John Wetton
I spent my teenage years and beyond listening to bassist and singer John Wetton. His warm, husky voice adorned albums by King Crimson, U.K., Asia and many more. In addition, his solo albums and collaborations add to the treasure of progressive rock from the 70s to now. Sadly, John passed away earlier this year. One of the last projects he worked on was a remastering of Akustika 1 – Live in America, a live acoustic concert. To add to this treat is a second disc: Akustika II – Return to Amerika, a live acoustic show from 2005.
Both albums are excellent with pristine sound, beautiful acoustic piano & guitar and a great selection of material. Though there are some duplications of song choices, the difference in arrangements and performance make it worth your listening. Of note on the first disc are the poignant King Crimson tune “Book of Saturday” begun on acoustic guitar but flavored with reeds, light synth and piano. Several Asia songs are covered, including “Don’t Cry”, “Heat of the Moment” and “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes”. Also standing out is “Battle Lines”, sung with power and integrity.
The second disc is equally as good, seeming like it might have been recorded at a more intimate venue. He spends a bit more time discussing experiences and song origins which lends a more personal feel to the tracks. Beautiful versions of “Starless” and “The Night Watch” are only matched by the ghost story “Rendezvous 6:02”, an U.K. track from their second album. John was one of the driving forces of progressive rock and his great voice will be missed. Hopefully this release will pave the way for more unreleased material in the future.
John Wetton rose to fame with King Crimson in the early 70s during the iconic Red era and later formed the band UK. In the early 1980s he was a founder member of supergroup ASIA which was his biggest commercial success. The band’s 1982 self-titled debut album was the biggest selling album in the world that year. It contained the mainstream radio the mega-hit “Heat of the Moment.”
John also enjoyed a successful solo career, including the seminal album Battle Lines. He formed iCon with ASIA bandmate Geoff Downes. In 2006 the original line-up of ASIA reformed and toured the world several times to promote four new studio albums. Sadly, John Wetton passed away on the 31st January 2017, after a long and courageous battle against colon cancer.
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