None at the moment.
"Time for a move" said Martin according to USASH issue #4, Tune talk -article. All three first albums were made in the same studio with the same producer and the same engineer. Therefore they "went to enjoy the country thing" (Andy Powell in "From The Archives I" CD) and worked on the material for Wishbone four there. The production for the new album was done by Wishbone Ash.
All these changes were irrelevant by the time I got this album. As I’ve written in my "Fan story" on my homepage, this was the first Wishbone Ash album I owned. All the material before this was recorded from the radio. Nothing could disturb the enjoyment of listening to my very own Wishbone Ash album.
Some aggressive singing here, as the story requires that the singer is "angry". This song is often in my top ten list as it brings back the memories of the first time I played this song. I still marvel the timing in the solos around the middle of the song. The earlier radio recordings just made me like the group but after this I was totally addicted. I set my sights on collecting all Wishbone Ash albums there was.
This song was played in the Finnish national radio and made me aware of this new album. I remember reading in a Finnish rock magazine that this song is a joke. This gave me problems because I didn’t get the joke and thought the reason was my poor skills in English. Over twenty years later I still "can’t find the joke", but I’ve learned the song title was the joke (explained by Andy Powell on "From The Archives I" CD).
The same "From The Archives I" CD made me aware of one more thing: Ted’s quiet solo in the middle is a built up "rerun" of a solo used in the never officially published song: "L.A. Blues".
First released as a single but this is an all new version with the use of brass instruments (first time ever in Wishbone Ash’s music). The piano isn’t heard for the first time, but it fits in just as well as the brass. This song reappears later on in "Live Dates II" and the arrangement is all new once again.
More piano and keyboards in this song. The whole song has a totally different view of relations compared to "So Many Things To Say". The title says it all. I remember reading in USASH magazine that one fan played this acoustically in a wedding. Not a bad idea at all!
My younger brother Kaj thinks "Wishbone Four" is the best Wishbone Ash album. "Doctor" is his favorite song, if I’ve understood him correctly (=he sings it more often than the others). At first I thought this song was the "joke" the Finnish rock magazine wrote about. The mix-up with "Ballad of the Beacon" was supposedly some kind of a mistake made by the Finnish reporter.
Later on I grasped the lyrics more clearly and found the grim part of the song. It all was confirmed as I read Martin telling it was "based on a fact" in USASH issue #4 Tune talk. The "dueling guitar" solo in this song is hilarious, so the whole song is not is not as grim as the lyrics.
A very melodic beginning with guitars. They build the atmosphere of this song. Again some facts can be gathered from USASH issue #4 Tune talk. There Martin explains this is a personified story of a plant he had in his garden. It's a sad but nice story and includes some tasteful guitarplaying.
Somebody wrote this an uncharacteristic Wishbone track. Hmm, I never thought of this song that way before. Maybe there’s not that much of "Wishbone-interplay" between instruments in this song than in many others. I’ve still always liked the peaceful "old days" feeling and lyrics in this song.
I can’t find my source anymore! I’ve always had the impression that "the guy who sold the dogs" was black and the shooter(s) were/was white. None of the articles I can find now confirm my belief; they’re just stories about a guy selling hot dogs getting shot during a Wishbone Ash gig. Racial problems or not, I can’t understand why someone has to be shot ‘cause he has no/wrong hot dogs.
Something about the music too, not just Steve’s lyrics: Ted’s steels guitar "cries" perfectly in the mood of the song.
Written by: Rainer Frilund - Last update: Oct, 1998