Sunday, January 7, 2018

Wishbone Ash - There's the Rub (1974 uk, blazing solid guitar rock, 2013 SHM remaster)



Martin Turner's memories:
"We spent the months of August/September 1974 at Criteria Studios in Miami, recording There’s The Rub with producer Bill Szymczyk. This would be our first experience of working at an America studio with an American producer. Likewise it would be Bill Szymczyk’s first experience of recording a British band.

Bill had worked with a host of US artists – Joe Walsh, The James Gang, Eagles, J.Geils Band, etc – but was looking to record with a British band. He wanted to record with The Who. They were on the top of his list, but weren’t ready to record at that point. We were also on his list and were contacted via Miles Copeland. I think Bill was intrigued to find out how British guitar bands went about recording guitars. Likewise, we were just as keen to experience working in a top American studio with a successful American producer. It was an equal trade-off.

When we first arrived in Miami, Bill was a bit taken aback to find that the line-up had changed. Bill was expecting Ted to be with us and was a little surprised when we turned up with this new chap, Laurie Wisefield. But everyone got to know each other and everything went pretty well. We respected Bill’s experience and the success he had achieved and were keen to learn from him. There were, however, occasional differences of opinion, particularly between Bill and myself as to how my bass should sound. He wanted something that was much more orthodox – like the Eagles. My reaction to that was “No, mate, that’s not what I do. I play my bass guitar through a guitar amp – it distorts, growls and sounds generally nasty.” Bill was fairly amused at my concept of a bass sound, but we worked together and eventually agreed to meet in the middle and reached a compromise. 

There’s the Rub attracted pretty respectable reviews from the music press, which was encouraging given the negative comments that had been made about Wishbone Four. However, I was never really affected by the press reviews. What was more important to me is what the people buying the albums thought. For Wishbone Ash fans at the time There’s the Rub was fresh, new and interesting. It had a different sound to previous albums. Laurie’s input was very exciting, and the American era of Wishbone Ash had begun. Most of the press feedback we received at the time was very positive and to this day many fans consider it one of our strongest albums."
Tracks
1. Silver Shoes - 6:40
2. Don't Come Back - 5:10
3. Persephone - 7:01
4. Hometown - 4:49
5. Lady Jay - 5:58
6. F.U.B.B. - 9:28
All compositions by Martin Turner, Andy Powell, Laurie Wisefield, Steve Upton

The Wishbone Ash
*Martin Turner - Bass, Lead Vocals
*Andy Powell - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Backing Vocals, Mandolin
*Laurie Wisefield - Acoustic, Electric, Steel Guitars, Backing Vocals, Banjo
*Steve Upton - Drums, Percussion
Additional Musicians
*Albhy Galuten - Organ, Synthesizers
*Nelson Flaco Padron - Congas

1970  Wishbone Ash - First Light (2007 release) 
1972-2001  Wishbone Ash - Tracks (2001 double disc release) 
1972  Wishbone Ash - Argus (2013 SHM remaster) 

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2 comments:

  1. Thanks for great 70s memories M!

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  2. I bought There's the Rub in 1976- I was 11 years old! but, having divulged myself of 'The Jackson 5', a bunch of Beatles 45's and Elton John' in the year prior, I was completely tuned in to the 70's rock sound. For me, I ingested a record in total, liner notes, sleeve pictures, lyrics. I ate all of Skynyrd, Zep, Eagles, Trower, UFO and Montrose. - Idiffered from friends who lapped up the crap that The Queen and even the Who were putting out - I was more in to the tight, crisp rock guitar rock that posed a straighter line than glam or gimmick rock. I remember, one specific jaunt to Mountain View's Tower Records picking up Hotel California, Boston's 1st, and Skynyrd's Street Survivors all in the same skate board and transit bus voyage with my buddies. Heady times for me, and a great time for rock music! Without sounding caustic, I am firmly in the camp that is basically appalled at the music scene and what is considered "hit music" today. I had previously TRIED at length and mostly succeeded in really enjoying the previous 4 records of Wishbone Ash- but let's face it, they didn't really have it in those LP's - I think the song "the Warrior" was most epic from Argus. Don't get me wrong, I liked most all of it, but it was an acquired taste, and I felt you had to let a lot go, to really "dig it". Where I feel Wisefield (and Syzmick producer) really made Rub the polished, spatial, and articulate "piece" that it is, and it holds up today. The vocal is a little thin, but Steve Upton and Martin Turner make this band really hum- they are tight firm, and any good R&B band needs that - look at Zep, the Who, even the Beatles or any bar band that rocks, you need these parts to be above the rest. They are, Martin Turner has always been one of my favorites - that is, until Chris Squire of yes changed all that. After my long-winded jabber here - I'd put it like this; There's the Rub is like that classic good book that you wish for memory fade so you can read it all over again as soon as fucking possible!

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