John Wetton - 2023 - An Extraordinary Life

(8xCD Box Set, Spirit of Unicorn)

So here we go on what is probably quite a pointless review, as if you don’t know who Wetton is then you will not be forking out the amount of money this costs, while if you are a diehard fan, you will simply have to get it as you will feel totally obliged. What we have here are 115 songs, more than 8 hours of music, containing all six of his studio albums (‘Caught In The Crossfire’, ‘Battle Lines’, ‘Arkangel’, ‘Sinister’, ‘Rock of Faith’, and ‘Raised In Captivity’) along with two CDs of previously unreleased material. Housed in a 12” by 12” box, this set includes a 64-page book with an introduction by Roger Dean and contains comprehensive sleeve notes by Nick Shilton, author of Wetton’s biography, “An Extraordinary Life”, published earlier this year. The book also features a raft of photographs taken from the Wetton archive and has been designed by John’s long-time friend, Michael Inns.

That Wetton has been an incredibly important figure in the history of British progressive rock will never be in doubt, as his contribution to multiple bands and iconic albums can never be overlooked. But as with any artist there are highlights and lowlights, and while there is little here which is truly awful, there are also not many which make the listener stand back in awe (but there are definitely some). I first purchased a Wetton solo album back in the Eighties when I was on my quest to get everything which featured members of Jethro Tull. That album was his debut ‘Caught in the Crossfire’ (Martin Barre plays on it), released in 1980, and while the performances are great (Wetton’s vocals are pure velvet) there is nothing here which compares with the ‘Asia’ album which was to come only two years later.

It was not until 1994 that he released another solo album, and while neither ‘Battle Lines’ nor ‘Arkangel’ are indispensable there are some wonderful songs on both of them, but if I was to point to an album of his from that period then it would be to the excellent ‘Sub Rosa’ live acoustic album which is sheer brilliance. Thanks to Martin Orford being in his band he was then introduced to the underground and his next two releases, ‘Sinister and ‘Rock of Faith’ are a step up in so many ways. I lost track of what he was doing after that what with Icon and Asia so had not even realised he released another solo album in 2011, and this was the first time I had heard ‘Raised In Captivity’, which to my ears is not in the same league. As for the two CDs of unreleased (and in some places incomplete) material, then this will be of interest to the hardened fan only as while they are fine, there is nothing here which really stands out.

My personal view is that the two CDs should have been made available separately so fans could decide whether or not to invest in music they already have, and given I already own five of the six studio albums it is not something I would have done. I enjoyed listening to all of them again, but 8 hours is a lot of music from one singer and there were too many times when I lost track of where I was and couldn’t tell if I had already played something or not as much of this just segued into each other. That it is a wonderful set and a great way of remembering one of our most important musicians is never in doubt, but I think I will just keep playing ‘Sub Rosa’ thanks.

Kev Rowland, November 2023

Links:
https://johnwettonlegacy.co.uk/
https://spiritofunicorn.co.uk/