Artist:     Wishbone Ash

Album:     Live at Rockpalast 1976

Label:     MiG music

Release Date:     8.30.2019

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Full of youthful vim and vigor, their well-honed musical chops sharper and more refined than ever, a confident Wishbone Ash arrived at Sporthalle in Cologne, Germany, on Dec. 1, 1976, with a renewed sense of purpose. The bitter aftertaste of the uninspired Locked In, released in March of that year, had been washed away months later by the palate-cleanser New England, a welcome return to form for a pillar of British, blues-based progressive-rock that had prepared a feast of a set list for the occasion. A purge was coming, however.

Soon, Wishbone Ash and its ilk would be shoved roughly aside by punk’s blind fury and fade from relevance. Oblivious to the barbarians at the gate, the quartet of guitarist/vocalist Andy Powell, bassist/vocalist Martin Turner, guitarist Laurie Wisefield and drummer Steve Upton stood their ground with a spirited performance on the German music TV show “Rockpalast.” That rousing set is captured with pristine sonic clarity and warm definition on this archival 2CD/DVD concert package and smartly contextualized with informative liner notes, as Wishbone Ash coaxes soothing calm and beauty out of swerving, melodic fare such as the winsome “Persephone” and “Lorelei” and the mesmerizing ballad “You Rescue Me,” while journeying like seasoned guides through the shifting, rocky melodicism of the fantastical “Warrior” and “The King Will Come,” both from the 1972 tour de force Argus. Dreamy passages and pools of spellbinding mysticism are interrupted by the rugged, galvanizing hard-rock charge of “Runaway,” “Outward Bound” and “Mother of Pearl” – all three off New England and played with verve and sculpted muscle – and other classics from Argus like the nostalgic, upbeat “Time Was” and the bluesy, surging “Blowing Free” seem carefree and joyful. Their assured theatricality was evident, with clever, well-conceived guitar soloing tied in wonderfully tight knots and capable of scaling incredible heights.

Combining Turner’s supple movements with magic carpets of signature twin-guitar leads and interplay, plus Upton’s jazzy sensibilities and industry, this version of Wishbone Ash found its footing on New England. All those elements coalesce here, with the accompanying aged and glossy video documentation showcasing their often powerful and captivating onstage chemistry, even if their vocals are, on rare occasions, somewhat frail and uncertain and they briefly lose direction. The aimlessness doesn’t last long. Summoning their considerable strength and focus, they were easily able to get back on track. When they did, Wishbone Ash was quite something to behold.

—Peter Lindblad