So I've been interested in Prog Rock since I was a kid back in the 70s, particularly Jethro Tull, Yes, King Crimson, Rush, ELP and Pink Floyd. The album covers and the complex density of the music presented a mystery that intrigued me. I knew there were are a lot of incestuous relationships in this scene (as evidenced below), but I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know who John Wetton was until he died earlier this year (despite having heard his music countless times). King Crimson's "USA", for instance, has been one of my favorite live albums for a while now. His voice rising above that thundering fuzzed out bass is a thing of beauty.
Since I found out who he was, I've been digging into his other projects, including U.K., which I had never even heard of. If you hadn't either, check out
Danger Money.
Here he is rocking some Genesis in 1996 with Steve Hackett:
Firth of Fifth
One of King Crimson's best:
Lark's Tongues In Aspic Pt II
Uriah Heep:
Return To Fantasy
And then, of course Asia. Given his legacy I think we can all forgive his forays into 80's pop:
The Heat Goes On
In summary, John Wetton was awesome and I'm sorry I didn't know who he was before he was gone...RIP.
