WISHBONE ASH

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Absolutely amazing debut album from Wishbone Ash, though on hearing it for the first time some may wonder where the prog elements come into it as they boogie their way through the first two tracks, "Blind Eye" and " Lady Whiskey". Engineered by Martin Birch who many may know worked on albums by Deep Purple, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake and Iron Maiden, the album reached no.34 in the UK album charts by 1971. An unusual feature of the group, originally from Devon, was the twin lead guitarists Andy Powell and Ted Turner, who sang on the album along with Martin Turner on bass. the group played a gig with Deep Purple, and after jamming with Ritchie Blackmore during a sound check they were recommended to Purple's producer Derek Lawrence and they never looked back. the third track on side one of the album, "Errors of my Ways" slows the tempo and features a wonderful guitar solo, one of my personal favourites. The next track, "Queen of Torture" has a similar boogie style to the first two. On side two the first track "Handy" is eleven minutes long and starts off as a slow bluesy instrumental featuring some fine twin lead guitar work, short bass solos and a classic drum solo from Steve Upton, and develops in to a blues/scat style jam session. one of the real all-time-classic pieces Wishbone Ash is famous for is the last ten-minute track "Phoenix", which really shows off the lead guitar effects to the full. The signature twin-guitar boogie style sound is here, and includes a snatch from Purple's "Child in Time" and though this LP obviously may not seem as sophisticated as the classic albums that followed, you must admit this is one hell of a debut. I deeply regret not seeing them live, but i'll definitely catch 'em next time they're round! Sound quality of this album on my original vinyl issue on MCA is excellent - detailed, spacious and balanced, I hope they have preserved this on transition to cd. An essential masterpiece of British Prog.

Some of the best debut albums are the finest from a band and Wishbone Ash came very close with thir first one. The debut is the atypical Wishbone Ash branded sound which made it's mark on many albums to follow. Argus will unquestionably always be their best album but vintage jamming tracks like the excellent ' Lady Whisky' and the ballad like ' Error of My Ways' are arguably a couple of the best songs ever written by the band. The album closes off with the 11 minute jam of ' Handy' which has great drum work from Steve Upton and the guitar laden ' Phoenix' makes for a great ending to the album. I guess many critics will feel their albums climaxed at Argus but I beg to differ. What I do know is that this debut comes very close to be the true epic, vintage high quality sound that many fans grew to admire and respect over the years from Wishbone Ash. A worthy four stars for the debut.

With this first album, the quartet become right away a serious contender for the best complementary twin-lead guitar attack. For the first few years in the early 70's, WA will be one of the most endearing group for anybody into what was to be become prog rock, but like most progheads, they never really considered them to be progressive in the true sense of the words. Sure these four young men were particularly good at their respective instruments, and their music was certainly a lot more complex than some of the contemporary groups of the time, but apart from one album (Argus), they never could quite confirm the adventurous direction they had taken with their cornerstone album, Argus. And it is no surprise that some prog specialist actually create a new category called "hard prog" where WA would have their place along with other predominantly guitar rock. On the whole, their lenghty career which spans into a fourth decade by now, they really stuck to a hard rock with an excellent live band reputation even if the personnel changed many times over the years with only Andy Powell as the mainstay.

If the twin-barrel guitar-powered engine of group were Ted Turner and Andy Powell, Steve Upton's drumming was also helping out as the powerhouse pistons, while in the early albums bassist Martin Turner (no relation to their guitarist Ted) provided them with a rather strong if unspectacular vocals while still playing one of the better bass playing of those years.

This debut album coming with an impressive but sober gatefold artwork came as an excellent surprise with the first vinyl side presenting four very tight tracks and the second side with two strong extended tracks sometimes close to a jam where their good musicianship was ever present. From the straight rock of Lady Whiskey and Queen Of Sorrow to the more delicate and delightful Errors Of My Way, their music was evidently aimed at a male fanhood with a touch of machismo clearly underlined by their lyrics and guitar heroics. Some of their vocal delivery (Martin Turner's good voice was extremely well supported by Andy Powell and sometimes by Ted Turner and when the three were singing in unison, this could be a goosebumps experience) are simply awesome and in some case can remind a bit of those lenghty bard-like stories sung around a fire: check out the Errors track.

The second side will be of more interest to the proghead with two long tracks and all of the leisure to expand on their virtuosity without ever being too demonstrative. Once the track slows down (around the middle of the track, listen to Martin's bass guitar flowing up and down your spine ever so effortlessly drawing shivers and chills, but unfortunately this comes to a stop with a rather boring and failed drum solo, before the track reprises in a much less poetic and rockier manner, which does not suit the superb debut. The second track, Phoenix is one of the best they ever wrote and is also over the 10 min mark. Even if the crescendo (around the 7 min 30 mark is a bit long), the musicianship is excellent and, if perfectible, the writing is quite enthralling. To describe their sound is rather hard, because WA had their own distinctive and (then) unique sound.

Their first album held so much promise, that their follow-up had a hard time living up to it, and in may ways, it did not. For progheads, the debut album is certainly one their best ever although not flawless, but for a first try, this was for sure a masterstroke.

Phoenix rising

Some 30+ years before the arrival of "Explosions in the sky", Wishbone Ash pioneered the line up of bass, drums and twin lead guitars. They may not have been the first band to do so (that is a debate for the forum) but they were certainly the first to enjoy a run of major success with that structure. (Unlike EitS however, Wishbone Ash were prepared to let each of the lead guitarists ply his trade with solos, and also added vocals to their songs).

This their eponymous debut album displays all the naivety of a band setting out, while simultaneously offering some truly inspired work. It is side two of the album to which we need to look to find anything prog, and in particular to the criminally under- recognised "Phoenix". This 10½ minute epic has a classic prog structure, with some wonderful melodies, and supreme guitar work. When placed in context (it was recorded in 1970), it arguably laid the framework for many prog classics which followed. Admittedly it is at times rather clumsy but in many ways that only adds to the attraction of the piece. "Pheonix" was some years ahead of its time, and it still stands up well today as a magnificent opus. The other track occupying side two of the album is the 11½ minute "Handy". This is a rather more orthodox extended blues rock number, which in all honesty outstays its welcome considerably.

Side one of the album consists of four more orthodox folk and blues based songs. While these are more than adequate offerings for a first album, on their own they do little to distinguish Wishbone Ash as a band to be watched.

In all, "Wishbone Ash" was a highly credible first album, "Phoenix" in particular offering real hope that the band could come up with some excellent progressive music, with or without keyboards in their line up.

A surprising debut, especially if you heard this one after ‘Argus’ or even ‘There’s the Rub’. This is much closer to the straightforward rock the band would churn out in the eighties. The musicianship is still quite good, but there’s nothing to suggest these would be the same guys who would put together the stunning ‘Argus’ just a couple years later.

One of the more unexpected sounds is the piano right from the first track, “Blind Eye”. This is honky-tonk boogey music in the finest tradition, and would not have been out-of- place played in a biker tavern in Selma Alabama. The twin guitars sound great, but there’s nothing remotely progressive here. Same goes for “Lady Whiskey”, which sounds about like what you would expect from the title.

By the time “Error of my Ways” rolls around though, the band has settled into a sound more like what I first heard from them in the mid- seventies. The harmonizing vocals aren’t quite developed yet and come across sounding like a campfire cowboy round, but the mood here is more subdued and the guitar work quite a bit more expansive than on the first two tracks.

The guitar work on “Queen of Torture” sounds all the world like Stevie Ray Vaughn, despite the fact it takes two guitarists to pull off the imitation (and the fact these guys predated Vaughn by a few years). Hard to believe they hail from Devon and not Dallas.

The last two tracks of the album at least stretch out the tempo and allow for some extended instrumental guitar passages, although at times Powell and Turner seem to be searching for direction. The obligatory drum solo marks this as boogey blues though, a tone that marks the entire album, really.

The closing “Phoenix” is the most creative stretch on the album, with some stunning solo guitar sections that inevitably merge into the twin attack that would be this band’s trademark for decades to come. I would imagine this got played a lot in concert, and can almost picture the swaying, slightly intoxicated hippies grooving to the sound. This is very much in the vein of what the Allman Brothers were doing at the exact same moment several thousand miles to the west. Think “Mountain Jam” from ‘Eat a Peach’ and you’ll get the general idea.

This was a very good rocking blues album at a time when there were not a lot of British bands excelling at this type of music. But it’s not progressive any more than dozens of similar southern American bands were doing then, and would continue to do throughout the seventies and eighties. It’s a good album, not great, and not really essential for progressive music collections. If you like excellent guitar playing, moody lyrics, and lots of solo instrumentals, you’ll probably like this album. Otherwise, mostly for collectors only. Three stars, but just barely. peace

Wishbone Ash selftitled debut album was released in 1970. Wishbone Ash is basically a ( soft) hard rock band and there are few progressive tendencies in their music which means they fit well into the Prog related catagory. The most progressive thing about Wishbone Ash is their twin guitar leads which bands like Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden are very influenced by.

The music on this album is generally in the blues rock vein, but there are also jazz and folk influences in the music. Error of My Ways are folk influenced while there are some swing jazz tendencies in the almost instrumental Handy. The rest of the songs are more or less blues rock with the two guitarists complimenting each other in a great way. Just listen to Lady Whiskey with it´s beautiful double guitar melody. The Opener Blind Eye is probably the weakest song here with it´s honky tonk piano. Both Queen of Torture and the classic Phoenix are great songs.

The musicianship is really great and for fans of guitar driven music there are some really nice licks here and there. The vocals are a bit weak in my ears, but they are not that important. I can enjoy the album anyway.

The production is a bit thin but still enjoyable. Note that Martin Birch ( Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mack, Blue Öyster Cult, Whitesnake, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker) is credited for Engineering the album.

This album is a good debut from an influential band. I don´t think it´s excellent but there are moments where the album rises above good and touches excellent. It´s a sure 3 star album in my book.

Have you ever found yourself entangled with music especially in the interlude part? I have experienced it many times especially those with long guitar or keyboard solo. One of great rock songs with great interlude using guitar solo is those performed by Ted Nugent in his great composition called Stranglehold where the interlude contains fabulous guitar solo augmented by powerful drumming and dynamic bass lines. It's truly a great rock track that has become my ultimate favorite since I was a teenager. Another great rock interlude is the one performed by Grand Funk Railroad under the track name of Inside Looking Out. Oh man . this is a wonderfully crafted interlude with - of course - great overall composition. For those of you who were there when the 70s rock music came out, you must have known the songs that I mention.

So, what Ted Nugent and Grand Funk got to do with Wishbone Ash?

Well, it's actually refers to the power of association. Last night while driving I spun this debut album by Wishbone Ash and the entire album brings me back really to the glory days of 70s where I loved all kind of music: be it pop, rock, or disco and . so sorry by that I time I knew nothing what was then called prog. I loved King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Barrabas, Chase, Chicago Transit Authority, Tea, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Argent, Wishbone Ash, KC & The Sunshine Band, BT Express, Heatwave, Shirley Bassey, Mac & Kattie Kisson, George Baker Selection, Bee Gees, ABBA, Pussycat, Mouth and McNeal altogether with the local heroes like Koes Plus, Koes Bersaudara, Dara Puspita, Rasela, God Bless, Golden Wing. All happened at the same time! Do you remember song that was very popular at that time titled as Hang On Sloopy? That was one of the hit in mid 60s but was still popular in early 70s. Check out on youtube on this song, you might have known it!

Yes, the debut album of Wishbone Ash represents the style of music that came out during that time. I especially associate with Nugent's Stranglehold when I enjoyed the double guitar solo as interlude of "Phoenix" - the last track of this album. Oh man. the double guitar solo by Powell and Turner is truly stunning and brings the memory back in the 70s. If you know this song and Stranglehold or GFR's "Inside Looking Out" you definitely know what I mean. I don't want to go through a memory extravaganza, but I am sure if you are new to this debut album by Wishbone Ash you hardly disagree with me that Phoenix is an excellent composition. "Blind Eye" is another great track with blues rock approach, unique singing style, nice piano work - it's a solid composition.

"Error of My Ways" combines nice psychedelic composition with a tinge of blues music featuring excellent guitar solo in double guitar formation. "Handy" is also a solid composition using bass guitar as dominant instrument at intro part followed with excellent guitar work in blues rock style. The exploration of double guitar work reminds me to the follow-up rock music with bands like Iron Maiden or Metallica.

Overall, this is an excellent debut album with blues rock style and very little prog components in this album. However, this album was one of important releases from vintage rock bands. I cannot afford not to associate this kind of music with those like Ted Nugent or Grand Funk did in the same decade. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

Make a Wish

The debut from Wishbone Ash is a strong one, to be sure, firmly stamping the band's unique sound on the world of rock music. The tell-tale twin leads and distinctive guitar tones in the carefully sculpted and immaculately performed instrumental sections and retrospective musical characterisations show aspiration to the great genre of Progressive Rock, defining classic 1970s rock without foraying into the realms of pop music.

The opener, however, is weak, and sounds like it was selected by a record company anxious to shift units - not at all like a Wishbone Ash number. Mind you, my first introduction to this great band was through the mighty Argus, an epic tour-de-force, then Pilgrimage, an altogether heavier - and somewhat more interesting excursion.

Blind Eye kicks off like an early Deep Purple number, proceeding via Bluesbreakers and Savoy Brown territory, with pounding piano-driven boogie, courtesy of Procol Harum's Matthew Fisher, and Fleetwood Mac inspired guitar lines.

The classic Wishbone Ash sound begins to make itself more apparent on Lady Whiskey, where the twin- guitar propelled riffing and extended soloing over constructs very similar to those of Leslie West's Mountain are closer in spirit to the material that would later appear on Argus - but far more basic. Steve Upton provides an interesting percussion section, dropping to pounding sections and varying the flow of the piece nicely during the instrumentals reminding me of some of the heavier Pink Floyd jams with maybe a dash of Black Sabbath thrown in for good measure.

The sound is established completely in Errors of My Way, where a more folksy sound creeps in to the texture, unexpected chords spring out the progressions, and ever longer instrumental sections with strong melodies (but somewhat tentative counter-melodies) provide the air guitarist with a dream come true.

Much of the interest is derived from the band interaction, rather than the soloing itself, which runs out of steam pretty quickly, noodling around the blues scale. But the band build up dynamics, with lights and shades of leafy forest glades - for there is something quintessentially English about the music, that hearkens back to mediaeval times or before.

This is continued in Queen of Torture, whose galloping rhythms predict Iron Maiden - even the vocals seem like a pre-echo of Bruce Dickinson - and the arpeggio lead figures suggest almost any NWOBHM band you care to consider.

The more interesting pieces are those found on side 2 of the original vinyl.

Handy features a bass solo for an introduction that all rock bass players should familiarise themselves with. While todays uber-technicians may scoff at the rather casual techniques (I prefer the word casual to sloppy, simply because sloppy is an ugly word and suggests lesser musical abilities than technically tight and polished, which is simply not true) - the musical imagination in the composition is only to be admired.

This 11 and a half minute piece is all about band interplay and dynamic - very much the rock side of jazz rock, using the improvisation and synergistic techniques of jazz towards a purely rock end. And as a result, it does sound a bit like early Floyd in places - and yes, I'm afraid I am reminded of the great Derek Smalls when I hear the bass solo, and most of the second half of this piece. I wonder if Martin Turner ever wore a cucumber down his trousers.

Suddenly, a guitar moment jumps out at me, and I'm reminded of the great Michael Schenker and the roots of Metal as a genre - not to mention the heavier side of Krautrock.

Even more suddenly, following the drum solo, a completely new blues/jazz flavoured song kicks in, completely out of character with the previous material, somewhat spoiling the composition. There's some nifty Ten Years After flavoured work in here - and I wish there was more voice/guitar doubling - but if unexpected surprises are your thing, then this could please.

Finally, there's another Floyd/ballad 10 and a half minuter called Phoenix, which builds some nice atmospherics courtesy of the Feeling Good style falling bass line and acid wah guitar ripples. As the piece progresses, some nice intense heavy riffing emerges from the crystallised jams - I recognise that falling arpeggio sequence from Deep Purple's Child In Time - and the song changes tempo frantically leading to a very satisfying ending.

Certainly one of the better rock albums from 1970, of great interest to any fans of that era, guitar- driven rock and post Barrett / pre Dark Side Floyd. Maybe a little clumsy in places, but compositionally inventive, and when it rocks, it does so with almost unheard of precision for the era, and a unique style - a very tricky combination to get right, but on the whole, Wishbone Ash succeeded. No mean feat for a debut album.

Hence an excellent addition to your collection, but not essential - particularly when there's Pilgrimage and Argus to consider. Definitely worth more than one listen.