Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wishbone Ash - Queen Of Torture



Here is a nice little guitar burner from 1970 to help get you over the hump this Wed.
this has a total amped up Humble Pie, Ten Years After meets and an English version of Mountain vibe going on. And you can see where Thin Lizzy got a few idea's from too...

From the Wishbone Ash self titled debut.

During the early- and mid-'70s, Wishbone Ash were among England's most popular hard rock acts. The group's roots dated to the summer of 1966, when drummer Steve Upton formed a band called Empty Vessels with bassist/vocalist Martin Turner and guitarist Glen Turner. Empty Vessels soon changed their name to Tanglewood and moved to London; during a gig at the Country Club in Hampstead, they were seen by would-be rock manager Miles Copeland, who was impressed with the jazz and progressive rock influences within the band and offered to be their manager.

Glen Turner left the band at that point, and an advertisement for a guitarist resulted in the addition of both David Alan "Ted" Turner and Andy Powell, who provided the basis for the sound of the new lineup with intertwining riffs and phrases drawn from both soul and blues, coupled with Martin Turner's melodic bass sound and Upton's jazz-influenced drumming. A new name was called for, and after several suggestions by Copeland that proved unacceptable, "Wishbone Ash" was chosen from two lists of words. The group rehearsed for weeks at Copeland's home, working out an entirely new repertoire, and played their first gig opening for the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation. It wasn't too long before they were opening for Deep Purple, where a sound check jam between Powell and Ritchie Blackmore led to a recording contract with the American Decca label.

Their self-titled first album appeared in 1970 and 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.

Wishbone Ash - Queen Of Torture

3 comments:

Mondo said...

Love it - what a rocker.

Jailbait's another winner from the 'ASH..

Anonymous said...

Just playing a little catch up here... as always, thanks for the support and all that fuzzed out shit!!!

Peace and blessings.

Anonymous said...

Mr.Love like the Wishbone, they're pretty good...PRETTY GOOD?! what the hell am I saying...
CREAM-IN-THY-PANTIES!