LIVE FROM MEMPHIS

I heard this EP through the bonus tracks on the re-release of Argus. It is only three tracks of guitar based rock. Jail Bait is actually a pretty standard blues rocker. The Pilgrim is not as memorable as anything on Argus, to me at least. But Phoenix is an excellent track, where the band really stretches out for 16 minutes and expresses a lot with guitars. It is, for the most part, quite moody, the guitars creating an environment more than rocking out, but it is a very nice environment. Wishbone ash is famous for having two guitars, but for a lot of this song, you will mostly notice just one. I do, however, love the vocals in this one, which are used very sparingly.

The sound quality is excellent (on the version I heard; I can't say anything about the original). Unlike a lot of live music from the '70s, this doesn't sound muffled or unclear or fuzzy at all.

Nonetheless, there's not a lot of reason to own this unless you are a fan of the band. There is nothing so great in here that someone who doesn't already like the band would become a fan. On the other hand, if you are purchasing Argus, I recommend getting the version with this at the end, as it is a fun romp. I do occasionally stop the disc at the end of Argus instead of listening to this EP however. And so far, I have not desired to listen to it without Argus.