Here in Part C we discover what happened to the Wishbone Ash boys and their song “Blowin’ Free”.
Previous blogs are here.
Part 4b is here.
(Track 4c – “Errors Of My Way” – Conclusion)
About Wishbone
Elsewhere in the 70’s, there was some talk of Wishbone Ash releasing Blowin’ Free as a single but in my opinion they did the right thing and left it as it is, because the first thing MCA would’ve done was give the track to an in-house producer with the strict instruction to ‘chop it down to three minutes’ before the day was out. So, you can imagine how it would’ve sounded. It did eventually find its way onto a single but as the B-Side to No Easy Road which is from the fourth Wishbone Ash album, the imaginatively entitled Wishbone Four.
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No Easy Road
No Easy Road doesn’t really sound like a Wishbone song (to me at least), which is perhaps why it was considered as a single. It sounds as if it was recorded on the Rolling Stones Mobile Unit and a discarded Stones track bled over onto the Wishbone song and they just went with the vibe. For me it’s not a very good single choice because the song is not particularly original (when compared to the rest of the Wishbone Ash canon) and has no real ‘hook’ to it, like a riff or an original melody line.
It sounds as if it was written to be a singles release but by someone who didn’t fully comprehend the nuances of writing a hit record. But it’s more of a single than Blowin’ Free, even though Blowin’ Free is a much better song. And that’s because there is a formula to writing a single and the formula is usually something like this:-
- Brief intro (riff etc.)
- Verse 1, Verse 2
- Chorus (preferably within 45 seconds of the start)
- Riff
- Verse
- Chorus
- Middle 8
- Solo
- Chorus repeat to fade
Three minutes and that’s it. Blowin’ Free is nothing like that. Blowin’ Free is over 5 minutes and is structured like this.
- Intro Riff
- Intro Riff again
- 2nd intro riff
- 2nd intro riff again
- Verse
- Guitar Solo
- Verse 2
- Slow Middle 8 with echoey guitar
- Longer Guitar Solo
- 2nd Intro Riff
- Verse 1 repeat
- Guitar Solo
- Outro to end
MCA Meeting
So, as you can see it’s structured a little differently to the ‘accepted’ singles format.
I can see the MCA executives meeting with the “Ash” boys in a plush West End office, playing Blowin’ Free through on the Hi-Fi, when the record exec (who I imagine to be someone like Paul Giametti) says:-
MCA: “Great song guys. Great song. Really diggin’ it, hell yes.”
Wishbone Ash: “Thanks. Glad you like it.”
MCA: “So you want to release it as a single?”
WA: “That was the general idea, yes.”
MCA: “For what reason, may I ask?”
WA: “Well, to reach a bigger audience, to connect with younger fans, to expand our popularity and, you know, make a bit more money…for all of us.”
MCA: “Well that’s very benevolent of you. And you’re going to do all that, with this song?”
WA: “We think so, yes.”
MCA: “Ever thought about world domination? Ha ha! Just kidding, just kidding. Ok, that’s great, so we put this out as a single then, yes?”
WA: “Yes.”
MCA: “And would you let us choose the B-Side?”
WA: “Of course, if you want.”
MCA: “Ok, so that’s agreed then. Anything else?”
WA: “No, I don’t think so.”
MCA: “Well thanks for popping in guys. Have a nice weekend.”
WA: “You too.”
Just One Thing…
They get up, open the door and whisper to each other, “That went quite well.”
MCA: “Oh, just one other thing…before you go.”
WA: Yes, what is it?”
MCA: “I seem to be missing something here. In the song. I’ve listened to it a few times and it’s been bugging me for a while, you know, what’s missing, what’s missing? And it keeps on prodding me, over and over, you know. Really annoying. And then it dawned on me. It’s the chorus.”
WA: “The chorus?”
MCA: “The chorus.”
WA: “What about the chorus?”
MCA: “Well, where is it? The chorus.”
The Ash boys look a little confused.
MCA: “You know, the singalong bit. The ‘na-na-na-na-na’ bit that everyone on the street whistles on their way to work. The chorus.”
WA: “It doesn’t have one.”
MCA: “Doesn’t have one? And you want to release it as a single?”
Silence
Silence. The Ash boys look at the floor, at each other then at the record executive. More silence.
MCA: “Ok, well you go away and record one and we’ll get one of our technical bods to punch it in afterwards. Can we do that?”
A flunky nods.
MCA: “Good. Someone let me know when it’s done.”
WA: “No, you don’t understand. It doesn’t have a chorus.”
MCA: “No laddie. You don’t understand. This is not going out as a single without a chorus. That’s how it works. That’s how it’s always worked and I’m not changing it now, not for you, not for anyone.”
WA: “But…”
MCA: “No buts. You heard me. No chorus, no single.”
WA: “But it’s a perfectly formed pop song.”
MCA: “It’s a perfectly formed song I’ll give you that, but pop it-is-not.”
WA: “It doesn’t have a chorus and it can’t have a chorus. It’s not structured that way.”
The uneasy silence is punctured by the exec.
MCA: “So, No Easy Road it is then. As the A-Side. Is that ok with you boys?”
WA: “Do we have a choice?”
MCA: “Actually? No, you don’t. I was appearing to be benevolent just then, whilst not really offering anything.”
WA: “We’ll just get going then.”
MCA: “Ok. Nice to see you. Bye.” They depart and the executive shouts, “And write more ‘na-na-na’s’ next time!”
There’s The Rub
Wishbone Ash were never a singles band which, in an ironic twist of fate, was exactly how I spent the 70’s. Single. They couldn’t crack the singles market whereas I couldn’t escape it. But as the Ash boys might say, “There’s The Rub”1 because things have a way of turning out alright in the end, whether you’re down in a hole, stuck in a rut, or up on the surface, blowin’ free.
Conclusion
So, where does this leave me and my relationship with Wishbone Ash? As it transpires the stuff with Jane wasn’t really Wishbone Ash’s fault after all. It wasn’t mine either. Or Jane’s. It was nobody’s fault. It just was. A rite of passage. Wishbone Ash had written a song which had inadvertently tapped into the subconscious mind of a teenager in Essex, some parallels were drawn and contextualised, where parallels and contextualisation weren’t warranted and didn’t previously exist. And that’s the top and bottom of the whole sorry episode.
On a more positive note, Wishbone Ash went on to record 24 studio albums and still tour today (albeit in two separate formats). They tour as Wishbone Ash (with original guitarist Andy Powell) and at the time of writing (Nov 2021) they are touring the UK before heading off to Europe and the USA. They also tour as Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash (with original bassist/singer Martin Turner, surprisingly). And at the time of writing they are also touring the UK (details in links below).
Whisky a Go Go
Andy Powell, the lead guitarist said Blowin’ Free was written on a journey to the “Whisky a Go Go” club in Los Angeles. Wishbone Ash were touring with The Who and Andy liked the chord progressions that Pete Townshend was using at the time. “I just copied them and sped them up a bit” and Blowin’ Free was born.
As for relationships, well the bare facts are these: If nobody’s going to ask you on a date, (and let’s be honest, unless you’re Brad Pitt it’s not happening) then in a binary world stacked full of nothing but boolean variables2, you have to do the asking or risk becoming a recluse. The key is not giving a damn about the outcome.
Resentment
Obviously you want the person, the object of your dreams, to say yes, but the secret is not allowing the fear of rejection to prevent you from taking the first step. However, this is easier said than done because fear leads to inaction, inaction leads to disappointment, disappointment leads to regret and then all that’s left at the bottom of your emotional tank, is resentment. And between you and me, my advice is to avoid resentment like the plague, because entertaining resentment is a one-way ticket to Hell and Damnation. You should trust me on this, because I know.
Thank you for your time and dedication to this 4 part (+2) epic. I hope you found it enlightening in some way.
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