UK - first album

The line-up of Allan Holdsworth, Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson, and John Wetton (RIP) was second to NONE. The first album is a phenomenal display of their prog and virtuoso sensibilities. I am aware that some songs on their first album are "debatable" for artistic majesty, but I - for one - find none of the songs on this first album with fallible character. Rather, it is the best album the group ever produced - especially since Bruford and Holdsworth left the band to form Bruford's solo band constituency of the late 1970's and and early 1980's. Several times before Wetton passed unfortunately, Jobson & Wetton "put the band back together" (albeit without Bruford or Holdsworth) - but, nonetheless, stellar in its incarnation. Most, if not all, of the music on this first album is "timeless" (though that might be debated amongst the purists, as it were). Let us raise up a toast (of whatever beverage is best for your overall health) to the prog super-group of prog super-groups: UK!

I thought the debut was fantastic and I still play it a lot today. The down side was that it gave me some false hope that prog would continue in both quality and quantity during the punk/new wave explosion but that was not be! Rats.

Given the great apreciation this band and album have in the forum, I got it with high expectations, but it really didn't measure up for me. There's just something that didn't click with me. Some nice moments, but the melodies just didn't grab me, and Wetton's singing just didn't work for me.

Great band and album...I didn't discover them until several years after the album was released.

Both studio albums are great. The second album has more 'balls' as they decided to be 'ELP Mk11' but the first is a perfect example of where symphonic prog was at in 1977. There is just enough of the jazz rock fusion influence to make it distinct without it becoming dull . My only slight criticism is that I would like it to sound a bit more punchier (production issues maybe). I would love to track down the live album they did but was never going to pay £200 for that deluxe box set which seems to be the only way you can get it nowadays.

Edited by richardh - September 23 2018 at 16:31

Bruford is hard to replace indeed, can't think of a single drummer that was/is like him except maybe Budgie (Siouxsie and the Banshees) who was the punk equivalent (and also rather brilliant in his own way)

IMO, Night After Night is a fine live album by the Jobson-Wetton-Bozzio trio. At the time, you couldn't get a much more rockin' drummer than Bozzio, at least not one who was fluent in multiple approaches. The only other guy was Stewart Copeland.

Edited by verslibre - September 24 2018 at 20:09

Love both UK albums but Danger Money gets more play at my crib.

Just spun both cd's. Both 5 star on first spin! How the fook have I not listened to these for 40 years....how many more hidden gems are there for me to garner?