OT: AC/DC or the Rolling Stones

[Butch 19]

There is no wrong answer. It's just a poll.

the Stones is the wrong answer.

not even close.

April Wine needs some love.

 

[brentashton]

the Stones is the wrong answer.

not even close.

April Wine needs some love.

Lol, sorry Myles Goodwin…April Wine is an excellent Canadian band (and I like to Rock!) but they aren’t in the Stones-AC/DC pantheon of great musical acts.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Lol, sorry Myles Goodwin…April Wine is an excellent Canadian band (and I like to Rock!) but they aren’t in the Stones-AC/DC pantheon of great musical acts.

While I agree with that I'm curious where you would put the Guess Who. I ask because many rock critics including some of the top rock critics at the time loved the Guess Who and felt that more people should know about the band, and listen to their albums. To this degree Canadian acts have always got short shrift. They often had to move to US, to California or NY to even get noticed. It doesn't help that for decades Canada had a humility that if it was Canadian it can't possible be that good. We had a national fixation on being say the opposite of Australia. We were the opposite of boastful.

If the Guess Who were a US or Brit act they would have been huge. Everybody from Young to Mitchell that achieved greater notoriety had to do it stateside.

This not isolated to music. To me Donald Sutherland is one of the best actors of his generation. But if he was US or brit his body of work and unique depictions would have been seen as legendary. He's one of the most interesting actors out there and was for decades and yet most of his work was supporting rather than starring.

 

[Cypress]

Nah. Give me some bloodthirsty, blasphemous, desperate, despairful extreme metal I can kneel down to in the cemetery on a moonless night while it's raining blackness please.

 

[brentashton]

While I agree with that I'm curious where you would put the Guess Who. I ask because many rock critics including some of the top rock critics at the time loved the Guess Who and felt that more people should know about the band, and listen to their albums. To this degree Canadian acts have always got short shrift. They often had to move to US, to California or NY to even get noticed. It doesn't help that for decades Canada had a humility that if it was Canadian it can't possible be that good. We had a national fixation on being say the opposite of Australia. We were the opposite of boastful.

If the Guess Who were a US or Brit act they would have been huge. Everybody from Young to Mitchell that achieved greater notoriety had to do it stateside.

This not isolated to music. To me Donald Sutherland is one of the best actors of his generation. But if he was US or brit his body of work and unique depictions would have been seen as legendary. He's one of the most interesting actors out there and was for decades and yet most of his work was supporting rather than starring.

Drai, first off I need to say that I am a huge follower of music in of various genres and originations and am a proud Canuck when it comes to promoting and advocating for Canadian musicians. During the pandemic I probably bought 8-10 online concerts of various Canadian artists who I know just wanted to keep performing and could only do so through the wonders of Zoom etc.. Not the greatest concert experiences but I still sang along and enjoyed every minute!

I certainly wouldn’t put the Guess Who in the same category of April Wine, but I would put them up as a seminal act that helped shape rock and roll history and thus, in a level closer to the Stones and AC/DC, although I don’t think they are quite that level neither (but so close) probably because of their shorter stay on the world stage. American Women was such a strong powerful song but it rankled those in power because of its anti war theme and probably wasn’t as big a hit as it might have been and it was still a big hit.

Guess Who, Burton, Randy, Gary Peterson and Jim Kale all were proud prairie boys trying to make music and make a living like so many other Canadian bands. They just caught the brass ring. I actually sat poolside with Randy and his son Tal about 5 years ago in Kelowna where I saw them perform at a classic rock event. It was surreal to be enjoying a visit and conversation for a few hours with a guy who helped shape modern rock in the way he did through both of his bands (its a shame that the GW isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in my POV). Neil Young, Joni Mitchell also get a fair amount of airplay in my Spotify rotations, even though Neil’s anti-oil politics piss me off big time. I try to separate politics and performance. If I didn’t I’d probably not have a very long playlist heh heh. Again, both definitely shaped modern rock from their Canadian prairie beginnings. You are right about the humility of Canadian acts trying to gain acceptance in the USA and at times I’d suggest it even existed in Canada, that we just felt we weren’t good enough anywhere, period, so don’t play their records. Want to talk about CanCon legislation??

Donald Sutherland, Christopher Plummer and even more contemporary performers like John Candy, Jim Carey, Mike Myers, Dan Akroyd, Rick Moranis, (I’m not intending to be male-centric, just the names that are popping in my head at the moment) all had their starts in Canada but the Mecca for actors is in Hollywood and off they must go to get their full recognition on the world stage.

Anyhoo, I’ve rambled on enough. I love April Wine but they don’t rank with the upper levels of rock royalty.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Nah. Give me some bloodthirsty, blasphemous, desperate, despairful extreme metal I can kneel down to in the cemetery on a moonless night while it's raining blackness please.

WE have a song request.

 

[Stoneman89]

the Stones is the wrong answer.

not even close.

April Wine needs some love.

Good call. Loved April Wine, a soundtrack to my early years. Never saw them, but Myles Goodwin is amazing. But as others have said, definitely not in the same rarified air as the Stones.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Good call. Loved April Wine, a soundtrack to my early years. Never saw them, but Myles Goodwin is amazing. But as others have said, definitely not in the same rarified air as the Stones.

Saw the harder faster tour. It was harder and faster.