Towards the end of a hot, dry summer, Chepstow Castle provided a spectacular setting for an evening bringing together two contrasting branches of the same rock family tree. Creedence Clearwater Revival achieved their breakthrough in 1969, the year Wishbone Ash formed. Both drew heavily upon blues, country and R&B, but took those roots in different directions: Creedence distilled them into compact, swampy rock’n’roll, while Wishbone Ash stretched them into something more melodic and progressive.
Clearwater Creedence Revival proved more than the average tribute act. Fronted by Peter Barton, the road-hardened quartet brought real conviction to staples including Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising and Up Around The Bend. The set also ventured beyond the most obvious crowdpleasers: I Put A Spell On You, Cotton Fields and I Heard It Through The Grapevine demonstrated the breadth of their repertoire and gave the musicians room to stretch out. Drummer Geoff Hammond took full advantage, delivering an entertaining solo which incorporated anything within reach – including the lead singer’s microphone.
As the evening cooled, Wishbone Ash turned up the heat. The band helped establish harmonised twin-lead guitars as part of rock’s vocabulary, and it was easy to hear their influence on acts ranging from Thin Lizzy to Iron Maiden. Now led by sole remaining founding member Andy Powell, the headliners took the audience through more than five decades of music.
Powell remained an engaging presence on guitar and vocals, but it was his interplay with the outstanding Mark Abrahams that defined the performance. The pair repeatedly traded and harmonised guitar lines with remarkable fluidity. After early highlights including Blowin’ Free, the set reached its centrepiece with the thematic Argus trilogy of The King Will Come, Warrior and Throw Down The Sword. Later material, including Enigma, In Crisis and Living Proof, ensured this remained a celebration of the band’s wider career rather than simply an exercise in nostalgia.
At times, the expansive dual-guitar passages recalled the Allman Brothers Band, who developed a similarly fluid twin-guitar sound on the other side of the Atlantic. Elsewhere, Wishbone Ash’s more pastoral qualities brought to mind the atmospheric folk-prog of modern bands like Midlake.
The extended Phoenix provided an epic conclusion to the main set, Powell and Abrahams passing the lead between them as the music unfolded. A rousing Jail Bait encore then drew an enthusiastic response from a crowd that would gladly have stayed for more. Another entertaining night in the Castell Roc season, which has brought melody to this corner of Wales throughout August.
Wishbone Ash + Clearwater Creedence Revival, Chepstow Castle, Sun 23 Aug
words and photos KARL ELLIS
