The full title of this live CD is actually Martin Turner and Friends, featuring Ted Turner and Laurie Wisefield: The Garden Party, A Celebration of Wishbone Ash Music-The Private Recording. Whew...that's quite a mouthful. Basically, if you are at all interested in a little Wishbone Ash history, this historic British band has been around since 1969 and has seen plenty of personnel changes over the years, so much so that in recent years there are actually 'two' factions of the band, lead guitarist Andy Powell and his version of Wishbone Ash, and bassist Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash (since labeled due to a court order as Martin Turner plays the music of Wishbone Ash). Confused yet? If you are, you are not alone. History aside, this 2CD live set, recorded on August 31, 2012 in the UK, features Turner's version of the Ash, along with past members who have long since moved on to other things. Along with bassist/vocalist Turner here are guitarists Danny Wilson & Ray Hatfield, drummer Dave Wagstaffe, along with special guests on a few tracks, former members Ted Turner (guitar, vocals) and Laurie Wisefield (guitar). The set, as you can imagine, is full of Wishbone Ash classics, and it's all a bit nostalgic and of course, a lot of fun.
As to whether you prefer Turner or Powell's version of the Ash really matters not here, it's just great to enjoy some of these old tunes again. Turner has a really crack band at his disposal, who really do these songs justice. While Wilson & Hatfield may not be the guitar hero that Powell is, these two certainly are more than capable of faithfully recreating those stellar twin-lead guitar lines that influenced generations of hard rock bands. Martin still has a strong voice, leading the band through classic cuts like "Lady Jay", "The King Will Come", "The Pilgrim", "Rest in Peace", and many others. Of course, the highlights are when Ted & Laurie jump into the fray and join in on the fun, as they do on a raucous "Jailbait", with Turner's lead work on "Valediction" especially thrilling. Even the latter day Ash material, such as "Fire Sign" and "In the Skin", sound spectacular here, with plenty of guitar heroics flying about.
Recorded in front of a small, intimate audience, you can tell that this was an event filled with a lot of love, so any Wishbone Ash fan, no matter what era you enjoyed the best, should find a lot to enjoy here.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
DISC ONE
1. STANDING IN THE RAIN
2. REST IN PEACE
3. HAUNTING ME
4. LADY JAY
5. FIRE SIGN
6. THE PILGRIM
7. WAY OF THE WORLD
8. NO EASY ROAD
DISC TWO
1. DOCTOR
2. BROKEN DOWN HOUSE
3. VALEDICTION
4. THE KING WILL COME
5. PRELUDE
6. IN THE SKIN
7. WHY DON'T WE
8. LIVING PROOF
9. JAILBAIT
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