Wishbone Ash
Live From California to Kawasaki
(Talking Elephant)
⭑⭑⭑

WISHBONE ASH seem to have fallen prey to much more than their fair share of internecine strife since their formation long long ago in 1969, succumbing to a string of line-up changes over the years before the inevitable conclusion came and they separated into two entirely different outfits fronted by founder members Andy Powell and Martin Turner, with the latter losing his right to use the band’s name in a legal case in 2013.  

This splendid two-CD set captures the Powell band’s Sacramento and Kawasaki shows from 2018 and 2019 respectively, with newly recruited guitarist and diehard Ash fan Mark Abrahams rising to the challenge superbly as they regale listeners with stylish renditions of perennial crowd-pleasers from their golden era  half a century or so ago such as Phoenix, Throw Down The Sword and Blind Eye.

 
Phililp Goodhand-Tait
Gone Are The Songs of Yesterday:The Complete Recordings  (1970-1973)
(Cherry Red)
⭑⭑⭑

The latest fascinating four-CD retrospective from Cherry Red shines a welcome spotlight on the quartet of album releases that Hull born singer-songwriter Phillip Goodhand-Tait recorded for DJM Records after signing for the label alongside fellow tunesmith Elton John.

The latter’s meteoric rise to fame has already been well documented but Goodhand-Tait remains a fairly shadowy figure as far as the vast majority of the general public is concerned, although he did pen a string of memorable hit singles for teen idols Love Affair, during their heyday in the late 1960s, most notably Bringing On Back The Good Times and A Day Without Love.

Goodhand-Tait’s own recorded output also repays closer investigation as he serves up a generous helping of self-penned gems alongside affectionate covers of Buddy Holly’s Everyday and the Everly Brothers’ When Will I Be Loved.

Ian A Anderson
Please Re-Adjust Your Time: The Early Blues & Psych-Folk Years (1967-1972)
(Cherry Red)
⭑⭑⭑

This splendid four-CD set focuses attention on the early recorded output of Somerset-born folk and blues practitioner Ian A Anderson. (He added the middle initial to his name at a later date in an attempt to avoid the inevitable confusions over identity with his flute-wielding contemporary Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame.)

Please Re-Adjust Your Time brings together the three solo albums that Ian recorded for the excellent Village Thing label during the early 1970s alongside some hitherto unreleased bonus tracks and a generous helping of archive gems from his days with Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band.

The results should supply a rich treasure trove of unadorned pleasure for roots music enthusiasts everywhere, including some fine early examples of the genre which now tends to be labelled psychedelic or acid folk.