Wishbone Ash can trace its origins back to Torquay, Devon, England, a seaside resort in the southwest of the country. It was there that Martin Turner and Steve Upton first performed together; Turner on bass, Upton on drums, before moving to London in 1969 to seek fame and fortune. In the capital the decision was made to place an advertisement for a keyboard player and a lead guitarist. The resulting audition threw up two guitar leads, but nobody could decide who to choose and the trademark twin-lead sound of Wishbone Ash was born.
Ted (David) Turner and Andy Powell soon went through the poverty and growing pains of a new band, but were fortunate that Miles Copeland was championing their cause and a fairly rapid progression was achieved. The first Album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970 and their second, Pilgrimage, surfaced just six months later to reach #6 in the NME charts. Great things were just 11 months away with the release of Argus (1972) -- possibly the band's best album; certainly their most commercially successful -- which reached #2 in the UK charts and went gold. Argus is considered to be one of the great rock classics of all time. The next album, Wishbone Four, only 12 months later, went silver.
After these early highs, Ted Turner decided that he had had enough, and left the band to be replaced by Laurie Wisefield. Although Laurie’s style was not to everyone’s taste, he was generally well liked by the fans and brought a slightly harder edge to the folk-tinged progressive rock that was the Wishbone Ash formula. Wisefield was a dynamic player and became an excellent partner to Andy -- they were to play together for a very successful 11 years and the MKII version of the band is very well thought of for most of its output. About this time the band became more influenced by America and would eventually move there.
The next album, There's The Rub (1974), was recorded in Florida and produced by Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk. Once again it was to do well, achieving silver disc status. There's the Rub included the instrumental piece F.U.B.B. Steve Upton was arrested in New Zealand for announcing at a concert it's full title. In New Zealand, swearing in public is a criminal offense, and when Upton announced the title at an outdoor concert, a woman sunbathing in her garden nearby complained to the mayor. Upton spent the night in jail, and the album reached #3 in New Zealand due to the publicity.
It was inevitable that a turkey was due and to fans Locked In (1976) fit this bill. This record was not released -- it escaped! Fortunately things were much better with the quality of the following albums and although the high chart positions were gone, the fans were enjoying some competent, well-crafted output.
After 11 years in the band, Martin Turner decided to leave. This move began a period of frequent changes of bass player with the likes of John Wetton and Trevor Bolder being two of the better known; however, Wishbone Ash always has attracted musicians of the highest order. A much more controversial move was the introduction of Clair Hamill to fill in some of the vocal talent Martin had taken away with him. Clair was not popular with the fans which was perhaps a little unfair. She had contributed backing vocals on Just Testing (Turner's last album (1980), which he had also produced) and had co-written the excellent Living Proof, which is still a crowd favourite today. Her stay was short-lived with Andy Powell taking on more vocal duties. Wisefield left in late 1985 and the band continued to tour with various replacements, but were very much in limbo until 1987 when a miracle occurred. Miles Copland persuaded the original lineup to reform for a project for a music charity that he was helping, and a Hammersmith Odeon concert which the BBC recorded resulted. The project produced an instrumental album Nouveau Calls (1987), which was very well received. Even better received was the fact that three years of the original lineup were to follow.
Just when things were going so well, Steve Upton decided to quit the business entirely in 1990, to be replaced by Ray Weston. Martin Turner carried on for another year before leaving to pursue a solo career, and Ted left two years later. The next five years saw lots of personnel changes, but eventually resulted in a good period of stability with Ray Weston returning and Bob Skeet joining on bass in 1998.
The new millennium has also seen stability in respect of Andy's guitar partner, with the last 6 years being filled by Ben Granfelt and subsequently Muddy Manninen, both of whom come from Finland. 2005 saw Wishbone Ash celebrate their 35th year. 2006 heralded the new album Clan Destiny (the first featuring Muddy as guitarist). 2007 saw the exit of long-term drummer Ray Weston, due to the increasingly hectic pace of band life. Joe Crabtree (formerly of The David Cross band) stepped up to fill his place. With regard to new releases, 2007 saw First Light, which features original recordings of the songs featured on their debut album, as well as some outtakes. Also released that year was the new album The Power of Eternity (partly featuring Joe Crabtree on drums), which coincided with the Autumn tour.
Wishbone Ash are still performing 150 gigs a year in the U.S. and Europe. They get very supportive crowds with good numbers turning out all over Europe -- the U.S. tends to attract smaller audiences, but very committed fans. If you want to hear classic Wishbone Ash, get ahold of Argus. Visit their web site www.wishboneash.com, where tour dates and albums, etc. can be obtained.
Dream Train
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slowly taking my world apart.
I can't begin to think of anything else
Left my reason way up on a shelf.
Stealing away without a sound,
My feet don't hardly touch the ground.
I look at the clock, the hands of fate,
The train I'm riding can't be late.
One look in your eyes, and I follow through.
Riding on that dream train -
Been a rider since I met you.
The brush of her skirt, the look in her eye
No use denying the curve of her thigh.
I got a feeling I'm out on limb
Past committing original sin.
Cold steel on a railroad track
Hard heart, I ain't coming back.
Put the border on red alert
Heed the warning, you're gonna get hurt.
In Wishbone Ash's song "Dream Train," the singer describes being caught up in a powerful, all-consuming love affair that's slowly taking over his life. He compares this experience to being on a train, hurtling through space and time without any control over the destination. The lyrics suggest that the singer is both thrilled and terrified by this powerful love, as it threatens to unravel all that he holds dear.
The opening lines of the song present an image of the singer being ensnared by this love affair, with the object of his desire slowly "weaving a web around [his] heart." The subsequent lines describe how this love is consuming him, leaving him unable to focus on anything else. He's lost his "reason" and is now living in a kind of dreamlike state, barely touching the ground as he hurtles towards an unknown destination. The chorus reinforces this sense of being swept up by powerful forces beyond his control, as the singer describes following this woman he loves onto a "dream train" that could take him anywhere.
The lyrics then take a darker turn, as the singer begins to describe the potential dangers of this love affair. He acknowledges that he's "out on a limb" and has "committed original sin" by falling in love with a woman he can't resist. He compares his situation to a train traveling on "cold steel" that won't stop until it reaches its destination, regardless of what he might want. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is aware that he might be hurt or destroyed by this love, but he can't help following it anyway.
Line by Line Meaning
Weaving a web around my heart,
Slowly falling in love, finding it difficult to escape.
Slowly taking my world apart.
The feeling of being obsessed, causing one to disregard other important things in their life.
I can't begin to think of anything else
Being completely preoccupied with thoughts of one's love interest.
Left my reason way up on a shelf.
Being driven purely by emotions and not being able to think rationally or logically.
Stealing away without a sound,
Trying to sneak away unnoticed or without drawing attention to oneself.
My feet don't hardly touch the ground.
Feeling light and joyful when in the presence of one's love interest.
I look at the clock, the hands of fate,
Feeling like time is slipping away and that fate is at play in their love life.
The train I'm riding can't be late.
The need to maintain momentum in one's love life and the sense of urgency to keep things moving forward.
Riding on that dream train -
Continuing the journey of love in a positive and hopeful manner.
One look in your eyes, and I follow through.
Feeling compelled to follow the lead of one's love interest, to follow them wherever they may lead.
Riding on that dream train -
Repeating the idea of hoping to continue progressing in one's love life in a positive direction.
Been a rider since I met you.
Having been hooked on the experience of love and following one's heart ever since first meeting their love interest.
The brush of her skirt, the look in her eye
The sensation and powerful pull that even the slightest touch or glance from one's love interest can have.
No use denying the curve of her thigh.
Being unable to resist the physical attraction one has for their love interest.
I got a feeling I'm out on limb
Feeling like one has taken a risk in their love life and is hanging on by a thread.
Past committing original sin.
Feeling like they have gone too far to turn back and are past the point of no return in their love life.
Cold steel on a railroad track
The comparison of the coldness and inevitability of a steel train track to the love interest in one's life.
Hard heart, I ain't coming back.
The idea of having a hardened heart and being committed to one's love interest for the long haul.
Put the border on red alert
Feeling like one's emotions are reaching a critical point and that things are getting serious in their love life.
Heed the warning, you're gonna get hurt.
A warning about the potential perils of following one's heart in a relationship, but also a declaration of the willingness to take that risk for love.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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