U.K. Collection Disk1  (67:33)
	01	In The Dead Of Night						05:35
	02	By The Light Of Day						04:27
	03	Presto Vivace and Reprise						03:07
	04	Thirty Years						08:07
	05	Alaska						04:42
	06	Time To Kill						04:53
	07	Nevermore						08:13
	08	Mental Medication						07:27
	09	Night After Night						05:22
	10	Rendezvous 6.02						05:15
	11	Nothing To Lose						05:16
	12	As Long As You Want Me Here						05:09
UK Collection: Danger Money & Night After Night  (63:11)
	01	Danger Money						08:14
	02	Rendezvous 6.02						05:00
	03	The Only Thing She Needs						07:54
	04	Caesar's Palace Blues						04:44
	05	Nothing To Lose						03:58
	06	Carrying No Cross						12:21
	07	Alaska						02:25
	08	Time To Kill						06:11
	09	Presto Vivace						01:03
	10	In The Dead Of Night						06:12
	11	Caesar's Palace Blues						05:09

U.K. - U.K.

Release Date: 1978

Track Listing
1) In the Dead of Night(Jobson/Wetton) - 5:38
2) By the Light of Day (Jobson/Wetton) - 5:32
3) Presto Vivace and Reprise (Jobson/Wetton) - 2:58
4) Thirty Years (Bruford/Jobson/Wetton) - 8:09
5) Alaska (Jobson) - 4:45
6) Time to Kill (Bruford/Jobson/Wetton) - 4:55
7) Nevermore (Holdsworth/Jobson/Wetton) - 8:09
8) Mental Medication (Bruford/Holdsworth/Jobson) - 7:31

Member: Prog Owl

Bill Bruford: Drums, Percussion
Allan Holdsworth: Guitars
Eddie Jobson: Keyboards, Violin, Electronics
John Wetton: Bass, Vocals


Here I am again, going against type. Normally, there's two types of bands I avoid like the plague:

A) Supergroups

B) Bands that are named after geographical locations

My experience has been typically that both types of musical endeavors are usually ridden with crass commercial machinations, merciless hype, over-inflated egos and cliched tripe that adds up to far less than the sum of it's collective experiences and talents.

Then every once in a great while, there comes along a collective of musicians of considerable talent and brilliance that completely goes against the norm and produces a brilliant set of music. UK was one such wonderful anomaly!!

For a wonderful moment in time, this foursome produced some of the most adventurous, state-of-the-art (for the time period) symphonic progressive rock that you were ever likely to hear. While certainly very technically gifted, UK did not let flashy grandstanding obscure great songcraft. Each piece has incredibly strong melody and certainly more than enough instrumental fireworks to satisfy the most rabid prog fan.

The standouts for me are the 3 part "In The Dead of Night" epic that opens the album, the tear-inducing "30 Years" (what I would call a "Kleenex Classic") and probably my absolute top fave "Alaska/Time To Kill". The "Alaska" portion works so well as Eddie Jobson conjures up vast pictures of a windswept, desolate, snow-covered landscape on his synths, giving way to a firey interchange between all four musicians leading into the harrowing survival tale of "Time To Kill". This is easily John Wetton's most wrenching vocal performance on the album.

Another highlight is Allan Holdsworth's interjections with extruded, otherworldly guitar parts that sound totally impossible! I personally remember hearing this album when it was first released and scratching my head saying "HOW THE DEVIL DOES HE DO THAT??". Throughout the whole album, he unleashes extruded silvery chords, death-defying legato melody lines and things that sound, like I said, totally impossible on guitar. Bill Bruford and John Wetton carry over the telepathic brilliance they cultivated as the King Crimson rhythm section quite beautifully here. Never a dull moment.

"Nevermore" is a great feature for Allan, ranging from beautiful and thoughtful acoustic flourishes at the start to haunting "guitar orchestra" passages in the opening verses and firey trade-offs with Eddie Jobson midway through. Best of all, the whole song develops so beautifully like a symphonic piece, with Eddie Jobson's colorful textural shifts and swaths holding your rapt attention.

"Mental Medication" is the one cut that didn't quite fly for me. It starts off beautifully enough, with Allan unleashing some silvery, ghostly chord melody and a heartfelt John Wetton vocal introduces the song's theme. However, the whole piece takes on a rather stilted "pieced together" feel, with a lot of odd-meters and intricate passages for their own sake that don't make complete sense, in stark contrast to the beautifully written musical sentences throughout the rest of the album.

That quibble aside, this writer is of the opinion that UK's debut album is an essential part of your library, a display of unabashed brilliance, and sadly, a sort of swan-song, one last moment of brilliance before the forces of crass commercialism took their toll and told those of great talent they were no longer wanted around. Play it loudly, play it proudly!! Let the naysayers be served notice that real talent still counts for something!!!




Member: Pt 1 Cyclothymic Mood 7/7/03
U.K. is not the first or last supergroup in prog rock: from ELP through Transatlantic, the supergroup has always drawn considerable attention, if merely for the promise of the project's potential. Formed in 1977, U.K. was comprised of prog rock stalwarts of exceptional pedigree: John Wetton and Bill Bruford of the recently-disbanded King Crimson, Eddie Jobson (formerly of Roxy Music), and Allan Holdsworth, fresh from Bill Bruford's solo debut Feels Good to Me. Through the lens of hindsight, this line-up was obviously highly geared and cause for enthusiasm, and the tension between Bruford's and Holdsworth's near-jazz fusion leanings, and Jobson and Wetton's pop-rock sensibilities only increased the power of the mix. U.K. does in fact contain some noteworthy performances, and if Jobson gives the recording its most unique, recognizable sounds, nonetheless it is Allan Holdsworth who deserves the laurel here for exceptionally tasteful contributions and nuance.

The debut opens with what is basically a three-song suite: "In the Dead of Night," "By the Light of Day," and "Presto Vivace and Reprise." From the outset the listening audience is placed firmly within the tradition and conventions of classic progressive rock. "In the Dead of Night" begins in 7/4, and is based on Eddie Jobson's bright (maybe overly so) keyboard rhythm. Wetton and Bruford complement that rhythm well with some nifty accompaniment: subdued but hardly simplistic. Holdsworth's guitar is fluidly present after the first verse, but the playing is largely understated, allowing Bruford and Wetton to propel the tune. The guitar solo in the bridge is exquisite: if this is the listener's first exposure to Holdsworth's playing, the response will be appreciation, and, depending upon that listener's age, familiarity, as the swift runs and unbroken leads are the prototype for what will later be Edward Van Halen's trademark style. One may wish the drums were a bit more forward in the mix, but overall the sound is full and the balance between the instruments and vocals is even.

The opening track segues without lacuna into "By the Light of Day," a softer, more evocative counterpoint to the driving force of "In the Dead of Night." Wetton's vocals are plaintive, calm and very smooth, much like an uninterrupted day of routine existence. The keyboards wash over the closing instrumental section, and keep the song sullen, but only momentarily, because the suite transitions into the funk-beated groove of "Presto Vivace and Reprise." Here Jobson's key work dominates and moves with a grace and a gyre, and finally descends back into the reprised introductory riff of "In the Dead of Night." The band fully honors the motifs of progressive rock in its initial offering, but there is a hint of the new: the entire suite has a slick, highly processed sound, and for that, feels a bit too sterile - first-rate musicianship slightly undone by a too-clinical production. (As an aside, one might recommend the slightly abridged version of this three-song suite on the Prog Day '98 CD, featuring the John Wetton Band: a more muscular, less tinny presentation with a welcome rawness and brawn.)

"Thirty Years" is the fourth track, and features Jobson's lush but tempered keyboard atmospherics and Holdsworth's touching acoustic guitar fills as the tone is set for the song: regretfulness, resignation, helplessness, futility. A pronounced chord change announces the start of Wetton's lyrics - a very clean, very sad rendering of the words. Again, Bruford is somewhat buried in the mix, until the tune jumps into its second phase. Here the band moves with a renewed energy, riding a short passage into an almost sinister, threatening beat - Bruford's playing is now quite evident in its suitability and controlled flair - and Holdsworth's slippery, almost Steely Dan-like serpent-leads. This tune highlights what is appealing to prog fans throughout the album: tight, focused playing with highly melodic passages which never veer toward any sort of arena pomp - respectable and finessed music. Wetton also contributes to this by singing the complicated lyrical sections with skill and without bombast.

"Alaska" follows, with what is perhaps one of the more convincing introductions in progressive rock: the playing is sparse and barren, especially due to Jobson's clever, poetic use of keyboard tone. He paints with sound the desolation of a formidable landscape which discourages survival. The introduction meanders but holds attention, and then erupts into a frenzied beat and Holdsworth's jagged solo, abrupt in its EKG-like pattern. The vocals of "Time to Kill" come after a short delay, and are impassioned but without hysteria. In many ways, U.K. is Wetton's supreme singing performance, if only for his fine control over some extremely irregular vocal deliveries and phrasings. Jobson lets loose in "Time to Kill" with his first significant violin solo: it is impressive especially with its final wind-swirl into the returning vocals. In fact, it is in the violin passages that one best sees the band's mastery of the material, and those passages often are preferable to the keyboard work.

"Nevermore" starts with more of Holdsworth's flamenco-speed acoustic runs, beautiful and haunting (in a fashion similar to Howe's acoustic style in Yes, at times, but less angular), but moves again into a pseudo-Steely Dan sound, featuring some very nice cymbal work from Bruford. The vocals again are tricky but well-sung. Jobson's keyboard fills aren't well-fitted to the song, especially as counterpoint to Holdsworth's soloing; the keys again sound too synthetic. "Nevermore" is the weakest song of the recording, and (perhaps not coincidentally) seems most to foreshadow the emergence of Asia. The eerie keyboard at tune's end is uncomfortable and unsettling - slightly psychedelic and paranoid - but soon converts into an easier cadence.

The closing track is "Mental Medication," which opens with lounge-lizard lyrics and a minor Vegas vocal feel: a pleasant but unusual Wetton delivery that flows into some harder verses which again evoke Steely Dan, especially in the chord progression. The middle rhythmic break features a hallmark Wetton bass line holding the bottom while Jobson and Holdsworth trade solos. A bit later, Jobson unleashes his best violin solo of the recording, while Wetton lays down a tight, popping bass part. The violin seems to be unweighted of electronic effects here, and the near-acoustic sound fits into the overall blend decently. The song rounds out with a return to the lounge, and closes with a sleepy mildness and resolution, and some Brian May-sounding guitar overlays.


Member: Pt 2 Cyclothymic Mood 7/7/03
**Continued from review**

Overall, a grand offering. Interestingly, although this is hardly a commercial recording in the sense of an Asia or even a 90125, it is full of catchy but difficult musicianship, and commands attention with its complexity and forays out into the world of fusion and staccato beats. Wetton sings well throughout, Jobson and Holdsworth each impress, and Bruford once again displays the efficacy of selective percussion placement. The recording suffers marginally from the passage of time: the keyboards no longer sound novel or fresh, and perhaps annoy more than anything else at times, but in certain spots (e.g., the opening to "By the Light of Day"), the keys pull the listener straight into the track. A live presentation of this material, with a little less subtlety and a little more force, must have been worth the price of admission.

I would recommend this recording to all progressive rock fans fond of Wetton-Bruford era King Crimson, fans of fusion and Mahavishnu Orchestra, fans of the Van Halen-Malmsteen-Satriani-Vai style shredding, and even fans of Asia when they are inclined toward a more adventurous experience. Fans of Rush might perhaps enjoy this album, as well as fans of Tormato-Drama era Yes. U.K. is possibly one piece of the progressive rock bookend, with something like Days of Future Passed or In the Court of the Crimson King as its mate: it stands not only as the conclusion of an era, but as representative of the intensity, willingness to experiment, and sheer musicality of that great period in the annals of rock and roll.





U.K. - Night After Night

Release Date: 1979

Track Listing
1) Night after Night (5:23)
2) Rendezvous 6:02 (5:15)
3) Nothing to Lose (5:16)
4) As Long as You Want Me Here (5:08)
5) Alaska (2:25)
6) Time to Kill (6:10)
7) Presto Vivace (1:03)
8) In the Dead of Night (6:12)
9) Caesar's Palace Blues (5:08)

Member: (!rKu$

Personnel:
John Wetton - Bass, lead vocals
Eddie Jobson - Keys, violin
Terry Bozzio - Drums, percussion

Since Allan Holdsworth & Bill Bruford's departure after the tour supporting their excellent self-titled debut release, U.K. had become a keyboard driven power trio. Wetton and Jobson then hired Terry Bozzio to fill the drum stool but apparently decided to leave the guitar spot empty. The band now featured ex-members of King Crimson, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa so they still had major players in all postitions. They entered the studio again and recorded their very good sophmore album, Danger Money. They followed this album with a tour as well and the two Tokyo dates from this tour were recorded and released as their third album, Night After Night.

Night After Night featured four songs from the debut, three songs from the second release and two new songs; "Night After Night" and "As Long As You Want Me Here". The latter being the weakest track overall. "Nothing To Lose" being the most pop oriented track was a sign of things to come in John Wetton's musical future. The high point I think would have to be the blistering "Caeser's Palace Blues" which closes the album. Then the sound of the cheering crowd seems to just be lopped off at the end of the record. A sign of the band's end maybe? An excellent album overall as live releases go.

I'm not sure if it was planned at it's release date, but this was to be the last offical album we would see from this shortlived supergroup. They would split soon after in 1980 and each go in separate and successful directions. John Wetton would become a founding member of Asia, Eddie Jobson would jump on board with Jethro Tull and Terry Bozzio would form Missing Persons with his then wife, Dale.

Happy listening,
(!rKu$


U.K. - Danger Money

Release Date: 1979


Member: Sean 6/22/03
Danger Money is the second studio album from UK and one that is a bit controversial. A lot of changes happened between their debut and this album. Nothing too radical, just a BIG PERSONNEL UPHEAVAL and lineup change. LOL.

The debut album from UK of course featured Bill Bruford on drums, Allan Holdsworth on guitar, John Wetton on bass and vocals and Eddie Jobson on keys and violin. It was a pretty exciting debut and the best of their meager studio output. Their sound reminded me of an updated, sleeker Emerson, Lake and Plamer with Holdsworth on guitar.

On the follow up, Danger Money we see the lineup reduced to a trio. Holdsworth and all guitar is gone. Bruford too is gone and in his place is drum wunderdude Terry Bozzio of Frank Zappa fame. Bozzio's style was a lot more muscular than Bruford's and in some ways seems a better fit for UK. He is as adept, if not moreso. So drumwise this album is still worth looking into, he does some creative stuff here.

I have to admit, I miss the guitar. I don't miss Holdsworth per se, just the balance that the debut had. There were great moments when Holdsworth and Jobson would take turns at solos, and it seemed to elevate the music. Danger Money of course just has Jobson soloing. Both on synths and violin. There is more violin on this album than the debut, in a need to fill the void left by the absence of guitar. Jobson does turn in some stunning playing here, most of which is quite creative.

Wetton turns in really good vocal performances here. I think the lyrics sometimes leave a bit to be desired, but that is a minor gripe. A few tunes here have become Wetton related classics like the beautiful piano ballad "Rendezvous 6:02".

What we have left is good but not great album, at least I think so. There is some dazzling keyboard work on here on nearly every track like the debut. Jobson seems like Keith Emerson with the dust blown off him and a shot of B12. I really like his violin playing as well, he recalls the sound of Jean Luc Ponty on a few occasions. And that isn't a bad thing. Still something is missing.....

Standout tracks are "Carrying No Cross", "Only Thing She Needs", "Caesar's Palace Blues" (which is not a blues), and the above mentioned "Rendezvous 6:02". If you can get past the lack of guitar here there is still a lot to enjoy. No it is not as good as the debut, but it is of a similar ilk. It is one of the better 'prog' albums considering it was released at a time when prog was basically dead- 1979.

c2001 - 2003 Progressive Ears



UK [UK]
U.K. (78), Danger Money (79), Night After Night (79)

A supergroup that is truly deserving of the title. Allan Holdsworth and Bill Bruford are their usual, more-than-competent selves, John Wetton's performance is thankfully much closer to his work with King Crimson than Uriah Heep. But it's Eddie Jobson, fresh from working with Roxy Music, who's the star of the show. On the fabulous first album, his electric violin playing and use of the polyphonic CS80 synthesizer steals the show. But not only is the playing good, the songs are well written, too. "Thirty Years" is an eye-popping exercise in dynamics, with a lovely intro with liquid synthesizers which leads into the heavy main section with power bass/guitar riffing an a hot violin solo. The 13-minute, three-part "In The Dead Of Night" is the kind of musical intricacy prog fans live for, especially the fast ending section. And "Nevermore" is a luscious jazzy piece with wondrous guitar interludes by Holdsworth. One of the best albums from the progressive dark ages. Danger Money features an altered lineup (Holdsworth and Bruford out, Terry Bozzio in), but no significant change in sound, save the lack of guitar. This album likewise has much to recommend it. Though the writing overall isn't quite as good, the playing is just as hot as ever. Best track: "Carrying No Cross," with some of Jobson's best keyboard work since Curved Air's "Metamorphosis." -- Mike Ohman

I have the self-titled UK album which features Bill Bruford on drums, John Wetton on bass and vocals, Allan Holdsworth on guitars and Eddie Jobson on keyboards and violin. Each of these guys are noted musicians, as you probably know. Despite the talent involved, the music is merely average (what is it about these supergroups, anyway?) and not very exciting. Bruford turns in his usual excellent performance and Holdsworth's solos are up to the standards set on his solo albums. Jobson and Wetton are also up to snuff performance-wise though Wetton's voice isn't as good as his singing on the King Crimson albums. There just doesn't seem to be much synergism among the players and that keeps the music from really gelling. Certainly, there are much worse albums out there and this album does have several delightful moments but it just seems this could be so much better. The eight songs range from three to eight minutes in length, averaging about five minutes. Overall, not bad and I'm sure many of you would go a bundle on this. I pull it out for a listen now and again but just can't help feeling it could have been so much better ...

Unlike most UK fans, I prefer their second release Danger Money to their first, self-titled album. The song "Carrying No Cross" is a favorite of mine. John Wetton (of King Crimson, Asia) on bass and vocals and Eddie Jobson on keys (and violin) were on both studio albums. Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, and Allan Holdsworth were also in this band.

Danger Money is much better than the first one. It will appeal to ELP fans with Jobson's incredible keyboards.

I didn't hear anything from their first album, with Allan Holdsworth and Bill Bruford, but Danger Money, with John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, and Terry Bozzio, is pretty good. A bit on the depressing side though, but not really in a beautiful way, like Marillion.

Bill Bruford, John Wetton, Alan Holdsworth, Eddie Jobson. How could it go wrong. The first album was great. After that Bruford and Holdsworth left, and they got Terry Bozzio of Zappa fame to sit in. I hear that this album was more commercial, but I've never heard it.



U.K. - U.K.


Some weeks ago I wrote about 'Red', the famous 1974 album by King Crimson. Shortly after the release, Robert Fripp called it a day, leaving Wetton and Bruford behind. Although both did several projects, they missed playing in a band and they formed UK in 1978.


The History
There had been an attempt to form a band in 1977 with Wetton, Bruford and Rick Wakeman. As John Wetton recalls in his biography: "It was good, actually. It was very good. Some of the music we were playing was excellent. But Rick didn't want it to happen, and when there's only three of you and one person doesn't want it to happen, then it isn't going to fly. It's something that Bill has constantly downplayed, and I've never heard Rick talk about it at all, but it happened. We spent six weeks of our lives doing it and even had photographs done on the set of a James Bond movie. One of the songs I took out of it was 'Thirty Years.' We played that vaguely. One of the songs that Bill took in was 'Beelzebub,' and he took it out with him again. And apart from that, I don't know of any of the material that's ever surfaced, but then I haven't listened to that many Rick Wakeman albums."
In his book, 'When In Doubt, Roll!' (1988), Bill Bruford also recalled how the trio fell apart: "Mercifully, A&M Records was unwilling to let its 'star,' Wakeman, walk off with a used, slightly soiled King Crimson rhythm section, and the idea failed."

When Wakeman left, Bill and John decided to carry on once again and create something bigger. The premise was that John would bring in a musician of his choice, and Bill would do the same. So John brought in keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, who he knew from his work with Roxy Music in 1976 and Bill got guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who had played guitar on Bruford's debut album, 'Feels Good to Me' (1978). That brought U.K. into existence.

Featuring members of Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music, and Soft Machine, UK was one of the most prominent progressive-rockgroups of the late '70s and the first of a concept that would be called 'a super-group'. Various members of UK had all played together in their previous bands, but when the group formed in 1977-78, it was the first time all of the musicians had played together. Although and the group was short-lived, the band maintained a dedicated cult following years after their early '80s breakup.

Soon after the 'birth' of the band they released a self-titled debut album, that captured the attention of progressive-rock and jazz-fusion fans, as did the record's supporting tour. During this tour many new songs were tried out for the first time, but those were never to be recorded with this line-up.
As a result of musical differences, the lineup was unstable; Holdsworth and Bruford left after one album to from 'Bruford', with former Frank Zappa drummer Terry Bozzio replacing Bruford. UK didn't hire another guitarist. As a result Uk became a trio with a classic 'ELP-line up' (drums/bass/keys). The new lineup of UK released Danger Money in 1979 and followed the album with a tour. Once the tour was completed, the group broke up. The posthumous live album Night After Night was released shortly afterward. Regrettably, no live-recordings by the first, legendary line-up were released. Until this year, when a 'Concert Classics'-album saw the light of day, consisting of recordings from 1978, including several tracks that had never been available by the first line-up before, such as Caesar's Palace Blues. However, this albums had already been withdrawn from the market because of a dispute between record-companies about the rights.

Following the disbandment of UK, Eddie Jobson became a member of Jethro Tull, Terry Bozzio formed Missing Persons, and John Wetton formed Asia with fellow progressive-rock stars Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, and Geoffrey Downes. Bill Bruford would be part of a new edition of King Crimson...

Nothing was heard about UK until 1997, when a new UK-album was announced featuring Wetton and Jobson as key persons and starring Bruford and Holdsworth as well. Guest appearances by Steve Hackett, Tony Levin and Francis Dunnery (ex-It Bites) were also announced.
Although recordings have been done, the status of the project is still unclear, especially since John Wetton withdraw his contribution to the project. Bill Bruford confirmed his contribution with the words: "It's just a thing we did for Eddie". Probably, the album - tentatively called The Legacy - will be released at some time, but no longer under the name of 'UK'.




The Album

Side one of 'UK' is one of the best 20-minutes of music I know. The vinyl version of the album - see below - even suggests it's one piece of music, whereas the CD-version just mentions 4 different tracks. Musically I think you have to say it's two: on the one hand the trilogie of In The Dead of Night, By The Light of Day and Presto Vivace and Reprise and on the other hand Thirty Years.
The album opens with the keys and bass of In The Dead Of Night. The bass has an unusual, morse-like bass-rhythm on top of which Jobson on keys and Bruford on drums seem to play their own 'counter-rhythm'. Very nice. Wetton's singing is - as ever - very powerful. Holdsworth plays an unequalled solo.
A softer and slower part, full of synth-sounds marks the transition to By The Light of Day, a beautiful ballad with the same melody-line, but a completely different rhythm (5/4 and many other things). Jobson adds something very beautiful with his electric violin. Nice breaks for synth-waves end this part.
Drum-riffs annouce a very hectical Presto Vivace, which is -as the title suggests - a very lively intermezzo by means of a psychedelic keyboard-part. Since this three-minute-part also includes Reprise, the main 'morse'-theme is reintroduced. I'm often accused of being a '7/8'-freak, but here you can really hear why this kind of rhythm is so nice. It certainly gives a very special drive to the song.

A tapestry of CS 80 Yamaha-sounds and an acoustic guitar form the scenery for this very special track, with its almost a-tonal vocal-lines. No rhythm, just sounds and John Wetton singing at the top of his voice. But after three-and-a-half minutes the atmosphere changes radically with a keyboard-solo, followed by another inventive beat by Bruford. Not many times Bruford earned song-credits, but for this track he really deserves (and gets!) them. Without his contribution the song wouldn't have been half as spectacular. Towards the end, the initial vocal-melody returns, but now accompanied by a full band. Holdsworth again plays a memorable solo, that defines the 'middle-ground' between fusion and prog.

Alaska is a Jobson-only composition and it shows! Very dark and mystical, this instrumental piece opens 'side 2' in a great way. After a slow keyboard-part a heavier part follows with just enough room for Allan Holdsworth to put his sweeping guitar 'somewhere' in between the other three musicians' contribution to the volatile nature of the track.
Alaska leads directly into Time to Kill, a musically very interesting track, where a lot happens, despite the not so special vocal-lines. In the middle of the song there's an awesome break with another electric violin-solo. Simply great. I wish more bands had experimented in this way with a combination of 'rock' and 'classical' intruments.

For the last two songs of the album, Allan Holdsworth gets credits as well. Nevermore opens with an acoustic guitar and a keyboardpart, not unlike Thirty Years. In between the choruses guitar, keyboard and violin get some space for solos. A nice, long 'duet' between Jobson and Holdsworth forms the highlight of this song, which is a bit harder to get into than some of the other compositions, but certainly worth while. The last part of this song consists of an atmpospheric soundscape again with a threatening touch.
Mental Medication again starts with a very unusual vocal-line, acompanied by a jazzy guitar. Hectical breaks interrupt more melodic parts. In the middle there's a lovely beat - bass and drums - on top of which a guitar-solo is played. After a break, it's the violin's turn again. Like Nevermore, a bit harder to get into, but certainly worth the try, because there's a lot to enjoy. The musical skills of these four gentlemen is a joy for the ear and I seldomly hear a band producing such a special crossover between musical styles with such a unique sound.

It's really a pity that 'UK' had such a short existence, since this music suits me like a glove. But on the other hand: this music hadn't been so interesting if it hadn't been the result of an experiment, and normally experiments don't last long. On top of that, the short life of this group adds to the mythical status of it. A status that continues with the recent quarrels over copyright and the withdrawal of Wetton's contribution to the 'Legacy-project'. The legend continues...

by: Jan-Jaap de Haan.







U.K. Humbled in U.S.A.
by Jason Simon
From Rolling Stone, September 21, 1978



ASBURY PARK, N.J. - "This tour we've been very humble, eaten humble pie. On most of the gigs we've been supporting, and that means no sound check, lousy monitors and all."
Sitting in his modest room in a Howard Johnson's motor lodge after opening for Tom Petty at a small hall in this decaying Jersey resort, a discouraged John Wetton pauses to flick off a soccer match on TV. He and the three other members of U.K. - drummer Bill Bruford; guitarist Allan Holdsworth and keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson - each have tasted headline status, complete with sound checks and good monitors , in stints with Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Frank Zappa and several other well-known bands.
"Generally speaking, we're better in a big hall because we're used to playing big halls," says Jobson. "In places like Cleveland, I've done the 10,000-seater with Roxy and Zappa. Bill did it with Yes and Crimson. John's done it with Crimson. We've done the big places, yet we go there and they want us to support in a 500-seater or something, which is sort of underkill. Consequently, we sell the place out, they add two shows and they sell out, and they say, 'Oh we should have put you in a bigger place'."
It shouldn't take much longer, Wetton says, to get those larger bookings in America. The band is emerging as the darling of British progressive rock, because of its early concerts, well-recieved debut album (U.K.) and immediately likeable, FM-oriented music. "I think the first album was a good basis to work from - being a music band," Wetton says. "We could have gotten to a lot more people by having a hit-single on our first album. But it's a very fickle audience, the hit-single audience. It could be you today, someone else tomorrow. . . . In terms of record-company acceptance, the first album was a mistake because it had suites and things like that. But it's still getting a lot of airplay and we've sold reasonably well (200,000 copies) and we can build on that."
Jobson dominates the group, both on record and on stage, as he alternates between keyboards and plexiglass violin, pushing the band through long, intricate musical passages, Holdsworth, a veteran of Soft Machine and Tony Williams' New Lifetime, stays largely in the background, occasionally erupting with bursts of furious Mahavishnu-like guitar. Bruford's drumming is light and airy and combines well with Wetton's forceful bass playing. Wetton's vocals are kept to a minimum and seem almost like an afterthought.
The stage show is simply four musicians concentrating on their music, playing before audiences who frequently don't know what to expect, by the end of the evening, though, fans are usually chanting "U.K., U.K."
Jobson, also the band's major songwriter bristles at descriptions of U.K. as an extension of King Crimson. "We may sound like Crimson because Bill and John were two-thirds of Crimson," he says a bit defensively. "That was one of the first policy decisions we made - we weren't going to go out and play '21st Century Schizoid Man.' We just want to be U.K."
After Crimson broke up in 1975, Bruford (who helped form Yes after a two-day stint with Savoy Brown eleven years ago) and Wetton went their separate ways before joining Rick Wakeman in another supergroup last year. Wetton says the three wanted to create a formal band after jamming together and went through hundreds of names. But Wakeman's management didn't care for the idea, he says. "They just saw us as another backing group for Rick Wakeman. We really didn't want to be part of that."
Bruford and Wetton resolved to stay together, "stole" Jobson from Zappa and added Holdsworth, who had played on Bruford's solo album. Eight weeks later U.K. was complete, and they mapped out their tour plans. Because they had played in well-known British groups, U.K. received a better initial reception in its homeland, headlining in 3,000-seat halls. It became necessary to start writing again, because the band needed 90 minutes of material to headline. But in the U.S., the show is chopped back to 45 minutes, half music from the first album and the other half new material. The band swallowed its pride and played 28 dates "as a supporting act, and a few headline gigs - anything we can get - $400 here, a thousand there," as Bruford puts it.
At 29, Bruford is a 12-year rock veteran and becomes cynical when discussing the punk-rock upheaval in England and punk's disdain for the "old fart" bands he's played in. 'There seems to be a new group every 30 seconds: 'And now here's today's biggest punk band, X-Ray Specs'," he mocks. "Tomorrow it'll be someone else.
"The way rock is being defined in England right now, I'm certainly not a rock drummer and never have been. Rock there is about protest, unemployment, the welfare state. I'm a nice middle-class boy, and I'm not a rock drummer if you define it like that."

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This article is posted here without permission. However, Rolling Stone has nothing to lose financially and I have nothing to gain. This article is posted here simply in the interest of fans of UK, a band Rolling Stone probably doesn't even remember. The article will be deleted when/if Rolling Stone requests it to be so.
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U.K.
U.K.
1978
E.G.


U.K. is not the first or last supergroup in prog rock: from ELP through Transatlantic, the supergroup has always drawn considerable attention, if merely for the promise of the project's potential. Formed in 1977, U.K. was comprised of prog rock stalwarts of exceptional pedigree: John Wetton and Bill Bruford of the recently-disbanded King Crimson, Eddie Jobson (formerly of Roxy Music), and Allan Holdsworth, fresh from Bill Bruford's solo debut Feels Good to Me. Through the lens of hindsight, this line-up was obviously highly geared and cause for enthusiasm, and the tension between Bruford's and Holdsworth's near-jazz fusion leanings, and Jobson and Wetton's pop-rock sensibilities only increased the power of the mix. U.K. does in fact contain some noteworthy performances, and if Jobson gives the recording its most unique, recognizable sounds, nonetheless it is Allan Holdsworth who deserves the laurel here for exceptionally tasteful contributions and nuance.
The debut opens with what is basically a three-song suite: "In the Dead of Night," "By the Light of Day," and "Presto Vivace and Reprise." From the outset the listening audience is placed firmly within the tradition and conventions of classic progressive rock. "In the Dead of Night" begins in 7/4, and is based on Eddie Jobson's bright (maybe overly so) keyboard rhythm. Wetton and Bruford complement that rhythm well with some nifty accompaniment: subdued but hardly simplistic. Holdsworth's guitar is fluidly present after the first verse, but the playing is largely understated, allowing Bruford and Wetton to propel the tune. The guitar solo in the bridge is exquisite: if this is the listener's first exposure to Holdsworth's playing, the response will be appreciation, and, depending upon that listener's age, familiarity, as the swift runs and unbroken leads are the prototype for what will later be Edward Van Halen's trademark style. One may wish the drums were a bit more forward in the mix, but overall the sound is full and the balance between the instruments and vocals is even.

The opening track segues without lacuna into "By the Light of Day," a softer, more evocative counterpoint to the driving force of "In the Dead of Night." Wetton's vocals are plaintive, calm and very smooth, much like an uninterrupted day of routine existence. The keyboards wash over the closing instrumental section, and keep the song sullen, but only momentarily, because the suite transitions into the funk-beated groove of "Presto Vivace and Reprise." Here Jobson's key work dominates and moves with a grace and a gyre, and finally descends back into the reprised introductory riff of "In the Dead of Night." The band fully honors the motifs of progressive rock in its initial offering, but there is a hint of the new: the entire suite has a slick, highly processed sound, and for that, feels a bit too sterile - first-rate musicianship slightly undone by a too-clinical production. (As an aside, one might recommend the slightly abridged version of this three-song suite on the Prog Day '98 CD, featuring the John Wetton Band: a more muscular, less tinny presentation with a welcome rawness and brawn.)

"Thirty Years" is the fourth track, and features Jobson's lush but tempered keyboard atmospherics and Holdsworth's touching acoustic guitar fills as the tone is set for the song: regretfulness, resignation, helplessness, futility. A pronounced chord change announces the start of Wetton's lyrics - a very clean, very sad rendering of the words. Again, Bruford is somewhat buried in the mix, until the tune jumps into its second phase. Here the band moves with a renewed energy, riding a short passage into an almost sinister, threatening beat - Bruford's playing is now quite evident in its suitability and controlled flair - and Holdsworth's slippery, almost Steely Dan-like serpent-leads. This tune highlights what is appealing to prog fans throughout the album: tight, focused playing with highly melodic passages which never veer toward any sort of arena pomp - respectable and finessed music. Wetton also contributes to this by singing the complicated lyrical sections with skill and without bombast.

"Alaska" follows, with what is perhaps one of the more convincing introductions in progressive rock: the playing is sparse and barren, especially due to Jobson's clever, poetic use of keyboard tone. He paints with sound the desolation of a formidable landscape which discourages survival. The introduction meanders but holds attention, and then erupts into a frenzied beat and Holdsworth's jagged solo, abrupt in its EKG-like pattern. The vocals of "Time to Kill" come after a short delay, and are impassioned but without hysteria. In many ways, U.K. is Wetton's supreme singing performance, if only for his fine control over some extremely irregular vocal deliveries and phrasings. Jobson lets loose in "Time to Kill" with his first significant violin solo: it is impressive especially with its final wind-swirl into the returning vocals. In fact, it is in the violin passages that one best sees the band's mastery of the material, and those passages often are preferable to the keyboard work.

"Nevermore" starts with more of Holdsworth's flamenco-speed acoustic runs, beautiful and haunting (in a fashion similar to Howe's acoustic style in Yes, at times, but less angular), but moves again into a pseudo-Steely Dan sound, featuring some very nice cymbal work from Bruford. The vocals again are tricky but well-sung. Jobson's keyboard fills aren't well-fitted to the song, especially as counterpoint to Holdsworth's soloing; the keys again sound too synthetic. "Nevermore" is the weakest song of the recording, and (perhaps not coincidentally) seems most to foreshadow the emergence of Asia. The eerie keyboard at tune's end is uncomfortable and unsettling - slightly psychedelic and paranoid - but soon converts into an easier cadence.

The closing track is "Mental Medication," which opens with lounge-lizard lyrics and a minor Vegas vocal feel: a pleasant but unusual Wetton delivery that flows into some harder verses which again evoke Steely Dan, especially in the chord progression. The middle rhythmic break features a hallmark Wetton bass line holding the bottom while Jobson and Holdsworth trade solos. A bit later, Jobson unleashes his best violin solo of the recording, while Wetton lays down a tight, popping bass part. The violin seems to be unweighted of electronic effects here, and the near-acoustic sound fits into the overall blend decently. The song rounds out with a return to the lounge, and closes with a sleepy mildness and resolution, and some Brian May-sounding guitar overlays.

Overall, a grand offering. Interestingly, although this is hardly a commercial recording in the sense of an Asia or even a 90125, it is full of catchy but difficult musicianship, and commands attention with its complexity and forays out into the world of fusion and staccato beats. Wetton sings well throughout, Jobson and Holdsworth each impress, and Bruford once again displays the efficacy of selective percussion placement. The recording suffers marginally from the passage of time: the keyboards no longer sound novel or fresh, and perhaps annoy more than anything else at times, but in certain spots (e.g., the opening to "By the Light of Day"), the keys pull the listener straight into the track. A live presentation of this material, with a little less subtlety and a little more force, must have been worth the price of admission.

I would recommend this recording to all progressive rock fans fond of Wetton-Bruford era King Crimson, fans of fusion and Mahavishnu Orchestra, fans of the Van Halen-Malmsteen-Satriani-Vai style shredding, and even fans of Asia when they are inclined toward a more adventurous experience. Fans of Rush might perhaps enjoy this album, as well as fans of Tormato-Drama era Yes. U.K. is possibly one piece of the progressive rock bookend, with something like Days of Future Passed or In the Court of the Crimson King as its mate: it stands not only as the conclusion of an era, but as representative of the intensity, willingness to experiment, and sheer musicality of that great period in the annals of rock and roll. - JS