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Reviews of _U.K._
Submitted by Chris Hoard <edumark@ix.netcom.com>, 1/15/95
I like the review idea too!
With the advent of Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Yes, and Pink Floyd in
late 1960's, rock music had been transformed into an expressive outlet for
classically trained musicians--even virtuoso instrumentalists. American
cultural fads confusedly tilted toward Reaganism and punk, and younger
middle class men were often too busy to notice, finding themselves in a
disco spotlight donning polyester suits, and not in the mood to listen
to any music seriously. Arguably the album that marked the end of the
first progressive rock "era" was UK's debut release.
"UK" was significantly different from any of its predecessors
in that genre--for several reasons. Like the grandfather of progressive
rock groups, King Crimson, it drew from jazz and classical elements, and
was rooted firmly in the powerful bombast and psychadelia of the theatrical
English rock explored at first by bands such as The Beatles, Cream, and
Pink Floyd. But where King Crimson took a great avant-gardist and jazz
musician, such as Keith Tippett, and used him as a guest embellisher--UK
included a musician later renowned as one of jazz's more "distinctive"
voices--as an integral member of the band. UK as a band, was an accident
really. UK actually was intended to be a reunion of King Crimson members,
but according to keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, Robert Fripp backed out
after first agreeing to the idea. Drummer Bill Bruford suggested the trio,
formed with long-time Crimson bassist John Wetton, bring in Allan
Holdsworth, to give the band a more experimental edge.
Known in England at that time as primarily a "jazz" guitarist,
with some successful rock leanings ala the band Tempest, Holdsworth was
known to musicians like Bruford through his visible involvement with
other jazz greats such as Tony Williams and Jean-Luc Ponty. It was
Holdsworth's tonal innovations and extremely rapid and fluid soloing
that gave UK a sound quite unlike any other progressive rock band--but
that wasn't most of what made UK unique in this genre. Two songs in
particular, co-penned by Holdsworth, along with Jobson's previewing of
a new generation of synths, and his innovative use of virtuoso electric
violin, brought a whole new array of sounds, textures, and harmonies
into a very complex mix. Harmonically, UK was and remains, about as
rich as anything ever attempted in a successful rock band.
UK abounded with numerous instrumental solos by Jobson
and Holdsworth, which created an effective contrast between Jobson's
cleverly composed lines and Holdsworth's free-flowing melodic
inventions. Bruford and Wetton had already spent years together
honing rock's most powerful, agressive, and improvisational rhythm
section. To progressive rock fans, the album stands as a classic--and
it appealed to a fairly broad rock audience in 1977 when it was released.
Some of John Wetton's best vocal work was recorded in that session,
and tracks such as "Time To Kill," "Nevermore," and "Mental Medication,"
convey both a dark urgency and poetic whimsy that built on his
earlier landmark work with Crimson.
Despite the band's success, the chemistry of four musical
leaders on one stage proved immediately unstable. While Allan Holdsworth's
improvisational genius sparked UK's first tour of live performances, and
was captured to an extent on UK, Wetton apparently made demands,
according to Bruford that Holdsworth "play the same solos every night."
Bruford and Holdsworth were fired from the band to be replaced by Jobson's
fellow Zappa alumnus, drummer Terry Bozzio. Perhaps a little more stable,
that band was nonetheless an artistic shell of what had previously
been a potent meeting of musical minds. UK owed many debts to
King Crimson and Frank Zappa--yet it was the powerful voice and
vision of jazz oriented guitarist that made this release one
of the few "supergroups" that actually lived up to over-inflated
expectations.
From a guitarist's perspective, UK marked the point at
which Holdsworth began to agreesively refine and expand his guitar's
tone and expressiveness--and emerge as a consistently compelling
compositional force. One can hear many distorted growls, groans,
and effects from Holdsworth's guitar for the first time. These
since have become part of the modern electric guitarist's
vocabulary. At the time--although it took many guitarists several
years to catch up--it made Holdsworth perhaps the most mimicked
guitar stylist of the 1980s.
