Wishbone Ash (1st LP) CD

Personnel: Martin Turner, Andy Powell, Ted Turner (vocals, guitar); Steve Upton (drums).
Liner Note Author: Dave Ling.
Recording information: De Lane Lea Studios, London, England.
Photographer: Gene Brownell.
Unknown Contributor Role: Kuni Takeuchi.
For a band that quickly evolved into a radio-friendly prog-leaning outfit, it's a wonder that Wishbone Ash started out as the boogie and blues-based group that this debut reveals. If the term "jam band" existed in 1970, Wishbone Ash surely would have been a major player in that genre. As it was, this album stacked up nicely when compared with other British hard rock releases that year. Not as complex or calculated as Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin III but definitely more focused than Mott the Hoople's Mad Shadows, Wishbone Ash more closely resembled Benefit by Jethro Tull, a group that hadn't yet adopted its own progressive elements. The dual lead guitar attack of Andy Powell and Ted Turner was a component that none of the above bands possessed, but unfortunately their (shared) lead vocals lacked the punch and authority necessary for hard rock bands to be taken seriously. So while they could rock as loudly and convincingly as virtually anyone, their lead singers, perhaps, held them back from being the force they should have been. The follow-up, Pilgrimage, took steps to rectify Wishbone Ash's odd position, but this album nevertheless opened eyes and ears and revealed to the rock & roll community a band with incredible potential and talent. ~ Dave Sleger
This double-CD Wishbone Ash set released by the Primo label combines the 1996 Illuminations album (originally issued on Renaissance in 1996) with a ten-track live disc from 1999 (previously available as Live Dates III, released by Eagle Records in 2001). Despite the fact that Illuminations was their first studio album in nearly a decade, Wishbone Ash continued their stride of pleasant album rock without sounding terribly dated. ~ Gina Boldman
The debut album by the long running British rock institution finds their formula already in place - a little blues, a little folk, a little Yes style riffing, and some endearingly cosmic lyrics. The band's basis is the tag team guitars of Andy Powell and Ted Turner.
In what was a fairly innovative move in 1970 the two alternate harmony riffs a la the Allman Brothers ("Blind Eye") or play dueling solos in the manner of the San Francisco bands that preceded them. In fact, the album's centerpiece, the epic 10-minute "Phoenix," is precisely the sort of psychedelic jam that used to really wow them at the Fillmore during the Summer of Love--think the Grateful Dead with a tighter rhythm section.