WETTON MANZANERA [AKA: ONE WORLD]

I never saw this album in the record shops of my city. I only knew about it after reading a review of the album in one Rock magazine in late 1987. At that time I had ASIA's "Astra" album, which I bought in late 1986, an album which I did't like very much. So, I think that I really didn't have enough interest then to go to the record shops to find this album there to buy it, thinking that it could be similar to "Astra".

This album was recorded because John Wetton one day went to record some demos to Phil Manzanera's studio (as Wetton said in one interview). Manzanera showed to Wetton some of the music of one unfinished song that he composed and which Wetton then completed. That song became "It's Just Love", the first song which appears in this album. So good were the results for them that Wetton and Manzanera agreed to record a full album together. Wetton, who at the time still had a record deal with the Geffen label (after the split of ASIA after their unsuccessful album titled "Astra" from 1985) was allowed by that record label to record this duet album with Manzanera. This album was released by Geffen.

Having Alan White from YES on drums, Wetton and Manzanera recorded an album which is "very eighties" in musical style and production, full of Rock Pop songs and ballads, more influenced by the musical style of ASIA than from ROXY MUSIC's musical style. Manzanera's "atmospheric" guitars are very present in this album, with a few solos played by him, and with his guitars almost always sounding in the same way. There are a few keyboard parts, but their role is more as support in all the songs in this album. So, the main role in this album is for Wetton's very good lead and backing vocals (with some help from Manzanera on backing vocals). The songs are "very ASIA" in musical style, and I wasn't wrong: some of them are very similar in style to some of the songs from the "Astra" album, but with less keyboards and more guitars. Alan White's drums playing is good, but the songs are very Pop Rock in rhythms and his style of playing the drums really becomes not very recognizable in some parts. As other albums from the eighties, there are some use of reverberation in the drums and in the general sound of the album.

Best songs in this album: "Every Trick in the Book", "Keep on Loving Yourself", "Suzanne", "Do It Again", "Have You See Her Tonight ? "

After this album, which was unsuccessful in the popularity charts, Wetton returned to ASIA (asked by Geffen) for a reunion between 1987 and 1991, first recording some songs in the recording studios and later on tour.