THERE'S THE RUB

This album was my entrance to the world of WISHBONE ASH, and trust me, it's a good and rewarding start. It contains six longish compositions, all of them utilising excellent guitar duet interplays - a band's trademark.

"There's The Rub" is more rocky and less conceptual compared to the band's masterpiece "Argus" but it provides really enjoyable experience of listening: relatively simple structure of the songs is driven by good rocking bass lines and drums, augmented with flashy guitar virtuosity without being too pretentious: rockier "Don't Come Back" and excellent driving song "Hometown" are the two fine examples. "Lady Jay" and "F. U. B. B." have slightly epic feel.

Band's technique and soundscapes are rising on a new level here: among the band's trademark - two guitar playing in thirds - you can find traces of Hendrix's style; expressive slides and bendings, and the reinforcement with other instruments is worth mentioning too: mandolin fits nicely (in "Lady Jay", and reminds me a bit of ZEPPELIN of the same period), and there are occasional touches of synthesizer, but don't expect any Wakeman here: just a few backwards-played-like sounds to enrich the musical picture, most notably on side B.

"F. U. B. B." is an excellent closer for the album, a long instrumental piece with nice bass work, and guitars that got warmer during the increasing dynamics of the composition, reaching the climax in heavy panned guitar solos in stereo field. Brilliant. The album ends with a lion's roar. Maybe useless, but remarkable.

The only compliant I can address is not about the very ingredients of the album; personally, I think the title (and a front cover with slightly sexual implications accordingly) is just a cheap joke or perhaps it was aiming at the market, but it had nothing to do with the major feeling of the music itself, really. I'm strongly advising you to avoid (or reluctantly digest) the cover and the title of the album, and then to listen to the album with open mind.

This is the band and the album that both well deserve to be called prog-related; even if it's not a progressive rock in a strict sense, no purist should overlook this one easily.

Really, really nice job indeed. Especially if you're into seventies rock.