Album Review #13 - John Wetton - "Caught In The Crossfire" (1980)

 

Album Review #13

 

Artist:  John Wetton

Album:  Caught In The Crossfire

Year of Release:  1980

Grade:  4 / 5

 

Band Members

John Wetton – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards

Martin Barre – guitar

Phil Mazanera – guitar

Simon Kirke – drums, percussion

Malcolm Duncan – saxophone

 

 

Background

John Wetton is one of the main voices in progressive rock.  He was the lead singer and bassist of King Crimson’s biggest albums (“Lark’s Tongue in Aspic”, “Starless & Bible Black”, and “Red”).  He also played with Uriah Heep, Roxy Music, before creating the group U.K.  After his time with UK but before he created the massively successful Asia, he released his first solo album called “Caught In The Crossfire”.  It was not released in the US until 1986 after Asia became popular.  He is one of my favorite vocalists.

 

Ever since his King Crimson days, Wetton had aspired to change progressive rock from it’s experimental excesses to merge it with popular music.  Keep the edge but also add melody and conciseness.  UK was a step closer to that goal.  This album reflected an even greater balance of the two rock styles.  Listening to this album, the next evolution was Asia.  The album was on a small label but neglected to put any promotion behind it because Wetton was too old (he was 31 at the time).

 

I had tried to find this album for years as I had heard much about it.  I finally got a hard copy in the posthumous box set “An Extraordinary Life – The Solo Albums” but I was able to obtain an MP3 version from Amazon.

 

 

Track Listing

1.      “Turn On The Radio” (Wetton)

2.      “Baby Come Back” (Wetton)

3.      “When Will You Realize” (Wetton)

4.      “Cold Is The Night” (Wetton)

5.      “Paper Talk” (Wetton)

6.      “Get Away” (Wetton)

7.      “Caught In The Crossfire” (Wetton)

8.      “Get What You Want” (Wetton, Peter Sinfield)

9.      “I’ll Be There” (Wetton)

10.  “Woman” (Wetton)

11.  “Every Inch Of The Way” ** (Wetton, Curt Cuomo)

12.  “Out Of The Blue” ** (Wetton, Bob Marlette, Tom Whitlock)

 

** Included in 1999 re-issue as bonus tracks

 

Review

My biggest critique is the mixing of the album.  Wetton’s vocals are often mixed lower in the background rather than in the upfront.  No music videos were made from this album and the songs were not done live too often so the links are just to listen to the music.

 

The album opens with “Turn On The Radio”.  It is a really great opening number.  It is a salute to those gone by days where you could mentally vanish into a song at work, in the car, or at home at whatever the DJ selected that day.  The freedom.  Turn it on and turn it UP!!  It sets the tone for the album – best of prog with some pop to it.

 

“Baby Come Back” opens with keyboards reminiscent of a UK time then a great mood setting guitar sound.  This song has a great chorus.  The song is about the singer missing his girl when he didn’t think that he would.  Finally he admits that if she comes back that he’ll admit that he can’t live without her.

 

“When Will You Realize?” is a song with a somewhat tortured past.  Wetton loved this song and it was released as a B side during the second lineup of UK but his UK bandmate hated it.  Eddie Jobson hated it so much that the band split up over it.  I like the instruments but the song fails to really deliver.  It’s like the right ingredients but mixed in the wrong proportions.

 

“Cold Is The Night” is a song about loneliness.  Unfortunately, this song just sort of hangs there.  It has promise but it feels like a let down.  Wetton did this type of song much better in Asia.  When his vocal soars like it does when it hits the line “without you”, that is where the song shines but not enough to compensate for the blandness.

 

“Paper Talk” is another highlight.  It starts out as mediocre song.  When his voice goes into falsetto in spots, it always rubs me wrong.  This is another song about relationships.  In this one, the object of one’s desire is too good for him (or so she thinks).  She talks to the singer but it is of nothing meaningful – just passing time – while flaunting her wealth.  The chorus is quite melodic while Wetton’s frustration is quite evident.

 

 

“Get Away” could very easily have been an Asia song with the harmonies and the harder edge song.  This one is about a girl toying with the singer’s emotions and he finally gets sick of it.  It has a great melody to it.  The guitar and bass really shine in this song.

 

The title track “Caught In The Crossfire” starts out unexpectedly with a sax solo.  It is then countered with the guitars and drums.  The subject is a man caught between two loves and he loves them both.  He treads carefully but expects to lose them both.  This is one of my favorite tracks because of the interplay of instruments.  I do love a good sax solo done in the right way.

 

“Get What You Want” is the next track.  It is an ok song. I really enjoy the harmonies in the chorus but it isn’t a song that I go “I’m in the mood for that one”.

 

“I’ll Be There” is just the opposite.  It is an upbeat happy song in terms of lyrics and tempo.  I find myself being surprised after the previous track.  In this case, the singer is pleading that he’ll always be there even if she dumps him and moves on but decides to come back.  Holding out that eternal flame.  This was a very radio friendly song but never caught on.

 

“Woman” is a song that is a lovely ballad.  In this case, it was recycled from the song that he wrote for King Crimson called “Fallen Angel” that had a middle section with the same melody.  The song itself is about a love that is very deep that he hopes his love interest knows how much he loves her – no matter what the future holds.

 

 

The first bonus track “Every Inch Of The Way” is another uplifting love song.  It is about facing life together.  I really enjoy the chorus and the way that it is layered.  As a bonus track, I would have preferred it over some of the original issued songs.

 

The second bonus track is “Out Of The Blue”.  It is almost a gospel tinged song.  It is about reaching the end of your rope only and finding your faith.  I love the lyrics.  In this case, the mix is correct with emphasizing Wetton’s vocals.