Wishbone Ash ~ England

Front Page News (1977)

Wishbone Ash are one of those bands that went on for year after year and hardly anyone noticed. By my count, 23 new-material studio albums all the way through 2020. I certainly wouldn't mind finding any of their modern CDs in the thrift bins, but they haven't turned up yet. But this older LP did, so why not try it for 69 cents? Seems the band would have been better served playing up their hard rock tendencies after 1974, but it appears they shifted course. Here they sound like Steely Dan at times, which is... odd. Wishbone Ash and Yacht Rock are terms that don't go together very well. It's not a bad album at all, as they accomplish what they set out to do. Other than create a memorable hit. It's soft and breezy rock, with some fine guitar as to be expected. So apparently they went back to their roots after this album. In reading their checkered history, there seems to be a lot of meat left on this Wishbone for me to seek out. Looking forward to finding them as I go. This title isn't necessary for me, though.

Source: 1977 MCA (LP)

9/4/25 (review)
 

There's the Rub (1974)

This title continues to get better to my ears. I'm not the foremost Wishbone Ash fan, but the last two that I've taken in with intent to sell have each experienced +1 listens (the other being Pilgrimage below). For 1974, There's the Rub maintains a surprising psych flavor in the harmonies and song structures. There's also some crunching hard rock as well. And I really do enjoy the final nine+ minute jam. Pity about the cover.

Ownership: 1974 MCA (LP)

1/7/20 (acquired); 6/25/21 (review)

Pilgrimage (1971)

I was way late to the Wishbone Ash party. I used to see their albums going back to college in the mid 80s, and sampled a couple of them, but they weren't to my taste at the time. It wasn't until the CD era that I finally picked up a couple. To date, I have to say this is my favorite Wishbone Ash so far, beating the highly revered Argus and the debut (which was my fave prior). Mostly instrumental with some very inventive guitar sequences. More like Automatic Fine Tuning in this way. Hard rock that bleeds into prog. Final track is live and is more trad blues, which might not have been the best way to spend ten minutes. Not to end on a sour note (like they did), Pilgrimage is essential.

Ownership: 1971 Decca USA (LP). Gatefold.

2/26/21 (acquired / review)

Other albums I own and need to review: Wishbone Ash; Live From Memphis (EP); Argus

12/10/21 (new entry)