Customer Reviews

Wishbone 4

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album's only failing was that it was the band's next release after the classic ARGUS -- it was always going to be a tough act to follow. The cover was also, by comparison, uninspired. Nice windswept hairdos, lads, but we preferred the medieval imagery of anonymous knights watching UFOs landing over Glastonbury.

WISHBONE 4 suffered only because the band were determined not to duplicate ARGUS. In doing so, they perhaps reverted to the boogie style of their first two albums. There are some great rockers on this album, alternating with some softer tracks, all of them sprinkled with anthemic solos from the dual guitars of Andy Powell and Ted Turner. The sound quality on my MCA/BMG copy of the CD is not tremendous, particularly the drums, which are very dull and muffled.

The album reached No. 12 in the US, and the loyal fan base persuaded the band to become UK tax exiles there!

This is a good album, and the only reason for not buying this version is that the equally good follow-up THERE'S THE RUB seems now to be available only as a twin-set with this album. I would recommend buying that.

I had purchased this album years ago and have loved it ever since. This is problably one of the greatest albums to have come out of this era. This band never got the recognition the richly deserved. If you really love GOOD music, this is a MUST BUY!

The last and acceptable album from the Mark 1 line-up. As it always happens with most big albums follow-ups rarely live up to the formers' glory. With Argus becoming their biggest seller "Wishbone Four" was a difficult follow-up. Ted Turner would leave after this album only to return for the all instrumental Nouveau Calls album. Laurie Wisefield would replace Ted to continue the twin-lead legacy of WA and to usher a different but another nice era for the band. Martin's voice shows sings of wear and aging although the melody and the singing spirit is very much there. There are gems from the album, "Everybody needs a friend", `Ballad of the Beacon", "Sorrel" and "Sing out the Song". Good music on "So Many things to say" and "Rock and Roll Widow" but the familiar twin-lead guitar attack and harmony is diminished. Besides, most of the songs are slow and long and can wear you down. Album cover is a disappointment. Certainly not an attractive cover for the album with the band looking like a bunch of puny kids.

Wishbone Four, a must for the ardent fan. Wouldn't recommend for the first timer.

Obviously this album is nothing like the previous 3. I believe they knew going in it was going to be the last with Ted. No matter what these guys play you can count on it being better than good, they are that talented. They are not just top notch players, they understand the theory behind it all. The music seems to me to have a slower tempo after the first couple of songs than the previous three albums, and does not seem to me to have the English folk theme except Sorrel. There is however no shortage of quality. Pay attention to Martin's bass part on Sorrel and you'll get an idea of why this band was so good. This band was extremely popular at this point and I also believe they were on the verge of becoming almost or as well known as bands like the Stones or even the Beatles. Another professional singer may have helped this band reach that level of popularity. Thanks allot Lou.... Sincerely, Fly'n George

Wishbone Ash came out of England and brought a fresh new sound to the U.S. This album, their fourth, is the best yet. They rock out when needed and go little into the art rock area that so many British bands were doing at the time. Songs like "ballad Of The Beacon", "No Easy Road", and "Rock And Roll Widow" are some of the finiest tunes released in the early part of the 70's. They aren't the most talented band, but, the most talented bands also don't make the best music. These guys have a duel guitar attack that will flat out floor you. And they can also sing. Check this C.D. out...I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

There seems to a major dicovery/re-discovery of 1970s music among today's 15-25 year olds. Many of them tell me they consider most of today's new music to be total rubbish (no argument from me on that point) and that they consider 1970s music to far superior to today's new releases.

I grew up in the 1970s and I now find myself being repeatedly asked by my friends' teenaged sons and their friends for recommendations of 1970s bands they're not familiar with. They all know about Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and other major acts but they're totally unfamiliar with many of the lesser known 1970s bands.

To help them and others who are discovering/rediscovering 1970s music I'll start posting reviews of albums by some of these less well known 1970s bands whose music I think is worth the attention of a new generation of listeners.

Wishbone Ash is one such lesser known 1970s band. Great guitar band.

This is my favorite Wishbone Ash album. It's probably their most commercial release. I know the word "commercial" in a review is probably the kiss of death for the review's credibility but by "commercial" I mean this album had the widest audience appeal of Wishbone's releases. Wishbone Ash was known as a progressive or "prog-rock" band and tended to have a smaller but very dedicated fan base; this album seemed to find a wider audience outside Wishbone's usual fans.

It deserves a wider audience. Great album. Great guitar work. Highly recommended if you're exploring lesser known 1970s bands.

Something happened here, and we're not entirely sure what.

This album should be good. We want it to be good. But it is only fair. Some will say that is because Andy Powell was overly controling. Maybe so. Don't know. Don't care.

Okay, we all go through ups and downs, creatively. This is a bit more down than up in that sense. But the performances are still high quality level. But if the songs themselves suffer from 'too soon' completion, which is to say that it might have needed more work, then it doesn't matter how well you play them.

Sometimes it just doesn't work.

I cant understand the reason for the negative reviews this album is getting.I own this album and can confidently rate this as one of their very best after ARGUS and their brilliant debut album.this album contains such fine tracks as SO MANY THINGS TO SAY,BALLAD OF THE BEACON,SORREL and the amazing EVERYBODY NEEDS A FRIEND.Every classic rock fan should own all these three albums.Very highly recommended.

Listening to Wishbone Four after completely having forgotten about it for nearly 25 years, I discovered my long-held suspicions were confirmed: Wishbone Ash exemplifies the archetypical boogie band portrayed in Cameron Crowe's infamously hilarious "Almost Famous." In other words, Wishbone Four is so thoroughly Seventies that it's amazing the album has escaped public notice for as long as it has. Aside from the dated production value--sadly, the album hasn't been re-mastered, an oversight that results in a muted, sometimes muddy sound--Wishbone Four is practically a primer for what actually occurred in "hard rock" during an era most tend to associate with its arch nemisis: disco.

Many songs in Wishbone Four seem precursors to sounds honed by latter groups like Bad Company, Foreigner and Bob Seeger's Silver Bullet Band. There are also similarities to the Grateful Dead, early Fleetwood Mac and even King Crimson to be heard in Wishbone's first of several failed attempts to become a singles band. Unlike Wishbone's previous three recordings, songs are shorter and often catchier as well. But this attempt to shift from extended improvizations to rifs filled with hooks doubtless contributes to a number of problems that force listeners to focus on Wishbone's uneven songwriting rather than exquisite musicianship, its primary advantage. Gone are the long-winded wendings through dreamy instrumental soundscapes, and unfortunately the outcome also forces listeners to compare Wishbone with groups known for sharper songwriting.

Some listeners may decide that Wishbone Four seems dated, and in some ways it's true. Wishbone Ash was so influential during its early-Seventies reign that details like the structure of guitar solos, the outcome of various distortion techniques and vocal inflections that have next to nothing to do with emulating black singing create the illusion that this is something you've heard before. Most likely, however, Wishbone Ash--always known in its heyday as a trend-setter and experimenter--was the first group to employ these tactics.

Gawd! This is a miserable CD. My album sounds so much better than this muted, muffled piece of junk. The songs are mediocre except for Sorrel, which is worth the price of the album.

I saw them in concert when this album was released and they were incredible. This album has been in my collection since then and I know every note on it. This CD is an abomination. Get the LP. Record it into your computer, clean it up and burn it to a CD. Don't waste your money on this awful junk.