HARD TO FIND BUT WORTH THE WAIT
Kevin Cook | El Paso, Texas | 07/22/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"CD QUALITY BOOTLEG RECORDED IN 1976. THE BAND AT THIER PRIME, AWESOME SONG SELECTION AND A RED HOT PREFORMANCE. NO OTHER BAND MATCHED THE GUITAR INTERACTION OF THE POWELL AND WISEFIELD COMBINATION."
Their best album?
eurocrank | Ketchikan, Alaska | 04/22/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The cover is ridiculous, the legitimacy questionable, and the recording information nonexistent, but the song selection and performance are the band at its best. I prefer it to all of their other live albums, legit or otherwise, and probably play it the most of their albums.
I have another version of the album, "Runaway" (on K-Point Gold), and as far as I know neither provides a recording date or location. According to "The Illustrated Collector's Guide to Wishbone Ash" by Andy Powell, all tracks but the first were recorded at Liverpool Empire in 1976 ('Helpless' was recorded in 1980) by the M. Turner - L. Wisefield lineup. The recording quality is superb: up front, clear, raw.
In my opinion, Wisefield never sounded more focused or passionate. He plays a lot of notes, but all of them make sense. Each cut sounds tremendously vital, with the exception of "Persephone" and "Time Was." The former gets a fade edit less than four minutes into the (normally seven-plus minute) song, while the latter has been done as well or better on other of their live albums.
Highlights: easily the best version of "Warrior," and "Rest in Peace" suddenly becomes a great song (from the Americanized-sounding 'Locked In' album). Many of the other songs appear live only on this album; the 'New England' tracks are especially good.
For me, this is the best 'Best Of' of this band, even though I like the M. Turner - T. Turner version of the band as much as the L. Wisefield version. A remarkable album overall, especially given the dubious source."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1