We don't know the circumstances so cannot judge Martin's use of language. "Fired" and "protagonists" don't strike me as particularly emotive, I must say, and I have to confess I was more annoyed by George's initial denial and then his dissembling announcement of the "changes".
The facts may not be a subject for discussion but in the nature of forums they sure as hell are going to be a subject for speculation. We love these guys, and want to know what, as Robert de Niro would say, just happened? First the whole Effigy business, then a split announced by Jim Driver and denied by George; then one version by George and another by Martin. This is politics, not rock and roll, and we want rock and roll! (It's only rock and roll.) None of this of course does any service to the reputation and memory of the good ship and all who have sailed in her either past or present.
Who knows what happened about the Effigy stuff, but presumably it was a prelude to this Wishbone Ash storm. Perhaps the album mix was the centre of it, or the direction, or the choice of songs. I dread the thought that there's a brand new Phil Ryan Man album which may never see the light of day. But watever happened to trying songs out on the road, letting them form organically? Maybe the ability to tour was behind all this disruption. I really miss seeing the band live. And bloody hell, I miss Micky.
Maybe it's time up. I'd rather see the band fold than tear itself apart into smaller and weaker parts of the original whole. I'd rather see a Manband with a musical connection to its past than one bearing the name but striking out in some bold new direction. Nothing wrong with bold new directions, but they deserve bold new names. It seems to me that Martin bears the flag, which he can carry or pass on.
I saw T Rex a couple of years ago. Mickey Finn had reformed the band just before his death, so the members of that band were entitled to call themselves T Rex rather than a tribute band. And the sound was very good. But it was a tribute act, not a living thing. Don't know why that just popped into my head.
Kinda tough to promote a 40th anniversary under these circumstances. Maybe we should just wait for the 50th!
