Wishbone Ash
Front Page News

Even in their eighth studio album, released in 1977, Wishbone Ash persist in a rather soft version of their inspiration, in open contrast to their concerts, which have always been, and always will be, robust and gritty.

The same modus operandi of the previous work, the successful and similarly moderate "New England," is maintained: The group continues to reside in the United States, near Boston, the producers and recording studios are the same, and the stylistic choice of accessible and American-like rock, very melodic, is also the same.

If we want to delve into the best episodes, "Midnight Dancer" is a sufficiently decisive rock piece, with clear choruses and guitars that are never too biting but well designed. "Surface To Air" gently sways on its three-four time and is characterized by lush choruses at certain points, somewhat reminiscent of the Mamas & Papas, as well as in the instrumental portion credited to yet another brilliant harmonious play of Andy Powell and Laurie Wisefield's two lead guitars.

"Come in From the Rain" will remain the most exportable episode of this album, for many years present in their concert setlists. It is yet another moderate rocker but on this occasion also exquisite, with the guitars really standing out and certainly stealing the focus from the vocalist's work, in this case, bassist Martin Turner. The rarefied "Heart Beat" is very "American," almost country rock, almost Eagles-like in certain falsetto chorus endings. The guitars are delightful as always, round and varied, expanded by chorus effects.

The final "Diamond Jack" is the epitome of Wishbone Ash's primary quality: the singer can make all the effort he wants, but the guitars are the ones that still and always earn the bread, whether they are electric or acoustic (as in this case, with a suggestive twelve-string arpeggio, though half borrowed from Boston's "More Than a Feeling," which came out the year before).

Regarding the rest of the album, the song "Front Page News" is a mid-tempo rock that brings an all-too-soft start to the album. "Goodbye Baby Hello Friend" is a semi-acoustic rock ballad that shows the typical gap of Wishbone during this period: the somewhat underwhelming and unappealing voice of guitarist Wisefield. "714" is a very calm atmospheric instrumental, in the group's usual vaguely folk style, elegant (there's also an orchestra) and highly attractive guitar-wise. "Right or Wrong" is the "hard" piece of the bunch: a compact but formulaic rock-blues in its harmonic development, with not-so-distant reminiscences of Deep Purple. "The Day I Found Your Love" is finally extremely dull, with a very predictable chorus and, above it all, an outdated intervention from an anonymous saxophonist.

An "average" album of the Wishbone production, certainly without dishonor but without particular praise. It doesn't feature the highlights of the predecessor "New England" nor the atrocities of the even earlier "Locked In": three and a half stars.