|
#1
|
||||
|
||||
May 11 & 12 - What Is, What Was, & What Might Have Been
I. UK's first album, 'UK' ('78), could easily be overshadowed by the fact that this group was intended to be a reformation of King Crimson. However, Fripp used his better judgment and Alan Holdsworth was brought in to round out this new Prog Rock supergroup. I'd wager it was a better choice for this material. Before their next album, Bill Bruford left and was replaced by Terry "cute littel drummer" Bozzio.[list=1][*]In the Dead of Night (Jobson/Wetton) - 5:38 [*]By the Light of Day (Jobson/Wetton) - 5:32 [*]Presto Vivace and Reprise (UK) - 2:58 [*]Thirty Years (Bruford/Jobson/Wetton) - 8:09 [*]Alaska (Jobson) - 4:45 [*]Time to Kill (Bruford/Jobson/Wetton) - 4:55 [*]Nevermore (Holdsworth/Jobson/Wetton) - 8:09 [*]Mental Medication (Bruford/Holdsworth/Jobson) - 7:31 [/LIST=1]
II. In the three years after Fire Garden, Steve Vai was busy as hell: touring solo and with G3, working on the box set, setting up a new label, and raising bees. Yeah, the bees are a bit much?@! So, it's particularly amazing that Steve could put together such an amazing and defining album as 'The Ultra Zone' ('99) after all that work. Of course, maybe that's what being a musical god is all about. Steve's latest album and box set are currently being completed.[list=1][*]The Blood and Tears (Vai) - 4:26 [*]The Ultra Zone (Vai) - 4:52 [*]Oooo (Vai) - 5:12 [*]Frank (Vai) - 5:09 [*]Jibboom (Vai) - 3:46 [*]Voodoo Acid (Vai) - 6:25 [*]Windows to the Soul (Vai) - 6:25 [*]The Silent Within (Vai) - 5:00 [*]I'll Be Around (Vai) - 4:57 [*]Lucky Charms (Vai) - 6:44 [*]Fever Dream (Vai) - 6:03 [*]Here I Am (Vai) - 4:12 [*]Asian Sky (Vai) - 5:34 [/LIST=1] III. If you thought UK was one behemoth of a Prog Rock supergroup, take a look at Explorer's Club's first album, 'Age Of Impact' ('98). This exploratory romp through human exploration (good god that's cheesy!) features: Steve Howe, Billy Sheehan, Terry Bozzio, James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Derek Sherinian, Trent Gardner, & Matt Guillory (among many many musicians). If you're familiar with Dream Theater's 'Scenes From A Memory: Metropolis Part 2" , you might want to pay extra special attention to John Petrucci's guitar solos for a surprise.[list=1][*]Fate Speaks (Gardner) - 16:00 [*]Fading Fast (Gardner) - 8:45 [*]No Returning (Gardner) - 8:20 [*]Time Enough (Gardner) - 9:15 [*]Last Call (Gardner) - 11:10[/LIST=1] |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
Nice feature choice.
UK was actually supposed to be a band in the ELP mode, with Wetton fulfilling the role of Greg Lake as singer, (bass) guitarist, and lyricist, Rick Wakeman handling the keyboards, and Bruford on drums. Wetton, Bruford, and Wakeman worked on some demo tracks together (Wetton lifted the idea for "Thirty Years" from these sessions) and even had photos taken on the set of a James Bond movie. Supposedly Wetton and some companions went to Wakeman's house to finalize the deal, and Wakeman refused to answer the door, though they could see him behind the curtains. Bruford pins some of the blame on A&M records, who refused "to let their 'star,' Wakeman, walk off with a used, slightly soiled King Crimson rhythm section...." With Wakeman out of the picture, Bruford and Wetton agreed to each bring in a musician of their choice. Bruford brought in Allan Holdsworth to play guitars, and Wetton brought in ex-Roxy Music mate Eddie Jobson, who came in to play keyboards and violin. The first album is very, very good; I think a lot of people tend to overlook Holdsworth's contributions to the music. After the first album, Bruford left to record music on his own, and took Holdsworth with him. Ex-Zappa drummer Terry Bozzio replaced Bruford and Jobson took over the entire melodic structure of the band, letting the keyboards and violin replace the guitar. Wetton was already simplifying his bass style enormously, and the second album saw him really getting down to simple song structures as opposed to the beautiful, beautifully complex musical edifices he helped create with Crimson and on the first UK album. You can hear the musical direction Wetton was heading in; after listening to the 2nd and 3rd albums, Asia doesn't come as such a shock. The band split up; the live Night After Night was released posthumously. Jobson went on to briefly join Jethro Tull and then go solo, carving out a career making TV and movie music among other ventures (including a really bad album called "Zinc" that some people really liked). Wetton formed Asia, and Bozzio joined his sister to form Missing Persons. A 1978 "Concert Classics" tour recording from the first lineup surfaced a few years ago. Additionally, a reformation of the original lineup took place in 1997, along with contributions from Tony Levin, Steve Hackett, and Frances Dunnery. Wetton withdrew his support for the album and it wasn't released. The album may be released one day under the title "The Legacy," but it probably won't be a UK album. As for the 1978 album, both Jobson and Wetton threatened lawsuits if the album wasn't yanked, so there aren't many copies out there. Snag it if you can. Then send me the MP3s! ![]() |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Woo Hoo! Go go gadget incest! Tommy |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
more more more
In addition, thanks for the Wakeman background as well. I wasn't previously aware of that (obviously).
If anyone here ready Robert Fripp's online diary, you'll know what I'm talking about here. About a month and a half or two months ago, Robert's entry mentioned how John Wetton and Bill Bruford approached him to re-form KC with Eddie Jobson. He declined and they picked up Alan Holdsworth to form UK. His point was to highlight his contribution [or hold-back] and show where personal choices took him & the band. Given the music, I think the slight change in direction is pretty obvious. Of course, the personnel changes make even more sense in the context of what you mentioned. Wakeman drops out. They both know Eddie from the overdub work on USA. Who's the other obvious choice for a guitarist from those three? I can't tell you how much I'd love to get my hands on those demos with Rick. Tommy |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Er, uh, Dale was indeed his wife, not his sister. Duh. As my English friends say, "blame it on the drink." Except I don't drink. Hmmmm.
Wetton also knew Jobson from when they both played in Roxy Music (Roxy shuttled through bass players like some guys shuttle through underwear). Even in the first album, Wetton is obviously going for a much simpler style of music. I can only imagine Bruford's frustration -- "you didn't play that simple sh!t in Crimson, you git." The creative tension in the band gave us a terrific album, but thinking about it, I can't see UK staying together in the first lineup for any longer than they did. Didn't know that Fripp had been asked to play in the band. IIRC, that was about the time he was doing his multi-album stint with Peter Gabriel and Daryl Hall, as well as putting together the League of Gentlemen. I can imagine his lack of enthusiasm in putting together a band like UK, especially since he wouldn't have had creative control like he had in KC. The material about Wakeman hiding behind his curtains isn't 100% confirmed on my end, mostly because I can't remember where I read it. I think I picked it up off of a Yes fan site, but I can't be sure. Everything else is pretty much for real. So whether it was A&M refusing to let Wakeman hook up with those two losers ![]() Looking forward to your show! |
![]() |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:48 PM. |