If you’re into the Rock world, it doesn’t matter your sub-genre of choice, JOHN WETTON is one of these musicians you need to listen to, and treasure his music. All started with King Crimson, then Asia, collaborations with Steve Hackett, Uriah Heep, Icon project with Geoff Downes, et all – and of course his excellent his solo work.
Since his untimely death in 2017, the many tributes to John from his friends and collaborators, collected together in the book of the same name, bear testament to his exceptional career and his longevity as a multi-talented performer and writer.
Titled “An Extraordinary Life“, this is a limited edition superb 8-disc Box Set focused on Wetton’s solo output – his 6 albums remastered and featured with bonus tracks, and 2 extra CD’s of rarities, mostly previously unreleased material containing rare, alternative versions and unreleased stuff from the vaults, compiled by John’s archivist, Rick Nelson. Probably it is the latter that makes this set principally interesting and predominantly the attraction of the box – really good unheard music.
AOR and ’80s fans need to have Rarities Disc 8 – there’s the 1987 Over The Top movie songs never released until now, plus many other Eighties recorded lovely AOR tunes.
John had a varied and wide career and was always considered one of the mainstays of the progressive rock scene, having played with such luminaries as Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Roxy Music, UK, Asia and Icon. He also appeared on a host of albums as a guest artist or session player, including for Bryan Ferry, Steve Hackett, Brian Eno, Renaissance and Galahad.
The previously released solo albums, released between 1980 and 2011, have been remastered containing additional material, some being shared on this release for the first time and others having been additions on earlier reissues.
Firstly, we have six albums covering a wide period of John’s solo career, from the pre-Asia 1980 release Caught In The Crossfire through to 2011’s final solo studio outing, Raised In Captivity.
They certainly are critical pieces and provide a wide overview of where John was both personally and musically at the time of writing. They provide a musical landscape which, in hindsight, allows us to revisit these albums with a wider knowledge of both personal and musical change that John was undergoing.
It’s worth listening to these solo albums again with this in mind.
John’s first solo album, Caught In The Crossfire, was released back in 1980. We now have the opportunity to hear this remastered with two additional songs.
At the original time of release, it was received with mixed reviews. As a musical statement, it certainly is a long way from his previous more progressive leanings and brought a more commercial touch to his songwriting.
However, what we can now see, with that wonderful thing called hindsight, is actually the early formations of his musical direction that would flower into major success in Asia.
Certainly, songs such as Turn On The Radio definitely had a more commercial pop radio-friendly lean to them and showed that John was more than adept at writing less technical yet more accessible pieces and could switch from technical passages to radio-friendly melodic rock with ease.
Baby Come Back is an interesting tune as the opening keyboard introduction is very consistent with what would come in the future in the shape of Asia.
John’s second solo album was originally released as Voice Mail in 1994 as a Japanese-only release. An international release followed, Battle Lines, the titling here, although it contained the same musical content as the original release.
This is a very different statement of intent. Whether it was due to the initial choice of a limited market, bearing in mind how popular the initial incarnation of Asia was in Japan, or as a means of trying out a differing songwriting route.
This is closer to the Asia model and indicative of his directional change from the more complex material written in past band environments.
What is interesting here and in future releases is how the dexterity and ability to move words and craft his songwriting skills come to the fore. Listening to these solo outputs in the form laid down in this set, you can see how the songwriting matures yet still retains the quality of musicianship. In these cases, it is clear that quality did not necessarily mean complexity.
1997’s Arkangel follows the approach noted on earlier releases. This is an album, however, that contains some of John Wetton’s most sumptuous ballads. Arkangel has less of the pop feel to it, and the lyrical and musical arrangements lean back towards some of his earlier work. This remains a more diverse album, and the collection of songs contains more thought-provoking lyrical content and interesting musical accompaniments, with less of the commercial overtones more noticeable on his previous two outings.
This is more of a songwriter’s album, particularly noticeable in the lyrical context of the title track and the diverse musical collaborations. None more noticeable than with Steve Hackett of Genesis fame, showing not only his dexterity on guitar, All Grown Up, but also on Harmonica on Nothing Happens For Nothing.
Disc 4 Welcome To Heaven, also released as Sinister, was an album that received some unfair criticism at the time. But now, listening back in hindsight, it contains some immensely strong and diverse material.
In some ways, it follows a similar approach to Arkangel. But where that earlier album contained a more gentle balladlike approach, John stretched his rock chops with a number of purposeful radio-friendly driving rock numbers, in particular, the opening two songs on this album, Heart Of Darkness and Say It Ain’t So.
No Ordinary Miracle and Silently are two exceptional ballads and clearly show his ability to bind emotional lyrics into beautifully structured musicality. Real World was co-written with Ringo Starr and provides an interesting change in songwriting approach with a distinct Dylanesque feel, and this tune will be revisited later in the set on one of the bonus discs.
2003’s Rock Of Faith contains three additional songs, two were only previously available on the Japanese release. The other addition is a demo of the title track.
The title track has a different feel from much of John’s earlier work. There is more of a personal theme that runs throughout this album, with songs clearly reflecting John’s view of his life and the world at this point in time. The lyrics throughout this album are strong and thought-provoking, questioning yet restive.
This album did see Geoff Downes return to the writing fold with John. I’ve Come To Take You Home, with Geoff’s keyboards, is a stand-out tune and indicative of what was to come from the duo on the Icon albums.
Raised In Captivity, Wetton’s sixth and final solo album, was released in 2011, and it’s agem. This is an album that more than showed John’s ability as a rock tunesmith. It is also an album that contained a considerable cast of extras contributing to the album, including Steve Hackett, Steve Morse, Robert Fripp, Tony Kaye, Eddie Jobson, Geoff Downes, Mick Box and Diane Van Giersbergen, amongst others.
The record is certainly settled more in Asia territory as opposed to John’s earlier prog material, despite the extent of serious prog artists playing on this album. This version also contains one extra song, Face To Face, from the Japanese release.
If one thing stands out on this album, it is the production, which has a very specific ’80s feel to it. Despite the remastering, this is still very much to the fore on the songs contained here.
The two bonus discs are the treasure trove of this release and likely what many purchasers of this set will first turn to. Quite simply, there are so many gems in this collection it is hard to pick out favorites. But a few highlights and interesting rarities include a couple of cover versions.
Firstly, a cover of Bryan Adams’ Straight From The Heart is stripped back, producing a more soulful edge to this popular mainstream rock ballad, which completely suits Johns’s voice. All Along The Watchtower takes on a life of its own, with the piece becoming a more defined, gentle acoustic guitar-picked ballad, which wrings the emotion out of the song.
Deya 1986, in this form, is a beautiful acoustic guitar piece which was originally written in 1976 and then resurrected as part of the original Asia album tapes. This never made it to disc at the time but finally appeared as part of the Parallel World / Vortex / Deya tune on the Asia Phoenix album.
The unreleased I’d Give It All For You is a strong ballad which would not be out of place on any early Asia album.
The second Bonus disc is an absolute treasure trove of material. There is so much incredible music contained on this disc alone that it would take too long to break down each individual piece. But I can’t leave this without making a comment on some interesting pieces contained within.
The disc first opens with an alternative take on the title track from the album Raised In Captivity, and it’s great, quite different and more ’80s’.
Then comes the first of three interesting unreleased tracks, all from the 1987 Over The Top movie. These songs have been rumoured to have existed for a few years now, so it’s good to see them see the light of day now.
Firstly, there is Winner Takes It All, which was written by Giorgio Moroder and Thomas Whitlock and finally recorded for the film by Sammy Hagar. Asia was originally offered the opportunity to play a number of songs in the film, but after recording this demo, John felt that his vocal wasn’t ‘mean’ enough for the song.
Mind Over Matter follows. This was a tune which was finally recorded by Larry Greene for the film, and then a demo of Gypsy Soul, the one Asia tune that did see the light of day on the soundtrack, which is interesting to compare.
Boys Of The Diamond City was the demo for the song that became Boys From Diamond City 88 and was contained on the Asia Archiva album. This contained Max Bacon’s vocals, so again, it’s interesting to hear how it was originally intended to sound with John’s vocals. This version certainly gives it a more traditional Asia sound.
The Other Guy (Second Best) is also pure ’80s AOR, so fans need to listen this pronto.
What shows throughout this release is how strong John Wetton’s voice was from start to finish. He had consummate vocal ability. Despite the years between the original releases, Johns’s voice is a remaining factor, being as strong and rich as ever.
If this set is the first of more, then I personally cannot wait for the future releases and the treasures that will no doubt be contained within.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Disc One – Caught in the Crossfire (Remastered + bonus)
01. Turn on the Radio (3:47)
02. Baby Come Back (3:24)
03. When Will You Realise (4:34)
04. Cold is the Night (5:22)
05. Paper Talk (4:00)
06. Get Away (4:30)
07. Caught in the Crossfire (5:03)
08. Get What You Want (3:18)
09. I’ll Be There (3:33)
10. Woman (4:33)
~ Bonus Tracks:
11. Every Inch of the Way (4:39)
12. Out of the Blue (4:32)
Disc 2 – Battle Lines (Remastered + bonus)
01. Right Where I Wanted to Be (4:54)
02. Battle Lines (5:24)
03. Jane (4:19)
04. Crime of Passion (4:42)
05. Sand in My Hand (3:48)
06. Sea of Mercy (4:40)
07. Hold Me Now (5:58)
08. Space and Time (4:06)
09. Walking on Air (3:09)
10. You’re Not the Only One (4:59)
~ Bonus Track:
11. Battle Lines (acoustic version) (5:31)
Disc 3 – Arkangel (Remastered + bonus)
01. The Circle of St. Giles (2:05)
02. The Last Thing on My Mind (3:51)
03. Desperate Times (5:02)
04. I Can’t Lie Anymore (4:14)
05. Arkangel (4:18)
06. You Against the World (3:58)
07. Be Careful What You Wish For (5:29)
08. Emma (3:02)
09. Nothing Happens for Nothing (4:06)
10. All Grown Up (5:08)
11. After All (4:16)
12. The Celtic Cross (3:53)
13. Take These Tears (5:45)
~ Bonus Tracks:
14. Magazines (3:50)
15. Woman (Live 1997) (4:16)
Disc 4 – Welcome to Heaven (Remastered + bonus)
01. Heart of Darkness (4:51)
02. Say it Ain’t So (3:57)
03. No Ordinary Miracle (4:52)
04. Where Do We Go From Here? (3:21)
05. E-scape (4:08)
06. Another Twist of the Knife (4:30)
07. Silently (3:54)
08. Before Your Eyes (2:56)
09. Second Best (4:00)
10. Real World (2:41)
~ Bonus Tracks:
11. Love Is (4:28)
12. Space and Time (4:20)
Disc 5 – Rock of Faith (Remastered + bonus)
01. Mondrago (2:12)
02. Rock of Faith (3:57)
03. A New Day (5:16)
04. I’ve Come to Take You Home (4:19)
05. Who Will Light A Candle? (3:39)
06. Nothing’s Gonna Stand in Our Way (5:36)
07. Altro Mondo (3:42)
08. I Believe in You (5:22)
09. Take Me to the Waterline (6:08)
10. I Lay Down (4:04)
11. When You Were Young (1:34)
~ Bonus Tracks:
12. Cold Comfort (4:11)
13. God Only Knows (3:04)
14. Rock of Faith (demo) (5:13)
Disc 6 – Raised in Captivity (Remastered + bonus)
01. Lost for Words (4:59)
02. Raised in Captivity (6:09)
03. Goodbye Elsinore (4:44)
04. The Last Night of My Life (5:54)
05. We Stay Together (4:26)
06. The Human Condition (5:22)
07. Steffi’s Ring (2:36)
08. The Devil and the Opera House (6:51)
09. New Star Rising (4:33)
10. Don’t Misunderstand Me (3:43)
11. Mighty Rivers (5:20)
~ Bonus Track:
12. Face to Face (4:20)
Disc 7 – The Rarities Volume 1
01. AD 2023
02. Raven
03. Walking on Air
04. Straight From the Heart
05. If I Was A Country
06. All Along the Watchtower
07. Deya 1986
08. Tears of Rage
09. Maryanne
10. Healer of Shattered
11. I’d Give it All For You (Asia unreleased)
12. Ultimate Emotion (unfinished idea)
13. Wings of Angels (intro)
14. Wings of An Angel
15. All For One
16. From A Distant Heart
17. Real World (John & Ringo)
18. The Greater Show on Earth (single edit)
19. Adagietto
20. The Water is Wide
Disc 8 – The Rarities Volume 2
01. Raised in Captivity (remix)
02. The Other Guy (Second Best)
03. I Will
04. Bad Thing
05. Boys of the Diamond City
06. Flesh and Blood
07. Burn Your Name in My Heart
08. Sex Power Money
09. Back in Your Lovin’ Arms
10. Every Inch of the Way
11. I Can’t Tell You Why
12. Winner Takes it All (Over The Top soundtrack / unreleased)
13. Mind Over Matter (Over The Top soundtrack / unreleased)
14. Gypsy Soul (Over The Top soundtrack / Asia unreleased)
15. Wasted Time
16. You Still Got Me
17. Halfway to Heaven
18. I’ll Never Stop Loving You
19. Forever
John Wetton – Lead, Backing & Harmony Vocals, Bass, Guitars, Keyboards
with:
Steve Lukather – Guitar (disc 2)
Michael Landau – Guitar (disc 2)
Michael Cartellone – Drums (disc 2)
Simon Phillips – Drums (disc 2)
Tod Sucherman – Drums (disc 4, track 3)
Greg Bisonette – Drums (disc 4, track 6)
Geoffrey Downes – Piano, Hammond B4 (disc 5), Keyboard Solos (disc 6, tracks 3 & 7)
Steve Morse – Guitar Solo (disc 6, track 1)
Martin Barre – Lead Guitar (disc 1, tracks 2,3,5 & 10)
Phil Manzanera – Guitar (disc 1, track 7)
Malcolm Duncan – Saxophone (disc 1, tracks 7 & 9)
Simon Kirke – Drums, Percussion (disc 1)
Robbie Buchanan – Grand Piano (disc 2)
Bob Marlette – Keyboards, Grand Piano, Synthesiser, Programming (disc 2)
Claude Gaudette – Keyboards, Programming (disc 2)
Jed Leiber – Keyboards, Programming (disc 2)
Dave Boruff – Alto Saxophone (disc 2)
Paul Buckmaster – Orchestral Arrangements (disc 2)
Billy Liesgang – Guitar Solo (disc 3, track 7)
Steve Hackett – guitar Solos (disc 3, track 10; disc 6, track 3), Harmonica (disc 3, track 9; disc 4, track 10)
Misha Calvin – Acoustic Guitar (disc 3)
Ramon Vega – Acoustic Guitar & Harmony Vocals (disc 3, track 14)
Richard Palmer-James – Guitar, Keyboards (disc 3, track 13)
Mike Stobbie – Keyboards (disc 3, tracks 1 & 12), Uillean Pipes (disc 3, track 12)
Thomas Radl – Bass & Harmony Vocals (disc 3, track 14)
Tom Lang – Drums (disc 3)
Jim Vallance – Keyboards, Guitars & Vocals (disc 4)
John Mitchell – Electric Guitar (disc 4, tracks 1-4; disc 5)
Jim Peterik – Guitar & Keyboards (disc 4, track 3)
Dick Wagner – Guitar (disc 4, track 6)
Ron Komie – Guitar (disc 4, track 9)
Gary Chandler – Guitar (disc 4, track 7)
Martin Orford – Keyboards (disc 4, tracks 3 & 7), Programming (disc 4, track 7), Flute (disc 4, track 8; disc 5)
John Young – Keyboards & Programming (disc 4, track 8)
Guy Roche – Keyboards (disc 4, track 9)
Ian McDonald – Alto Flute (disc 4, track 5)
Robert Fripp – Guitar, Devices (disc 2), Guitar Solo (disc 3, track 5), Soundscape Guitar (disc 4, track 5)
Steve Christey – Drums (disc 4, track 7; disc 5)
Beate – Backing Vocals (disc 4, track 7)
Sue Shiffrin – Harmony Vocals (disc 4, track 9)
David Cassidy – Harmony Vocals (disc 4, track 9)
Clive Nolan – Keyboards & Arrangements (disc 5)
Tim Garland – Alto Saxophone (disc 5, track 6)
Hugh McDowell – Cello (disc 5, track 4)
Peter Gee – Bass (disc 5, track 2)
Billy Sherwood – Guitar, Drums, Percussion (disc 6)
Alex Machacek – Guitar Solo (disc 6, track 4)
Mick Box – Guitar Solo (disc 6, track 9)
Tony Kaye – Hammond Organ (disc 6, tracks 6 & 10)
Eddie Jobson – Violin (disc 6, track 8)
Anneke van Giersbergen – Vocal Duet (disc 6, track 11)