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SteveG 
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 Topic: Wishbone Four: Wishbone Ash
Posted: February 18 2015 at 16:43 |
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Wishbone's fourth album and follow up to Argus is either a 'love it' Or "hate it" album. So, do you love or hate it?
Edited by SteveG - February 18 2015 at 16:56
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cstack3
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Posted: February 18 2015 at 21:34 |
Absolutely love it!
"Wishbone 4" is perhaps more rock & roll than its predecessors, notably "Argus," but it is a fine album with very strong moments. Vocals are very strong, instrumentals are excellent, and they experiment with some new instruments (Ted Turner on lap-steel guitar).
The horn section in "No Easy Road" is a welcome change from the past, and the keyboards employed (including a bit of Mellotron) give it an overall progressive feel.
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AlanB
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Posted: February 19 2015 at 08:49 |
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I like the songs, not too keen on the production.
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BarryGlibb
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Posted: February 20 2015 at 05:44 |
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There are many great tracks (So Many Things to Say, Ballad of the Beacon, No Easy Road, Sorrell, Doctor, Everybody Needs to Have a Friend) the last two tracks however IMHO are stinkers (Rock n Roll Widow, Sing out the song).
They were touring with The Who around that time and So Many Things to Say and Doctor could have easily been Who songs...just imagine Daltrey singing them.
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Andrea Cortese
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Posted: February 20 2015 at 06:27 |
To be honest... I hate it.
The music, the cover art... they missed the point in my humble opinion... I asked myself what happened to them in the '73?
There's the Rub! That is a wonderful record that easily stands Argus' ground.
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dr wu23
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Posted: February 20 2015 at 08:20 |
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Not too keen on the ones after Argus.....some decent tracks of course but imho they never recaptured that feel and sound they had on the first 3.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Hercules
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Posted: February 20 2015 at 16:45 |
Wishbone 4 is a very good album.
Ballad of the Beacon, Rock and Roll Widow, Sorrell and particularly Everybody Needs a Friend are superb.
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A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.
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cstack3
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Posted: February 20 2015 at 21:45 |
 AlanB wrote:
I like the songs, not too keen on the production. |
I've never understood the gripes about production on Wishbone 4. True, they didn't have Derek Lawrence, but overall, it was a highly rated LP and very popular with all of the WA fans that I knew at the time. I never found any fault with the production, please elucidate?
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AlanB
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Posted: February 21 2015 at 03:15 |
It's the actual sound of the album, probably the mixing at fault. For instance, listening to Doctor and comparing it to the version of that song on Live Dates 2, the latter really rocks but the studio version sounds feeble in comparison. In Martin Turner's book No Easy Road he states "I was really disappointed at how the album eventually turned out, mainly because something went seriously wrong at the mastering stage. When we were recording it in the studio it sounded really good, but all the balls and hi-fidelity got lost during the mastering, making it sound very mid-rangey." Martin goes on the say that he would love to re mix it but most of the original multi-track tapes seem to have disappeared.
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cstack3
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Posted: February 22 2015 at 00:43 |
AlanB wrote:
It's the actual sound of the album, probably the mixing at fault. For instance, listening to Doctor and comparing it to the version of that song on Live Dates 2, the latter really rocks but the studio version sounds feeble in comparison. In Martin Turner's book No Easy Road he states "I was really disappointed at how the album eventually turned out, mainly because something went seriously wrong at the mastering stage. When we were recording it in the studio it sounded really good, but all the balls and hi-fidelity got lost during the mastering, making it sound very mid-rangey." Martin goes on the say that he would love to re mix it but most of the original multi-track tapes seem to have disappeared. |
OK, thanks, good answer! I never did listen to it that intensely to parse out the harmonics, I'll have to do that. There is some studio magic that could still be performed, but I doubt if the market would bear the cost.
Back in those days (70's), the quality of vinyl LPs was lousy, and the stereo equipment only middling except for a few really good rigs that some folks had, so I guess I didn't notice as much.
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Wishbone Four: Wishbone Ash