ARKANGEL

A lot of good musicians on this album - Billy Liesgang, Robert Fripp, Steve Hackett (!) and long-time friend Richard Palmer-James... But a good line-up doesn't always make a great album. The big difference with the last album "Battle Lines" is the presence of too many cheesy songs - even the mellow songs often lack the emotion one would expect from such songs.

Of course, the first three tracks are awesome. The beautiful instrumental "The Circle Of St Giles", the rocking "The Last Thing On My Mind" and the emotional "Desperate Times". The title track "Arkangel" is another fine soft track. "All Grown Up" is probably the most emotional song on this album. And the closing track "The Celtic Cross" is another great instrumental. But what about the rest of the songs? "I Can't Lie Anymore" and "Nothing Happens For Nothing" are leftovers from the previous album - very irritating melodies. "You Against The World" is an extremely cheesy song. "Emma", "After All", "Magazines" and "Woman" are four very mellow tracks, but they definitely lack the emotion of the title track for example. And "Be Careful What You Wish For" is unremarkable...

Rating: 68/100

A local hero

For this 1998 release, Wetton brought in several prog heavyweights, including Steve Hackett and Robert Fripp. Strange then that he should record one of his most vocal and pop orientated albums.

There's much more Asia to this album and much less King Crimson/Uriah Heep, indeed many of the songs could have been recorded by Asia had John stayed on. "Nothing happens for nothing" for example is an Asia song, pure and simple, with a strong upbeat melody and a catchy hook. There are plenty of ballads and slow acoustic songs too. Of these, the title track and "All grown up" are among the most emotional and enjoyable.

The album opens rather deceptively, with a fine if brief instrumental "The circle of St Giles". The mood of the album though is quickly encapsulated in the pop/rock of "The last thing on my mind" (no relation to the Tom Paxton song), a fine song but far from challenging. The other instrumental, "The Celtic Cross" has more than hint of Mark Knopfler's inspirational theme music for the film "Local hero".

The final two tracks, "Magazines" and the live recording of "Woman" are hidden bonus songs, which do not appear on all releases of the album. Both are fine, if a tad ordinary, slow Wetton ballads.

For those (including myself) who enjoy the voice of John Wetton, this is a good listen. The songs may be relatively simple, but they are flawlessly performed, and superbly produced.