Wishbone Ash - arguably the best band you've never heard of - is a British progressive rock band known for their use of harmony twin lead guitars. The bands' two original guitarists - Andy Powell and Ted Turner - were voted "Two Of The Ten Most Important Guitarists in Rock History," in 1989, by Traffic magazine, and earlier, in 1972, Melody Maker described them as being "the most interesting two-guitar team since the days when Beck and Page graced The Yardbirds". That might seem a bit dated now, but the Ash's twin lead/harmony guitar approach is credited with inspiring many of the bands that formed in their wake, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dream Theatre, The Eagles, and Iron Maiden, to name just a few. So their torch has been passed.
Wishbone Ash was formed in Torquay, Devon, in 1969, from the remains of The Empty Vessels, a rock trio originally known as The Torinoes, which had been formed by Martin Turner (lead vocals and bass guitar), in 1963. Turner hooked up with Steve Upton (drums and percussion) and Wishbone Ash's distinctive sound developed after they held auditions for one guitarist and ended up with two because they couldn't decide who to pick, which is how Andy Powell and Ted Turner both ended up in the band. In 1974 Ted Turner left and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield (creating the "classic" lineup most people remember) and the band continued on like that until 1980, after which there was a bit of a revolving door line-up-wise that saw members come and go, among them John Wetton (former bass player from King Crimson), Trevor Bolder (Uriah Heep) and Mervyn Spence (Trapeze). Wisefield left in 1985, and then in 1987 the original line-up reunited for several albums (Nouveau Calls, Here To Hear, Strange Affair), before splitting again in 1990 when Upton left. Martin Turner left in 1991 and Ted Turner left in 1993, which left Andy Powell as the sole remaining founding member.
Like most people, I first became interested in Wishbone Ash after listening to the classic 1972 album, Argus. New to the Wishbone? Start there.
So there's a bit of Ash History for ya'. Now on to this album.
Living Proof is a limited edition 10-LP box set that features five concerts recorded between 1976 and 1980. Four of these shows appeared previously on The Vintage Years CD box set in 2018, but this marks their first appearance on vinyl. A newly sourced and previously unreleased recording from the band's October, 1976 shows in Tokyo appears exclusively here. All of these shows feature the classic, second line-up and showcase a band performing on all four cylinders. Released on the Madfish label, this set is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Mine is number 282. It's not a cheap set - often retailing for almost $500 - but I snagged mine for just $160, which I thought was a bargain, although I very much doubt I would have paid more. But you get the deals when you can! Is it all analogue? I dunno. I've not been able to find any evidence it is or isn't. The shows were certainly recorded that way, but the fact that four of these shows have already appeared on CD indicates there are digital versions. Put it this way: it sounds like analogue, but it could be digital - at least partly. Perhaps in the transferring or mastering stages? It doesn't sound as analogue, say, as some other records I have that are definitely all analogue, but it sounds better, I think, than the Live Dates album the band released in 1973, which I also have an original (analogue) pressing of. I wish the record labels would indicate, on the cover or in the liner notes, the source of all vinyl recordings. Is it analogue or digital? I - and many other record collectors - would like to know.
This set is also, as a friend of mine commented, "a lot of Ash," and with 20 sides to listen to it is certainly that. The box itself is a minimalistic design, which is not to say it is "cheap" or not well thought out. It is very well made, with a slip case housing the albums. The concerts are contained in separate 2-LP gatefold covers, numbered 1-5, and feature live photographs on one side and lyrics on the back. The vinyl itself is pristine and quiet and flat, and it's necessary to know that there are no overdubs anywhere on these records. What you hear is what you would have heard if you were at one of these shows. And I wish(bone) I was.
There's also a very big booklet inside the box that includes in-depth album notes and track-by-track "making of" interviews by author (and Wishbone Ash expert) Campbell Devine. It is full of rare live photographs, a replica Wishbone News newspaper from the Front Page News tour, and an individually numbered certificate. It's been suggested sets like these are put together as a money grab by bands that are no longer recording or touring, or maybe the featured lineup is no longer breathing or getting along or whatever else. That's not the case here. No two shows are alike, and I love listening to extended improvisations such as these.
Turner and Wisefield interact almost telepathically, dipping in out of each other's playing and transforming great songs into exceptionally great performances.
I'm not going to pretend I've listened to every show in this set yet (I will, eventually), but I have listened to the Tokyo show and it sounds great! Side one opens with Runaway - which I can do without, honestly - but then The King Will Come, from Argus, kicks in and the band really starts to rock. Warrior, the last song on that first side, is where things really start to get "guitary". It's hard to believe it's just four guys on the stage. It sounds like a much bigger band.
Side two begins with Lorelei, which to me has a southern rock feel to it, particularly reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Really, this song had to be an influence on Ronnie and the boys, and I bet they played it in Hell House when they were first getting started and looking for a sound. Next up is Persephone, on which the guitars really start to stretch out. Martin Turner's bass playing is solid, and combined with Steve Upton's melodic drumming style creates a solid foundation that grounds the flights of fancy.
Sides three and four are just as good, although one song, Rest In Peace, fades out for some reason. That's a bit weird for a live recording, especially since it's not the last song on the record. Must have been an issue with the recording process or the condition of the tapes.
I have heard thew other shows (I also have the Vintage Years set), and they sound really good. If the Tokyo show in the Living Proof set is any indication, the other four shows may sound even better on LP than they do on CD - especially if it is an analogue recording. I'll keep you posted!
Wishbone Ash - arguably the best band you've never heard of - is a British progressive rock band known for their use of harmony twin lead guitars. The bands' two original guitarists - Andy Powell and Ted Turner - were voted "Two Of The Ten Most Important Guitarists in Rock History," in 1989, by Traffic magazine, and earlier, in 1972, Melody Maker described them as being "the most interesting two-guitar team since the days when Beck and Page graced The Yardbirds". That might seem a bit dated now, but the Ash's twin lead/harmony guitar approach is credited with inspiring many of the bands that formed in their wake, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dream Theatre, The Eagles, and Iron Maiden, to name just a few. So their torch has been passed.
Wishbone Ash was formed in Torquay, Devon, in 1969, from the remains of The Empty Vessels, a rock trio originally known as The Torinoes, which had been formed by Martin Turner (lead vocals and bass guitar), in 1963. Turner hooked up with Steve Upton (drums and percussion) and Wishbone Ash's distinctive sound developed after they held auditions for one guitarist and ended up with two because they couldn't decide who to pick, which is how Andy Powell and Ted Turner both ended up in the band. In 1974 Ted Turner left and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield (creating the "classic" lineup most people remember) and the band continued on like that until 1980, after which there was a bit of a revolving door line-up-wise that saw members come and go, among them John Wetton (former bass player from King Crimson), Trevor Bolder (Uriah Heep) and Mervyn Spence (Trapeze). Wisefield left in 1985, and then in 1987 the original line-up reunited for several albums (Nouveau Calls, Here To Hear, Strange Affair), before splitting again in 1990 when Upton left. Martin Turner left in 1991 and Ted Turner left in 1993, which left Andy Powell as the sole remaining founding member.
Like most people, I first became interested in Wishbone Ash after listening to the classic 1972 album, Argus. New to the Wishbone? Start there.
So there's a bit of Ash History for ya'. Now on to this album.
Living Proof is a limited edition 10-LP box set that features five concerts recorded between 1976 and 1980. Four of these shows appeared previously on The Vintage Years CD box set in 2018, but this marks their first appearance on vinyl. A newly sourced and previously unreleased recording from the band's October, 1976 shows in Tokyo appears exclusively here. All of these shows feature the classic, second line-up and showcase a band performing on all four cylinders. Released on the Madfish label, this set is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Mine is number 282. It's not a cheap set - often retailing for almost $500 - but I snagged mine for just $160, which I thought was a bargain, although I very much doubt I would have paid more. But you get the deals when you can! Is it all analogue? I dunno. I've not been able to find any evidence it is or isn't. The shows were certainly recorded that way, but the fact that four of these shows have already appeared on CD indicates there are digital versions. Put it this way: it sounds like analogue, but it could be digital - at least partly. Perhaps in the transferring or mastering stages? It doesn't sound as analogue, say, as some other records I have that are definitely all analogue, but it sounds better, I think, than the Live Dates album the band released in 1973, which I also have an original (analogue) pressing of. I wish the record labels would indicate, on the cover or in the liner notes, the source of all vinyl recordings. Is it analogue or digital? I - and many other record collectors - would like to know.
This set is also, as a friend of mine commented, "a lot of Ash," and with 20 sides to listen to it is certainly that. The box itself is a minimalistic design, which is not to say it is "cheap" or not well thought out. It is very well made, with a slip case housing the albums. The concerts are contained in separate 2-LP gatefold covers, numbered 1-5, and feature live photographs on one side and lyrics on the back. The vinyl itself is pristine and quiet and flat, and it's necessary to know that there are no overdubs anywhere on these records. What you hear is what you would have heard if you were at one of these shows. And I wish(bone) I was.
There's also a very big booklet inside the box that includes in-depth album notes and track-by-track "making of" interviews by author (and Wishbone Ash expert) Campbell Devine. It is full of rare live photographs, a replica Wishbone News newspaper from the Front Page News tour, and an individually numbered certificate. It's been suggested sets like these are put together as a money grab by bands that are no longer recording or touring, or maybe the featured lineup is no longer breathing or getting along or whatever else. That's not the case here. No two shows are alike, and I love listening to extended improvisations such as these.
Turner and Wisefield interact almost telepathically, dipping in out of each other's playing and transforming great songs into exceptionally great performances.
I'm not going to pretend I've listened to every show in this set yet (I will, eventually), but I have listened to the Tokyo show and it sounds great! Side one opens with Runaway - which I can do without, honestly - but then The King Will Come, from Argus, kicks in and the band really starts to rock. Warrior, the last song on that first side, is where things really start to get "guitary". It's hard to believe it's just four guys on the stage. It sounds like a much bigger band.
Side two begins with Lorelei, which to me has a southern rock feel to it, particularly reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Really, this song had to be an influence on Ronnie and the boys, and I bet they played it in Hell House when they were first getting started and looking for a sound. Next up is Persephone, on which the guitars really start to stretch out. Martin Turner's bass playing is solid, and combined with Steve Upton's melodic drumming style creates a solid foundation that grounds the flights of fancy.
Sides three and four are just as good, although one song, Rest In Peace, fades out for some reason. That's a bit weird for a live recording, especially since it's not the last song on the record. Must have been an issue with the recording process or the condition of the tapes.
I have heard thew other shows (I also have the Vintage Years set), and they sound really good. If the Tokyo show in the Living Proof set is any indication, the other four shows may sound even better on LP than they do on CD - especially if it is an analogue recording. I'll keep you posted!
BONUS TRACK
What's in a name? Apparently a lot. Wishbone Ash got their name when the original band members wrote two lists of possible band names on separate pieces off paper, after which Martin Turner selected one word from each list - Wishbone and Ash. Andy Powell registered the name in 2000, which made him the sole owner of the name and gave him the power to stop other people from using it - including Martin Turner, who was the primary founder of the band! Powell's ownership of the name - and his unwillingness to share it - resulted in Turner having to perform under the name Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, beginning in 2004, which I am certain annoyed him to no end. Eventually, lawyers got involved and this drama has been playing out in court rooms for years. Powell’s right to own the Wishbone Ash name was eventually upheld, but Turner sought to appeal the ruling and wanted Powell's original registration of the name to be declared invalid on the grounds that the name Wishbone Ash represented his life's work. He also, he said, “never willingly left” the band. Powell countered that he’d continued to use the name while Turner “left twice to pursue other interests, in 1987 and again in 1995″.
Judge Douglas Campbell, in finding in favour of Powell, said, “the Claimant (Powell) has since 1969 been a member of a large number of different band line-ups which have all traded as ‘Wishbone Ash’. The Defendant (Turner) has been a member of some of these lineups, including those which span the band’s most successful period of 1969 to 1981. The Defendant created the name ‘Wishbone Ash’, which the band used. I have found that by February 1998 the Claimant was the sole owner of the goodwill in the Wishbone Ash mark. The situation did not change thereafter.”
In effect, the ruling said Powell was Wishbone Ash, but it was almost immediately stayed so that Turner could appeal. And while Powell may own the name Wishbone Ash, Turner owns the website www.wishboneash.co.uk. Powell tried to wrest the domain from Turner in a totalitarian suit but failed.
Turner claimed that “Powell unilaterally registered Wishbone Ash in his own name only, without the knowledge of his Mark 1 and 2 band mates, keeping it secret even as they continued to work together … " The other Wishbone Ash Mark 1 and Wishbone Ash Mark 2 members - Martin Turner, Ted Turner, Steve Upton and Laurie Wisefield - also objected and a counter claim was filed in which they argued that the registration of the trademark should be shared by all band members.
Powell didn't even like Turner performing under the name Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, and the legal firm representing him, Walker Morris, tried to sum everything up in a statement: “Martin Turner formed a band under the name Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash in response to which Andy Powell brought trade mark infringement proceedings against him. Martin Turner denied infringement and sought to have the European wide trade mark registration in Wishbone Ash, which is owned by Andy Powell, to be declared invalid. His Honour Douglas Campbell dismissed Martin Turner’s counterclaim and declared both that Andy Powell’s European wide Community trade mark rights to be valid, and that such rights had been infringed by Martin Turner. The judge rejected Martin Turner’s assertion that his previous historical connection with the Wishbone Ash band provided him with a defence. Accordingly, the judge awarded Andy Powell an injunction restraining the future use of the name Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, which injunction will be suspended for a short time pending an appeal of the decision which Martin Turner has indicated he is contemplating. The judge also awarded Andy Powell more than £40,000 in costs and has ordered Martin Turner to deliver up all flyers, CD covers and other material which bears the name to which Andy Powell had objected. In addition, Martin Turner was ordered to submit to an enquiry as to what damages and/or unlawful profits were made through his use of the name.”
I don't think Turner and Powell are friends anymore.
What's in a name? Apparently a lot. Wishbone Ash got their name when the original band members wrote two lists of possible band names on separate pieces off paper, after which Martin Turner selected one word from each list - Wishbone and Ash. Andy Powell registered the name in 2000, which made him the sole owner of the name and gave him the power to stop other people from using it - including Martin Turner, who was the primary founder of the band! Powell's ownership of the name - and his unwillingness to share it - resulted in Turner having to perform under the name Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, beginning in 2004, which I am certain annoyed him to no end. Eventually, lawyers got involved and this drama has been playing out in court rooms for years. Powell’s right to own the Wishbone Ash name was eventually upheld, but Turner sought to appeal the ruling and wanted Powell's original registration of the name to be declared invalid on the grounds that the name Wishbone Ash represented his life's work. He also, he said, “never willingly left” the band. Powell countered that he’d continued to use the name while Turner “left twice to pursue other interests, in 1987 and again in 1995″.
Judge Douglas Campbell, in finding in favour of Powell, said, “the Claimant (Powell) has since 1969 been a member of a large number of different band line-ups which have all traded as ‘Wishbone Ash’. The Defendant (Turner) has been a member of some of these lineups, including those which span the band’s most successful period of 1969 to 1981. The Defendant created the name ‘Wishbone Ash’, which the band used. I have found that by February 1998 the Claimant was the sole owner of the goodwill in the Wishbone Ash mark. The situation did not change thereafter.”
In effect, the ruling said Powell was Wishbone Ash, but it was almost immediately stayed so that Turner could appeal. And while Powell may own the name Wishbone Ash, Turner owns the website www.wishboneash.co.uk. Powell tried to wrest the domain from Turner in a totalitarian suit but failed.
Turner claimed that “Powell unilaterally registered Wishbone Ash in his own name only, without the knowledge of his Mark 1 and 2 band mates, keeping it secret even as they continued to work together … " The other Wishbone Ash Mark 1 and Wishbone Ash Mark 2 members - Martin Turner, Ted Turner, Steve Upton and Laurie Wisefield - also objected and a counter claim was filed in which they argued that the registration of the trademark should be shared by all band members.
Powell didn't even like Turner performing under the name Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, and the legal firm representing him, Walker Morris, tried to sum everything up in a statement: “Martin Turner formed a band under the name Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash in response to which Andy Powell brought trade mark infringement proceedings against him. Martin Turner denied infringement and sought to have the European wide trade mark registration in Wishbone Ash, which is owned by Andy Powell, to be declared invalid. His Honour Douglas Campbell dismissed Martin Turner’s counterclaim and declared both that Andy Powell’s European wide Community trade mark rights to be valid, and that such rights had been infringed by Martin Turner. The judge rejected Martin Turner’s assertion that his previous historical connection with the Wishbone Ash band provided him with a defence. Accordingly, the judge awarded Andy Powell an injunction restraining the future use of the name Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, which injunction will be suspended for a short time pending an appeal of the decision which Martin Turner has indicated he is contemplating. The judge also awarded Andy Powell more than £40,000 in costs and has ordered Martin Turner to deliver up all flyers, CD covers and other material which bears the name to which Andy Powell had objected. In addition, Martin Turner was ordered to submit to an enquiry as to what damages and/or unlawful profits were made through his use of the name.”
I don't think Turner and Powell are friends anymore.
