Crowned King – Vancouver’s “Crowned King” made one album, “Break the Silence”, in late 2003. At that time the band included a 3-piece horn section. A lot happened since then, including changes in the line-up and several very successful tours in South East Asia. The band recently changed its name and is now called “Envy”. One of Crowned King’s most popular songs causes some confusion because it’s entitled “One in a Million” but throughout the song singer Shaun Frank uses the phrase “One of a Million”. Whatever you call it, it’s a good song and a pretty neat video.

Most people first heard Lindsay singing the theme song for MuchMusic’s 2006 VJ Search, “What Would You Do”. This song came her way through songwriting collaborator and co-producer Christopher Ward. Her album, “Dirty Chemistry”, includes that track as well as Lindsay’s other singles, “I Can’t Forget Your Face” and “Freaks”. Lindsay has launched a new band called “Moonshot”.

The EP “Limited” was made with no digital technology – not even guitar tuners. Winston is an outstanding performer with an astounding vocal range. But he considers himself a songwriter first and foremost. Also, lately he has spent most of his time producing other artists (he recently completed work with Hannah Georgas and is currently recording Hey Ocean!).

COREY HART If April Wine’s recording history with Aquarius was long and involved, Corey Hart’s was relatively brief, but explosive. “First Offense” - (1983) Recorded in the village of Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire (because Peter Townshend’s Eel Pie Studio in London wasn’t ready in time) this album propelled Corey Hart to stardom. Best known for “Sunglasses at Night”, it also included the International hits “It Ain’t Enough” and “Everything in my Heart”. Corey wasn’t just a recording artist; he was great songwriter and a video star. Both MuchMusic in Canada and MTV in the U.S. were big supporters of Corey Hart. A little trivia: The track “Jenny Fay” features a very nice guitar solo by Eric Clapton. “Boy in the Box” - (1985) Corey co-produced is second album much closer to home at Studio Morin Heights (50 miles from Montreal). The most successful track was “Never Surrender” but the entire album was a hit, becoming the second-ever “Diamond-selling” record in Canada history (Brian Adam’s “Reckless” beat Corey to that mark by several months.) In his first eighteen months, Corey Hart matched April Wine’s sales over a 14- year period. During this time, Corey toured America on tours with Hall and Oates and Rick Springfield, but in Canada he was selling out the biggest venues in the country as a headliner. “Fields of Fire” – (1986) Anyone looking at Corey Hart’s schedule in 1985 had to be surprised that he was back with another album the following year. Coming off the greatest success of his career, Corey made a record that was very personal and introspective. Maybe this was the result of the pressure of relatively “instant” stardom, but this excellent record was not what Corey’s legion of fans was expecting. It shipped enormous numbers but sold relatively modestly, driven by tracks like “In Your Soul” and “Chase the Sun”. In retrospect, this album re-defined Corey as more “adult pop” than “pop rock”. Very few triple platinum albums are termed disappointments, but “Fields of Fire” bears that stigma. The album includes Corey’s only cover, the Elvis Presley hit, “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You”. “Young Man Running” - (1988) Strangely, less than 5 years after first appearing and less than 3 years after stunning the world, Corey Hart’s “Young Man Running” was released with little fanfare and relatively low expectations. It was recorded at George Martin’s AIR Studio in Montserrat. The players were exceptional, including the great Kenny Aranoff on drums. Corey’s writing had matured and was far more nuanced than in the past. In fact if only he didn’t have to complete with his own spectacular history, Corey would undoubtedly received a much more enthusiastic public and critical reaction to this fine album. “Bang!” - (1990) Corey Hart’s history with Aquarius started with a bang and ended with “Bang!”. Unless you consider the critical importance of timing the music business, it’s really hard to understand why one of his best albums, supported by two of his most stunning videos (“A Little Love” and “Bang – Starting Over”), was largely over looked by most people. If there is any album that deserves a second look and listen, this is it.

Sword: The 1986 self-produced debut album by Montreal’s Sword was called “Metalized”. Its greatest success came in Europe where the press hailed Sword’s “God Damn, I’m Stoned Again” as a Metal classic. Two years later Sword released “Sweet Dreams” produced by Garth Richardson which included “The Trouble Is…”. By then the band was developing an International reputation in the Metal world and appeared well on its way to success. However Sword went through a radical transformation at that point. Singer Rick Hughes remained, but one-by-one the other members changed to be replaced by more accomplished musicians, including Stephan Dufour (later to gain fame as Eric Lapointe’s guitarist) and Jesse Bradman, formerly of Night Ranger. They headed into the studio with producer Aldo Nova and with much different material (including a new song from Jon Bon Jovi). The resulting album was so far removed from Sword that it was decided to even change the name of the group to “Saints & Sinners”. The band had gone from being a Heavy Metal band to being a “Pop Metal” band. They were all set to compete with the Wingers’, Poisons’ and Warrants’ of the world. However they had signed with a brand new American label called Savage Records. The newness of Savage entailed one delay after another and by the time the record was finally released, over a year had passed the entire pop metal field was being “grunged” out of business. If it’s true that Nirvana made an entire generation of hair bands obsolete, Saints & Sinners were among the first casualties. Only now, thanks to the Internet, are people discovering that Saint & Sinners made an amazing album. Other artists whose original Aquarius recordings are now on Unidisc include Walter Rossi (3 albums), Teaze (4 albums) and Mindstorm (2 albums).

Montreal’s Jorane is a difficult artist to categorize. Even to say her music is French-language is deceptive, because it’s predominantly instrumental. One of her “French” albums, “16 mm”, uses vocals that aren’t in any language (unless you count “Joranese”). However Jorane made one album in mostly in English entitled “The You and the Now”. This album was produced by Grammy winner Michael Brooks and features collaborations with other artists including Daniel Lanois, Simon Wilcox, and Lisa Germano.

Hot Springs – Few people ever saw Hot Springs without commenting on singer/guitarist/songwriter Giselle Webber. Her charisma was that striking. She also came up with a pretty distinctive vocal style by studying Inuit throat singing (seriously!). At other times Giselle could be found performing as an MC, “giselle numba one”. The other three members of Hot Springs (Anne, Remy and Fred) may have played a supporting role, but they played it to perfection, right up until the night in 2008 when Hot Springs disbanded. The entire Hot Springs catalogue is consists of one CD, “Volcano”, on Quire Records.

Two of the three members of Boston’s The Slip actually spend most of their time in Montreal. That’s how the brilliant “Eisenhower” CD came to be released in Canada by Aquarius. If critical acclaim, instrumental artistry and smart, honest songs was the sure-fire recipe for success, The Slip’s “Eisenhower” would have sold millions (and that’s just in Canada). However with the band set to tour this summer, and since “Eisenhower” remains their most recent CD, maybe there’s still a chance…

In 2007 Unidisc Music obtained most of the historic Aquarius Records music catalogue. However we still receive daily enquiries about the artists that we released in the 70’s and 80’s, so here’s a quick look at our past. April Wine The first album ever released on Aquarius was from a band called Freedom North. It can only be found on e-Bay these days. However the second album ever released on Aquarius was a lot less obscure. It was by a Halifax band called April Wine. They would go on to sell millions of albums all over the world and the band still performs. The original Aquarius April Wine releases were: “April Wine” - (1970) The debut April Wine album was recorded in an 8-track studio (ask your grandpa). During the recording sessions Myles Goodwyn emerged as the lead singer, since the producer (Bill Hill) felt he had a more distinct voice than the original lead singer, Jimmy Henman. The best known track is “Fast Train”. “On Record” - (1972) The second April Wine album was their first best-seller with hit singles “You Could Have Been a Lady”, “Bad Side of the Moon” and “Drop Your Guns”. This album was the first for bassist Jimmy Clench. “Electric Jewels” - (1973) During the making of this album the band went through a very important change of members with guitarist David Henman and drummer Ritchie Henman departing to be replaced by Gary Moffet and Jerry Mercer. Tracks include playing by both the old and new members. This album had a Top 40 Radio hit, “Lady Run Lady Hide” and the first of many AOR Radio hits, “Weeping Widow”. April Wine’s first national concert tour came off of this record. “Live”- (1974) Although this may only have been recorded at a high school in Halifax, it was produced by Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish of the Young Rascals and engineered by the legendary Eddie Kramer. This is what the band sounded like when they launched their memorable “Electric Adventure” tour. “Stand Back” - (1975) This album marked the first time the band produced their own album, with strong assistance from Ian Terry, and it was generally hailed as their first truly consistent album. The best known songs were Myles’ “Tonight is a Wonderful Time” and Jimmy’s fire-bell anthem “Oowatanite” however there are no weak songs on this album. It was also April Wine’s first multi-platinum release. “The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy” - (1976) – It must have seemed like things were going crazy by this point because this album shipped double-platinum. The subsequent tour was so elaborate that the huge animated “mad hatter” needed his own truck. This album marked the departure of Jimmy Clench and the arrival of new bassist, Steve Lang. “Forever, For Now” - (1977) Originally this was intended to be a Myles Goodwyn solo album but as the weeks turned into months, it was decided to take off a couple of the least “rock” tracks, add a couple of barn burners and presto: “Forever, For Now”. The fact that most of the material was not really intended for April Wine explains why this album is so eclectic. It also accounts for the fact that band’s only platinum single, “You Won’t Dance With Me”, sounds more like The Everly Brothers than April Wine. “Live at the El Mocambo” - (1977) When the Rolling Stones decided to make a live album at Toronto’s El Mocambo they wanted a full house, but no advance publicity. To accomplish this, the two shows were sold as April Wine performances (with special guests “The Cockroaches”). When it was discovered that their old friend Eddie Kramer was engineering the Stones, it was quickly decided to also record April Wine. (April Wine also had a history with the Rolling Stones, but that’s another story.) These recordings marked the addition of guitarist Brian Greenway to the band. “First Glance” - (1978) Aquarius moved its from London Records of Canada to what was then called Capitol-EMI and at the same time April Wine was signed to Capitol Records for the world (except Canada). The first single “Rock n Roll is a Vicious Game” did well in Canada, but not so well in the United States. Fortunately, a radio programmer in Flint Michigan started playing a track called “Roller” and the result was April Wine had its first American hit since “You Could Have Been a Lady”. “Harder… Faster” – (1980) Following the success of “Roller” there were international expectations for the next April Wine album and “Harder… Faster” did not disappoint. “I Like to Rock” was an AOR anthem, “Say Hello” was one of the biggest Top 40 hits that year in Canada and their cover of “21st Century Schizoid Man” gave April Wine a well-earned reputation for musicianship. “The Nature of the Beast” – (1982) Without a doubt, the biggest international success April Wine every enjoyed came from this album which was recorded in England. “The Nature of the Beast” was accompanied by a world-wide tour, a feature-length film of the concert in London and it also produced their highest-ever chart position on Billboard’s Ho 100 with “Just Between You and Me”. “Power Play” – (1984) Following ten years of non-stop work, April Wine took a little break in 1983. When they returned to the studio in early ’84 the band came up with “Power Play”, a varied album that was a bit laid-back album (at least compared to the 2 previous albums). Nonetheless it added three great live songs to April Wine’s show: “Anything You Want (You Got It), “”Enough is Enough” and “Doin’ it Right (On the Wrong Side of Town)”. What it didn’t have was an American radio hit and so it marked a turning point for the band. “Animal Grace” – (1985) Amid growing tensions between band members, the recording of Animal Grace was a long, drawn out, and ultimately disappointing experience. The first single “This Could be the Right One” seemed to be just that; with the highest American chart entry of any April Wine song. But when it failed to crack the Top 30, a domino effect of disappoints followed. Many people consider this to be the final April Wine album as it was the last one with Gary, Jerry and Steve. With the passage of time, most agree it was a very good album that should have done better. “One For the Road” – (1985) The final tour by April Wine with the line-up that made the band famous included a live recording of the show in Ottawa. Out of the three live albums, this one is, by far, the most impressive. The playing is great, the sound is huge and the repertoire covers the complete April Wine catalogue of music. “Walking Through Fire” – (1986) The final April Wine album on Aquarius came about not because Myles (or Aquarius) wanted it. We all agreed that it was time to make the long-awaited Myles Goodwyn solo album. However Capitol Records in Los Angeles had one more option and still believed in April Wine. Recorded in The Bahamas with Myles, Brian Greenway and several old friends, this album is probably best remembered for the song “Rock Myself to Sleep” which was written by members of Katrina and Waves. EPILOGUE “Myles Goodwyn” – (1988) After two false starts at making a solo album Myles finally realized that ambition with the release of “Myles Goodwyn” in 1988. It was recorded in Philadelphia with producer Lance Quinn. This album would never be mistaken for an April Wine album if only because the band was noted for its 3-guitar attack, while the solo album was keyboard-heavy. However any fan of April Wine will appreciate the two Goodwyn trademarks; his unique voice and enormous song-writing talent.

Sass Jordan: Sass released her first 5 albums on Aquarius. The debut was “Tell Somebody” which included 4 Canadian hit singles (including “Tell Somebody”, “Double Trouble”, “So Hard” and “Stranger Than Paradise”). The album landed her a deal on Atlantic Records outside of Canada. Songwriting collaborator, Bill Beaudoin, also played most of the instruments on this 1989 album. The second Sass album was “Racine”, produced in Los Angeles by Rick Neigher. Sass collaborated with Rick and Stevie Salas to come up with some of her best known repertoire including “Make You a Believer”, “You Don’t Have to Remind Me”, “Who Do You Think You Are”. Released outside of Canada by Impact/MCA, “Racine” caused Sass Jordan to be named Female Rock Artist of 1992 by Billboard Magazine in 1992. Sass headed back into the studio with Stevie Salas in 1994 and recorded an album entitled “Rats” that featured some of her darkest, angriest music (“Pissin’ Down” and “High Road Easy”) as well as some of her most upbeat songs (“Sun’s Gonna Rise” and “Ugly”, featuring George Clinton). Between these two albums Sass recorded a duet with Joe Cocker for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard entitled “Trust in Me”. Unfortunately the colossal sales of this album triggered a royalty dispute the ultimately led to Sass leaving Impact/MCA. In the mid-90’s Sass returned to Canada and made two more albums for Aquarius, “Present” which included the Canadian hit “Desire”. The last Sass Jordan album released by Aquarius was “Hot Gossip”. Sass has since established a whole new generation of fans as a judge on Canadian Idol.