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 harmony twin lead guitars, 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”. Several notable bands have cited Wishbone Ash as an influence, including Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, Dream Theater, Overkill and Opeth.
Formed in Torquay, Devon, in 1969, out of the ashes of trio The Empty Vessels (originally known as The Torinoes, later briefly being renamed Tanglewood in 1969), which had been formed by Wishbone Ash’s founding member Martin Turner (bass & vocals) in 1963 and complemented by Steve Upton (drums and percussion) in 1966. The original Wishbone Ash line-up was completed by guitarists/vocalists Andy Powell and Ted Turner. In 1974, Ted Turner left the band, and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield.[6] The band continued on with strong critical and commercial success until 1980. There followed line-ups featuring former bass players from King Crimson (John Wetton), Uriah Heep (Trevor Bolder), and Trapeze (Mervyn Spence), Wisefield left in 1985. In 1987, however, the original line-up reunited for several albums – Nouveau Calls, Here to Hear and Strange Affair – until 1990, when Upton quit the band. After Martin Turner was replaced in 1991, the band recorded The Ash Live in Chicago, before Ted Turner left in 1993.[6] This left Andy Powell as the sole remaining original founding member of Wishbone Ash to continue the band on into the future.
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 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 upon the album’s release because of the acronym’s meaning (“Fucked Up Beyond Belief”). Moreover, the haunting ballad “Persephone” would go on to become one of the band’s most popular live songs. The lyric of “Lady Jay” is based on the Dartmoor folk legend about Kitty Jay.
The cover art designed by Hipgnosis shows a cricketer rubbing (in effect, polishing) a cricket ball on his trousers, leaving a mark – a common practice by fast bowlers who do so to make one side of the leather ball shinier than the other. This helps the ball to swing as it travels through the air after being bowled, so making it harder for the batsman to play it.[citation needed]
The album peaked at No. 16 in the UK Albums Chart.(wikipedia)
With producer Bill Szymczyk running the sessions, the group finally gets a studio sound as solid as their concert sound. Most impressive all the way through.(by Bruce Eder)
Ash’s first album with guitarist Laurie Wisefield shows the band moving towards a more streamlined, commercial approach. That said, the band’s signature twin lead guitar sound seems to benefit from Wisefield’s use of the Les Paul and other various guitars. He is clearly qualified to take the place of the departed Ted Turner, as songs such as Silver Shoes and the bona fide Ash classic Persephone amply demonstrate. Lady Jay offers some intriguing folkish elements, as well as literate lyrics. Overall, one of the best albums from a band yet to receive the respect they truly deserve. (John Gilmore)
I just discovered Wishbone Ash this year. I knew the name and had heard of Argus but was not familiar with any of their music. I first bought Argus and was blown away. I then got the s/t album and was equally impressed. I read online Four was great so I got that. It was very different (much mellower) but after a few listens I started to like it. From there I went crazy and got Pilgrimage, Front Page News, New England, the elusive Number the Brave and “There’s The Rub”. I have found that I am one of those who loves every era and album. This one is a little heavier sounding than the others. It still has the trademark Ash sound though. Even though I’ve still only heard this 3-4 times now, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s a classic. Highly recommended! (Chris Aug)
Personnel:
Andy Powell (guitar, mandolin, background vocals)
Martin Turner (bass, vocals)
Steve Upton (drums, percussion)
Laurie Wisefield (guitar, steel-guitar, banjo, background vocals)
+
Albhy Galuten (organ, synthesizers on 03.)
Nelson Flaco Padron (percussion on 06.)
Tracklist:
01. Silver Shoes 6.33
02. Don’t Come Back 5.08
“Persephone” – 7:02
“Hometown” – 4:48
“Lady Jay” – 6:00
“F.U.B.B.” – 9:33
All songs by Andy Powell – Martin Turner – Steve Upton – Laurie Wisefield
- (coming soon)
**
More from Wishbone Ash:
The Diary of Anne Frank is a 1959 film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, which was in turn based on the diary of Anne Frank. It was directed by George Stevens, with a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It is the first film version of both the play and the original story, and features three members of the original Broadway cast.
Anne Frank (12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)
Richard Allen “Blue” Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk trumpeter and composer who recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note, and Mainstream Records.
From 1971 to 1973 Mitchell performed with John Mayall, appearing on Jazz Blues Fusion and subsequent albums. From the mid-70s he recorded and worked as a session man in the genres noted previously, performed with the big band leaders Louie Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry and was the principal soloist for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Other band leaders Mitchell recorded with include Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon, and Jimmy Smith.
Blue Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979)
Although they shared the stage with some of the bigger names during Southern rock’s ’70s heyday, Doc Holliday never quite managed to reach that level, but has managed to make a name for itself with fans of the genre. The band’s origin can be traced back to 1971 when guitarist and lead singer Bruce Brookshire formed a blues band called Roundhouse with his brother. By the end of the decade, Roundhouse had gained the attention of Molly Hatchet’s manager, setting into play circumstances that would see the band, now rechristened Doc Holliday, secure a deal with A&M Records in 1980. Featuring a lineup of Brookshire, guitarist Rick Skelton, keyboard player Eddie Stone, bass player John Samuelson, and drummer Herman Nixon, their self-titled debut was released the following year.
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Butts Band was a British and American group formed by ex-Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger that was active from 1973 to 1975. The band released two albums and with the exception of Krieger and Densmore, they consisted of different band personnel on each.
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Some facts about the legendary Label Line Records from Germany:
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, activist, and actor. One of the most successful Jamaican-American pop stars in history, he was dubbed the “King of Calypso” for popularizing the Trinidadian Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. Belafonte is known for his recording of “The Banana Boat Song”, with its signature lyric “Day-O”. He has recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He has also starred in several films, including Otto Preminger’s hit musical Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), and Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).
Scott McKenzie (born Philip Wallach Blondheim III; January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”.
McKenzie originally declined an opportunity to join the group, saying in a 1977 interview, “I was trying to see if I could do something by myself. And I didn’t think I could take that much pressure.” Two years later, he left New York and signed with Lou Adler’s Ode Records.
Scott McKenzie (January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012)
Sanctified soul sister Naomi Shelton rose to prominence in her late sixties as a member of Daptone records’ retro-rooted soul/funk stable, along with her backing group the Gospel Queens, but her pedigree as a performer of both sacred and secular music stretches back much farther than that. Born Naomi Davis Shelton, in Midway, Alabama, she began singing in her Baptist church at an early age. After graduating high school in 1958, she moved first to New York, then spent time in Florida, where the greats of the burgeoning soul movement — including Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and Lou Rawls — inspired her to try her hand at singing secular R&B; she soon became a regular winner at a local talent show. In 1963 she settled back in New York and landed a regular gig playing three sets a night at Brooklyn’s Night Cap. There she met pianist Cliff Driver, who would become her musical mentor and co-conspirator, on and off, and eventually, some three decades later, the musical director of the Gospel Queens. That group came together in the late ’90s, by which point Driver had been off the scene for nearly 20 years, although Shelton never stopped singing, in both clubs (as Naomi Davis) and churches. In 1999, Driver got back in touch and invited her to become the new lead singer in a vocal group he’d been working with, and they began performing around New York, soon catching the attention of Gabriel Roth, then the head of Desco Records. Roth invited the pair to a recording session with the Desco house band, which yielded the “41st Street Breakdown” 45 (credited to Naomi Davis & the Knights of Forty First Street) and a couple of sought-after unreleased tracks. When Desco folded and Daptone arose in its wake, Davis remained in the fold, appearing live as part of the “Daptone Super-Soul Revue” contributing her vocals to a song by the Sugarman Three that was issued as a single, but it took nearly a decade for before Naomi & Gospel Queens got around to making a recording of their own.
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Lonnie Smith (born July 3, 1942), styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, is an American jazz Hammond B3 organist who was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. He recorded albums with saxophonist Lou Donaldson for Blue Note before being signed as a solo act. He owns the label Pilgrimage.
