John Wetton and his controversial career

cstack3 wrote: I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned John's short-lived band "Qango" yet!   p.s. as usual, I agree with our friend Ivan (above).

richardh wrote: cstack3 wrote: I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned John's short-lived band "Qango" yet!     John Young and Carl Palmer were involved I think? I did buy a the live CD but rarely play it.   There is a nice story of Keith Emerson turning up to one of their gigs unannounced and then joining in on Hoedown. Palmer was a little bit surprised to say the least.

^ Try playing bass to certain Asia songs - they are quite complex at times......

ExittheLemming wrote: The only original proggers who didn't try their hand at mainstream rock/pop were those who died before we reached the 80's.

Yeah - Fripp is an exception to EVERY rule known to Mankind..........just like Fred Frith........

tamijo wrote: ExittheLemming wrote: The only original proggers who didn't try their hand at mainstream rock/pop were those who died before we reached the 80's.   My God---Is Fripp Dead ?????

Not even Fripp & Co were exempt from attempting a more accessible mainstream style in the 80's e.g. the Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair trio of albums all contain elements of new-wave, proto-techno, world music and radio friendly Pop etc. Robert has also confirmed that his solo Exposure and League of Gentlemen projects were both attempts at a more commercial approach. (I enjoy all these records hugely) Although Live at the Orpheum would suggest otherwise, his demise has not been greatly exaggerated


Edited by ExittheLemming - February 07 2015 at 00:55

Wetton's short tenure with Wishbone Ash is an interesting one. Bassist, frontman and principle songwriter Martin Turner had parted company with the band after a disagreement over musical direction. In came Wetton, who seemed to be the perfect replacement - same sort of bass style and could sing and write songs. Even Turner, though cheesed off with what had happened, is on record as saying he thought JW would be a good fit. However, the band had other ideas and although Wetton offered them some songs (including "Here Comes The Feeling"), he found that he was only engaged to play bass and that Andy Powell and Laurie Wisefield would be sharing lead vocals (even though neither had a strong voice). Wetton left the band before they toured the Number The Brave album (he was replaced by Trevor Bolder) and only one of the songs on the album was written by him. A case of an opportunity missed for Wishbone Ash as things went downhill for them after that, whilst Wetton found success with Asia.

SteveG wrote: ^How you or anyone perceives Wetton's career is valid, Garard. I don't think that's an issue. But I would just like to point out that it may appear a bit too focused on just one individual. Yes, Genesis et al, all went the commercial route, as it was a fixture of that era. Good God, even Renaissance made a dreadful pop album (Time Line) that I don't like, but I understand why they had to go in that direction.

That's right it was part of a larger trend back then. The 80s make just make me gosh darn mad. A few exceptions; Zappa, Henry Kaiser, Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Marillion and so on contributed some good output, but the overwhelming tide was...oh, I'm getting grumpy. Anyway, on the positive side, I don't have any problem revising any view I have of any artist, Phil Collins included, if they start or return to playing Prog.

I always thought of Wetton as one of the most respectable musicians to grace the world of rock. His foibles can be chalked up to his being human and wanting to put some food on the table at times when the recording industry wasn't at its most supportive.