John Wetton - RIP

Dammit all, we lost another one today.  John Wetton lost his battle with cancer today [1/31/17].

He wasn’t a household name, but if you were alive in 1982, you heard him on the radio a lot, whether you wanted to or not. John Wetton was the voice of Asia.  Heat of the Moment and Only Time Will Tell were both in heavy rotation in 1982.  Heat of the Moment was at #1 for six weeks [but I thought the b-side, Ride Easy, was a better song].  The album from whence it came [Asia] was at #1 for nine weeks.  Before he was in Asia, John Wetton was the singer/bassist for King Crimson, with whom he did three studio albums [Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and Red].  After King Crimson’s premature demise in 1974, John Wetton was a wandering minstrel.  He recorded several albums with Bryan Ferry, became a member of Uriah Heep [recording Return to Fantasy (1975) and High and Mighty (1976)].  After his time in Uriah Heep he founded UK with Eddie Jobson, with whom he did two albums [UK (1978) and Danger Money (1979)].  UK split because of the old musical cliché, “musical differences”.  But they really did have differences.  Jobson wanted to do longer instrumental pieces, and Wetton wanted shorter songs.  Wetton then joined Wishbone Ash for one album [Number the Brave (1981)], replacing founding member Martin Turner.  His stay in Wishbone Ash was a short one.

When I was a freshman in college, I heard that Carl Palmer [ELP], Steve Howe and Geoff Downes [Yes] had formed a band with a guy from King Crimson, of whom I’d never heard at the time.  That guy was John Wetton, and the band was Asia.  I thought “hmmm…Yes is prog, ELP is prog, King Crimson is prog, this ought to be interesting.”  I bought the album.  There were some really good songs on it [see my playlist].  If I never hear Heat of the Moment or Only Time Will Tell, I’m ok with that.  Good songs?  Yes.  Overplayed?  Definitely.  Despite the progressive rock pedigree of all the members, Asia was anything but progressive.  They’re albums had short, concise pop songs.  I also thought a band with Steve Howe would have more guitar playing.  The first album had a good balance between Steve Howe’s sounds and Geoff Downes’ sounds. 

They lost that balance on their second album, Alpha.  Alpha was ok, but not nearly as good as the debut.  My thought was they turned into a British version of Journey [songs about girls, romance, lots of keyboards, etc].  Apparently the record-buying public and their record label [Geffen] thought the same way, and Asia sacked Wetton.  Greg Lake took his place for the Asia in Asia thing on MTV [back when they actually played music on that channel], but that was just a stop-gap thing.  Wetton came back on the condition that Steve Howe would leave.  I wonder if he had the same musical differences with Steve Howe that he had with Eddie Jobson.    Howe left, and Asia brought in a guy from Krokus (?!?) named Mandy Meyer.  His guitar was more hard-rock than Steve Howe.  The one album with Meyer [Astra] tanked.  There were a few songs I liked [again, see my playlist], but the rest of the album was extremely ordinary.  The band folded due to lack of interest.  That all having been said, I like John Wetton’s voice. I thought [and still do] that he was the vocal equal of Greg Lake.  

But what about his music outside of Asia?  When King Crimson remastered their entire catalog I found that I liked the three studio albums he did with them [Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and Red] as much as the first two with Greg Lake [In the Court of the Crimson King and In the Wake of Poseidon].  His bass playing is loud, and it’s aggressive.  My favorite of the three albums is Red.  Said Wetton of the album:

“At the time we were recording, Robert Fripp said he wanted to take a backseat, because we wasn’t sure where this was going… Bill Bruford and myself knew exactly where it was going. We took the front seat on it, and pushed for that very up-front … in-your-face guitar [sound]. Yeah, definitely. We did that. You can hear it from the first track. This band is not f—ing about.  It was balls-to-the wall progressive rock. It was s–t-hard rock ‘n’ roll. It was heavy metal, really.”

The title song is a very angry-sounding instrumental, one that is exactly as Wetton described it.  It is the most emblematic of the album's overall direction.  Fallen Angel has beautiful acoustic guitar based sections for the verses, and thunderous chaos in the chorus – loud electric guitar, louder bass, and a cornet blasting away.  One More Red Nightmare is a classic, with funny lyrics about Wetton’s apparent fear of flying, and some excellent drumming from Bill Bruford.  Starless was a leftover from Starless and Bible Black, which Fripp and Bruford didn’t like then.  While most of Red was loud and in your face, Starless was the quiet Mellotron ending which would be at home on In the Court of the Crimson King.  Suffice to say, in my opinion if you’re going to own any King Crimson albums, get both In the Court of the Crimson King and Red.  They dovetail quite well.

Between his stints with Asia, John Wetton had a solo career.  There two albums from that period I can recommend – Battle Lines [1994] and Rock of Faith [2003].  They lean toward the ballad side of things, as do the three Icon albums he did with Geoff Downes [think “Asia without the guitars”].  He didn’t leave his prog roots behind him, though.  He managed to record a live album with Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett called The Tokyo Tapes [to which I’m listening as I write this].  It has a mix of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, Greg Lake-era King Crimson, Steve Hackett’s solo catalog, one Asia tune [guess which one], and one solo John Wetton tune.  In addition to John Wetton and Steve Hackett, Ian McDonald and Chester Thompson [the drummer, not the keyboard player].  There’s some very good stuff here, including a very interesting All Along the Watchtower.

The original Asia band reunited in 2006 and immediately started touring.  They released a live album, Fantasia Live In Tokyo, the following year.  It consists of songs from the first two Asia albums, but there’s a twist – the band does one song from each of the members’ prog past – Roundabout, In the Court of the Crimson King, Fanfare for the Common Man, and the very un-proggish Video Killed The Radio Star.  I wondered how Wetton would do on Roundabout since his voice isn’t high and squeaky like Jon Anderson’s.  Not only did Wetton nail the vocal, he crushed Chris Squire’s bassline.  Singing and playing bass simultaneously is hard enough, but to do so on Roundabout is quite impressive.  After the live album, they did three more studio albums [Phoenix, Omega, and XXX] before Steve Howe left at the end of 2012 to concentrate on Yes and his solo career.   John Wetton’s voice showed no signs of wear and tear.  He sounded as good as he did during the 1980s.  And these Asia albums addressed two complaints I’ve had about their albums dating back to Alpha [1983] – the songs got longer, and Steve Howe has a bigger role to play.  In fact, the first song from Phoenix [Never Again] has Steve Howe coming out the gate breathing fire, while John Wetton sings of having changed his ways since he was a nasty alcoholic.  The final song from the album [An Extraordinary Life] sees Wetton evaluating his life after he’d had triple bypass surgery prior to making Phoenix.  In the midst of recording these Asia albums, John Wetton managed to put out a solo album in 2011 [Raised In Captivity].  After Steve Howe left, Asia made one more album [Gravitas], this time with guitarist Sam Coulson.  The final song, eerily titled Till We Meet Again, was the last song they recorded.

John Wetton was supposed to participate in Asia’s North American tour with Journey [see?], but his health prevented him from doing so.  He had been in and out of the hospital over the past 2 years for cancer treatment, including a 2015 surgery and struggles with sepsis.  He said just three weeks ago:

"While I am naturally disappointed to miss the beginning of what I know will be an historic Asia tour, I am intending to return to the stage with Asia later in 2017 - dates soon to be announced. I know this decision will be in the best interests of my health and our fans in the long run."

John Wetton died in his sleep the morning of January 31^st.  Yes bassist Billy Sherwood [who ironically has filled in for Chris Squire since Squire’s death] will replace Wetton for now.

His writing partner Geoff Downes wrote this about John Wetton:

Many of his personal life experiences were reflected in his lyrical contributions to the songs. His heart was always in the music. That was John, through and through. It was always about - the music.  His bass playing was revolutionary. His voice was from the gods. His compositions - out of this world. His sense of melody and harmony - unreal. He was literally a 'special one'.

Carl Palmer, who has had to do this too often in the past year, said this:

 “With the passing of my good friend and musical collaborator, John Wetton, the world loses yet another musical giant. John was a gentle person who created some of the most lasting melodies and lyrics in modern popular music. As a musician, he was both brave and innovative, with a voice that took the music of ASIA to the top of the charts around the world. His ability to triumph over alcohol abuse made him an inspiration to many who have also fought that battle. For those of us who knew him and worked with him, his valiant struggle against cancer was a further inspiration. I will miss his talent, his sense of humor and his infectious smile. May you ride easy, my old friend.”

Here’s a playlist of my favorite songs from John Wetton:

Fallen Angel [King Crimson – Red (1974)]

One More Red Nightmare [King Crimson – Red (1974)]

Starless [King Crimson – Red (1974)]

Let Me Go [Wetton/Downes – Icon (2005)] 

The Hanging Tree [Wetton/Downes – Rubicon (2006)]

Steffi's Ring [Raised In Captivity (2011)]

I Stand Alone [Wetton/Downes – Icon (2005)]

Battle Lines (Acoustic) [Battle Lines (1994)]

Mondrago/Rock Of Faith [Rock of Faith (2003)]

Goodbye Elsinore [Raised In Captivity (2011)]

We Stay Together [Raised In Captivity (2011)]

Whirlpool [Wetton/Downes – Rubicon (2006)]

I’ve Come To Take You Home [Rock of Faith (2003)]

Rendezvous 6:02 [UK - Danger Money (1979)]

Book of Saturday [King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)]

Lament [King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black (1973)]

The Night Watch [King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black (1973)]

The Great Deceiver [King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black (1973)]

Hold Me Now [Battle Lines (1994)]

Who Will Light A Candle [Rock of Faith (2003)]

Heart Of Darkness [Sinister – 2001]

Ride Easy [Asia – Single B-side (1982)]

Roundabout [Asia - Fantasia Live In Tokyo (2007)]

In the Court of the Crimson King [Asia - Fantasia Live In Tokyo (2007)]

Never Again [Asia – Phoenix (2008)]

An Extraordinary Life [Asia – Phoenix (2008)]

There Was a Time [Asia – Omega (2010)]

Through My Veins [Asia – Omega (2010)]

Holy War [Asia – Omega (2010)]

Light The Way [Asia – Omega (2010)]

Face on the Bridge [Asia – XXX (2012)]

Midnight Sun [Asia – Alpha (1983)]

Open Your Eyes [Asia – Alpha (1983)]

The Heat Goes On [Asia – Alpha (1983)]

Never in a Million Years [Asia – Alpha (1983)]

Sole Survivor [Asia – 1982]

One Step Closer [Asia – 1982]

Time Again [Asia – 1982]

Wildest Dreams [Asia – 1982]

Cutting It Fine [Asia – 1982]

Here Comes the Feeling [Asia – 1982]

Go [Asia – Astra (1985)]

Suspicion [Asia – Astra (1985)]

After the War [Asia – Astra (1985)]

If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now:  cancer sucks.

Chris Squire - RIP

Ah, the college years…that’s when I started to get serious about breaking out of my Beatles comfort zone.  When I was a freshman at the University of Colorado [Boulder], one of the guys who lived next door played lots of Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.  At that time all I knew about Yes was Roundabout. He had the triple live album Yessongs [1973] and he loaned it to me as a primer.  On the plus side the drummer was ok, and the guitarist and keyboardist sounded great.  On the minus side the vocalist sounded like a bit like a Vienna choirboy twerp [he still does].  Given all these things, what really grabbed my attention was the bass guitarist, Chris Squire.  He had a big sound.  I like big bass sounds.  As there was more playing than there was singing, the plusses outweighed the minuses.  I noticed in the liner notes that Squire was mentioned often as one of the songwriters.  How could that be in a band with Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman, both talented musicians that surely had a wealth of musical ideas?  But there it was, in black and white.  I wanted to check out who these guys were.

Of my Top 5 rock bass guitarists, three of them are now dead – first John Entwistle [#1 – died 2002], then Jack Bruce [#2 – died 2014], and now Chris Squire [#3] last week.  Yes isn’t a band that is in my regular rotation.  Progressive rock is an acquired taste, and a lot of times it sits quietly in my musical closet.  If not for their vocalist [pick one, any one], I’d probably listen to Yes more often.  Every now and then I take Yes out for a spin.  I always marvel that in a band of virtuosos [Steve Howe – guitar, Rick Wakeman – keyboards] Chris Squire managed to make himself heard.  Given the musical company he kept, that’s quite an achievement.  Chris Squire was the one constant in the ever-changing Yes universe [six keyboardists, four lead singers, three guitarists, and two drummers, but only one bassist].  It is fitting that as that one constant, the bass guitarist with the unique Rickenbacker 4001/Rotosound strings sound was the anchor of a band that had many flights of fancy [Tales of Topographic Oceans, anyone?].  When Yes plays without him in August this year, it will be the first time in the 45-year history of the band that they’ve played without him.

Why the bass:  I found an interview with Chris Squire from years ago.  I’ll let him tell the story – “I had buddy at school who was a trained classical guitar player, a guy called John Wheatley. We decided we would start a band together. He got an electric guitar and he just said to me, ‘You’re tall and you’ve got big hands. You should play bass.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’ll be the bass player, then.’”  Yeah, he was big.  He made a Rickenbacker bass look almost like a regular guitar in his hands.

The sound:  Combine the melodicism of Paul McCartney, the aggression of Jack Bruce, and the tone of John Entwistle, and you have Chris Squire.  He confessed he started using a Rickenbacker bass with Rotosound strings because that’s what John Entwistle did.  He rewired his RM1999 into stereo.  The signals from the bass and treble pick-ups each went into separate amplifiers. The signal from the bass pick-up went to a bass amp, and the signal from the treble pick-up went to a guitar amp.  This gave him a brighter high-end while maintaining the growl of the low end.  John Entwistle did something similar to get his sound.

Tony’s Favorite Chris Squire Moments:

There are many great recorded moments that captured Chris Squire’s brilliance, but I will choose only a handful to illustrate:

Siberian Khatru [Close to the Edge – 1972]

After Yes let each of the members explore solo pieces on Fragile, it was time for them to explore longer song forms.  There were two songs over ten minutes on Fragile [South Side of the Sky and Heart of the Sunrise]. But the band wanted to push the envelope further.  They decided on an album where one song takes an entire side [Close to the Edge], and two smaller compositions on the flip side.  The first of the two compositions [And You and I], was a delicate, dare I say “pretty song” with Steve’s Howe’s acoustic guitars and Rick Wakeman’s magisterial Mellotron doing the heavy lifting.  But it leaves one ill-prepared for what was to come next – Siberian Khatru.  To put it plainly, Siberian Khatru is a healthy kick in the ass the shows that despite all its pomposity, Yes was still a rock band that could kick serious ass when it wanted to.  All the musicians are superb on this yet it is Squire's bass that is a standout.  Siberian Khatru has an intense organ riff running through the opening, Howe giving us a superb guitar performance, and Squire's bass driving the piece.  Squire lays down some excellent bass, weaving in and out of Wakeman's harpsichord, and not to mention the superb guitar solo.  This is my favorite Yes song, and it is quite obvious why the band chose this song to open many shows.  It’s very intense stuff.

Roundabout [Fragile, 1972]

By far Yes’ most popular song, this is the gateway drug to all things Yes.  Steve Howe’s classical guitar intro is unmistakable, and when he’s finished with his intro, the rest of the band barges in, with Chris Squire’s spidery bass playing a countermelody to Steve Howe’s chord work.  When Steve Howe went back to Asia years ago, the band decided they would play one song from each of the band member’s past.  For Steve Howe, the song was Roundabout.  John Wetton had the unenviable task of both singing and playing Chris Squire’s bass parts.  Wetton said it was a nightmare to do but he pulled it off.  Playing the bass part is hard enough without having to sing.  Like Siberian Khatru, Roundabout has a bass part with immense driving power.  This is the song where I first heard Chris Squire’s sound.  It was fast, it was trebly, and it didn’t get in anybody else’s way.  He could keep the time while still being melodic, and when he needed to he could keep up with Steve Howe.  I like that in bass guitarists.  This song is probably Chris Squire at his best.

Heart of the Sunrise [Fragile, 1972]

In the early Seventies, this song would follow Siberian Khatru in the set list.  But instead of one constant barrage of hyperactivity, Heart of the Sunrise has a fast-slow, fast-slow quality to it.  During the fast parts, Chris Squire keeps up with Steve Howe note-for-note.  In some of the slow parts, Squire plays the melody while Wakeman lays a Melltron over the song like a thick carpet while Howe darts in and out of the mix.

Sound Chaser [Relayer – 1974]

Tales of Topograhic Oceans [1973] was a four-sided exercise in over-indulgence – one song per side.  It was a Jon Anderson/Steve Howe trip, with the other three members along for the ride.  We didn’t hear much from Chris Squire.  One can hear Squire going along with the flow, but there was nothing outstanding bass-wise in the tracks contained therein.  Rick Wakeman claims he was so bored making the album that he spent more time in the bar than he did in the studio.  He was able to find time to lay down synthesizer track for Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album [they were recording next door].  After completion of the album and the tour that followed, Rick Wakeman bailed from Yes.  Replacing him was Swiss-born Patrick Moraz [later of Moody Blues fame].  With Tales of Topograhic Oceans out of their system, Yes returned to the Close to the Edge format – a single song on one side, two shorter songs on the other.  The B side of the album shows Howe and Squire's manic display of dexterity and virtuosity on Sound Chaser. Sound Chaser is the closest Yes ever got to sounding like jazz fusion. Moraz uses a lot of synthesizer here to good effect. The tempo keeps changing throughout the whole song. Squire does some of his best bass playing.  Sound Chaser contains some brilliant bass work from Squire. 

Does It Really Happen? [Drama – 1980]

Drama was the first album without Jon Anderson.  Rick Wakeman was gone, too.  Drama’s predecessor, Tormato [1978] sounded like a tired band on its last legs.  It had its moments, but you had to look hard for them [Don’t Kill the Whale, Onward].  They were replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes [aka The Buggles] respectively.  As seen through the hindsight of 35 years, Drama is an underrated album.  Geoff Downes wasn’t a virtuoso like Rick Wakeman, but not many people are.  He fit into the Yes sound.  Trevor Horn sounded somewhat like Jon Anderson.  When recording his own songs in the studio, he sounded fine.  It was on the road where he tried to sing Jon Anderson’s songs that he ran into trouble.  After Yes finished their tour obligations for Drama, the band called it a day.  But that is not to say that Drama is a bad record – quite the contrary it’s pretty good, and a definite improvement over Tormato.  There are at least three nuggets on Drama – the opener Machine Messiah, Tempus Fugit, and my favorite Does It Really Happen?  Why is it my Drama favorite?  Chris Squire’s bass is the reason.  The song starts with a monster bass riff that sets the pace.  This was not to be a leisurely Yes song.  This one is more along the lines of Siberian Khatru.  The stringed instruments [guitar and bass] drive this song rather than the keyboards.  The centerpiece of the song is Chris Squire’s Rickenbacker.

Tributes to Chris Squire have poured into Yes’ website.  Of all those tributes I’ll print only one that pretty much says it all:

“Simply put, Chris Squire was one of the greatest rock bassists of all time.”

Geddy Lee, Rush