On the menu for Saturday morning: British hard rock/progressive band Wishbone Ash’s 1972 classic album Argus, then Moontan from the Dutch group Golden Earring, the 1973 record famous for its hit single Radar Love, just one of the consistently satisfying songs on a terrific front-to-back album of hard rock with a sometimes progressive edge. I close with AC/DC’s 5-song EP ’74 Jailbreak. Song clips follow my album-by-album commentary.
Wishbone Ash – Argus
Wishbone Ash, according to the allmusic website and I concur, balances hard rock edge and prog-rock ambition complete with twin lead guitars. I quote: “Wishbone Ash can be considered a group who dabbled in the main strains of early-’70s British rock without ever settling on one (were they a prog rock outfit like Yes, a space rock unit like Pink Floyd, a heavy ensemble like Led Zeppelin, or just a boogie band like Ten Years After?).” Yes, they were all of that, and excellent as a result, although I bristle at the reference to Ten Years After, among my favorite bands, as ‘just’ a boogie band. It’s a poor assessment of TYA who yes, were a boogie band but also much more – blues rock, hard rock, etc. so as not to be pigeonholed. As for Wishbone Ash, I would recommend the Argus album as an entry point, and also the fine Time Was double disc CD compilation which contains most of Argus and the fine self-titled 1970 debut record including key tracks Errors Of My Way and Phoenix. All are available as physical copies and also on YouTube and streaming services. Argus song list below.
1. Time Was
2. Sometime World
3. Blowin’ Free
4. The King Will Come
5. Leaf And Stream
6. Warrior
7. Throw Down The Sword
Golden Earring – Moontan (UK/US/North America track listing)
1. Radar Love
2. Candy’s Going Bad
3. Vanilla Queen
4. Big Tree, Blue Sea
5. Are You Receiving Me
Original track listing (The Netherlands)
1. Candy’s Going Bad
2. Are You Receiving Me
3. Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock)
4. Radar Love
5. Just Like Vince Taylor (Vince Taylor is the man who wrote and performed Brand New Cadillac, a hit for him in 1959 later famously covered by The Clash on their London Calling album, along with Canadian band Teenage Head, and others. I played Vince Taylor’s version long ago on an “old time rock and roll’ show.
6. Vanilla Queen
The original Moontan track listing in Golden Earring’s home country of The Netherlands dropped the epic song Big Tree, Blue Sea in favor of the more pop-oriented Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock) and Just Like Vince Taylor, which made for a six-song album as opposed to five extended songs elsewhere. To me, Big Tree, Blue Sea is the far better song than either of its replacements, so I’m glad that we in North America got that one instead. To my ears, Just Like Vince Taylor and Suzy Lunacy suggest Golden Earring may have been going for a more accessible mainstream pop sound at least on those two tracks. And, if one investigates their extensive catalog they did have pop leanings at various times. But, suffice it to say, however it came about, the North American version of the album is superior in my view. It’s tighter im terms of being consistently hard-rock focused.
As for the album cover, we in North America got the familiar ‘earring’ cover while overseas issues featured the exotic British dancer and model, nude and otherwise, Jilly Johnson. That album cover did originally appear in the United States, at least, but was quickly withdrawn although times have changed and it’s readily available, at least in my friendly neighborhood and amazing in terms of catalog completeness music store. Jilly Johnson also dabbled in acting, appeared topless in British tabloid the Daily Mirror and, with fellow model Nina Carter, formed the girl group Blonde on Blonde which in 1979 did a fun disco cover, complete with racy video, of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love. Nina Carter, born Penelope Jane Mallett, as Penny Mallett was a cover girl and centrefold subject in a 1971 issue of Mayfair magazine and was a popular topless Page 3 girl in The Sun tabloid. She and keyboard player of Yes fame Rick Wakeman married in 1984, were separated in 2000 and divorced in 2004.
AC/DC ’74 Jailbreak EP
From the Bon Scott on lead vocals era, featuring songs that had already been released as singles or on various albums in Australia but didn’t see widespread official release in North America until the EP came out in 1984. Included are my two favorites on the EP, Jailbreak (a different song than Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak) and a smoking hot version of the standard Baby, Please Don’t Go made famous by blues artist Big Joe Williams in 1935 and later covered by Van Morrison’s Them. Among others doing Baby, Please Don’t Go were Aerosmith (on their 2004 covers album Honkin’ On Bobo) and Ted Nugent on the first Amboy Dukes album in 1967 and on his solo Double Live Gonzo! in 1978.
1. Jailbreak
2. You Ain’t Got A Hold On Me
3. Show Business
4. Soul Stripper
5. Baby, Please Don’t Go