Two of the English rock group's LPs for MCA paired together, 1976's 'New England' & 1977's 'Front Page News'. A combined total of 19 tracks, including 'Mother Of Pearl', '(In All Of My Dreams) You Rescue Me' and 'Goodb... more »ye Baby Hello Friend'. All tracks are digitally remastered from the original master tapes. Also features the original cover art of each LP and additional sleeve notes. Double slimline jewel case. 1998 release.« less
Two of the English rock group's LPs for MCA paired together, 1976's 'New England' & 1977's 'Front Page News'. A combined total of 19 tracks, including 'Mother Of Pearl', '(In All Of My Dreams) You Rescue Me' and 'Goodbye Baby Hello Friend'. All tracks are digitally remastered from the original master tapes. Also features the original cover art of each LP and additional sleeve notes. Double slimline jewel case. 1998 release.
CD Reviews
Double your pleasure...
D. Hartley | Seattle, WA USA | 04/05/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The two albums contained on this re-issue CD, "New England" and "Front Page News", represent a transitional period in the Wishbone Ash "sound". The band has largely dispensed with the semi-mystical/medieval themes by this time (1976-1977, the prog-rock slaying disco era) and moved to a more slickly produced, even poppier sound. The patented twin guitar work is still there, but is heading in a more mature and subtle direction, as opposed to the "Free Bird" style duels of the earlier albums.Standout tracks include "Lonely Island", "Front Page News" and "Come In From The Rain". Worthwhile for fans of tasty guitar work and melodic, well-arranged rock. I wish more music companies would follow BGO's lead in re-issuing back catalog in such sonically excellent "2-fer" packages--space saving for collectors and more bang for your buck!"
New fans should start here...
Jiminy Cricket | downstate NY USA | 07/07/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is 2 albums: New England (1976) and Front Page News (1977) re-issued together on a double CD. New England shows W.A. at what was perhaps their creative peak, in retrospect. It alone is worth the price of the package. Creative, great playing, great harmonies. W.A. was one of the most influential 70's British bands, but for some reason never achieved massive stardom. They had a unique style, unique harmonies. Maybe W.A. musicical style was a bit too subtle for the mass public to fully appreciate. Still enjoyable after all these years."
Great 2 disc set.
RKL | Asheville, NC | 08/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"'Front page news' is of course one of the classic albums by Wishbone Ash, definitely 70's music here(always a good thing)and all the tracks are quite good, check out the following tracks- Front page news, Goodbye baby hello friend, Come in from the rain, Heartbeat. These guys are very serious about their craft and it shows. While this remastered BGO version didn't make me stand up and say 'OH WOW!!', it is better than the companion disc 'New England' in terms of sound. 'New England' is a superb album but suffers from a veiled and muddy sound picture. In this case, get the single German import version. Their original label MCA could have given both of these discs a proper remastering but ironically chose not to. This is as good as it will get for now."
New England is awesome
Jeff Peterson | Elk Grove Village, IL USA | 08/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm giving this 5 stars on the strength of New England alone. It is quite simply one of my all time favorite albums, from start to finish. It can rock your balls off one minute a seduce you with a subtle sweetness the next. Some of the harmony guitars here are extraordinarily beautiful, flowing like a breeze. Martin Turner's voice is as good as it's ever been and his bass playing evolved into a rocking funk thing I've never heard before! Out of all the great WA albums this is the one where friends of all ages and musical leanings seem to favor, it is just that musical."
Wishbone Ash - Trying To Find A Direction
Steven Sly | Kalamazoo, MI United States | 07/15/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Like a lot of Wishbone Ash's albums from this era I find a mix of pretty good songs and a few real clunkers. In many ways the band often seemed to be in search of a direction and "Front Page News" is a prime example of this. The music is all over the place with ballads, bluesy numbers, rockers, singer / songwriter type stuff and even some 70's style dance groves. Some of the better tracks include the title track, "Surface To Air", "714", "Come In From The Rain" and the catchy "Diamond Jack". There are also some real duds like "Heart Beat". It just seems like a strange mix to me, and I find this with several of their albums. Like "New England" and "Four" there is quite a bit to like here, but I would not say it is an essential album."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1