How Did I Miss This??!! - UK's debut album

[Joe F.]

"You gotta have hits" - John Wetton

LOL. That is right!

[starless and bible black]

Anyways, anyone else "miss the boat" on classic albums like this until late in life?

Another great album that I didn't listen to until recently is Believe It by The New Tony Williams Lifetime. Great songs and performances from the band and some of my favorite guitar work by Allan Holdsworth (IMHO, it's on par with his playing with U.K. & Bill Bruford).

[dropforge]

Broof posted this 2 days ago.

[Progatron]

Always better to check out Holdsworth as a sideman, I'd suggest his work with Soft Machine.

I agree, but OP mentioned he's not big on fusion.

[progman1975]

I didn't start listening to Steely Dan until about one year ago, and now they're one of my favorite bands. There's always something new (to you) to explore!

I didn't start Obsessing Over Steve Vai until I saw him Live in October. Seeing him again this July. Always better late than never

[Mr.Krautman]

I agree, but OP mentioned he's not big on fusion.

Then there's not much left.

A.H did very few "prog" contributions but K2's one and only album "Book of the Dead" is worth checking:

[IncogNeato]

Anyways, anyone else "miss the boat" on classic albums like this until late in life?

That's the story of my life. I miss and discover old music constantly. I only found U.K. a couple of years ago myself, after only knowing "In The Dead Of Night" via Yngwie.

[Zeuhlmate]

Holdsworth - not fusion

[Splicer]

Holdsworth - not fusion

Loveshine of Your Sun

[Dave (in MA)]

Loveshine of Your Sun

A few years later Bruce did a full album's worth of tunes that seemed designed to evoke parts of Cream's repertoire without quite copying anything, again with Baker but with a different Clapton stand-in, Gary Moore.

[Dave (in MA)]

Is this fusion?

[interbellum]

On a tangentially related noted, I recently ordered the 2013 Bluray of the UK concerts in Japan where they performed both albums in their entirety, plus the two 'new' songs from "Night after Night". I was somehow foolishly hoping that Eddie had renounced his delusion that live albums should sound as if you're in the room (or rather, outside) rather than a more "studio-like" sound with proper separation, instruments sounding like instruments etc. But no, I can confirm that this is probably the shittiest-sounding thing in my entire collection. It beggars belief that one could go through the trouble of actually recording shows to multitrack then spend time "mixing" the results and make it sound like the worst possible bootleg. It's really sad because it's a good performance, despite the almost total lack of interplay between the participants, who all look like they're in their own mental space never registering there are 3 other guys on stage.

I ordered that set too (see https://www.progressiveears.org/foru...-Concert-Video ) and have the same mixed [sic!] feelings: great performances but shitty sound. I do like the camera-work though, much better than on the Reunion-DVD.

[interbellum]

My initial takeaway is it sounds as if Jobson and Holdsworth are pulling the band in two different directions, and the tension really bubbles to the surface.

On the other hand: Jobson has often told that during some of his synthesizer-solo's he wanted to "copy" the sound of Holdsworth's unique legato-style of guitar-playing, which is why some of the key-solo's sound quite like Holdsworth's tone. In the booklet of Curtain Call, the recently re-released 2013 concert during which both UK-albums were played, he also writes "The track (Time To Kill) also features an extended "free-form" electric violin solo; note the somewhat more jazz style of soloing to try to complement and balance the stylistic influence of Holdsworth.

[interbellum]

Then there's not much left.

A.H did very few "prog" contributions but K2's one and only album "Book of the Dead" is worth checking:

Before K2 Ken Jaquess was in the progressive rockband Atlantis and on their second CD Pray For Rain Holdsworth plays on the track Oceans To Cross:

[interbellum]

Not so very fusionesk was Soma on which Holdsworth plays on some tracks. Somebody put together the highlights in one youtube:



And I like the work Holdsworth did on Guaranteed from Level 42.

[Bytor]

I love Danger Money. But a lot of prog fans dissed it for some reason. Too "poppy" I guess. lol

Both amazing album, but I listen to Danger Money way more than the first one too. And the expanded live Night After Night slays all sorts of prog dragons and fairies. I personally don't even miss Holdsworth. Ok, I'm more of a keyboard guy, but still...

[interbellum]

Odd thing is - I sat next to Allan Holdsworth at a cruise ship bar about five years ago. I knew who he was but had never heard one note of his playing.

I guess you mean "eight years ago". Holdsworth died in 2017.

[interbellum]

That said - I'm not really a fusion guy. Any help on what I should listen to next? I loved his acoustic playing on Nevermore - does he have any albums like that?

There's some acoustic stuff on his first solo-album Velvet Darkness and some on the albums The Things You See and Sunbird he did with jazz-pianist Gordon Beck.

[Trane]

I
Anyways, anyone else "miss the boat" on classic albums like this until late in life?

I suppose you mean albums or bands that you were aware of but never investigated until much later?
Or that you didn't give them an attentive first try (or didn't have the lugage to dig it)

I think Weather Report would fit that case. I'd finally gotten around to all those JR/F bands (via Caravanserai and Bitches Brew) in 83/84, but WR didn't click until much later (I'd say around 00)

Yes; I've started listening to Van der Graff Generator's He To He Who Am The Only One & Pawn Hearts a year ago. I have one of their songs, "Killer", on the prog rock collection Supernatural Fairy Tales released in 1995. Thought the song was okay but the band's sound didn't completely win me over at the time. So that's an example of a pair of classic albums that I 'missed the boat' on until recently.

VdGG wouldn't fit this, even if I only got into their realm in the mid-90's.
I had two albums of theirs, which I didn't "catch/get" for around 15 years, but still spun them every second year to see if I now could understand. Ditto with GG.

[interbellum]

I've heard over and over how great UK's debut album is, and - for whatever reason - I've never listened to any of it in my 40-odd years of progging.

Holy smokes, what an amazing album! I've been totally blown away since my first listen last night. The guitar playing in "Nevermore" is absolutely staggering.

My initial takeaway is it sounds as if Jobson and Holdsworth are pulling the band in two different directions, and the tension really bubbles to the surface.

Odd thing is - I sat next to Allan Holdsworth at a cruise ship bar about five years ago. I knew who he was but had never heard one note of his playing.

Anyways, anyone else "miss the boat" on classic albums like this until late in life?

Although it's hard to get these days, it would be fun to see how you would react on hearing UK while the band lay down tracks for the UK-album, pre-vocal, guide keyboards, first solos, pre-overdubs and pre- mix as can be heard on the U.K. Extras CD in the boxset Ultimate Collectors' Edition.
You can read all about it in John's review on https://www.allaboutjazz.com/uk-ulti...by-john-kelman

[miamiscot]

Both UK albums are 10/10.

[Rajaz]

When the UK debut album was released, the band members were really in their creative prime like Jobson and Bruford. Maybe that is why the band split into two after the first album because of a music overload, Jobson and Wetton carried on with UK and Bruford formed his own band Bruford with Allan Holdsworth who continued doing a fine job.

Although the Bruford band's music is not so keyboard oriented and much less violin influenced, it sounded incredible with Holdsworth's guitar and with Dave Stewart who did a fine job as keyboard player (saw them live at the Bottom Line NYC, amazing). The essence and purity of the UK sound is found on the debut album but Danger Money shines on its own merits.

[Mr.Krautman]

When the UK debut album was released, the band members were really in their creative prime like Jobson and Bruford. Maybe that is why the band split into two after the first album because of a music overload, Jobson and Wetton carried on with UK and Bruford formed his own band Bruford with Allan Holdsworth who continued doing a fine job.

Although the Bruford band's music is not so keyboard oriented and much less violin influenced, it sounded incredible with Holdsworth's guitar and with Dave Stewart who did a fine job as keyboard player (saw them live at the Bottom Line NYC, amazing). The essence and purity of the UK sound is found on the debut album but Danger Money shines on its own merits.

Bruford's first solo album (Feels Good to Me) is realy fantastic and still has some prog influences, one of his best work IMO. (OK, A.Peacock is an acquired taste but I got used to her).

I can't imagine someone liking (the 1st) UK / Holdsworth and not liking this:

[dropforge]

Both UK albums are 10/10.

I like the way you think.

[jamesmanzi]

Soft Machine and VDGG were both bands that I dug into just in recent years. I think at this point the entire Soft Machine catalog is in my iTunes library, but I'm still working my way thru VDGG. Honestly, I know it's not supposed to be, but the first album is my favorite. I might need to listen to more solo Hammil.

Also, crazily, I've been a die hard Crimson fan for like 40 years, but only came around to Fripp's solo work the last 10 or 15, and it had a profound affect on my approach to music. God knows where I'd be as a musician now if I was as engaged in his Frippertronics in the 80s when I started playing guitar.