PSYCHIC TERRORISM

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 had little if anything to do with the Wishbone Ash we had come to know and love, being a collection of club/dance based numbers. Even those fans whose tastes were sufficiently wide to allow them to give the album a fair try were disappointed to find that the trademark guitar sounds of Wishbone Ash were pretty much absent throughout the album. Only Powell himself was actually involved, working with dance producer Mike Bennett and Angus Wallace.

Later that same year, Andy Powell decided to tour in support of that album. The tour kicked off at the Camden Place in London, UK, but this turned out to be the only gig. Disappointing ticket sales and other factors led to the hasty cancellation of the tour. Powell however felt that the live versions of the "Trance visionary" tracks he had rehearsed with the band (then) currently known as Wishbone Ash were superior to those which appeared on the studio album. He therefore returned to the studio with Bennett plus the current Ash members, and re-recorded the entire album. The results were released under the new title "Psychotic terrorism". While recorded in the studio, this is therefore effectively a live version of "Trance visionary".

Unfortunately, any great optimism that this album somehow rights the wrongs of "Trance visionary" would be largely misplaced. The basic sound here remains club based with repetitive rhythms and themes, and little actual music. The guitar is slightly more noticeable, indeed at times there are pleasing guitar runs ("Monochrome" is one of the stand out tracks in this respect), but unless someone is now going to come up with a new concept of prog which draws in techno dance, as a whole this album is far removed from our genre of choice. The only other track to catch my ear was "How many times", the female vocals on which reminded me of Maggie Reilly's work with Mike Oldfield.

In terms of the house style of music on which this album is based, and which I can enjoy but do not profess to be any sort of expert, the music here is relatively easy on the ear, and at times actually quite enjoyable. I cannot warn fans of the band clearly enough though, this album has little in common with the Wishbone Ash albums which either precede it or indeed follow it. Think along the lines of Marillion's "Positive Light" collaboration, or The Yes remixes album and you are much closer to what to expect here. One for the inquisitive and the most diverse of tastes only.

Most versions of "Psychotic Terrorism" contain a bonus disc called "Club visionary". This contains eight further songs written by Powell and Bennett plus a CD-ROM section with a very dull video for the track "Wonderful stash".