Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: UK
Label: E.G. Records
Release: 1979
Length: 42:13
Rating: 4.5/5
»Night After Night« was the only official live album by the cult British progressive rock supergroup UK, whose final lineup consisted of seasoned bassist and vocalist John Wetton (ex-Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Roxy Music), the brilliant keyboardist/electric violinist Eddie Jobson (ex-Curved Air, Roxy Music, Frank Zappa) and drumming wizard Terry Bozzio (ex-Frank Zappa). Bozzio had successfully stepped in for one of the best British drummers of all time, Bill Bruford (ex-Yes, King Crimson, Bruford), on UK’s second studio album »Danger Money« (1979). Before these musical masters called it a day and (seemingly for good) closed the book on UK, they put out one more live album as a farewell, featuring recordings from two shows in Tokyo. Those took place in June 1979 at the Nakano Sun Plaza and Seiken Kan concert halls. Their farewell tour ran in two legs. On the first, the American leg, they played as the support act for Jethro Tull, whom Jobson joined right after UK fell apart, while on the rest of the tour they played on their own, as headliners.
The record opens with the title track, »Night After Night«, which also came out as a single, with »When Will You Realize?« on the B-side. That one never appeared on any official UK album. Wetton later re-recorded it with changed lyrics on his solo debut »Caught In the Crossfire« (1980). That very song supposedly caused the rift within the trio and the breakup of UK that followed. Two English gentlemen and an American prankster – who picked up every rhythmic and verbal trick in the book as a member of the legendary Frank Zappa’s band, where he especially loved to go wild live in the role of the »Titties & Beer« devil – deliver an unforgettable live show from the very first second, with top-notch production handled by Jobson and Wetton.
It doesn’t bother you in the slightest that all the guitar parts were covered by Jobson’s electric violin, since UK never looked for a replacement after the departure of cult guitarist Allan Holdsworth (ex-Tempest, Soft Machine, Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, Bruford). On most of the »Night After Night« tracks, an interesting answer emerges to the question of what a sonic middle ground would sound like between the masters of dark, fusion-tinged complexity King Crimson and the melodic rock champions Asia, Wetton’s later (and currently active again) band.
On tracks like the opening »Night After Night«, Wetton’s vocals reign with inconsolable melancholy, backed by melodic symphonic arrangements, complex violin improvisations and inventive rhythmic variations, meaning subtlety and technical perfection walk hand in hand the whole way through. On the superb version of the complex ballad »Rendezvous 6:02«, amid a ton of crazy improvisations, the trio – street-smart and well-oiled – shows an exceptional knack for building a melodramatic atmosphere and creatively weaving rhythm lines between unexpected time shifts.
The AOR stomper »Nothing To Lose«, ruled by mighty vocal harmonies and Jobson’s synth artistry, by far the most commercial but also the punchiest piece on this live recording, pushes the mood to boiling point. Despite the melodic structure and hypnotic chorus, complex electric violin passages once again take over, along with rattling bass lines, shimmering synth textures and killer drum fills. In a similar AOR vein, hinting at the future Asia hits, is »As Long As You Want Me Here«, completely unique to this release and not found on either of UK’s studio efforts. Going by Wetton’s address to the delighted Japanese crowd, they obviously planned to put it on a never-recorded third studio album, which means they would most likely have mutated into an AOR band, something Jobson wouldn’t have liked one bit. The melodic, radio-friendly chorus comes with mighty vocal harmonies and plenty of melodic piano arrangements.
On »Alaska« comes Jobson’s big ‘star’ moment, as he proves himself with devilishly vehement handling of late-seventies synth technology. The performance of the hyper-dramatic treat »Time To Kill«, one of the better tracks from UK’s self-titled debut, turns out great and practically on par with the studio version. The relatively chaotic intro, with crazed, ‘supersonic’ improvisations and epic battles between irritated bass lines, fiery drum fills and high-ringing synth textures, is successfully followed by Wetton’s theatrical vocal performance.
The shortened, reworked instrumental »Presto Vivace« was used as an intro to the phenomenal version of »In the Dead of the Night«, UK’s best-known track ever, which somewhat younger fans of quality rock music also know from the rendition by Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen. This version has even more prominent synth lines compared to the studio original, while the original guitar passages have been damn effectively replaced by Jobson’s electric violin wizardry. The record wraps up with one more classic, »Caesar’s Palace Blues«, which, despite the title, has nothing to do with the blues other than a distinctly melancholic mood, with fiery drum and violin improvisations running the show, backed by yet another outstanding vocal feat from Wetton.
With the farewell record »Night After Night«, bursting with astonishing live energy, UK showed one last time why they were the last relevant prog rock supergroup of the seventies, and made sure they went out unforgettably. There were plenty of failed attempts to revive them over the following decades, until Wetton, Jobson and Bozzio got back together in 2012 and organized their first concert tour in more than three decades.
Lineup
John Wetton – vocals, bass guitar
Eddie Jobson – keyboards, electric violin
Terry Bozzio – drums
Production
Eddie Jobson and John Wetton
Tracklist
1. Night After Night
2. Rendezvous 6:02
3. Nothing to Lose
4. As Long as You Want Me Here
5. Alaska
6. Time to Kill
7. Presto Vivace
8. In the Dead of Night
9. Caesar’s Palace Blues
