WISHBONE ASH

Honestly WA is not a band that I would mention when speaking of prog and they are too "young" for proto-prog, however there are some things that give them the rights to be on PA.

First of all the twin guitars which are a band's trademark. I don't know if they came before or after Lynyrd Skynyrd but they have brought some innovation to rock and blues. Then they have released a concept album like Argus that is enough to have them on PA.

Rock and Roll then, but after the boogie opener this debut album features a song like "Lady Whiskey" that has a non radio-freindly duration and a bluesy riff with more than a bit of acid psychedelia enhanced by the obsessive bass and drums. Is it prog? Who cares, it's good!

"Errors Of My Way" is more psychedelic. This kind of choir will be used several times during the first years of the band and is another trademark. This song is more psychedelic and it's where proggers can find more appeal. It sounds "flower power" but this is where most of the classics of prog are from. What is very remarkable is that they don't need keyboards. The sound is thick even without Hammonds or Mellotrons.

"Queen Of Torture" is a short song hard-rock oriented. The guitars sound just a bit heavier but in 1970 this was the ancestor of metal. This song has a sound like a bluesy version of Blue Oyster Cult, another band featuring two guitarists.

"Handy" is the first of the two "long" tracks. The last two songs are more than 10 minutes long and this one starts with the bass playing harmonics on a theme almost classical. This intro proceeds for a hundred of seconds then all the four members start one of the most psychedelic songs. Slow tempo and bluesy chords for the two guitars with bass and drums providing the base for a very cannabinoidic instrumental part. At about minute 5 there's a short low-volume bass solo, then the trip restarts. Only rock and roll? This sounds to me progressive enough, whit moments which could belong also to Uriah Heep or Camel. Only the drum solo appears misplaced. The had to place one in the album and have chosen this track. The boogie which follows the drum solo has a lot of swing and is very good but doesn't have any relationship with what they were playing before. A totally different song. They could have found a separate title for this part.

"Phoenix" is like a premonition. Pilgrimage and Argus will come soon and this song is made of ideas which will be exploited better in the next albums. What I find remarkable is the wah-wah guitar which acts in the background. When I write a review I'm used to relisten to the songs while I'm writing. This is one of the few cases in which I quit writing and just enjoy the music. This slow song catches the mind and all the attention so how could I write with all my mind lost in this musical trip. And when the rhythm increases and bass and drums start pumping it's not different. Of course I already know Argus and I recognize some passages that will later belong to "Sometimes World". However, respect to Handy this song has more continuity. Even if it ends very differently from how it starts as the final minutes are very hard and acid, there are no sudden or unexpected transition. The song grows smoothly, that's all.

Don't ask yourself if it's prog or not. Enjoy a well written, arranged and executed album coming from the golden age.

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