CLAN DESTINY

The eagerly-awaited follow up to the excellent 2003 album "Bona Fide", "Clan Destiny" is a very good album which contains some stunning musicianship and good songs which will please WA fans, though i found nothing here that really jumped out at and grabbed me or gave me goosebumps. The production and sound quality are excellent, the first track "Eyes Wide Open" is a good rocker with a catchy guitar riff and good solos, though i found "Dreams Outta Dust", "Healing Ground" and especially "Capture the Moment" the best tracks on the album. "Dreams Outta Dust" sounded similar in style to songs on "Bona Fide", has a memorable chorus and would have fitted on there nicely. "Healing Ground" is one of the songs i heard WA play live recently, it starts off with a heavy drum beat and a slow riff, some sparkly chorus guitar effects and slide. The next track "Steam Town" is a rock'n'roller which features some country style guitar interplay, "goin' down to steam town, gonna lay my money down..", "meet me at the station, i'll be waiting at track no.9..." this would go down great live - and it leaves plenty of room for extended solos! "Loose Change" is a slower number featuring slide guitar which again sounds very countryish (seems as though they've spent a lot of time in the U.S.A.!!), this is followed by ""Surfing a Slow Wave", which is a very Shadows influenced instrumental, HM eat yer heart out!. "Slime Time" is next, a boogie style rocker, which is followed by, for WA, a very traditional sounding "Capture the Moment", my favourite track, i am sure this will appeal to fans of early Ash, some great twin guitar interplay here. Another slide guitar country/blues style sounding song, "Your Dog" is followed by "The Raven", a slow dreamy song interweaved with a some nice twin guitar soloing. The last track "Motherless Child" sounds almost like an Eric Clapton song, and plods along,although it has some good guitar work, the sparse lyrics are are repeated using some rather unusual backing vocals, for WA at any rate. Overall i would say this album would please WA fans, it is a very pleasant listen, but not really for those looking for prog.

For a band that has been going for as long as Wishbone Ash has it would be disappointing if they continued trying to top their effort on Argus. Clan destiny does not try to do this, it has developed it's very own sound, and yes it's an incredible sound indeed. It still has yet to capture the true energy of the current Wishbone Ash energy that can be felt live, but it's certainly on it's way.

The hard rocking twin guitars that Wishbone fans have come to know and love has returned once again to awe the listener with some incredible solos and playing. Highlights include Healing Ground, Eyes Wide Open and their rendition of Motherless Child.

A solid four.

Looking for ghosts?

It took some four years for Wishbone Ash to return to the studio after the release of "Bona fide". In the interim period, second guitarist Ben Granfelt had moved on, having recorded just one album with the band. He was replaced by his former tutor Muddy Manninen. The reason for the album title is not immediately clear, but may be taken from a 1996 computer game about ghosts in a Scottish castle.

The album opens in rather low key fashion, with the slightly understated "Eyes Wide Open". Such a song would normally find its place on a Wishbone Ash album lower down the order, prime position being reserved for something more up-tempo and direct. The following "Dreams outta dust" reverts to a more traditional band feel, largely due to the lead vocals of Andy Powell. Manninen's vocals are noticeably different to what we are used to from the band, "Healing Ground" emphasising this is particular. The more bluesy nature of his delivery can be compared with Uriah Heep's transformation when David Byron gave way to John Lawson. The strong guitar rock backing is still there, but on tracks such as this, the mood of the piece is somewhat different, due entirely to the vocal style.

"Steam town" is one of the more prosaic songs here, the "going down to steam town, gonna lay my money down" lyric sounding as clichéd as it reads. The track is however partially saved by some good lead guitar. ""Loose Change" is an all too rare Wishbone Ash ballad. For me, some of the band's best songs ("Leaf and stream", "Everybody needs a friend") have come about when they slowed things down. This is more of a power ballad, especially on the guitar driven chorus, but the song works well, with Manninen's slide guitar adding some nice colours.

"Surfing on a slow wave" is the only instrumental on the album. Naturally, it features lead guitar, but here the sound takes us back to the Shadows or Duane Eddy! "Slime time" reverts to a more standard Wishbone Ash style, but without lighting any fires. I cannot help but feel that, had sufficiently strong material been available in quantity, "Capture the Moment" and "Your dog" would have among the first to be left off the the album. There is nothing tragically bad about these songs, they just drift along in a rather lacklustre way.

"The Raven" is actually a love song of sorts, delivered as a pleasant fast/slow number with some fine lead guitar soloing. For me, it is probably the best of the bunch here, Powell's vocal delivery being commendably strong. The album closes with the oft covered Negro spiritual "Motherless child". Wishbone Ash's version is adequate, but fails to offer anything substantially new or interesting. The expected guitar solo on the track is well up to standard though.

In all, it is debatable whether "Clan destiny" was worth the wait. While it makes for a pleasant if unremarkable listen, there are no stand-out tracks here and thus nothing to lead me to recommend the album to those who do not already have it.

Ben Granfelt was vital to the band, and that becomes obvious with the step they took back from Bona Fide to this one. Muddy Manninen didn't had the same quality as a composer, so the results are inferior.

Let's see what they did, track-by-track:

Eyes Wide Open: Old fashion WA song, it could belong to Wishbone Four for example. Simple but effective, very nice vocal line and catchy riff. Very good for a starter on this album!

Dreams Outta Dust: An ordinary up-tempo WA song, but with a heavier solo section to make a difference. An OK song.

Healing Ground: Alternative rock sound in this one, makes you feel you're listening to a different band. They did pretty well, but not special.

Steam Town: An average, southern style rocker.

Loose Change: Guitar picks that bring shades of Argus throughout the song, but actually an Elton John style tender song. Not of the highest quality, but peaceful and enjoyable.

Surfing On A Slow Wave: Mid-tempo instrumental song, with a guitar effect that takes you straight to Latin America. Good composition, unique for it's sound.

Simple Time: Back to the regulars (almost). Blues rocker but in the "new" fashion, with a more mainstream sound. Indifferent.

Capture The Moment: Rhythm and breaks straight from Vas Dis, in a more "regular" song (normal lyrics and all). My favorite song from this album, has an "it" factor!

Your Dog: A strangely loose composition, sound like they should rehears it more before recording! I know this is how it sounds and not how it is, obviously, but it leaves the feeling that something doesn't "click" right.

The Raven: Love song that, regarding it's atmosphere, it could belong to any of the 70s WA albums. Maybe it should be shorter, as the change from a ballad to a more up-tempo song comes a little late, making you think that it's a more indifferent song than it actually is. A nice song after all!

Motherless Child: A traditional Negro spiritual, essentially simplistic, covered for moral reasons rather than musical. Great as a reference.

RATING: Not in any case as good as Bona Fide, it has to be put in the "pool" of the 3 stars albums by Wishbone Ash. The best thing about it is that it's SO rich, it has anything from alternative, to southern, to blues, to... Negro spiritual! On the other hand not a single song is something monumental. In my personal WA chronology, it has to be put just under New England, with 2,5 stars.