DANGER MONEY

British supergroup U.K. released their second and final studio album 'Danger Money' in 1979, this time around as a boastful trio consisting of John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, and Terry Bozzio, offering a fascinating spin of their technically-competent branch of prog-pop, with the album going down in history as one of the last really great and important releases of the classic prog generation of the seventies, with three of its major protagonists involved. Much like the preceding eponymous debut album of the group, this LP combines the complexity of King Crimson and the instrumental pomp of ELP with gorgeous songwriting and emotive passages as the music can get quite suspenseful and dramatic. The punctuating bass playing of Wetton here provides a rock-solid rhythmic background over which Bozzio can express himself masterfully with excellent fills and ingenious drum patterns, while Jobson can develop these lush, almost gothic soundscapes, so prevalent on this second studio effort from U.K.

The opening title track is an iconic piece written by Wetton, with the gloomy introductory instrumental section, and its pop-structured enframing that necessitates some technical soloing within its eight minutes of playtime. The playful rhythm is what drives this song, allowing the trio to experiment over it with different techniques of playing. The earnest melancholy of the laid-back piece 'Rendezvous 6:02' is moving because of the great balance between the two complementary forces here - the vocals and the piano; just a lovely prog ballad. Third track on the album is a more upbeat and sonically complex keyboard-heavy piece that echoes the music of some of the great progressive masterpieces of the decade. A bit of experimentation with the song structure on 'Caesar's Palace Blues', a more uncommon pop-framed number featuring the violin of Jobson, while 'Nothing to Lose' could be seen as a predecessor to some of these great pop songs Wetton would write for Asia soon after. Closing off side two and the album is the majestic 12-minute composition 'Carrying No Cross', simply one of the dark, expansive and melodramatic masterworks of late 70s prog rock.

This second effort from U.K. is just superb, and with its guitar-less art rock complexities, excellent songwriting, stellar production and pop nuancing, it probably indicates a possible future path for the genre as much as it represents one of the last cries of the classic era of this style of rock music.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to A Crimson Mellotron
• Report this review (#3189019)
• Buy UK music online with PA partners
• Show all UK MP3/Stream
• Go to UK page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Danger Money page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for UK related discussions