by Richard Skelly » Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:06 am
If fans didn’t buy this studio single at the time (1974) they could settle for a concert rendering on the group’s Live album. Otherwise they had to wait a few more years for its inclusion on the band’s first Greatest Hits collection.
This studio version is notable, too, for its producer. Doug Morris, who entered the biz in the ‘60s with Laurie Records, ran his own label, Big Tree, which had US rights for April Wine. Morris was on a roll in ‘74, having also produced Smokin’ In The Boys Room for Brownsville Station (RIP Cub Koda).
Maybe April Wine got lost in the shuffle because Big Tree was being bought by Atlantic Records. I’m On Fire showed well in Canada, but tanked in the US. Meanwhile, Doug Morris’s career caught fire as he began an executive ascent that saw him reach chairman with Warner Music Group, then Universal Music Group and finally Sony Music Entertainment.
Fire was another well-executed cover version for April Wine. It was written by an American, David Elliott, who criss crossed the Atlantic, collaborating or recording with Levon Helm, members of Elton John’s band, and former Free guitarist Paul Kossoff prior to the latter’s death. In recent years, I’m On Fire For You Baby gained cult popularity for backing a key scene in the Trailer Park Boys movie.
Finally, the single’s credits also include MUCH Productions. I remember Myles Goodwyn and the Henmans benefitting from support from the CHUM subsidiary on the first album April Wine recorded after leaving Nova Scotia for Montreal. But I guess that deal still existed, to some degree, three years later. With Aquarius Records, Morris and perhaps other patrons, there must’ve been a lot of fingers in the Wine’s business pie back then. Great song, though.