Prog-Rock Stalwarts Wishbone Ash Will Play From Their Landmark Album In Chicago Monday

By Casey Moffitt in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 11, 2015 6:55PM

photo courtesy of Wishbone Ash

Prog-rock stalwarts Wishbone Ash are making their way to Reggie's Music Joint Monday night to perform their critically acclaimed album, Argus, in its entirety.

Argus was a revelation when it was unleashed in 1972. Wishbone Ash had been turning a few heads with their unusual twin guitar leads with cool harmonies on two previous studio efforts and a hard touring schedule. But it was Argus that put them on the map, and the album still is considered a landmark in prog-rock circles.

We caught up with Wishbone Ash co-founder Andy Powell to talk about Argus, its endurance, and the upcoming show.

"As soon as we we finished it we knew we that this was a really good album," Powell said. "There's no cynicism about it, and I think that's why it still stands up today."

Powell explained Wishbone Ash was looking to beef up its sound when it recorded Argus becasue the band was finding some success and coming into its own.

"At the time, we were coming to the States and we were playing larger venues," Powell said. "The music we had been writing before really was designed to be heard in small clubs. We felt we needed music that was better for large venues. We also wanted to keep it English in identity and I think we did it rather successfully."

Argus contains a loose concept throughout the seven songs, dealing with emotional struggle, a battle for freedom and what it all means when that battle is over. Powell said the band didn't set out to write a concept album when making Argus.

"It kind of became a concept album by default as we realized the themes we were exploring through all the songs; themes of love, symbols of emotional distress," he said. "Particularly from an American sense, it was the start of the end of a draining war—much like a period now—and war was the focus and the dialogue. This was coupled with the Baby Boomer generation that was coming of age, and that generation was starting to dictate culture. There was a need for music to go along with this. There was a need for a soundtrack. We just kind of fit into the zeitgeist."

"You don't do things on your own," continued Powell. "Time can propel you to greatness, and I'm fortunate to have been born into those times."

The songs on Argus are also masterfully crafted, drawing from a variety of influences.

"We were trying to marry a lot of our own experiences," Powell said. "We had toured the U.S. and got to grips with that in our early 20s, so we were reconciling two different aspects. The first side is heavily influenced by the blues and the feelings we got in America. The second side with the trilogy of 'The King Will Come,' 'Warrior,' and 'Throw Down the Sword,' are all rooted in English church music and a lot of folk influences."

"So the first side is all these American influences that we had just acquired firsthand, and the second side is music that we grew up with," Powell continued. "There was a feeling of bringing it all together. It was a real confluence of life, music, turmoil."

The songs also are recorded rather sparsely. Powell explained Argus was recorded to an eight-track board, which didn't allow the band to add layer after layer of sound onto each track. So while it's easy to hear all the parts being played and how they fit together, Argus still has a full sound.

"We really were thinking about structure, how the bass lines cut across the guitar lines. Things like that," Powell said. "It's like a classical approach. You know how you can take a string quartet and make it sound like eight pieces. With the guitar harmonies, the bass is still hanging on the root, it creates an emotional tension. Bach used that technique. It creates an instrumental impact using simple elements, and that gives the album some heft."

Powell still talks about Argus with a certain sense of excitement, even after all this time. It's as if he still has a sense of wonderment about the album. Whether it's nostalgic in nature, a sense of pride, or disbelief that people still love the album after all these decades is hard to determine.

"It's an album that almost wrote itself and I treat with respect," Powell said. "I get the same tingle in my spine when I play those songs, although I've played them so many times."

Chicago is the only stop on this 50-plus date tour in which Wishbone Ash will perform Argus. The band toured with it last year, but didn't make a stop in Chicago.

"Folks really wanted to hear it, so we resurrected it for the Chicago show," Powell said. "It was actually requested of us and we figured, why not?"

Powell said the performance of Argus will be just one part of the two-hour set the band has cooked up, which also will include songs from their entire career, which includes a total of 24 albums.

Wishbone Ash performs on Monday, Sept. 14, at Reggie's Music Joint, 2105 S. State Street, 7 p.m., $35, 21 +