Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Wetton, John
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2011
Running time: 54:44
Rating: 4/5
What on earth would make John Wetton happy if he didn’t put out at least one record a year? Whether under the Asia name, under the Icon name, or as a guest musician, and if even that doesn’t pan out, there’s always the option of a solo studio release. This time around, the musician steps out with a solo album. Interestingly, it’s only his sixth in total.
The singer and bassist who lived through the golden years of great pioneering feats, an era of unbridled courage and curiosity that opened up countless musical horizons and left a groundbreaking mark on the later development and face of rock music, as part of utterly unique lineups from Mogul Thrash, Family, U.K., King Crimson, Uriah Heep,Wishbone Ash, Roxy Music and of course Asia, is known for his superb feel for crafting a composition. On top of that, he has a charismatic and instantly recognizable voice that plenty of artists fought over, all of them wanting him on their records. By the way, Wetton should have sung on the third King Crimson album already, but he was tied to a contract for two albums with Family, so he only managed to jump ship to Crimson in 1973 (thanks to my RockLine colleague Peter for the tip). Yep. John Wetton is without a doubt a rock legend.
This time the man latched onto the motto “live every day like it’s your last.” In a vivid preface to the liner notes of the new studio album, he takes the listener behind the scenes of what shaped the look and feel of “Raised In Captivity.” Wetton remembered his old pals, the ones he helped shape the face of rock with three and four decades ago. So the album features three guitar giants of the pioneering era, Robert Fripp (King Crimson), Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Mick Box (Uriah Heep), plus Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Kansas), and keyboardists Geoff Downes (Asia, Yes) and Tony Kaye (Yes, Circa:). Then there’s violinist Eddie Jobson, Wetton’s former U.K. buddy. Funny that Wetton ran out of room for two invitations: Jethro Tull’s original guitarist Martin Barre, who helped shape Wetton’s studio debut, and another Asia companion, the “grumpy Mr. Owl” himself, Steve Howe.
John Wetton doesn’t offer anything new or earth-shattering on this album. His songwriting style has been firmly set for years. Even so, “Raised In Captivity” is a different album in Wetton’s career. And if you do want to look for comparisons this time, the closest are the Icon project and Asia, though only in a very loose sense. For all the prominent guests on the album, people who in other musical settings can be the main driving force behind the constant evolution of those settings (read: their home bands), they don’t manage to stamp Wetton’s songs with their own mark to the point where any of the tracks would remind you of anything that could come from their home bands. That’s why the Wetton and Billy Sherwood partnership is so important here. Sure, Wetton is the source of the basic melodic ideas for the songs, but when Sherwood joins in, he adds an element of eclecticism to the songwriting. You can feel Sherwood in specific guitar motifs, which are easy to match with the Conspiracy project, the band Circa:, and also the Yes album “Open Your Eyes” (1998), most clearly captured in the song The Last Night Of My Life.
The choruses don’t lack Wetton’s lead vocals dressed up with harmonies that set the familiar standards found in some unforgettable moments of his discography in a much more generous dose (Icon, Asia), and the chorus of The Devil And The Opera House brings it closest to that Asia feeling. The song has a delightful mood swing when Jobson’s violin solo brings in pastoral elements. You can tell that Billy Sherwood also contributed his own lines to the arrangement of the multi-voiced harmonies, which once again conjures the feel of the projects and bands mentioned above, ones where Sherwood shaped or still shapes the overall sound and style, while at the same time, in John Wetton’s case, the vocal harmonies work a touch differently this time than we’re used to from him.
What surprises on this album, compared to Wetton’s usual, almost proverbial smoothness of melodic tunes, is a “sharpened” rock attitude that keeps the production alive, with the guitar phrases sounding at times almost mildly raw (the opener Lost For Words, or right after it the title track, and The Human Condition and/or New Star Rising). Among the famous guest names, it’s not hard to pick out the charisma of Robert Fripp’s sound and style (yes, soundscapes included), Mick Box’s distinctive, wah-wah-seasoned soloing, and the wailing, ethereal note-picking coming from under Steve Hackett’s fingers, but all three are limited to soloing and the occasional transitional flourish (Fripp’s outgoing and incoming soundscapes on the title track), so in reality only Wetton and Sherwood set the ground rules on the album.
Songs like Steffi’s Ring and Mighty Rivers are overkill. Both are mellow tracks, the first sticking to organic collages, the second relying on programming and the angelic female vocals of Anneke Van Giersbergen, a recap of her guest spot on the Wetton Downes project Icon (the songs To Catch A Thief and Tears Of Joy). They repeat what Wetton has already said quite a few times in his arrangements for the Icon project, so they wouldn’t be missed if they’d been left off this solo release. On the other hand, among the calmer songs (the ones with an organic, acoustic sound), the excellent Goodbye Elsinore takes the lead. Its main motif is built on a Celtic folk guideline, and Wetton’s sensitivity comes through especially effectively, peaking in the chorus melody. The song’s eclecticism is deepened further by a recognizable, short but sweet touch of Hackett’s solo tone.
“Raised In Captivity” is an excellent album, special in its content, proving that the Wetton and Sherwood partnership works brilliantly, with its eclectic notes on full display, and yet it breathes rustic charm all the way through! That’s why, as a well-judged stylistic mix, it will absolutely satisfy fans of most of Wetton’s rich discography as well as of Sherwood’s work in “late” Yes, the Conspiracy project and the band Circa:. “Raised in Captivity” is an album that comes across as autonomous and distinctive in its songwriting voice, and at the same time considerably stronger and more convincing than any Icon release, as well as both of the last two Asia studio albums.
Line-up
John Wetton – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards
Billy Sherwood – guitar, keyboards, drums
Production
Billy Sherwood
Track list
1. Lost For Words (featuring Steve Morse)
2.Raised In Captivity (featuring Robert Fripp)
3. Goodbye Elsinore (featuring Steve Hackett)
4. The Last Night Of My Life (featuring Alex Machacek)
5. We Stay Together (bonus track)
6. The Human Condition (featuring Tony Kaye)
7. Steffi’s Ring (featuring Geoff Downes)
8. The Devil And The Opera House (featuring Eddie Jobson)
9. New Star Rising (featuring Mick Box)
10. Don’t Misunderstand Me (featuring Tony Kaye)
11. Mighty Rivers (featuring Anneke Van Giersbergen)
