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John Wetton and Asia

#101
I like Lakes sound in ELP more than with Crimson. It just seems to "fit" there more.

I have a recurring dream that Yes, ELP, Crimson, Rush, Asia, Dream Theater, Marillion, and the like, all get together for a weekend of progressive rock goodness. Of course it would happen right here in Philly. My recurring dream turns into a nightmare when I realize that it will never EVER happen.
 
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#103
This is all true. Lake used the same cross-picking technique that Fripp used (though not at the same level).
I also read that Wetton was also a childhood friend of Fripp's. Funny to think of little Fripp, Lake and Wetton.

I don't think Lake fully embraced the bass. I really think his best bass was on the first Crimson Album, maybe being in Fripp's guitar shadow pushed him to be more of a bass player. Once in ELP I think he thought of himself as a singer/guitar/bass guy.

Any of you guys ever hear the second Crimson album (wake of poseidon)? Peter Giles is a great bass player. He's also on the pre-crimson Giles, Giles & Fripp album.

matrok said:
Lake was a guitar player first. As I understand it, he and Fripp grew up in the same town, took lessons from the same teacher.
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#104
KPAX said:
This is all true. I also read that Wetton was also a childhood friend of Fripp's. Funny to think of little Fripp, Lake and Wetton.
I don't think Lake fully embraced the bass. I really think his best bass was on the first Crimson Album, maybe being in Fripp's guitar shadow pushed him to be more of a bass player. Once in ELP I think he thought of himself as a singer/guitar/bass guy.
Any of you guys ever hear the second Crimson album (wake of poseidon)? Peter Giles is a great bass player. He's also on the pre-crimson Giles, Giles & Fripp album.
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Some of the lack of groove one would have to blame on the genre.
 
#108
KPAX said:
P-bass thru HIWATT and both folded horn and frontloaded 4x12 cabs (crimson)
Same for Roxy Music
P-bass and Marshall for UK
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I saw him with KC three times, fabulous shows all, and he was ineed using Hiwatt amps and playing his Precision (I believe it's a '61). He also used a pedal back then, as I recall it was a combo fuzz and wah. Anyway I read an interview with him in either GP or BP many years ago where he talked about it. He didn't seem to know what brand it was other than it was a cheap Japanese pedal and that's what he used for the extra grit and growl that can be heard on the tracks he recorded with KC and for live shows as well.

Yeah John's a great bass player... and singer and songwriter....
 
#109
Greg's bassing on Schizoid Man makes me personally dance like a mofo. Cool, demented and wacky groove in my opinion. Maybe not typical bass player groove though, but that's never been my cup of tea. First and foremost I dig cerebral, British pick-playing with a certain aggressive/wacky edge. I'm a fan of the guitarist playing bass kind of thing.

Wetton is great too, never liked his vocals on the Larks Tongues album though. Amazing basslines on the two parts of the title song.

Is this Wetton?

 
#111
matrok said:
"I Advanced Masked" was the first one, can't remember the name of the second. Interesting stuff. Fripp's arppegiated patterns, Summer's soloing over.
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Bewitched was the second collaboration, and as I recall, it was not nearly as charming or inspired (sic) as I Advance Masked ...which I already thought was just a bit shallow, a throwaway considering the lofty pedigree of the two players. I guess it did have some interesting juxtapositions of the two guitarists' styles, and some piquant textures to boot.

But Bewitched sounded more like a Summers solo project with some slapped-on overdubs by Fripp. Plus it reeked of too much Roland GR-700.
 
#112
Sneckumhaw said:
Greg's bassing on Schizoid Man makes me personally dance like a mofo. Cool, demented and wacky groove in my opinion. Maybe not typical bass player groove though, but that's never been my cup of tea. First and foremost I dig cerebral, British pick-playing with a certain aggressive/wacky edge. I'm a fan of the guitarist playing bass kind of thing.

Wetton is great too, never liked his vocals on the Larks Tongues album though. Amazing basslines on the two parts of the title song.

Is this Wetton?

Click to expand...


I didn't mean to say that Lake didn't come up with some interesting stuff from time to time and at least some of his apparent lack of groove has to be blamed on the style of music. IMO progressive rock is not dance music and doesn't pretend to be. But even within those confines I'd say he was rather lacking in groove in comparison to even other bass players of the style. My
 
#120
John Wetton was a very good bass player for Asia. I always thought he was a great bassist and singer for Asia, however, a lot of the other members thought he was taking up too much attention in the group, which is why they replaced him with Greg Lake in 1983. John mostly played a Fender Precision Bass in Asia, even though a few videos show him miming with a Rickenbacker 4001 bass, which John apparently never used or owned in the first place.


 

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