FREED FROM CAPTIVITY: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN
WETTON
By Jeb Wright
The year was 1981 and I had just borrowed a cassette tape titled
Asia from a girl who had a crush on me. I looked at the
dragon on the cover and thought it was cool. I was more into
Quiet Riot and Ted Nugent at the time then I was into bands like
Yes, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Prog was something
I knew about but had not gotten into. Then I heard Asia.
This was the album that started the fight amongst prog
purists and normal music fans. The purest droned, “How could
great artists like John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Carl Palmer and
Steve Howe, who have great pedigrees in progressive rock, put
out an album that could be played, and loved, by people who like
pop music? Or disco? Or, gasp, heavy metal? How could they do
it?” The prog nerds were angry but music lovers around the world
embraced this hybrid music with excitement, making the album one
of the biggest releases that year.
The vocalist of Asia, John Wetton, co-wrote the songs on that
album. His unique vocal style was one of the main reasons the
album was successful. While Wetton had been around the block as
a member of King Crimson, Uriah Heep and UK but he had never
been a pop star before. Wetton, as well as the rest of the band,
couldn’t make it work past a second album and Asia saw three of
the four original members leave the band, with Geoff Downes
keeping the flame alive with a new lineup. In 2006, the
unthinkable happened and the original lineup reunited. They are
still together and will be celebrating the debut albums 30th
anniversary in 2012.
John Wetton has recently released a solo album titled
Raised in Captivity that is a personal look back at the era
in which he grew up. He let us peek into his soul on this album
and the songs are each a part of his life, past, present and
future.
He teamed up with Billy Sherwood and made a huge musical
statement that his fans will cherish. He also invited several of
his friends to appear on the album including Uriah Heep’s Mick
Box, former King Crimson band mate Robert Fripp, Steve Hacket,
Steve Morse of Deep Purple, Eddie Jobson and more.
Classic Rock Revisited took time to sit down with Wetton and
discuss the new album and the process behind the creation of the
songs. We also discussed Asia’s plans for their 30th
birthday as well as when Wetton realized his vocals were
different than everybody else.
Jeb: Before we talk about the new CD, how is your health?
The last time we talked you were going through a hard time with
your heart.
John: The last four years have given me a different
philosophy on life. I only have today, in fact, I really only
have now because anything can happen. I may not be around
tomorrow. It has really given me a Carpe Diem philosophy, which
is great.
As far as my health goes, I’m getting blood to places that I
wasn’t getting blood to before, if you know what I mean
[laughter]. So, that makes it a win-win all the way around.
Jeb: Isn’t that what rock n’ roll is really about? That said,
lets talk Raised in Captivity.
John: The great thing about solo albums is that I can talk
about stuff that is personal. I can do that on an Asia record
but I don’t feel that I can go too deep.
Some of Raised in Captivity is pretty brutal. It’s
about my upbringing in Britain, just after the war. The
Victorian values were still hanging over us. In my school, you
would get beaten within an inch of your life for having your
hair slightly over your collar. It was really brutal stuff.
Suddenly, when I got to my late teens, I was thrown into the
‘60’s where it was like, “Lets have a party.” I was a very
screwed up individual. I had been told one thing by my parents,
one thing by my school, and one thing by my peers. It led to a
major revolt.
When I left home at age 18, it was 1968, and London was in
full swing and in a musical revolution. I wanted to be a part of
that. There was a time in the ‘60’s where you could, for the
price of a beer; you could see King Crimson, Jethro Tull and
Pink Floyd. All of these bands were coming out and it was quite
amazing. I think there is still a closeness between people who
grew up in that generation.
Most of the guys that are guests on my album are all guys
from that period. There is a bond. Although, when I look back to
my childhood, I really was a screwed up individual. I really
didn’t know what day it was.
Jeb: Your solo album is very personal. Take a song like “The
Human Condition” for instance.
John: I have to admit that where I live, on the south coast
of England, is very sleepy; there are a lot of people waiting to
die here. People play golf a lot and, generally, nothing much
happens. I have to get out of here in order to get some energy
and get a bit if an edge to do my music. I also worked with
Billy Sherwood, who is a guy who drinks way too much coffee.
I went to California for a month and, suddenly, everything
changed. My partner and I were exposed to many different things
as soon as we walked out of our apartment. I was exposed to
helicopters, people shooting each other and SWAT teams running
about. Suddenly, my music takes on quite a different edge. That
is much better than me sitting at home, strumming my guitar, and
playing classical tunes at home.
The record company wanted more rock on this album and “The
Human Condition” we wrote during the coarse of making this
album. It is, essentially, a dairy of what happened in Woodland
Hills. In fact, there was a police lockdown for two nights; no
one could enter the city and no one could leave the city. That
sort of thing never happens in my little town in England. I was
jolted into writing a different way on this album.
Jeb: I want to know the story behind “The Devil and the Opera
House. “
John: When I was nine years old, one of my friends was
Richard Palmer-James, the man who became the lyricist for King
Crimson. We have remained friends all throughout our lives. Last
summer, we were taking a coffee where I used to live. There is a
rock venue there called The Opera House. A hundred years ago, it
was called The Hippodrome. When it opened is was very scandalous
because people were falling out of the place onto the sidewalks
as drunk as skunks and people were fornicating all over the
place. The local residents erected this statue of the Devil on
the other side of street, leering down on The Hippodrome.
That statue is still there and while we were having coffee
and looking at it, we started coming up with the concept of the
Devil and the Opera House. Richard went away and worked on the
lyrics, I went to California and worked on the song.
The person that you associate with the Devil is always the
fiddler. What diabolical person do I know that lives in
California and plays the violin? Why, it’s Eddie Jobson. I
called him up and said, “I’ve got this tune that I need you to
play on.” He said, “What is it called?” I said, “It’s called
‘The Devil and the Opera House.’” Eddie replied, “Am I the
Devil?” I said, ‘Yes you are and you’ve got the gig.” That one
really came about because of the location and what I knew about
the history of the place, yet I believe that it had to be
recorded somewhere else; you could not have recorded it in that
sleepy town.
Eddie did a fantastic job on the violin. Every time I hear
that song you can tell that he really wants to be the Devil and
that is exactly what he is. That song is more like the Eagles
than it is any other kind of music I have done because of the
style and the three-part harmonies. It is an example of a part
of my songwriting that I can’t do in Asia. It is a long form,
telling of a story. It really is all the stuff that I can’t do
in Asia.
Jeb: Another song I love is “Rising Star,” which features a
friend of mine, and a former band mate of yours, Mick Box.
John: The way I look at my career is that I went to college
in King Crimson, as I learned a lot about music with that band.
Then, my job experience, getting out there and working and
learning what you do in this business besides make music, came
with Uriah Heep. One of my mates during that period was Mick
Box. It was great to meet up with him again.
We recorded the main tracks, Billy Sherwood and myself, and
the last thing we did, which was really like putting the cream
on the cake, was the guest stars. We chose very carefully about
who did what solo. It came out very well. I also sang, once
again with Anneke Van Giersbergen. We have done three duets on
record. Someone asked me if her and I were intimate. I told
them, “No, in fact, we’ve never met.” All three duets were done
through cyberspace. That is modern recording; you don’t even get
to meet the people that you’re intimate with.
Jeb: Steve Morse does great on “Lost for Words.”
John: He plays a dynamite solo. Billy and I were thinking
about who could really nail a good solo on this song. Billy
said, “You’re going to have to trust me on this but I know who
can really nail it.” We sent him the file of the track and he
sent it back and it was fantastic. When I get to meet him in
person then I shall thank him.
Jeb: You will be busy again with Asia but you do get a bit of
a break as Geoff Downes is out with Yes on the road. Will you be
able to play any of these songs live during the break?
John: If you had asked me that question a month ago then I
would have said, “No way, Jose.” I was so enjoying being at home
and sleeping in my own bed, making a cup of tea in my own
kitchen and peeing in my own toilet that I really didn’t want to
go out on the road again. But now, after a month, I am starting
to think that I could put a band together quite easily for this.
I’m sure we could play a few clubs. Lets look at the tail end of
this year and I’m sure something could be done.
Jeb: I have to ask about your voice. When did you first
realize that you were different than other singers?
John: You’re asking when I realized I had a signature voice.
Hmm, in the old days, when I was about fifteen, it was standard
fare to have one guy, who was a total dick and just sang, and
everyone else play an instrument. Then, along came the Beatles.
The biggest shock to me, when I saw them on television, was that
they all played their instruments and they all sang. You have to
understand what a phenomenon that was, back in 1963 as no one
had ever done that before. It was always the dick and his
backing band; this was completely new. Paul McCartney was
playing his bass and singing at the same time. John Lennon was
doing the same with his guitar. It was fantastic. They really
blew everything out of the water, as they not only played their
own instruments and all sang, they also wrote their own songs.
When that happened, the singer, per se, didn’t matter
anymore. There were other people in the band who played an
instrument that could sing better than he could. That is really
what happened to me. I got sort of promoted at that time to do
the singing.
I remember one particular night, which was pivotal for me, it
was 1968 and we were playing in a country in Eastern Europe. We
were the backup group for a big singer, who had a number one
song. We used to do a warm up song before she came out. One
night, one of my band mates asked me, “Do you know how to sing
‘Lady Madonna’?” I said, “I can do that.” Just before the main
act came on, I sang “Lady Madonna” and the place went absolutely
insane. We couldn’t get off stage and she couldn’t get on. I
thought at that time, “This is how you do it.”
Little clues like that kept happening all the time. I heard
Joni Mitchell and she was magical. She would write lyrics in the
first person. It was quite a big deal to write in the first
person because you would get shot at by the press.
Because of my upbringing I thought that I couldn’t do that. I
couldn’t go admit that I actually had feelings. It was a big
hurdle to me but once I did it then things started to happen. I
found then that I could write about pretty much anything and it
was about my experiences. I was writing about what stuff means
to me, and that made a big difference to me, and my songwriting.
Jeb: What are the plans for Asia?
John: We have the thirtieth anniversary coming up next year.
Next summer, we will have a new studio album and we will have
the remastered debut Asia record. We will have a new in concert
video and we will have a world tour. There will be plenty of new
stuff from Asia in 2012.
Jeb: Last one: Have you thought of playing the entire debut
album for the 30th anniversary tour?
John: We’ve done that in the past. I will tell you a secret.
What you really want to do with that album is to play it
backwards. “Heat of the Moment” is the first track on side one,
while “Only Time Will Tell” is the second track and “Sole
Survivor” is the third. If you play those in reverse order then
it works great. If you play them in order then you start off
with a bang and end with a whimper; you don’t want to do that.
