One track longer than 2006's Sometime World: An MCA Travelogue and four deeper than 1993's Time Was: The Wishbone Ash Collection, 2013's Essential Collection makes up for what it lacks ("Phoenix," "Time Was") with affordability. Priced to move, it covers a lot of ground, offering up a slew of Wishbone Ash classics like "Blind Eye," Warrior," "Ballad of the Beacon," and "Persephone," and while it may lack a handful of notable tracks, there's enough here to satisfy both veterans and newbies alike.
Wishbone Four is the fourth studio album by British rock band Wishbone Ash, released in 1973. It was a departure from their previous album, Argus, in that it lacked that recording's overall cohesion and atmosphere and the loose conceptual framework of a stately, pastoral and warring medieval England. Containing only hints of the extended twin-lead guitar harmonies, Wishbone Four's stylistic variety found its footing in acoustic folk elements in half of the eight-song set ("Ballad of the Beacon", "Everybody Needs a Friend", "Sorrel" and "Sing Out the Song"), two aggressive and melodic starters on each side of the vinyl release (Side 1: So Many Things to Say" and Side 2: "Doctor"), and the band's first use of horns on the semi-autobiographical "rave-up" touring song "No Easy Road".
There's the Rub is the fifth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album to feature guitarist/vocalist Laurie Wisefield, who would be a major part of the band's creative direction for the next 11 years. The album is considered by many to be a highpoint of the band's recording career. The title is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet; "To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub." The track "F.U.B.B." caused controversy because of the acronym's meaning ("Fucked Up Beyond Belief") upon the album's release. Moreover, the haunting ballad "Persephone" would go on to become one of the band's most popular live songs. The lyrics of "Lady Jay" are based on the Dartmoor folk legend about Kitty Jay.
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.
If Wishbone Ash can be considered a group who dabbled in the main strains of early-'70s British rock without ever settling on one (were they a prog rock outfit like Yes, a space rock unit like Pink Floyd, a heavy metal ensemble like Led Zeppelin, or just a boogie band like Ten Years After?), the confusion compounded by their relative facelessness and the generic nature of their compositions, Argus, their third album, was the one on which they looked like they finally were going to forge their own unique amalgamation of all those styles into a sound of their own.
Raw to the Bone is the 13th album by rock band Wishbone Ash. Like its predecessor, Twin Barrels Burning, it is one of the band's heaviest records, capitalising on the popular new wave of British heavy metal that Wishbone Ash had helped influence. It is the only Wishbone Ash album to feature Mervyn Spence on bass and vocals. It is also the last album with guitarist/vocalist Laurie Wisefield, who ended his eleven-year stint with Wishbone Ash after the release of this album.
Classic Ash is a compilation album by the hard rock band Wishbone Ash. It was released in 1977 on MCA Records. It was not issued in the U.S. Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included Wishbone Ash (1970), Pilgrimage (1971), Argus (1972), Wishbone Four (1973), There's the Rub (1974), and New England (1976). Wishbone Ash are noted for their extensive use of the harmony twin lead guitar format which had been attracting electric blues bands since Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page had played together in the Yardbirds in 1966. Their contributions helped Andy Powell and Ted Turner to be voted "Two of the Ten Most Important Guitarists in Rock History" (Traffic magazine 1989), and to appear in the "Top 20 Guitarists of All Time" (Rolling Stone).
Strange Affair is the 16th album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album in the band's 21-year history without drummer Steve Upton, who quit the band during the album's recording sessions. He was replaced by Robbie France and later by Ray Weston, who would stay with the band until 1994 before rejoining for a much longer period in 1997. Strange Affair is also the final studio album to feature founding members Martin Turner and Ted Turner, who departed in 1991 and 1994 respectively.