U.K.

After King Crimson came to a close in late 1975, the rhythm section - the formidable duo of Bill Bruford and John Wetton - took some journeyman work (Genesis, National Health and Uriah Heep) before regrouping to form what would become U.K. Rick Wakeman was around for some of the early rehearsals, but for whatever reason he opted to return to Yes. Then, in 1977, the duo decided to each pick a replacement: Wetton brought Eddie Jobson, while Bruford towed in guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Given the pedigree of the members ("super" being the operative word), their debut album was eagerly anticipated. The three-part "In the Dead Of Night" leads off, penned, like most of the other tracks on the album, by Jobson and Wetton. The latter certainly knows a decent hook, a perfect complement to his distinctively clear voice. Holdsworth adds his signature guitar playing, while the second section showcases Jobson on the electric violin. Bruford's drumming is crisp throughout, but the highly-rated Bruford/Wetton rhythm section is unfortunately mostly understated. Jobson's keyboards, and their unique sonic signature, provides a wonderful document of the technology he used (early polyphonic synthesizers). "Time To Kill" gives Jobson another turn on lead violin but Holdsworth's single note accompaniment is equally enthralling. "Nevermore" and "Mental Medication" offer Holdsworth both a hand in the composition and two on acoustic guitar. Overall the songs are good, and the album is punctuated by a particular heaviness, and of course, lots of virtuoso soloing. But it's also replete with sterile production: few outside the cognoscenti were going to get excited about this music. So despite the hype, the album failed to make any significant dent in the charts. The quartet did take to the road in the US, and judging by their set lists, had a larger repertoire ready to record, but Bruford and Holdsworth had other plans.