New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Classic and Progressive Rock

Wishbone Ash Number the Brave Review.

Wishbone Ash Number the BraveAfter being generally unavailable on CD for years (unless willing to my daft money) – Number the Brave has been re-issued at a normal price. Hurrah!

Why Hurrah? OK – speaking as a long-time fan, for me this was the last “proper” Wishbone Ash album. Sure – arguably they’d started to fall apart a bit with the controversial banishing of Martin Turner. For Number the Brave, John Wetton arrived – and it would be a short stay for him.

So what about the album? It’s something of an under-rated effort which is worthy of higher praise. Arguably more of a “straight ahead” rock style than their previous work yet the melody, hooks and signature guitar work remains in place.

Loaded is a nice start. Monster chorus. Where is the Love not too dissimilar with a punchy beat as it throbs along. Then we have the beautiful, haunting Underground a proper stand-out cut. Chilled out with a “jingle-jangle” type of guitar. Top stuff.

In Kicks on the Street, Open Road and Rainstorm we have a tasty trio of catchy tunes well delivered and understated (yet effective) lead breaks before the album starts to draw to a close.

And what a close-out. Wetton’s sole writing credit is That’s That. Short, tight, bass-driven, no messing about. Roller Coaster has a bit of a funky feel to it – then it’s the title track, Number the Brave.

A real “classic” Ash song. Wetton’s complex bass lines are all over it as is the famed twin guitar interplay with Andy Powell and Laurie Wisefield putting in some memorable licks to boot. Wunderbar. Have a listen.

Hearing Number the Brave again after many, many years is a proper treat. And as I mentioned earlier in this post, it’s arguably the last “proper” Wishbone Ash album. Wetton left and the band sort of went NWOBHM (which was at its zenith at the time) afterwards with Twin Barrels Burning and Raw to the Bone.

Sure, Number the Brave is no Argus – though it’s more than a worthy effort from a band starting what we’ll call a transitional period. Check it out.

>> WISHBONE ASH NUMBER THE BRAVE ON AMAZON HERE <<

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