RAISED IN CAPTIVITY

For Raised In Captivity, John Wetton teamed up with Billy Sherwood who not only plays guitars and drums but also produced the album and is credited as a co-writer on most of the songs. Now, I am a huge fan of Billy Sherwood and love the stuff he has been doing with Circa and as a solo artist, but on this occasion Sherwood really should have told Wetton that they needed to go back to the drawing board because most of these songs are just not up for it. That the playing and production is top notch does not help much when the material is not strong enough. And adding guest appearances by an impressive gang from some of Wetton's past bands including King Crimson's Robert Fripp, UK's Eddie Jobson, Asia's Geoff Downes, and Uriah Heep's Mick Box, as well as contributions from Steve Hackett, Tony Kaye, and Steve Morse does not help much either.

The songs feel like run of the mill and the lyrics are often banal and trite. The best songs are folky ballads like Goodbye Elsinore and the acoustic Steffi's Ring. When they try to create Rock 'n' Roll on the other hand the results are just embarrassing. And I suppose there is no need to mention that there is nothing progressive about this record.

Raised In Captivity was to be Wetton's final solo album and in the context of his discography it ranks as one of his worst solo albums and a sad end to a great career.

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