Sunday 13 November 2022

Wishbone Four - WISHBONE ASH****

So Many Things To Say/Ballad Of The Beacon/No Easy Road/Everybody Needs A Friend/Doctor/Sorrel/Sing Out The Song/Rock & Roll Widow

An uninspiring title and album cover from the progressive rock band Wishbone Ash. Nevertheless the songs are much better than what some critics would have us believe. (US:44 UK:12)

“Their sound continues to drift slowly in a commercial direction, and this one is fairly commercial sounding overall, but still possesses some decent material.”

“People loved the hard progressive rock sound found in Argus and the twin-guitars and amazing solos. Wishbone Four is a much lighter and gentler effort, and the solos are looser here. The twin-lead guitars are gone almost totally, but this is still not a bad album, by a long shot.”

”A fairly subdued effort from the 'Ash. The amps have been turned down and a brass section pop's up now and then to blow out the cobwebs. The songs are nice enough as background music but there's no real spark.”

“The up tempo Rock 'n' Roll Widow is the signature track that I am sure most would agree with. It is the last song and is set up by varying ballads like Sorrel and edgier tunes with Doctor getting some praises.”

“This album was a brave move following Argus, and one which did not go down well with many critics and fans who were expecting something similar. So is it worthy of the attacks it received at the time? Probably not but it is certainly not a classic. There are some fine tracks on the album, but it is marred by very poor production which makes many of the tracks sound muddy.”

“Unlike Wishbone's previous recordings, the songs are shorter and often catchier as well. But this attempt to shift from extended improvisations to riffs filled with hooks doubtless contributes to a number of problems that force listeners to focus on Wishbone's uneven songwriting rather than exquisite musicianship.”

“There are some great rockers on this album, alternating with some softer tracks, all of them sprinkled with anthemic solos from the dual guitars. The sound quality is not tremendous, particularly the drums, which are very dull and muffled.

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