Customer Reviews

New England

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My CD arrived in the mail yesterday. You know the old saying...If you were stranded on a desert island with a Discman and 10 CD's this would absolutely, positively, definitley be one of them. Some of the greatest guitar work ever put to an audio medium. Wishbone Ash at it's finest!!!!

Fantastic album, great melodies, excellent guitarwork, very good sound quality. 'Rescue Me' is one of those late-night dreamy Summer tunes that you can't get out of your head. The disc is a bit on the short side- 37.57, but you get your money's worth with every track. Note to fans- get the German MCA import and not the BGO remaster! The latter had a serious glitch in the above mentioned track, plus the German version has better sound quality.

I'm a 42 year old man and I've had this LP since it came out and have been trying to find it on CD for the last couple of years. I am so glad to see its available on CD now. The music, vocals, everything is great on this album, I strongly recomend this album.

The harmony of this recording is one of the best I've ever heard. A great album to put on at a party. I had this taped on cassette from vinyl and used it to test car stereos at the electronics store. Everyone always wanted to know who the artist was. A real crowd pleaser.

Forget what the critics say about the mid-to-late seventies being a stale era for rock. All they care about anyhow are the 3 chord darlings who despise the Queen or President, if not all mankind. Now, if you are the type who cares about about music that's crafted by experts who used to churn out albums that were great from opening note to ending, then this is the epitome of just that type of album, which is now considered 'outdated' or 'irrelevant', when in fact it will stand the test of time once all the fad bands of today are long forgotten.

No, it doesn't 'rock' as hard as Metallica, but it does rock in a very listenable, beautiful way. The guitars have a very natural tone to them, and at times are on the heavy side, but a very naturally overdriven REAL tone that's not overprocessed. Martin Turner's Thunderbird bass sounds incredibly full in driving the very inventive but meaningful bass-lines throughout each song. I just turned my 30 year old wife onto this album and now she always wants to hear it. Her favorite track is the opener, "Mother Of Pearl".

By the way, I have the German import and it sounds absolutely fabulous.

I gave this album a lot of airplay at my college radio station in the late 70s, and I'm delighted to put it back into "heavy rotation" at home. While many critics and others have dismissed the group's earlier work, "New England" features the band at the height of its lyrical and musical power. Not a clinker on the album, IMO. It's a shame "New England" didn't get more attention when it first came out. My guess is that the vocals are a tad weak by the bombastic rock standards of the day, and the words a little too complex and meaningful. Remember too that this was the Disco Era, when a lot of great rock bands didn't get their full due. The CD sounds pretty good too, unlike a lot of reissues that come from 15th generation dubs of the master. All in all, "New England" is a prime example of mature guitar-based rock that still sounds great today.

One of Laurie Wisefield's favorite Ash record when he was with the band!!! SOOOO much v-a-r-i-e-t-y on this one!!! The bass/guitar interplay in 'Lorelei' is near priceless. And those suspended ninths in 'Lonely Island' are beautifully played. Interestingly this record was recorded in BASSIST MARTIN TURNER's home basement studio, but goes to show that with very little, one CAN DO very much with!!! This is a TIMELESS CLASSIC!!! Amazing they were touring with AEROSHIP to promote this record back when it was originally released-too bad! Laurie Wisefeld IS DEF. one of the most underrated guitarists ever! (BTW, I always said Meta-lack-a's KIRK HAMMETT stole Laurie's looks and playing ability.) Laurie had great success w/TINA TURNER after leaving the Bone on Dec 30, 1985. He's currently working with some local English bands and has appeared on a musical program in England similar to Top of the Pops.

I bought this on the reccomedation of a review, and I am glad I did that. There is not a bad song on this album. Even though the sound is different, the sound is ahead of it's time. The crowning jewel is Lorelie, I can not hear it enough.

Finally...this gem of an album is available on CD. My long search is over! I've had this on vinyl since it was first pressed. For Wishbone Ash fans...this is a gift from the music gods!

I believe it is one of the best examples, in the overly used word of "rock", with regards to instrumental harmony and solid vocal and lyrical content.