 Led by original member Andy Powell, a 50th anniversary new release, their first since 2014
Format: CD / Cat No: 241382 / Released: 28/02/2020
Track Listing: 1. We Stand As One / 2. Coat of Arms / 3. Empty Man / 4. Floreana / 5. Drive / 6. It's Only You I See / 7. Too Cool for AC / 8. Back in the Day / 9. Deja Vu / 10. When the Love Is Shared / 11. Personal Halloween
More information: There have been few bands with a lasting stylistic influence who continue to be active to this day and are celebrated at their shows not only for their past accomplishments but who continue to impress their fans with new albums, new songs and fresh ideas at regular intervals. Wishbone Ash certainly count among this rare species. Almost precisely fifty years ago the group surrounding guitarist/vocalist Andy Powell first caught attention with the release of their debut album Wishbone Ash (1970).
Their latest release Coat Of Arms forges an arc to all these offerings, featuring Wishbone Ash’s characteristic twin lead guitar parts, their haunting melodies and diverse stylistic facets, while at the same time imbuing the scene with a breath of fresh air.
Despite these kinds of cross-references to the group’s successful career, Coat Of Arms is anything but retrospective and succeeds over eleven songs in evenly balancing past, present and future, supported by lyrics which always broach contemporary topics.
Coat Of Arms sounds stylistically diverse and technically accomplished, yet the new album is typical of Wishbone Ash’s traditional strengths – a balancing act that is a challenge to Powell every time: “Following the countless songs that we have written throughout the history of Wishbone Ash, my own expectations are extremely high. On the one hand as a composer you try not to repeat yourself in your creative output but to come up with new ideas all the time, on the other you want to remain faithful to your style. Good songs need an inner conviction and the right inspiration. We had both when we started working on Coat Of Arms. You’d be right in describing the current line-up as the best in the history of Wishbone Ash. We all love our lives as musicians, the direct contact with our fans, travelling, the shows, our songs. It’s that commitment by everybody involved that you hear in every single note on Coat Of Arms.”
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