Legendary British rock act Wishbone Ash are unleashing a massive limited edition 30 CD box set covering all their albums from 1970 through to 1991, all remastered and accompanied by a slew of never before released live recordings, a book, and a host of classy memorabilia, It's a box set that any hard core fan will want to add to their collection, especially considering all the vintage live recordings that are included, which probably will not be available anywhere else. Snapper/Madfish have shared this little sampler with us, which culls together eight live tracks from the various live recordings contained in the box set. Here, we have a collection of songs recorded in various venues between 1973 and 1980 (info below) that feature a few of the early incarnations of Wishbone Ash. Of course, Argus is well represented here, with some great performances of "The King Will Come", "Warrior", "Blowin' Free", and "Sometime World" showing off how talented this band have always been, the twin lead guitars of Andy Powell and either Ted Turner or Laurie Wisefield firing on all cylinders over a mix of hard rock, prog, blues, and folk. The near 9-minute "Persephone" is just lovely here, bassist Martin Turner's lovely vocals soaring over some gorgeous lead guitars from Powell and Wisefield, while tracks like "Front Page News" and "Living Proof" are 'proof' positive of the Ash's ability to write catchy pop rock fare that not only delivered the hooks but also some sizzling guitar interplay. Wisefield rips it up alongside Powell on the classic bluesy rocker "Jail Bait" , the band revving up the boogie on one of their more endearing gems from the early catalog.
Though a small sample from the wealth of live material included on The Vintage Years 1970-1991 box set, the quality of these recordings are incredible, and I'd highly urge any Wishbone Ash fan to scoop up a copy of the box set before they are all gone.
Track Listing
1) The King Will Come (Southampton University 1973)
2) Warrior (Portsmouth Guildhall 1973)
3) Persephone (Edinburgh Usher Hal 1976)
4) Sometime World (Newcastle City Hall 1977)
5) Front Page News (Marquee Club 1977)
6) Living Proof (Guildford Civic Hall 1980)
7) Jail Bait (Chelmsford Odeon 1980)
8) Blowin' Free (Bournemouth Winter Gardens 1978)