The guitar twosome and the "living" bass have developed. ("living" bass is my definition for a bass guitar that’s not just thumping the basic notes all the time. In other words a bass player that cannot be replaced by a computer program)
One of the few cover songs Wishbone Ash has made. Martin’s scat singing is awesome.
In the late 90's I bought a CD containing two live albums by Brother Jack McDuff (the composer of Vas Dis). It's interesting to hear the rearrangement made by Wishbone Ash. Great stuff!
A very peaceful start that displays Ted’s first attempts for slide-guitar playing. The main part is in 7/4 and "swings like a monster" as a Finnish rock-poet says. Here’s a funny finale: it stops and starts once again.
An interesting song. When I heard this the first time I thought this was a collection of some old rock’n roll riffs (the riffs sound familiar but aren’t rip-off’s; the familiarity is a sign of an "evergreen"). After a while you notice it’s worked itself inside your head and you’re listening to the guitar battles and enjoy wholeheartedly. This is built on traditions but refined for Wishbone Ash use. The finale is one of the most dramatic ones.
Is there any group that makes anything similar to this anymore? Playing their instruments so that my hair stands on end. Earlier I thought that this beautiful instrumental has been a pure jam session, but I’ve later on learnt that Martin had lyrics and a melody for this too, but it was published as an instrumental.
Where’s Steve? This is an instrumental with no drums so you can imagine how peaceful it is. I wish someone could still produce songs with a "living bass" like this.
3-voice harmony as in Errors Of My Way on the first album. The guitar sounds are "pure" and they suit perfectly this quiet song.
I don’t know who decided to use a live version of this song instead of the studio version (the studio version was published in Time Was The Wishbone Ash collection in 1993). The decision helped me in visualizing how a Wishbone Ash concert would be, so thank you whoever made the decision. There’s nothing wrong with the studio version - now that I’ve heard it - but the live version gives a view of Wishbone Ash’s live energy and how they "control" the audience.
Wish I’d be there yesterday...
This live version is from August 1972. There’s plenty more of live versions of Jail Bait. It’s one of the three songs from the first two albums that survived through the years (the others: Lady Whiskey and Phoenix). It proves the popularity of this song.
Written by: Rainer Frilund - Last update: Jul, 2004