The ongoing retrospective of the late John Wetton’s live recordings lands in the 1990s, during the time he was plying his trade as a solo artist. This 10-disc set, which presents eight shows from that decade in either remastered or revised form, is a treasure trove of material recorded in Japan, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands.
While there are inevitably repeated songs across such a wide-ranging set of shows – especially the most crucial pieces from his work with Asia, King Crimson and UK – there are plenty of variations in performance and arrangement, and Wetton is in fine voice throughout.
Asia’s Heat Of The Moment pops up in every show, of course; but often in rearranged form, while Crimson’s Easy Money regularly appears and UK fans get In The Dead Of Night at most performances.
There are plenty of solo offerings and a few surprises here and there too. Heart Of The Dragon, recorded in 1994, sees Bob Dalton and John Beck of It Bites on board; Wetton’s solo album, Voice Mail, features heavily, and there’s a fine version of Phenomena’s Did It All For Love.
Disc three is from 1995 and features a spirited performance backed by proggers Landmarq with Martin Orford on keys. It also benefits considerably from the late Tracy Hitchings’ vocals.
Three discs are devoted to two shows on consecutive nights in 1997 in Japan, by which time Wetton was touring in support of his Arkangel album and his band included Dave Kilminster, John Young and Thomas Lang.
Meanwhile, an acoustic show in Milan in 1998, featuring Orford and Kilminster, features some interesting re-arrangements, and an apology from Wetton for his absence the previous night, as he’d just become a father.
The collection concludes with a glorious 1999 show in Japan that balances material from his career to that point. Hats off to Wetton archivist Rick Nelson for his work in bringing this material to life so sumptuously.
John Wetton: Concentus II – The John Wetton Live Collection Volume Two 10CD Box Set is on sale now via Cherry Red.
