Blue Ash - Around Again (Rarities From The Vault 1972-79) (2004)

Blue Ash were one of the finest power pop harmonizing bands in rock history. This release appears to be the balance of unreleased material with some exception such as Jazel Jane, Things Have Changed Now and one or two others that surface on original releases. This grab bag of orphans certainly offers multiple remarkable tracks while many others fall short. This is therefore the reason for the 3.5 star. This overall review is based on all the tracks presented not just the finer selections. The production and engineering are even across the board, this is clearly a thumbs up especially for the plethora of anomalies and artifacts that are found in shelved analog recordings over 40+ years old.
Focusing on the material presented, fans of Flamin' Groovies will find much alignment here especially with their later folk rock material and also the earlier punk sound of Teenage Head. Fans of the warmer, harmony laden melodies may find assistance in this smaller grouping to help wade through the opposing material: Silver Horses, It Won't Be Long Now, Look At You Now (track 40 which is superior), She's So Nice, When You Rock, You Don't Know What It's Like, Pleasant Dreams, When I come Home, It's So Easy, You'd Better Find Someone Else, Around Again, Baby I Just Want You and the acoustic rocker, Tired of Pushing.~Anthony G.