24th November will see the first in a series of box sets commemorating the life and music of one of the UK`s most extraordinary and prolific musicians, John Wetton.
Bearing the same title as the recent biographical memoir on the singer and bass player, the An Extraordinary Life box set will contain eight newly remastered CDs, featuring the six solo albums Wetton released between 1980 and 2011. Each of those remastered albums will include special bonus tracks. Additionally, two further discs are included hat feature, what’s been called “a gold mine of rare, live and unreleased material from the vaults”, compiled by Wetton`s archivist, Rick Nelson.
In a glittering career spanning more than 40 years, Wetton was a member of several influential and much-loved bands including, Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Roxy Music, UK, Asia and Icon. He also appeared on a host of albums as a guest artist or session player, including for Bryan Ferry, Steve Hackett, Brian Eno, Renaissance and Galahad. In addition, Wetton had an extensive and accomplished solo career.
Housed in a sumptuous 12” by 12” box, the set will include a 64-page book with an introduction by legendary artist, Roger Dean and contains comprehensive sleeve notes by Nick Shilton, author of Wetton’s aforementioned biography, An Extraordinary Life.
Crafted and compiled with the full blessing of Wetton`s son Dylan and his wife Lisa and is endorsed by the Wetton estate. The book also features a raft of photographs taken from the Wetton archive and has been designed by Wetton’s long-time friend, Michael Inns.
The An Extraordinary Life boxset features the following tracks:
Disc 1: Caught In The Crossfire (with Bonus Tracks): ‘Turn On The Radio’, ‘Baby Come Back’, When Will You Realise’, ‘Cold Is The Night’, Paper Talk’, ‘Get Away’, ‘Caught In The Crossfire’, ‘Get What You Want’, ‘I’ll Be There’, ‘Woman’, ‘Every Inch Of The Way’ and ‘Out Of The Blue’.
Disc 2: Battle Lines (with Bonus Tracks): ‘Right Where I Wanted To Be’, ‘Battle Lines’, ‘Jane’, ‘Crime Of Passion’, Sand In My Hand’, ‘Sea Of Mercy’, ‘Hold Me Now’, ‘Space And Time’, ‘Walking On Air’, ‘You’re Not The Only One’ and ‘Battle Lines (Acoustic version)’.
Disc 3: Arkangel (with Bonus Tracks): ‘The Circle Of St Giles’, ‘The Last Thing On My Mind’, ‘Desperate Times’, ‘I Can’t Lie Anymore’, ‘Archangel’, ‘You Against The World’, ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’, ‘Emma’, ‘Nothing Happens For Nothing’, ‘All Grown Up’, ‘After All’, ‘The Celtic Cross’, ‘Take These Tears’, Magazines’ and ‘Woman’.
Disc 4: Welcome To Heaven (with Bonus Tracks): ‘Heart Of Darkness’, ‘Say It Ain’t So’, ‘No Ordinary Miracle’, Where Do We Go From Here’, ‘E SCAPE’, ‘Another Twist Of The Knife’, ‘Silently’, ‘Before Your Eyes’, ‘Second Best’, ‘Real World’, ‘Love Is’ and ‘Space And Time’.
Disc 5: Rock Of Faith (with Bonus Tracks): ‘Mondrago’, ‘Rock Of Faith’, A New Day’, ‘I’ve Come To Take You Home’, ‘Who Will Light A Candle’, ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stand In Our Way’ ‘Altro Mongo’, ‘I Believe In You’, ‘Take Me To The Waterline’, ‘I Lay Down’, ‘When You Were Young’, ‘Cold Comfort’, ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Rock Of Faith’.
Disc 6: Raised In Captivity (with Bonus Tracks): ‘Lost For Words’, ‘Raised In Captivity’, ‘Goodbye Elsinore’, ‘The Last Night Of My Life’, ‘We Stay Together’, ‘The Human Condition’, ‘Steffis Ring’, ‘The Devil And The Opera House’, ‘New Star Rising’, ‘Don’t Misunderstand Me’, ‘Mighty Rivers’ and ‘Face To Face’.
Disc 7 : Bonus Tracks 1: ‘AD 2023’, ‘Raven’, ‘Walking On Air’, ‘Straight From The Heart’, ‘If I Was A Country’, ‘All Along The Watchtower’, ‘Deya 1986’, ‘Tears Of Rage’, ‘Maryanne’, ‘Healer Of Shattered’, ‘I’d Give It All For You’, ‘Ultimate Emotion Unfinished Idea’, ‘Wings Of Angels Intro’, ‘Wings Of An Angel’, ‘All For One’, ‘From A Distant Heart’, ‘Real World – John and Ringo’, ‘The Greatest Show On Earth -JW Edit’, ‘Adagietto’ and The Water Is Wide’.
Disc 8: Bonus Tracks 2: ‘Raised In Captivity’, ‘The Other Guy (Second Best)’, ‘I Will’, ‘Bad Thing’, ‘Boys Of The Diamond City’, ‘Flesh And Blood’, ‘Burn Your Name In My Heart’, ‘Sex/Power/ And Money’, ‘Back In Your Lovin’ Arms’, ‘Every Inch Of The Way’, ‘I Can’t Tell You Why’, ‘Winner Takes It All (Demo)’, ‘Mind Over Matter (Demo)’, ‘Gypsy Soul (Demo)’, ‘Wasted Time’, ‘You Still Got Me’, ‘Halfway To Heaven’, ‘I’ll Never Stop Loving You’ and ‘Forever’.
You can check out a video trailer for the box set here at RAMzine and pre-order it by clicking here.
A review of An Extraordinary Life, the biography, can be found at RAMzineby clicking here.
John Wetton will be honoured tomorrow on 3rd August, when a host of legendary musical friends celebrate his music at Trading Boundaries, in East Sussex (More details on this can be found by clicking here).
