TRANCE VISIONARY

Ashes to thrashes

In 1998, Wishbone Ash, or more specifically Andy Powell, took a major and unexpected left turn with the release of "Trance Visionary". As the title suggests, this album has little if anything to do with the Wishbone Ash we had come to know and love, being a collection of club/dance based numbers. Only Powell himself from the band line up was involved, working with dance producer Mike Bennett and Angus Wallace.

The use of the name Wishbone Ash for this set should not therefore be taken too seriously, as it undoubtedly appears primarily for marketing reasons. That said, themes from several Wishbone Ash songs are buried deep within some of the tracks, including parts of "FUBB", "Pilgrimage" and "Vas dis". They are at times well hidden though!

As is suggested by the album title, the underlying influence here is the repetitive dance beat of trance music. Electronic drum loops provide the rhythm, with genuine instruments being hard to pin down among the processed electronic sounds.

"Wonderful Stash" sets out with the readily identifiable scat of "Vas dis" sung by a female vocalist, but quickly adjusts itself to become a frantic cacophony of endlessly repeating sound bites. Even when lead guitar does appear on the track, it is in the form a a repetitively thrashed guitar rather than an played one. There is some occasional relief from the mayhem, "Heritage" for example offering a chiming Oldfield like interlude. "Flutterby" also passes close to Oldfield areas, and as such these two tracks are probably the more appealing ones on the album, especially in prog terms.

Being honest though, there is virtually nothing for the prog fan here at all. The track lengths may suggest otherwise, and while there are perhaps hints of post rock to be found if you dig deep enough, the music on this album is neither prog nor genuine Wishbone Ash.

Overall, a reasonably enjoyable listen for those of us here with more eclectic tastes, but all others should approach with caution.

Later in the year, Andy Powell decided to tour in support of the album. Powell felt that the live versions of the "Trance visionary" tracks he had rehearsed with the band currently known as Wishbone Ash were superior to those which appeared on the studio album. He therefore returned to the studio with Mike Bennett plus the current Ash members, and re- recorded the entire album. The results were released under the new title "Psychotic terrorism".

The first foul play by Andy Powell. He takes advantage of the Wishbone Ash brand and uses it to release a dance album. You wanna do it? Do it. But have the guts to do it as Andy Powell & Mike Bennett, what the heck do you use the WA name for? Inexcusable.

Ethics aside, the album is not bad. The fact that several of the songs appeared on the Top 100 dance charts in the UK speaks on it's own. They used classic Wishbone Ash riffs as a basis and they built the tracks on them, so it definitely rings some bells on the long time WA fans. Maybe the best example is Wonderful Stash which is built on the classic Vas Dis from Pilgrimage, and it's my favorite from this album.

Since we're talking about a very special genre compared to the majority of music contained in ProgArchives, it has to be classified under the "Collectors/fans only" umbrella, so 2 stars. Oh, and something funny: It's by far the most prog thing ever released under the Wishbone Ash brand, along with the next album.