Alec Ash Lanterne in Volo

Either the mid-'70s or the addition of Ted Turner's replacement, Laurie Wisefield, brought about a severe identity crisis for Wishbone Ash. No longer were they the self-conscious band that evolved from their blues-based debut to their prog precursor Pilgrimage to their progressive tour de force Argus. While Wishbone Ash was still a guitar-oriented band, Locked In provided no originality and, save for a guitar refrain in "Rest in Peace," no memorable passages whatsoever. While his credentials are impressive, producer Tom Dowd was not the man for the job.

'Live in Tokyo' is a live album initially only released in Japan on vinyl. It features great versions of 'F.U.B.B'. and 'The Way Of The World'. The album was recorded when the band were playing live at Tokyo Sun Plaza in Japan, during their 1978 No Smoke Without Fire tour. 'Live In Tokyo' used to be a hard to find 'live' album of the Mark 2 Lineup from Wishbone Ash with on bass guitar and lead vocals Martin Turner, backing vocals and the famous flying V lead guitar Andy Powell, also on lead guitar Laurie Wisefield and on the drums Steve Upton.

While it's certainly too much for the average Wishbone Ash fan, "Distillation" is an excellent four-disc, 56-track box set that features the best of the band's heavy boogie from the '70s. None of the group's essential tracks are missing, and it contains 4 previously unreleased cuts, 11 very rare tracks from the vaults and 12 live versions (CD 4) plus band biography and track by track comments by Andy Powell and Martin Turner.

While it's certainly too much for the average Wishbone Ash fan, "Distillation" is an excellent four-disc, 56-track box set that features the best of the band's heavy boogie from the '70s. None of the group's essential tracks are missing, and it contains 4 previously unreleased cuts, 11 very rare tracks from the vaults and 12 live versions (CD 4) plus band biography and track by track comments by Andy Powell and Martin Turner.

The companion release to the quiet-moments compilation TENDER, Wishbone Ash collection TOUGH represents the more hard-rocking side of this stalwart British band. Wishbone Ash made their name in the 1970s with their dueling guitars and epic tunes, but TOUGH features a number of latter-day selections from the long-lived band, proving that as the decades went on, they managed to retain that hard-rock bite that had always endeared them to their legions of fans.