Wishbone Ash - WISHBONE ASH***

Blind Eye/Lady Whiskey/Errors Of My Way/Queen Of Torture/Handy Phoenix

Eponymous debut album from the stalwart second division rock band Wishbone Ash noted for their twin lead guitar sound. Despite some limited critical acclaim they never quite broke into the major league. (UK:29)

"There were so many good British rock bands around at the end of the 1960s, and very early 70s, that it would be all too easy to overlook Wishbone Ash. You'd do so at your peril. They were both influential and very good. This and Argus are my favourites of their albums."

"You'll find six songs from this record which combine the elements of hard rock, progressive rock and blues rock to form a great sound. Wishbone Ash are said to have been one of the first rock groups to use twin lead guitars. I must say that I really dig their sound on this album."

"The album opener Blind Eye is your standard three minute boogie rocker, albeit an energetic, mildly enjoyable one. Lady Whiskey gets heavier, darker and more intense, with some superb guitar soloing. My favourite non-epic is Errors Of My Way, the folksiest effort and the one song here where the band's vocals, here harmonized to haunting effect, are extremely effective, as mediocre vocals are probably the band's biggest weakness and perhaps hindered them from being bigger."

"Here on the debut, they're a little unfocused, with some too-long-songs, that may put some off, but overall it's a pretty strong debut. Blind Eye opens well enough, a pretty straightforward hard rocker, and Lady Whiskey is maybe a little overlong, but is another satisfying rock track. Errors Of My Way is probably the best song, with an excellent double guitar melody, and a nice atmospheric gloom to it, helped by the excellent harmonised vocals. Queen Of Torture is a bit grimy, but enjoyably raucous. Handy may put some people off, as it's really an extended jam, but it's also pretty impressive guitar work. Phoenix is another favourite, again it's long, but pretty fiery guitar bits here, and it's a strong closer to the album."

"Despite being a big fan of both prog and 70s hard rock, I find Wishbone Ash seriously overrated. Sure they had two great guitarists, but they certainly didn't make effective use out of them, by producing way too many substandard songs. Add in the fact that the vocals and bass are almost always too weak and this band doesn't stand up too well."