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Here I am again to talk about a band that I can't find any trace of on the site... in the early seventies Wishbone Ash were the only hard rock group that managed to seamlessly marry the sound of two electric guitars, becoming indeed an authentic trademark.
The ensemble revolves around the figures of the two excellent guitarists, Andy Powell and Ted Turner, and, interestingly, they forgo the keyboard, an element that was fundamental at that time both in hard and prog contexts. Until then, the only attempt to have two soloists had been made a few years earlier by the Yardbirds with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, but it had failed miserably. For Wishbone Ash, it worked out much better; they play and move on a hard frame where they insert many folk, country, and progressive references.
Following their self-titled debut (1970) and "Pilgrimage" (1971), "Argus" (1972) was released, an album unanimously considered their best.
The tracks on the album are rich and balanced, with direct and refined hard rock featuring magnificent masterclass solo highlights and many situations that would later appear in prog-metal of the years to come. All seven songs are noteworthy, but in my opinion, the ones that stand out the most are the opener Time Was, an acoustic track that flows into an edgy hard rock supported by splendid guitars. Other peaks include Blowin Free and Warrior, which would become their battle horses in the years to follow, and the monumental The King Will Come, an immense masterpiece of melodic hard rock with the two solo guitars evoking epic atmospheres.
In conclusion, I would add that some historical pairs of guitarists, including the duo from Iron Maiden (Smith-Murray) and Judas Priest (Downing-Tipton), have never denied drawing on the evolutions and styles of Powell and Turner, extracting the most significant aspects.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Time Was (09:48)
I've got to rearrange my life,
I've got to rearrange my world.
I miss you, I need you.
I've got to keep my memories aside,
I've got to try to live again.
Time was when there were things around
To be afraid of.
I've got cause, I've even changed my mind
To turn the tables.
Time was when there was no need to stop
And rearrange it.
Now I've got a memory
And I don't want to change it.
And there's a time for waking up
And feeling down,
It's when you have to pick your feet
Up from the ground.
Time was when I had you around -
I was a strong man.
I need you to help make the change
And be a new man.
Takes more than a day and a night
For giving.
It's not so easy just to change your way
Of living.
Time was when there were things around
To bother me.
The crime was, I couldn't start
To change my history.
02 Sometime World (06:59)
I met a man who felt the same way,
That the world had passed him by.
Told to me all his troubles,
That the world had made him cry.
Life had kept him waiting,
Regretting his pain inside.
Had to feel underrated,
And hated, besides.
Life had kept him waiting,
Regretting his shame inside.
Had to feel underrated,
And hated, besides.
Sometime world, pass me by again,
Carry you, carry me, away.
(Repeat twice)
03 Blowin' Free (05:23)
I thought I had a girl
I know, because I seen her.
Her hair was golden brown
Blowin' free like a cornfield.
She was far away
I found it hard to reach her.
She told me "You can try"
But it's impossible to find her.
In my dreams everything was alright.
In your schemes you can only try.
I thought I had a girl
I know, because I seen her.
Her hair was golden brown
Blowin' free like a cornfield.
04 The King Will Come (07:12)
In the fire, the king will come.
Thunder rolls, piper and drum.
Evil sons, overrun,
Count their sins - judgment comes.
The checkerboard of nights and days -
Man will die, man be saved.
The sky will fall, the earth will pray,
When judgment comes to claim its day.
See the word of the prophet
On a stone in his hand.
Poison pen revelation,
Or just a sign in the sand?
The checkerboard of nights and days -
Man will die, man be saved.
The sky will fall, the earth will pray,
When judgment comes to claim its day.
See the word of the prophet
On a stone in his hand.
Poison pen revelation,
Or just a sign in the sand?
05 Leaf and Stream (03:57)
Find myself beside a stream of empty thought,
Like a leaf that's fallen to the ground,
And carried by the flow of water to my dreams
Woken only by your sound.
(Repeat)
Alone I've walked this path for many years,
Listened to the wind that calls my name.
The weeping trees of yesterday look so sad,
Await your breath of spring again.
Far beyond the hills,
Where earth and sky will meet again,
Are shadows like an opening hand.
Control the secrets
That I've yet to find, and wonder at
The light in which they stand.
(Repeat)
06 Warrior (06:03)
I'm leaving to search for something new,
Leaving everything I ever knew.
A hundred years in the sunshine
Hasn't taught me all there is to know.
In the valley, we will gather there,
Helpless in our surrender.
Tomorrow the plow becomes the sword -
Make us stronger in our danger.
Time will pass away,
Time will guard our secret.
I'll return again
To fight another day.
I'd have to be a warrior -
A slave I couldn't be -
A soldier and a conqueror,
Fighting to be free.
(Repeat three times)
07 Throw Down the Sword (05:51)
Throw down the sword,
The fight is done and over,
Neither lost, neither won.
To cast away the fury of the battle
And turn my weary eyes for home.
There were times when I stood at death's own door
Only hoping for an answer.
Throw down the sword,
And leave the glory -
A story time can never change.
To walk the road, the load I have to carry -
A journey's end, a wounded soul.
There were times when I stood at death's own door
Only searching for an answer.
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