Martin Turner - Tavistock Review

The Wharf in Tavistock is easily the music venue that I have visited the most in my life. It was home to the very first gig that I went to back in 2006 and, despite catching bands in some of the biggest rooms and stadiums in the country, it is somewhere that I regularly return to. We are lucky in Devon to have a venue like The Wharf. The fact that I have been to it more often than to any of the Plymouth venues past and present should give a clue as to both its longevity and its pulling power. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it is not a place that I have visited that regularly over the past couple of years. I saw a somewhat disappointing performance from John Coghlan's Quo there last August, but before that my previous visit to the venue was in 2019. I have quite a few trips pencilled in for this year, however, and I am looking forward to getting back to The Wharf more regularly - as nights out there are always excellent. Last night was my first trip to the venue of the year, and it was to catch Martin Turner and his band. Turner was one of the founding members of the British rock band Wishbone Ash, who launched proper with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1970. Whilst the band never achieved the fame of some of their contemporaries (Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, etc.), they were a huge influence on many bands who followed on their wake. The dual lead guitar approach brought to the masses by bands like Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden can be traced back to Wishbone Ash, and the band's varied sound made them hard to pigeonhole. Wishbone Ash have gone through many different line-ups over the years, and Turner has not been in the band since the mid-1990s, but he was there all throughout their run of classic albums during the 1970s. He was also a big creative force in the band, as well as one of their main vocalists - contributing to their trademark vocal harmonies. Despite no longer being a member of Wishbone Ash, Turner continues to tour regularly - with setlists that usually focus around the classic Wishbone Ash material of the 1970s. He has released two solos albums: 1996's Walking the Reeperbahn and 2015's Written in the Stars; but live he tends to focus on his career with Wishbone Ash. Turner's shows this year will focus on two of the band's classic albums: 1972's Argus and 1973's Wishbone Four; with the Tavistock show seeing the debut of this new setlist. 2022 is Argus' 50th birthday, so playing it in full made sense (despite this not exactly being a novel concept for Turner); whilst the addition of a full performance of Wishbone Four allowed the spotlight to be shone on a few lesser-played songs from the Wishbone Ash oeuvre. Joining Turner (vocals/bass guitar) on this tour were his regular bandmates Danny Willson (vocals/guitar), Misha Nikolic (guitar/vocals), and Tim Brown (drums/vocals) - who have been playing together for a number of years at this point.

The evening was essentially split into three parts: Argus, Wishbone Four, and an extended encore that featured other Wishbone Ash material. Neither Argus nor Wishbone Four were played in their respective original running orders, but both sets featured all of the songs from each. Argus was played first, with the band opening with the lengthy Time Was to warm applause. I have seen The Wharf fuller, but I have also been there surrounded by far fewer people. It was a shame that a few more had not turned up, but the crowd was enthusiastic throughout and made itself heard. The relatively low turnout did not seem to affect the band, however, who looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage - and there was plenty of banter back and forth between Turner and various audience members. Turner and Willson were the main singers throughout the evening, although Brown also sung a lot of harmony vocals from behind his drum kit. Turner generally sang the solo lead vocal parts, although there were a few songs that Willson took the lead on. Willson also handled the lion's share of the guitar solos, and much of my time was spent watching him sink his teeth into them. Nikolic is no slouch, however, and also impressed when he was called upon to solo - but generally he handled the rhythm and acoustic guitar parts, adding the necessary depth to the Wishbone Ash sound. Argus is easily the Wishbone Ash album that I am the most familiar with, so hearing it in full was a treat. The aforementioned Time Was kicked the show off in fine fashion, with the breezier Sometime World also impressing with its floating chord sequences and wordless vocal harmonies. Blowin' Free, for whatever reason, was moved to the end of set, so The King Will Come followed Sometime World. The harder rocking track has always been one of my favourite Wishbone Ash songs, and its soaring guitar leads showcase why the band became as influential as they did. The song was a real showcase for Willson's playing, and it was one of the highlights of the night for me as a result. Leaf and Stream slowed things down, with Nikolic playing a delicate solo, before the rousing closing one-two punch of Argus wheeled into view with the tougher Warrior and the majestic Thrown Down the Sword. As mentioned previously, the bouncy Blowin' Free closed out the first portion of the night. It acted as the album's 'catchy single', and as such saw plenty of singing from the crowd as the first set came to a close.

Following a short break, Turner and his band returned to the stage for the Wishbone Four set. Whilst many of the Argus songs are setlists staples for him, I get the impression that a number of the Wishbone Four songs are not regular features of his shows. Wishbone Four is a much more musically diverse album than Argus too, which meant that the second set of the night covered a bit more ground than the first. The band kicked off with the bluesy rock of So Many Things to Say and the more folky Ballad of the Beacon - two songs which showcased the diversity of the Wishbone Four album from the off. The lengthy Everybody Needs a Friend, which Turner wrote after the death of his first wife's mother, followed; with the more whimsical Sorrel coming next after a story from Turner revolving around gardening. The gentle Sing Out the Song was then played, which Turner stated was the first ever time that the song had been played live by himself - or any Wishbone Ash incarnation past and present. It had a very different feel from the rest of the set, with a prominent acoustic guitar backing and some atmospheric slide guitar from Willson which had something of a ebow-esque quality to it. It was another stand out track thanks to this rather drastic change of pace; and it provided a bit of respite before the set's closing three rockers. No Easy Road returned to the bluesy rock of the set's opening cut, before another highlight in Rock 'n Roll Widow was wheeled out. Willson sang the song, and handled the excellent slide guitar lines throughout. It was another song with something of a bluesy vibe, but it was also somewhat more atmospheric - with a slightly downbeat groove. It was left to the more upbeat rocking strut of Doctor to close out the main set - which again saw plenty of singing from the crowd. The band left the stage at this point, but came back after only a brief break for a four-song encore. A couple of songs from the late 1970s Wishbone Ash albums were played alongside a couple of early favourites; with the melodic You See Red kicking off this part of the night. The boogie blues of Blind Eye followed, before the lengthy Living Proof became the highlight of this part of the night for me. It was packed full of soloing, as well as plenty of memorable riffs that had much more of a harder rocking vibe than is typical for Wishbone Ash. It was left to the old favourite Jail Bait to close out the night, which again returned to the boogie blues sound that Wishbone Ash often toyed with in the early 1970s. The band then took their bows to a strong reception from the crowd, and it was clear that everyone in attendance had had a great time - including the band. The setlist was (N.B. all of the songs below are Wishbone Ash songs):

Time Was

Sometime World

The King Will Come

Leaf and Stream

Warrior

Throw Down the Sword

Blowin' Free

-

So Many Things to Say

Ballad of the Beacon

Everybody Needs a Friend

Sorrel

Sing Out the Song

No Easy Road

Rock 'n Roll Widow

Doctor

-

You See Red

Blind Eye

Living Proof

Jail Bait

Despite being aware of Wishbone Ash for a number of years, and seeing bits of sets by both the band and Turner at various festivals, it is only really over the past year or so that I have really started to listen to their albums properly. Argus is fast becoming a real favourite, but a few of their other albums have also been played pretty regularly in my house of late. I have a lot more discovering to do, but seeing Turner and his band live has certainly convinced me that I need to make much more of an effort with the Wishbone Ash catalogue - and I intend to start making my way through the pile of LPs of theirs that I have amassed over the years.