U.K. - 1978-11-09 - Cleveland, Plus 1979-11-14 - Long Beach

U.K.

November 09, 1978

Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, USA 

Pre-FM Master Reel Broadcast Recording, Excellent quality

Plus:November 14, 1979

Long Beach Arena, Long Beach CA

Audience Recording (Mike Millard First-Generation Tapes via JEMS), very good quality 

The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 134 

Available as both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's some live recordings from the great but short-lived progressive rock 'supergroup' U.K. Recently, the current progressive rock band The Tangent included a great cover version of U.K.'s 'In The Dead of the Night' Suite as a bonus track on their new Songs From the Hard Shoulder album, and it reminded how good U.K. was, and that they seem to have been largely forgotten these days. So, U.K. was considered a Prog 'Supergroup' because it was formed around 1977 by bassist-vocalist John Wetton (Family, Uriah Heep, Roxy Music, King Crimson), and drummer Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, Genesis), with keyboard-violinist Eddie Jobson (Curved Air, Roxy Music, Frank Zappa) and guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, Gong, Tempest). Based on this combination of talent, their music was highly anticipated by prog fans, and they did not disappoint. Their first album, U.K. (1978) is considered a classic of the genre (Ranked #30 - Greatest Progressive Rock Albums of All-Time by Rolling Stone magazine), and features a dynamic combination of hard progressive rock with a jazz fusion approach. The newly introduced Yamaha CS-30 synthesizer was extensively used and featured in their music. They toured extensively in 1978 (often as opening act for Jethro Tull). Unfortunately, Bruford and Holdsworth left the band by the end of 1978, citing different musical directions, with Bruford and Holdsworth wanting to explore more jazzy improvisational music, but Wetton wanting more structured prog with commercial appeal. So, Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa band) was brought in on drums, and when a suitable guitarist was not found, they continued as a trio. Their 2nd album, Danger Money (1979) was also quite good, but featured less jazz and a more AOR-friendly sound and song structure. On the 1979 tour, they played a few additional songs, but that was it for the band, as Jobson wanted to continue exploring longer instrumental-focused songs, while Wetton was interested in pursuing shorter songs and a more commercial style. Wetton went on to do just that with Asia in the early eighties. Jobson went on to play on Jethro Tull's A album and on to a solo career after that. So, here's a selection from both of their tours (1978 and 1979), featuring a great radio broadcast recording (1978) as well as a recently made available recording from the legendary Mike Millard tape series (1979 partial show). Check out U.K.

Tracklist:
Cleveland 1978
01. Introduction
02. Alaska
03. Time To Kill
04. The Only Thing She Needs
05. Carrying No Cross
06. Forever Until Sunday
07. Thirty Years
08. By The Light Of Day
09. Presto Vivace
10. In The Dead Of Night
11. Caesar's Palace Blues
Long Beach 1979
12. Nostalgia
13. Rendezvous 6:02
14. Night After Night
15. The Only Thing She Needs
16. Waiting For You

1978 lineup:
John Wetton: Bass, Vocals
Eddie Jobson: Keyboards, Violin
Allan Holdsworth: Guitar
Bill Bruford: Drums, Percussions
1979 lineup:
John Wetton - bass, vocals
Terry Bozzio - drums
Eddie Jobson - violin, keyboards

mp3 - UK_1978-11-9_Cleveland_Plus1979_mp3.rar

FLAC 1978 - UK_1978-11-9_Cleveland(FM)_FLAC.rar

FLAC 1979 - UK_1979-11-14_Long BeachCA(Millard)_FLAC.rarard

Steve Hackett & Friends - 1996-12-20 - Nagoya, Japan - PRRP-042B

Steve Hackett & Friends
December 20, 1996
Nagoya Kouseinenkin Hall, Nagoya, Japan
PRRP 042B - A Friendly Fold
Remastered Audience Recording (PRRP), good quality.
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

OK, this one is by request. Here is the last night of Steve Hackett's limited (4-night) 1996 concert tour in Japan, and second half of the PRRP-042 release A Friendly Fold, which featured an all-star prog back-up band (with John Wetton and Ian MacDonald of King Crimson fame) and Steve's re-interpretations of Classic Genesis tracks (following the release of Genesis Revisited). A wonderful show. Although the setlist is the same as the previous night in Osaka (which was previously posted here earlier this year), it's still a treat to hear these progressive pros at work in this show. So, this completes that set of concerts. And although there is nothing played here that would constitute Christmas music, I'm still counting this as a Christmas Concert because it happened during the Christmas Holiday Season, and I'm sure it was a wonderful Christmas gift for all who attended, as well as for Julio, who requested I post this show. So, Ho Ho Ho, here's Steve's version of a Christmas show.
 
Tracklist:
01 Watcher Of The Skies  9:07
02 Depth Charge  4:47
03 Firth Of Fifth  10:23
04 Battle Lines  7:18
05 Camino Royale  8:45
06 In The Court Of The Crimson King  8:27
07 Horizons  1:53
08 Walking Away From Rainbows  3:52
09 Heat Of The Moment  4:56
10 ....In That Quiet Earth  4:48
11 A Vampire (with A Healthy Appetite)  8:06
12 I Talk To The Wind  6:00
13 Shadow Of The Hierophant  3:59
14 Drum Solo  4:52
15 Los Endos 8:45
16 Cuckoo Cocoon - Black Light - Puck  3:38
17 The Steppes  7:58
18 I Know What I Like  10:40

Steve Hackett - Guitars, harmonica, Lead & backing Vocals
John Wetton - Bass, Guitar, Lead & Backing Vocals
Ian McDonald - Keyboards, Flute, Saxophone, Lead & Backing Vocals
Julian Colbeck - Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Chester Thompson - Drums & Percussion

FLAC - Steve Hackett_1996-12-20_Nagoya_PRRP042B.FLAC.part1.rar
        - Steve Hackett_1996-12-20_Nagoya_PRRP042B.FLAC.part2.rar

mp3 - Steve Hackett_1996-12-20_Nagoya_PRRP042B.mp3.rar

Steve Hackett & Friends - 1996-12-19 - Osaka, Japan - PRRP 0042A - A Friendly Fold

Steve Hackett & Friends
December 19, 1996
Osaka Kouseinenkin Hall, Osaka, Japan
(PRRP 0042A - A Friendly Fold)
Audience recording (remastered), Good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Following his departure from GTR in late 1986, Steve Hackett went back to following his own musical directions (after GTR's brief brush with success and more mainstream rock). Steve's next album, Momentum (1988), was another full album of instrumental classical guitar pieces. Then Steve formed his own label, Camino Records, and released his first Live album, Time Lapse (1992). Next was Guitar Noir (1993), a mix of prog rock, classical, and atmospheric guitar with a darker tone. Next, Steve changed things up by releasing an entire album of Blues music, from traditional to his own brand of proggy-blues, Blues With A Feeling (1994). Then, for his next project, he went back to the music of Genesis, with a tribute to the music of his former band for Genesis Revisited (1996). The concept for this album came after talking with some fans, who assumed that he had turned his back on the music from his Genesis days (since he never played it in his concerts), and that he wanted nothing to do with it anymore. This bothered Steve, because he loved the music he had been a part of creating with Genesis in these days. So, he decided to do an album paying tribute to and inspired by some of the great old music from his Genesis days. He gathered other musicians with an affinity for such music, including former King Crimson, Yes, and Weather Report alums like John Wetton, Ian McDonald, Bill Bruford, and Chester Thompson to help out. The album consisted of several songs from his days in Genesis (from classics to more obscure gems), as well as some new ones inspired by that music, and one old previously unfinished song (by Peter Gabriel). The versions played on the album ranged from careful re-creations to new re-arrangements to fanciful re-imaginings, adding new chapters and variations to these classics. The album was very well-received by his fans. However, touring was another issue, as the schedules for most of his guest artists made it impossible for any extended tour. But, Steve was able to schedule 4 dates in Japan, with an all-star band of John Wetton, Ian McDonald, Julian Colbeck (Steve's current keyboard player, formerly with Zappa), and Chester Thompson. Those four shows were the only ones for that 1996 mini-tour, but what a show it was. The setlist mixed several of the Genesis Revisited tracks with various other of Steve's own songs, as well as some early King Crimson (For John and Ian) and even an Asia hit ('Heat of the Moment', but performed as an acoustic ballad). The First two nights (in Tokyo) were recorded and filmed, and were later released as both an album (The Tokyo Tapes, 1998) and a DVD. Certainly unique and memorable shows. The second two nights (in Osaka and Nagoya) became available as audience recordings. The PRRP (Progressive Rock Remasters Project) people remastered the available tapes and released them as PRRP 0042. I have included just the Osaka show here (because sound quality a bit better than Nagoya show, and the setlist was the same both nights), as it is representative. However, if there is interest in thwe Nagoya show (0042B), I can also post that.    

Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01 Watcher Of The Skies  9:26
02 Depth Charge  4:48
03 Firth Of Fifth  10:10
04 Battle Lines  6:56
05 Camino Royale  9:11
06 In The Court Of The Crimson King  7:51
07 Horizons  2:13
08 Walking Away From Rainbows  3:35
Total Time 54:10

Disc 2:
01 Heat Of The Moment  4:46
02 In That Quiet Earth  4:37
03 A Vampire (With A Healthy Appetite)  7:44
04 I Talk To The Wind  5:44
05 Shadow Of The Hierophant  4:21
06 Drum Solo  4:54
07 Los Endos  8:24
08 Blood On The Rooftops - Black Light  2:11
09 The Steppes  7:21
10 I Know What I Like  8:33
Total Time 58:35

Steve Hackett - Guitars, harmonica, Lead & backing Vocals
John Wetton - Bass, Guitar, Lead & Backing Vocals
Ian McDonald - Keyboards, Flute, Saxophone, Lead & Backing Vocals
Julian Colbeck - Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Chester Thompson - Drums & Percussion

FLAC - Steve Hackett_1996-12-19_Osaka_PRRP0042A_FLAC.rar

mp3 - Steve Hackett_1996-12-19_Osaka_PRRP0042A_mp3.rar