Review Summary: An excellent live album of another super group. A great example of the versatility of these three amazing musicians on stage.
“Night After Night” is the second live album of UK and was released in 1979. The line up on the album is Eddie Jobson, John Wetton and Terry Bozzio.
“Night After Night” was recorded in June 1979 at Nakano Sun Plaza and Seiken Kan, Tokyo, Japan. It was made in support of the band’s USA live tour supporting Jethro Tull and later headlining European tour. Curiously, after UK’s split, Jobson joined to Jethro Tull on their thirteenth studio album “A” that would be released in the following year.
U.K. was a prog super group with a very short life. It was formed in the end of the classic prog era by John Wetton and Bill Bruford after the release of “Red” of King Crimson after Robert Fripp have decided suspend the activity of the band. U.K. was formed by both with Eddie Jobson and Allan Holdsworth. Jobson was the keyboardist/violinist of Roxy Music. Wetton knew him from his work with Roxy Music in 1976. Bruford recruited guitarist Holdsworth who had played with him on his solo album “Feels Good To Me”. The four released the eponymous debut studio album of U.K. in 1978.
However, after the release of “U.K.”, Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth left the group due to some musical differences. Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth preferred to make music more in a jazz rock/fusion style and John Wetton and Eddie Jobson were more interested in a symphonic rock style. After the departure of Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth, UK decided don’t bring another guitarist to the band, and instead they decided to become a trio with the acquisition of the drummer Terry Bozzio, another one time Frank Zappa band’s member. Curiously, they became another super group with a line up very close to which was the other great super group of the 70’s, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. With this new formation the band released their second studio album “Danger Money” and this second live album “Night After Night”.
“Night After Night” has nine tracks. “Alaska”, “Time To Kill”, “Presto Vivace” and “In The Dead Of Night” are four tracks that were originally released on their eponymous debut album “UK”. “Rendezvous 6.02”, “Nothing To Lose” and “Caesar’s Palace Blues” are three tracks that were originally released on their second album “Danger Money”. The title track song of the album “Night After Night” is a live version of a song that doesn’t appear on any studio album of the band. It was only released as a single in a slightly edited version, with a non LP studio track as a B side titled “When Will You Realize?” that doesn’t appear on any album. However, it was re-recorded with different lyrics on John Wetton’s solo debut studio album “Caught In The Crossfire”, which was released in 1980. “As Long As You Want Me Here” is another song that doesn’t appear on any studio album of the band too. In this case this was a new track from the band.
“Night After Night” may not really ignite, of course, the same flame of the two studio albums of UK, especially due to the significant differences between the two formations. It may be that the resolution was already resolved at this point, and it may be that their third line up didn’t find the best and adequate implementation. And in this case, we are talking about a live album, especially with the more complex pieces of their debut studio album “U.K.”. Compared to the exquisite two previous studio albums, maybe all of the pieces fall off significantly, maybe with the exception of a true furious, breathtaking “Caesar’s Palace Blues” with an unleashed Eddie Jobson on the electric violin. Even the new compositions cannot leave the same strong impression that the compositions of the two studio albums made before. But, although, this is the main problem of almost all live albums, isn’t it? Of course this is only true with some small, but nevertheless significant exceptions. Maybe “Night After Night” may be seen as an indication of the breakup of the band and, thus, congratulate the men involved for their decision to break up, before they drifted into the embarrassing or maybe with some less inspired. The following year Eddie Jobson was supposed to support Jethro Tull on the album “A” and the corresponding live tour, and as well, on John Wetton’s release, his solo debut “Caught In The Crossfire”.
Conclusion: Sadly, U.K. break up after a nearly year of touring worldwide. Jobson joined Jethro Tull before he decided to leave the world music for more than twenty years. So, “Night After Night” is, in a certain way, a stereotypical contractual obligation. Still, it’s far better than that. “Night After Night” is an excellent live album, really. On “Night After Night”, Jobson was unequivocally the driving instrumental force and demonstrated that he was capable of be as good as Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman and Patrick Moraz, building a towering wall of keyboard sounds. Bozzio may not have possessed Bruford’s personality, but demonstrates that he was a fine replacement. Finally, Wetton was a strong bass anchor, as usual, and a dense conspirator for some of U.K. best live moments. So, “Night After Night” is a compelling live document of U.K. second incarnation. That makes of it a great live document of a band with a very short existence.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
