THERE'S THE RUB

I don't understand why this is considered not to be a prog-album. All the elements are there: extended songs, lots of tempo-changes within the songs, unexpected chordchanges and not-so-average melody-lines.

There's not much keyboard (only as extra taste here-and-there) but there's alot going on with the stringinstruments (guitar, slideguitar, mandolin, etc.). It would be weird to call this classic rock, as it is not a genre in itself. Guitar-rock would be more suitable, but then Wishbone Ash is much more progressive than say Lynyrd Skynyrd, Status Quo, Eagles or Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

That being said, onto the album; the band is know for it's twin-leadguitar approach and heavy bassguitar. The drumming is steady and the vocals are mediocre, wich is maybe the reason the band never made it big (as with Camel).

The album kicks off with the rather enjoyable but straight forward melodic rocker Silver Shoes with its very catchy, melancholic refrain.

Don't Come Back and Homewtown are boogie-influenced rock tracks with aggressive bass- and guitarlicks and leads.

Persephone is one of those seventies epic semiballads (like Queen's White Queen or Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven etc.), with a lot of dynamics and loads and loads of leadguitar. It is even similar (but better) to Camel's Mystic Queen.

Lady Jay is more a folky rocksong, but works very well.

The longest piece is a real Ash-song, like Phoenix. Heavy throbbing lead-bass and thumping drums lead the first part of the song, with difficult and progressive (twin-) leads. The band chooses really odd chords and melody-lines. The second part of the song is uptempo funky rock with conga's and real heavy soloiing. Very nice, and a live-standard for years to come.

To me, The Ash certainly is a progband, and especially with albums like Argus, There's the Rub, No Smoke without Fire, Illuminations and Blue Horizon. If a 10 minute tour-de-force-instrumental isn't progrock, than what is?