Turner, Martin : Ex-Wishbone Ash: The Beauty Of Chaos Live At The Citadel

With a title befitting the lone figure on the cover of Wishbone Ash’s Argus album, The Beauty Of Chaos Live At The Citadel is the latest live album from, as he has to bill himself these days, ex-Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner and his band. Having released live offerings on quite a regular basis in recent years, Turner now has more solo live albums than he does efforts from the studio. However, with The Beauty Of Chaos, he offers his most recent batch of all new material, Written In The Stars, performed in its entirety, alongside a selection of fan pleasing Ash classics across 2 CDs and 1 DVD.

The new material is aired first in this show recorded in 2016 in The Citadel, St Helens, in the north of England, and while, as you see on the DVD, the stage is rather small and the audience happy being attentive and respectful, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that Written In The Stars is a hugely underrated piece of work. Deciding to run through that album from start to finish may have run the risk of the crowd becoming a little restless in wait for the ‘old hippie numbers’, as Turner describes his Ash cuts. But the decision pays huge dividends as it highlights just how wonderful the easy sway of “Lovers�, slow building twin guitar assault of “Vapour Trails� and surging rock of “Pretty Girls� really are. Unsurprisingly there’s an Ash like lilt to nearly all of this material, but rather than sound like a second hand copy, Written In The Stars is much more of a natural evolution. And as such comes across quite magnificently here.

The sound is excellent across both audio and visual options, although I would personally have been happier if the visual editing was a little slower on the DVD, the amount of shots presented per minute becoming quite dazzling at times. However, with the small stage and limited amount of cameras, it’s maybe understandable that a little something was attempted to add some pizazz, but in truth, the music does that all on its own. Turner’s vocals are still in extremely fine fettle, as are those of guitarist Danny Wilson. However, any band performing a selection of classic Ash will always live or die by their twin guitar pairing and with Misha Nikolic alongside Wilson, this band have more than enough talent at their disposal. Whether through “The Pilgrim�, “Warrior�, “Blowin’ Free� or the closing pair of “Doctor� and “Jailbait�, it really has to be said that neither guitarist puts a foot wrong, infusing energy and vim where required, while still knowing that subtlety is key. All the while the duo combine superbly, the trademark fret harmonies still causing jaws to drop and huge grins to appear, not least on stage! And it’s also worth mentioning that if you want to hear and see a bass masterclass, then Ted is a massively underrated talent in that department too. Bringing up the rear (his position on stage, not his performance) is drummer Tim Brown, and just like his guitar-mates, his mix of power and panache is perfect for the songs in this set.

Not only is The Beauty Of Chaos a wonderful opportunity to hear a selection of songs that genuinely helped set the ball rolling for the 70s and 80s rock scene, it’s also a chance to catch up with what one of Wishbone Ash’s founder members has been up to in more recent times. Neither aspect of this beautifully presented, five panel fold out set will leave you anything other than hugely impressed. More than likely the first thing you’ll do on its completion is dive over to Martin’s website to see when they’ll be playing some dates near you.

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!

Track Listing
DISC ONE
1. THE BIG BANG (OVERTURE)
2. THE BEAUTY OF CHAOS
3. WRITTEN IN THE STARS
4. LOVERS
5. VAPOUR TRAIL
6. THE LONELY STAR
7. FOR MY LADY
8. FALLING SANDS
9. PRETTY LITTLE GIRLS
10. MYSTIFY ME
11. INTERSTELLAR ROCKSTAR
12. THE PILGRIM
13. BLIND EYE

DISC TWO
1. THE KING WILL COME
2. WARRIOR
3. THROW DOWN THE SWORD
4. LADY JAY
5. SOMETIME WORLD
6. FUBB
7. YOU SEE RED
8. LIVING PROOF
9. BLOWIN’ FREE
10. DOCTOR
11. JAILBAIT

DVD
1. THE BIG BANG (OVERTURE)
2. THE BEAUTY OF CHAOS
3. WRITTEN IN THE STARS
4. LOVERS
5. VAPOUR TRAIL
6. THE LONELY STAR
7. FOR MY LADY
8. FALLING SANDS
9. PRETTY LITTLE GIRLS
10. MYSTIFY ME
11. INTERSTELLAR ROCKSTAR
12. THE PILGRIM
13. BLIND EYE
14. THE KING WILL COME
15. WARRIOR
16. THROW DOWN THE SWORD
17. LADY JAY
18. SOMETIME WORLD
19. FUBB
20. YOU SEE RED
21. LIVING PROOF
22. BLOWIN’ FREE
23. DOCTOR
24. JAILBAIT

Added: July 18th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: The Beauty Of Chaos at Cherry Red
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Language: english

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