This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Wishbone Ash's "Living Proof"

I've been on a '70s hard rock kick of late, and when I say that I don't mean usual classic rock suspects like Led Zeppelin, Rush or Van Halen. I'm talking about some guitar-heavy, brain-rattling stuff that has pretty much never been played on the radio, ranging from Humble Pie to Spooky Tooth to Mark Farner-sung Grand Funk Railroad album tracks like the explosive "Sin's a Good Man's Brother." I hate to admit that my awareness of this special, often-British hybrid that lies somewhere in a remote ravine between blues rock, heavy metal, psychedelic, jam band and punk rock styles has lain dormant for as long as it has, but the fact is I still thought Grand Funk was pretty lame until the closing credits of recent action-thriller Law-Abiding Citizen. Let's just say I probably won't remember much about that movie next year, but Farner's distinctive wail and dynamic lead guitar have now, finally, been permanently seared into my brain.

That leads us, somehow, to this week's forgotten gem, a latter-day tune from groundbreaking British hard rock legends Wishbone Ash. I don't think it's merely because at times I found my head jammed into unpleasant and ignorant musical orifices - though that's likely true - that I didn't even know this band was still together during the '80s. I think something more sinister was probably at work to deny rock music fans of the '80s a chance to hear some of the most genuine heavy rock bands of the previous decade. For instance, if I had a nickel for the number of people I've met who know Thin Lizzy only through "The Boys Are Back in Town" and possibly "Jailbreak," I'd - well, I'd certainly have a crapload of nickels.

If you thought mainstream rock guitar bands of the era were capable only of producing slickly produced arena rock, then please navigate yourself to "Living Proof," the ceaselessly interesting lead-off track from the 1980 Wishbone Ash album, Just Testing. I really would have loved to hear this stuff on my local classic rock radio station, but I'll be damned if they didn't seem to have an endless Styx playlist from which they dared not deviate. Not that I was complaining so much at the time, so I'll make up for lost time and complain now. Don't let anyone tell you that listening to '70s hard rock can't enhance your '80s music listening pleasure, and vice versa.

• Sample or download "Living Proof" here.
• Compare prices on Wishbone Ash CDs here.

Album Cover Image Courtesy of MCA UK