson with Thriller (not my cup of tea, but still, credit where credit's due...)

2 - Be notorious in attitude, word, and/or deed. Think the Sex Pistols. Think Led Zeppelin (red snapper, anyone?). Think KISS.

3 - Be an absolute master of...something. A specific instrument (like Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Keith Moon, and so on...), or a skill (like the Lennon/McCartney songcraft, like the Gene Simmons marketing mastery).

4 - Finally, achieve a fair amount of fame, then die young enough to never fall from that height. There's a long list there folks, with a surprising number of them in the 27 club.

So, when I say April Wine was only good and not great, it's because the band never achieved any headway with any of the above. I think, quite honestly, if the band was going to crack any of the four categories, it would have been the first one, writing at least one album chock full of hits. And I truly believe they could have done it.

For all Goodwyn's spouting throughout the book about how he always tried to improve as a singer, a musician, and a songwriter (and there is some evidence of this on the much-maligned but actually quite good Animal Grace album that killed the band), it becomes very obvious through Goodwyn's very half-hearted overviews of his songs that he was content to birth a couple of good ones, then vomit out a lot of filler.

And therein lies the problem with this memoir: he takes the same attitude here. He gives you a couple of really interesting, fully fleshed out stories per chapter, then lazily vomits out a bunch of filler.

Some examples...

Through the first part of the book, where he talks about growing up as Miles Goodwin, he constantly alludes to the name change coming, where he becomes Myles Goodwyn...yet he never ever addresses it.

He talks about his three stints in rehab, but never actually opens up to what he discovered (or not) during each stay.

In his later years, he talks about a variety of things and, in a literal throwaway sentence, mentions that he's writing a novel called [b:Elvis and Tiger|37760476|Elvis and Tiger|Myles Goodwyn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514487713l/37760476._SY75_.jpg|59388351], but, aside from one more mention a couple of chapters on, gives no insight into what drove him to write a novel, what it's about, inspiration...nothing.

And I think that's the biggest missing element. Goodwyn (often coming across as a remarkably square old man), rarely talks about the inspiration that drove him to become a musician, to keep fighting through ever-increasing roadblocks, to how he came to write many of the songs.

So, while this is a good memoir, it's not a great one. Just like the band he writes about.… (mais)

When I started this book, I was depressed and I guess because I listen to a lot of April Wine, reading this book felt like a friend sharing their story with me. It kept my mind off things and I couldn't wait to pick it back up. Myles lays it all out in the open for us. He tells us about his childhood. Growing up poor, his mother dying at a young age. His early bands. How April Wine came to be, and their many lineup changes and what their songs are about. He takes us through his later years, talks about his health and his other ventures. There's nothing in here that's crude, he doesn't put anyone down. He seems like a classy, down-to-earth guy and like I said it felt like I had a friend while I was reading this book. I could gush about how I think April Wine is the best band to come out of Canada. And they started in Nova Scotia, where I'm from! So cool. Definitely check this book out if you're a big April Wine/Myles Goodwyn fan.… (mais)