From The Archives Volume Three
by Wishbone Ash

Third part of a three-part archival release series that was set in motion by Wishbone Ash super-fan and radio DJ 'Dr. John' of the USASH fan club, originally released as a fan club album in 1996 before being polished into official re-release via this three-part series in 1998. It's full of previously unreleased demos, live recordings, band interviews, and fan-recorded bootlegs, released here officially with CD sales going to the band in order to 'beat the bootleggers.'

Volume 3 is the 'mixed bag' of the collection, mostly detailing their days from 1981-1986 and 1993-1995 when the band lineup was constantly changing. While this probably isn't the 'best' of the three archival albums—the bootleg quality on much of the album prohibits that—this is probably the most interesting of the three and the most worth seeking out for Ash collectors, as Volume 3 certainly has the most completely new, previously unreleased material with these tracks seeing the light of the day for the first (and in some cases, only) time:

- She's Still Alive (later cleaned up and released on Distillation and the 2018 Raw to the Bone remaster)
- Cat & Dog Fight (later released on the 2018 Twin Barrels Burning remaster)
- Danny Don't Go to Ireland (live take of a Claire Hammil-led Wishbone Ash song only ever found here)
- One Time Only (not a Wishbone Ash song, but rather a demo of a song performed by Ted Turner's '80s band choice while he was not in WA)
- Love Abuse (later released in the acoustic format on Bare Bones)
- The Last Time (live song only ever found here)
- 70's Rock (Roger Filgate demo only ever found here)
- Ship of Dreams (early demo of Illuminations' final track The Crack of Dawn, only from here and a USASH promo tape)
- East Coast Boogie (unique acoustic boogie tune, only found here and later on Tracks 3)
- Ashes from the Table (band studio jam session, only found here)

Of this new material, I like Danny Don't Go to Ireland the most—it's a shame that one is recorded in such poor quality here and never made it to record; that could have been a genuinely great number given how much heart and soul Hammil and the band poured into this take of it.

Not an essential album by any means, but a fun piece worth checking out if you're into diving deeper into Wishbone Ash's discography.