''Wishbone Ash'' is the first studio album by

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British Rock music, rock band who achieved success in the early to mid-1970s. Their albums include ''Wishbone Ash (album), Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage (Wishbone Ash album), Pilgrimage'' (1971), ''Argus (album), Argu ...

. It peaked at number 29 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

in January 1971.

Background

The band opened for

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

in early 1970. Deep Purple guitarist

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

was jamming during the band's soundcheck, when Wishbone guitarist Andy Powell joined in and began jamming with Blackmore. After the show, Blackmore recommended that

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

sign the band. Deep Purple producer

Derek Lawrence Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an English record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Flash, Machiavel, Wishbone Ash, and the Randy Rhoads era of Quiet Riot. Lawrence came in con ...

produced this album, which features elements of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

.. The first side contains three uptempo tracks along with the ballad "Errors Of My Way" which, unusually for a rock song, was written in 12/8 time. Side two contains two lengthy tracks featuring long instrumental passages, the second of which, "Phoenix", was to become a live favourite often stretching in excess of 17 minutes, for example on their Live From Memphis EP and the Live Dates album.

Track listing

"Blind Eye" and "Queen of Torture" were released on 7" single, MCA MK5061 (Decca 32826 in US) (February 1971)

Personnel

;Wishbone Ash * Andy Powell - lead guitar, vocals *

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

- lead guitar, vocals *

Martin Turner Martin Robert Turner (born 1 October 1947) is an English musician best known for his time as the bass guitarist, lead vocalist and a founding member of the rock band, Wishbone Ash. Career Turner was with Wishbone Ash from their inception in ...

- bass, vocals * Steve Upton - drums ;Guest appearance: * Matthew Fisher - piano

Charts

References

{{Authority control Wishbone Ash albums Albums produced by Derek Lawrence MCA Records albums 1970 debut albums Decca Records albums