For the love of rock
Vol II, Issue 5 – Everybody needs a friend (15 Mar 2017)
Name of song– Everybody needs a friend
Band- Wishbone Ash
Album- Wishbone Four
Writer– Martin Turner
Release year– 1973
Similar artists– Blue Oyster Cult, Grand Funk Railroad, Ten Years After, Hawkwind, Argent
Everybody needs a friend
Reviewer- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha
Whenever one recalls “Wishbone Ash’, one is reminded of the trademark harmonious twin lead guitars of Andy Powell and Ted Turner. One of the most influential British rock bands of the mid seventies balancing between hard rock and progressive rock, Wishbone Ash are still going strong despite numerous line-up changes. They have always maintained a cult status among classic rock fans and they have been a source of inspiration for various dual guitar bands including Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden.
“Everybody needs a friend” is the song taken from their fourth album “Wishbone Ash” released in 1973. This album had followed their one of the most successful album “Argus” and did represent the band’s musical growth and experimentation. “Wishbone Four” deviated slightly from their typical hard rock sound to more mellow, acoustic, and folk roots and had only hints of the extended twin lead guitars. This was well appreciated by the fans and critics alike and did help the band progress and consolidate their success further. This may have been similar to the efforts of Led Zeppelin when they produced Led Zeppelin III after Led Zeppelin II. The album did have wonderful hits for the band and few of their most well known numbers included in the album were -“Ballad of the Beacon”, “Everybody needs a friend”, “Sorrel” etc.
The song starts with a melodious acoustic guitar plucking along with harmonious keyboards, followed by the addition of slow rocky drums. The soothing music moves forwards and the addition of charming vocals adds to the beauty of the song. The soft romantic lyric is so pleasant listen to in this wonderful ballad. The slow building lead guitar is equally mesmerizing. This may not be the hallmark twin guitar by the two maestros Andy Powell and Ted Turner; however, it is just irresistible. The slow tempo of the song is maintained till the end and the fading lead guitar towards the end is amazingly beautiful, so haunting that we want to follow it on and on……
Yes, my friend, this song would perhaps define Wishbone Ash as a cult classic rock band, and of course, this is a fact-“Everybody needs a friend”.
Happy listening!!
Resources– Wikipedia.org, Allmusic.com
Everybody needs a friend
Trust in me, I’ll try to do
Everything to help you that I can
Broken wings can heal and mend again
Don’t be afraid to cry your tears out loud
Everybody needs to have a friend
It’s only love that I can give
And I give to you the only love I have
When I see you’re in misery
It makes me want to try and understand
Everybody needs a helping hand
It’s only love that I can give
And I give to you the only love I have
When I see you’re so unhappy
It makes me want to try and understand
Everybody needs a helping hand
If everything should turn around
And it’s me who feels so down and out
You could be the kind of company
To share a load and know how bad it feels
Everybody needs to have a friend
Lyrics link- http://www.metrolyrics.com/everybody-needs-a-friend-lyrics-wishbone-ash.html
Youtube video link- https://youtu.be/ce_rfFyA07U