Wishbone Ash: Andy Powell Talks New Album In New Interview

Wishbone Ash have created an album that stands easily amongst the best they have ever made. Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited recently sat down with Andy Powell to talk about «Elegant Stealth». Read excerpts below:

Jeb: Classic Rock Revisited has been around since 1999 and I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have interviewed you. I feel terrible we have not shown you more support but I am so glad I am talking to you know because the new album is fantastic.

Andy: That’s okay, we appreciate it. I have seen the site; it is great.


Jeb: Thank you. I love the new album. This is some good shit!


Andy: That’s really great, man, you’ve made my day.


Jeb: It is not a throwback to the old sound but, Andy, there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of guitar solos.


Andy: On this one, we’ve paid attention to what the fans are saying. We are a live act and we open up in a live arena and we extend things a bit. We decided that we should do that on the record as well. We let it roll; there is nothing too contrived with the guitar solos, it is from the hip.


Jeb: Let’s talk about some of the new songs. I really enjoy “Reason to Believe.” You have the twin leads on there that I never get tired of hearing.


Andy: I wouldn’t be still doing this if it didn’t still excite me. When we first hit upon the twin lead thing it was instant ear candy and it has remained that way. We try to vary the ways we use it. Sometimes we integrate the harmony deeper within the structure of the songs than we used to when we first started out; it is a little more sophisticated.


A couple of years ago, we started some writing sessions in an old manor house in Normandy, France. We videoed the actual writing sessions like a fly on the wall type of thing.


Jeb: Are you talking about the DVD?


Andy: Yes, I am glad you’ve seen it. You can see that “Reason to Believe” started out as a bit of a jam on the DVD. Bob Skeat, our bass player, who is not a person who has come up with many lyrics for the band, although he is an integral part of the writing process, came up with that line, “Reason to Believe.” To me, that sums up who we are as a band. We play all over the place and it takes a lot of faith to do this. That statement sums it all up for us. A dear friend of mine, Ian Harris, wrote the lyrics. It is a really good opener for the album, as it is very upbeat.


Jeb: The one that follows it isn’t too shabby. Lyrically “War of Tears” is pretty deep.


Andy: All of the songs come from a real experience. That one comes from the heart and is triggered from real life. I put that one second on the album because the solos on that one, as you say, ain’t too shabby [laughter.] When Wishbone Ash gets going we really fly. That track, the guitar soloing, we go back and forth and it really flies. We captured it nicely on the recording.

Read the entire interview on this location.