Wishbone Ash Argus Super Deluxe

No Smoke Without Fire is the ninth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It was the first album since 1972's Argus to be produced by Derek Lawrence. It was also the heaviest Wishbone Ash album in years, featuring rockers like the hit single "You See Red" and the multi-part epic "The Way of the World." Many fans considered this to be a true return to form after their flirt with an "American" sound on their previous trio of albums. After a 1978 tour to support the album, Wishbone Ash would take a one-year hiatus during 1979 before regrouping for songwriting sessions at the end of the year.

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.

Bare Bones is a mellow, mostly acoustic collection of original and previously recorded Wishbone Ash songs. The only remaining member from the British outfit's '70s glory days, guitarist Andy Powell selected some numbers from the Argus and Wishbone Four years that blend nicely with some late-era compositions. Soft-rocking country tunes like the superior "Hard Times" and "Baby Don't Mind" dominate most of the Bare Bones track list. Classics like "Errors of My Ways" are low on folk/country appeal, but still sound very different than the original recordings. Despite this offering's unique textural quality, Wishbone Ash fans will definitely recognize the easy melodic sense that the band always captured in the studio. For a group so separated in time from their glory years, Powell and company do a remarkable job keeping things fresh on Bare Bones.

No Smoke Without Fire is the ninth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album since 1972's Argus to be produced by Derek Lawrence. It is also the heaviest Wishbone Ash album in years, featuring rockers like the hit single "You See Red" and the multi-part progressive rock epic "The Way of the World." Many fans considered this to be a true return to form after their flirting with an "American" sound on their previous trio of albums.

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). Melody Maker (1972) described Powell and Turner as "the most interesting two guitar team since the days when Beck and Page graced The Yardbirds". They have been cited as an influence by Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris, as well as Thin Lizzy and other dual guitar bands.

Front Page News is the eighth album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is mostly made up of slower, breezy soft rock ballads with lush vocal harmonies. This style is in marked contrast to the earlier albums such as Argus, but there were several tracks of this idiom on their immediately preceding studio albums, Locked In and New England. It peaked at No. 31 in the UK Albums Chart. Their following album, No Smoke Without Fire, moves back to a heavier style. U.S. distribution had switched back to MCA Records.

Front Page News is the eighth album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is mostly made up of slower, breezy soft rock ballads with lush vocal harmonies. This style is in marked contrast to the earlier albums such as Argus, but there were several tracks of this idiom on their immediately preceding studio albums, Locked In and New England. It peaked at No. 31 in the UK Albums Chart. Their following album, No Smoke Without Fire, moves back to a heavier style. U.S. distribution had switched back to MCA Records.