The John Wetton - 2025 - Concentus II [The John Wetton Live Collection Volume Two]

(10xCD Box set, Spirit of Unicorn)

Here we have the second in a planned series of three boxed sets featuring John Wetton’s live albums, and having long been a fan I admit I already have most of the ones included here. Seven albums spread across 10 discs, 124 tracks with a total running time of more than 10 hours, this was a labour of love to get through as it is a great deal of listening, yet I enjoyed every second of it. The albums have been fully remastered by Andy Pearce, but there are not too many bonus cuts, so if you already have these then you need to think hard as this is not a cheap set. The booklet is extensive, with notes written by Jerry Ewing, plus lots of photographs, but I must confess that while the Wetton biography is fascinating and incredibly detailed, I would rather have heard more about the concerts included herein. As one would expect we get material from Asia, King Crimson and UK as well as his solo albums, and the live sets included here are ‘Heart of the Dragon’, ‘Landmarq (Live In the Netherlands’, Live In Tokyo 1997’, ‘Live In Tokyo II 1997’, ‘Nomansland’, ‘Sub Rosa (2024 Redux)’, ‘Live At the Sun Plaza Tokyo 1999 (2024 Redux)’, and Andy Pearce has done a great job in ensuring the production is clear and clean with the sound levels nicely balanced across all discs.

Back in the Nineties John may not have been selling out mega stadiums as he had done at other times in his career (I remember seeing him play in a tiny venue in the middle of nowhere), but his musicianship and vocals are in top form. The discs are placed in order, from 1994-1999, and John is the only constant, although Dave Kilminster plays on seven of the discs (the next closest is Martin Orford with five). Wetton had played on so many important and classic albums/songs that he could have easily played a set with none of his solo material included, but here he mixes them in with songs from his career to loud applause, and rightly so.

There is an album in this set which I had not previously come across, ‘Landmarq (Live In the Netherlands’ which was recorded on November 26th1995, and the reason for the album title is that his band that night was Landmarq (well, mostly). Apparently, John undertook a tour that year which involved getting local bands to be his musicians, and Landmarq were asked to play a date in Germany and two in Holland. However, keyboard player Steve Leigh was unavailable, so they asked Martin Orford (IQ/Jadis) to step in instead. Given that Martin then played with John for years it shows how well it went. So the line-up was  Uwe D'Rose (guitar), Steve Gee (bass, fretless bass – he only played when John was on acoustic) and Dave Wagstaffe (drums) from Landmarq, Martin Orford (keyboards) plus Tracy Hitchings on backing vocals. Tracey was not Landmarq’s singer at the time, although she was later of course, but she was Dave’s partner, and it is possible that given Damian had not been back in the band very long at this point that he was unable to commit. It is certainly an interesting experiment, and while it works for the most part, there is also a feeling of it being somewhat under-rehearsed with a few minor mistakes here and there. My favourite track is “Battle Lines”, the title cut of the album he was promoting at the time, with Tracy and John creating some wonderful vocal harmonies together.

Also included in this set is my favourite Wetton live album of all time, ‘Sub Rosa’, an album I loved when it was released and I still play to this day, and this has two additional songs not on the original! What makes this such a wonderful concert is that it was recorded in an unusual venue, the mediaeval Castle of Vigevano, and was primarily an acoustic gig with no drums, with John joined just by Dave Kilminster (guitar, vocals) and Martin Orford (keyboards, flute, vocals). There is a huge amount of space within this album, and songs such as “Heat of the Moment” are truly transformed, so very different indeed to what we have all come to know and expect, with the hidden beauty laid bared for all to hear. This concert took place the day after John’s wife had given birth to his son, so needless to say he was full of emotion, and it comes out in the performance. This is not bombastic, but the total opposite, allowing the songs to speak for themselves, and it is very strange indeed to hear the likes of “Soul Survivor” with two acoustic guitars, piano, and just the odd electronic keyboard, with the three vocals joining together as one. The version of “Arkangel” we hear is much closer to the original demo by John Young, and even though there are a few issues with the introduction they soon settle down and allow John’s vocals to be front and centre.

There is indeed a lot of listening here, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and for any fan of Wetton this is essential. 

Kev Rowland, October 2025

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