There's The Rub - WISHBONE ASH****

Silver Shoes/Don't Come Back/Persephone/Hometown/Lady Jay/FUBB

There’s The Rub was the last top 20 album from the British heavy rockers Wishbone Ash. Although they had some short lived commercial success in the early 1970s, they remained relatively unfashionable with the pundits. (US:88 UK:16)

“There's The Rub is notable for a pair of the most moving songs Wishbone Ash ever released, the achingly elegiac Persephone, and the wonderfully bittersweet Silver Shoes. Then there are the burning rockers Don't Come Back and Hometown. This is one of my favourite Ash albums, and is definitely one of their highest quality.”

“A nicely varied album, right from the relatively fast Don't Come Back, the perfect ballad Lady Jay, the upbeat Hometown and the excellent instrumental FUBB at the end. The songs blend in with each other well, despite the differences.”

“From the rocking Don't Come Back to the ethereal beauty of Persephone, this album covers a lot of ground. The extended instrumental FUBB shows a maturity and ability to write complex music that few other bands were capable of.”

“There's The Rub is a must-have for anyone who appreciates masterpieces that will stand the test of time, regardless of what the critics think should be cool. Every note means something, not one is stale or clichéd. The tones are heavenly, yet still rock in all the right ways. The opener Silver Shoes sounds like no other song ever written, and is delivered with incredible confidence and flair, which sets the tone for the rest.”

“You won't find better guitar work anywhere and the sound is as fresh as if it were recorded yesterday. You'd have to be asleep not to find this album utterly superb.”

“There's The Rub is a combination of the classic Wishbone sound and their self perceived ‘Live Rock Blues Band’ approach that they tried on Wishbone Four. It is a bit of a hybrid straddling both sounds.”

“If you like your guitar solos indescribably beautiful and your songwriting tearful and moving, well look no further than this extremely underrated masterpiece.”

“Not terrible, the Wishbone sound is there but the songs really aren't, most of them just dragged into inoffensive noodling territory. The opener Silver Shoes is a highlight as it is moderately memorable, if not a little thin and cheesy.”