Jasmine’s extensive anthologising of F W Woolworth’s famously infamous record label Embassy now turns its attention to the work of the label’s guitarist ‘Bud Ashton’ who twanged ‘his’ way through covers of most of the big UK instrumental hits of the late 50s and early 60s. For many years ‘Bud’ truly was the ‘Man Of Mystery’ that the title of this collection bills ‘him’ as. It eventually became known that ‘Bud Ashton’ was simply a catch-all name for any guitarist who Embassy hired for their sessions. Among those who claimed their session fee as ‘Bud’ are believed and in many cases definitely known to be Vic Flick, Big Jim Sullivan, Bert Weedon, Tony Moretti and mostly Bob Rogers of the Ted Taylor Four and later his own group Sounds Bob Rogers. “Man Of Mystery” features every Bud Ashton 45 released between 1958 and 1962, along with a number of tracks credited to the equally pseudonymous ‘Steve Stannard Group’ which feature a prominent ‘Bud’ guitar break. As you would expect from musicians of such high calibre, ‘Bud’s cover versions of hits by the Shadows, Duane Eddy and other leading instrumentalists of the era are as first rate as Embassy’s vocal releases so often are, and in many cases almost on a par with the originals, regarded these days with respect and admiration rather than derision and scorn. “Mystery” solved!