U.K. John Wetton,Eddie Jobson/Mexico 4.9.2014

Complete recording of the U.K. opening day stage (9th) from the luxury cruise ship tour “CRUISE TO THE EDGE 2014” held from April 7th to 12th, 2014. Ultra quality with the best performance and the best sound quality. Introducing a new title! The clarity, punch, breadth and depth of the recorded sound are comparable to sound board quality, and the bass in particular is as if you were playing it right in front of your eyes. It is captured with a close sound image as if it were an animal, making it an irresistible piece for Wetton fans. Also, what is unique about this year’s U.K. is Virginal Donati’s return to the drums. He temporarily joined U.K. as a replacement for Terry, who left the band after last year’s CRUISE TO THE EDGE “2013” (*6 performances in North America from April 19th to 27th, 2013). However, the person who became a hot topic of discussion in 2010 was the one who fiercely competed for the final selection with Mike Mangini, who was selected as a replacement drummer for DREAM THEATER following Portnoy’s departure.Many people may remember him. I think so. Eddie also seemed to like his drumming, and when U.K.’s planned lineup for the next CRUISE TO THE EDGE 2014 (*that is, the performance recorded in this work) was announced on July 20, 2013, Donati was already in attendance. The name has been announced, and this time it has come true as announced. It is also an important element that inspires Eddie and Wetton, and the two originals are recorded with the best sound quality in their fresh drum approach. At the beginning of Disc-1, the first song that rises from the noisy improvisation of the violin is “Starless”. Last April’s performance, which was held for the first time with Donati, was played in the middle of the show, but you will be surprised that they brought this to the opening number. Of course, it seems like he was calculating that people would talk about “Starless!”, but what he really meant was that he wanted to show off the current U.K.’s playing ability by playing popular and difficult songs that everyone knows well. I think the idea was to get people to check it out. If you were worried about the performance in the first place, this is the song you wouldn’t select, and it’s actually a pretty good performance, and you’ll be captivated from the beginning by the close and transparent “Starless” that suddenly pops out. “In The Dead Of Night” is a performance filled with a strong sense of drive on this day, and the depth and power of the performance sound that comes to the ears with a punch is wonderful. Here, Wetton’s long and extended singing is also attractive, and the dramatic performance and sound image, such as the crunching bass sound and the restrained guitar that comes in the middle, are sure to captivate your ears. When we move on to “By The Light Of Day”, Wetton’s deep and strong singing ability comes into focus, but the contrast in volume with the faint sounds of the keyboard and the finely moving cymbals in the background is so well recorded that it’s disgusting. Therefore, I would like you to pay close attention to this situation. “Thirty Years” shows off the full potential of this recording, and clearly captures how the notes fly around in a wide range of tones, from low to high tones, as well as from soft to strong. For example, in the beginning of the song, which progresses without a bass, you can clearly follow the delicate movements of the guitar, cymbals, and toms, and the bass that comes in (* around 3 minutes 57 seconds) has a stronger sense of attack as the song changes its concept. The melody of the keyboard and guitar that accompany each note and begin to sing loudly behind it conveys the richness of the high range with splendid tone, and the way these harmonies intersect in all directions will take your breath away. Before the end of the song, there is a part where the strong bass line typical of Wetton stands out (*around 7 minutes 39 seconds to 54 seconds), and this is also a hidden highlight. Disc-2 is the second half of the show. In “Time To Kill”, various tones move around in a relaxed manner in the early stages, but please pay attention to the high resolution in which each sound is played with a solid outline. Here too, you can hear the strong bass sound very close, but at the same time, Wetton’s powerful singing is also a big topic, making it an irresistible scene for his fans. “Nevermore” is a masterpiece that further evolves the goodness of the original song, and is probably the scene where you can feel the most musical fulfillment of the day. The dialogue between the piano and guitar, which is highlighted in the first half of the song, is clearly captured so that you can hear the sequence of sounds one by one, and even in the impressive scene where the song’s idea becomes vague before the end, the mystery of the musical change is subtle. Even the sound is perfectly recorded. The difficult song “Mental Medication”, which was included in the set for the first time in history at last year’s Japan performance, has some scenes that seem difficult to play, but what I would like to focus on here is that the other three songs rely on Eddie’s unwavering melody. This is what people struggle with. What makes this song interesting today is that, unlike other songs performed, the contrast between each performer’s interpretation of the song stands out clearly. “The Only Thing She Needs” shows Donati’s ability well, and you will realize that there are few drummers other than Terry who can make a song so gorgeous from the bottom up. That’s why Eddie and Wetton are often recorded as riding the beat more comfortably than other songs and giving vivid performances one after another. Furthermore, due to the time constraints of the performing bands, “Caesar’s Palace Blues” and “Forever Until Sunday”, which were originally scheduled to be played, were not played on this day (*They were played on the 11th) However, “Mental Medication” was removed instead), but because of that, it has an unusual show composition that is slightly shorter, which is also a unique point of this title. Even with Terry gone, U.K. isn’t finished yet. If you listen to this, you’ll get a clear sense of how the band’s history is stepping into unknown territory by passing the baton to Donati. Live at Pantheon Theater, MSC Divina, Docked at Cozumel, Mexico 9th April 2014 ULTIMATE SOUND Disc 1 (39:15) 1. Violin Intro 2. Starless 3. In The Dead Of Night 4. By The Light Of Day 5. Presto Vivace And Reprise 6. Thirty Years Disc 2 (46:15) 1. Alaska 2. Time To Kill 3. Nevermore 4. Mental Medication 5. Carrying No Cross 6. Band Introductions 7. The Only Thing She Needs John Wetton – Bass, Vocals Eddie Jobson – Keyboards, Violin Virgil Donati – Drums Alex Machacek – Guitar