Am I dying to post this review? Absolutely! This is the reason this blog and its predecessor great-anonymous-albums were created in the first place.
First, I am happy to report that as of this posting all members of the classic Wishbone Ash (Andy Powell (still in the band!), Ted Turner, Martin Turner (now as Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash) and Steve Upton) are alive! What a great feeling! Onto the review now.
One the greatest rock bands and probably the most under-rated bands of all time, Wishbone Ash needs a resurrection if not just entries in blogs to be accepted as one of rock’s most important and innovative bands. At least Caravan‘s (review of the album coming soon) entry was previously mentioned and later removed from the 1996 edition of the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock but the tragedy is that the entry for Wishbone Ash doesn’t even exist. The Harmony Illustrated Handbook of Rock (1988) did mention them though. I am not sure if they are included in the current version of the popular encyclopedia but surprisingly Rolling Stone voted Andy and Ted into the list of the top 20 guitarists of all time.
Made just two years after “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles, “Wishbone Ash”, their self-titled debut certainly may not have matched the popularity of the former but it was a force to reckon with. Though initially “Wishbone Ash”, created a bang when it was launched in early 1970 it has gone unnoticed and faded almost into oblivion over the ages. Thanks to YouTube, similar sites and the fans, it is now being resurrected. Born was what Melody Maker called the Twin-lead-harmony guitar. For the first time rock fans listened to a harmonious blend of two lead guitars. This is not the usual one guitarist plays some lick while the other strums a chord thing or where the second lead guitarist plays a note lower of the tune guitarist 1 is playing. With Wishbone Ash you’ll hear both the guitarists playing their own lead tunes but fused so well it’s a beautiful harmony to listen to. On stereo you’ll hear Andy on one side (normally on the left speaker) and Ted on the other. Supported by Martin Turner on Bass and lead vocal and Steve Upton on Drums they were a great group of talented musicians. Andy and Ted would lend vocals too. When “Wishbone Ash” was being made most of the band members were just barely out of their teens. For an album of this standard and from an age group as theirs, “Wishbone Ash” is something phenomenal.
Twin lead guitarists at that time was not a novelty. Across the Atlantic “The Allman Brothers boasted twin lead guitarists. But none were like Wishbone Ash. Later bands that featured dual lead guitars include southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd and heavy metal rockers Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy, the last two inspired by WA.
Now for a review of the songs on the album:
Blind eye – The song that introduces the album and the band. A rock n’ roll number, the hallmark start-stop playing is showcased. Steve Upton steals the show with brilliant drumming with his classic unconventional style of playing. Piano is used but later never to be heard again in any of Wishbone Ashs’s albums for a long time.
Lady Whiskey – Song reveals the beginnings of what’s to come. There’s plenty of good guitar and music with the guys flexing their music muscle.
Errors of my way – Childish, innocent, wanton-free singing by Martin and Andy. Starts with a slow melody and then builds into a great composition heralding what is to come in the other stellar compositions and then back to melody for conclusion. For rock newbies this song is great for practicing and playing. Lovely lyrics too.
Queen of torture – Lovely rhythm and guitar tune. I find a strange connection to the rhythm of the song to popular rural songs in South India used extensively in movie songs.
Next come the two classics, songs that are so rare in the rock genre you wonder how they were missed and ignored by many a rock fan all these years. Both these songs are highly recommended for jamming and improvisation. I am sure these songs also gave Wishbone Ash great joy while performing them live.
Handy – The finest song on the album. Every aspiring bassist must listen to this song for inspiration. Besides bassists it is also a great song for aspiring lead guitarists and drummers. The song starts off as a bass solo by Martin and gradually joined by Andy and Ted with their trademark melody. The tunes are so beautiful you could cry. Joined with Steve they carry on beautifully for a while, and then Martin’s bass once again takes the limelight, this time he gradually changes the pace and sets the stage for a great lead solo which I think this time is Andy. Later the guitarists take it to such a brilliant high you wonder why this cannot be the worlds greatest guitar solo ever played. At its peak Steve takes the limelight with a brief solo followed and concluded by some jazz. Jazz elements make up this song. Steve Upton’s roots were in Jazz. Watching him hold his sticks while drumming will explain that instantly. Handy is one of the great rock songs ever made. A rare bootleg LP even features a 25 minute live-version of this song. Again a link that doesn’t seem to exist.
Phoenix – Long before there was Led Zeppelin‘s Stairway to Heaven (1971) and Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Free Bird” (1973) featuring the trademark starting slow and building up to a great climax, there was Phoenix. Ritchie Blackmore‘s guitaring on “Sweet Child in Time” and the music of the song itself seems heavily drawn from this rock gem, or was it? Those of you who are familiar with Deep Purple‘s “Child in time” released from the classic “In Rock” album also released in 1970 will find a resemblance to the guitar work and music of “Phoenix”, particularly the tune where Ritchie finishes his great solo on “Child in time”. It is not clear who inspired whom, Blackmore or Andy, but the fact is that Andy and Ritchie had jammed together. Thanks to a bold Andy who went on stage to jam with the guitar god from Deep Purple. It was this meeting that prompted Ritchie to recommend Derek Lawrence, the Deep Purple producer, produce Wishbone Ash’s debut.
With blow-your-mind guitar playing, hypnotic and soulful singing and adroit percussion, you cannot afford to miss this 10 minute plus classic.
Final words – If you haven’t listened to this album or any of the other Wishbone Ash’s early albums, you haven’t listened to rock.
Wishbone Ash had come to tour India in the late early eighties. According to Steve Upton‘s biography they had been to India thrice. They even performed in Chennai (then Madras). I remember seeing their advertisement in “The Hindu“. They toured with Bob Geldorf‘s (yes, of 1985’s Live Aid fame) “The Boomtown Rats“. What a shame, I missed this concert. Steve Upton had written a delightful account of the band’s tour experiences in the orient and one could read it online titled “A Pocket History of Wishbone Ash”. Sadly the link to this lovely journal has expired. I’ll post it once I locate it. Should have at least copied and pasted the content out.
For more information on Wishbone Ash, band members bio, current information about concerts, discography and lyrics check out their official website at the link below.
Both the website and scores of others and the two annual AshCon concerts conducted in the U.S.A and U.K are doing their best to spread awareness of the band. Andy and new band members still tour for their fans.
Original member and founder Martin Turner has his band too that tours and sings Wishbone Ash’s song. You can check Martin’s website at https://www.martinturnermusic.com/
Video of Blind Eye/Lady Whisky performed back to back by the original band (all in a clean shaven look) at a comeback concert in the eighties can be currently watched by following this link here. Ted sings Blind Eye and Martin does Lady Whiskey. Besides these there are other videos too on YouTube.
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