Not a lot of artists are able to shine in various setups – in collectives and solo, in duos and trios, in plugged-in and unplugged formats – but the late John Wetton was one of those precious few musicians who could shine in any surroundings. Unsurprisingly, of course, given his pedigree and stylistic variety of ensembles he used to be part of, so the veteran’s live shows always felt special, and that specialness is the focus of “Concentus”: a triptych of box sets which corral John’s onstage legacy. While its initial installment released last year (no comment on the quality since this site didn’t get issued a review copy of the ten-CD package) encompassed different configurations of Wetton’s band, its second chapter, prepared by the legend’s estate to see the light of day on August 29th, will concentrate mostly on electric groups he commandeered.
With an extended “Sub Rosa” performance from Milan, recorded in 1998, where the singer appeared in the company of Dave Kilminster and Martin Orford seeming rather intimate, the rest of the “Concentus II: Live Collection, Volume Two” contents features full-blown outings, where John Young played ivories too. There’s the brilliant "Nomansland" from 1999 and an updated “Sun Plaza Tokyo” twofer from 1999, as well as a couple recently uncovered documents, all newly remastered. Must be good.
Live Collection,
Volume Two
CD 1 – Heart Of The Dragon Pt. 1:
1. Intro
2. Heat Of The Moment
3. Don’t Cry
4. Right Where I Wanted To Be
5. Rendezvous 6:02
6. Caught In The Crossfire
7. Easy Money
8. In The Dead Of Night
9. Thirty Years
10. Only Time Will Tell
11. Did It All for Love
CD 2 – Heart Of The Dragon Pt. 2:
1. Hold Me Now
2. Starless
3. Book Of Saturday
4. Crime Of Passion
5. Battle Lines
6. Open Your Eyes
7. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
8. Sole Survivor
CD 3 – Landmarq (Live in The Netherlands):
1. Intro
2. Don’t Cry
3. Voice Of America
4. Hold Me Now
5. Book Of Saturday
6. Thirty Years
7. Only Time Will Tell
8. Crime Of Passion
9. Caught In The Crossfire
10. Easy Money
11. In The Dead Of Night
12. Battle Lines
13. Starless
14. Rendezvous 6:02
15. Open Your Eyes
16. Sole Survivor
17. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
18. Heat Of The Moment
CD 4 – Live in Tokyo 1997:
1. Sole Survivor
2. I Can’t Lie Anymore
3. Battle Lines
4. John Young’s Keyboard Solo
5. Thirty Years
6. Rendezvous 6:02
7. Thomas Lang’s Drum Solo
8. Easy Money
9. In The Dead Of Night
10. Heat Of The Moment
11. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
12. The Night Watch
13. Only Time Will Tell
CD 5 – Live in Tokyo II 1997:
1. The Circle Of St. Giles
2. The Last Thing on My Mind
3. Sole Survivor
4. I Can’t Lie Anymore
5. Battle Lines
6. John Young’s Keyboard Solo
7. Arkangel
8. Emma
9. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
10. The Night Watch
11. Thirty Years
12. Hold Me Now
13. Only Time Will Tell
14. Rendezvous 6:02
15. Thomas Lang’s Drum Solo
CD 6 – Live in Tokyo II 1997:
1. Easy Money
2. In The Dead Of Night
3. After All
4. Heat Of The Moment
5. Starless
6. Don’t Cry
7. The Celtic Cross
bonus track:
8. Blues Was On My Mind (April 5th, 1997)
CD 7 – Nomansland:
1. Intro – Guitar Concerto
2. The Last Thing on My Mind
3. Sole Survivor
4. Book Of Saturday
5. Emma
6. Martin Orford keyboard solo – “Tatras”
7. In The Dead Of Night
8. Bygosh!!
9. Easy Money
10. Rendezvous 6:02
11. The Birth Of Igor
12. After All
13. Starless
14. The Night Watch
15. Suzanne
CD 8 – Sub Rosa (2024 Redux):
1. Intro
2. Book Of Saturday
3. Heat Of The Moment
4. Sole Survivor
5. Martin Orford piano solo – “Ode To Quilmes”
6. Battle Lines
7. Arkangel
8. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
9. Easy Money
10. Emma
11. Announcement
12. Thirty Years
13. Hold Me Now
14. Rendezvous 6:02
15. The Night Watch
16. Starless
CD 9 – Live At The Sun Plaza Tokyo 1999 (2024 Redux) – Pt. 1:
1. The Circle Of St. Giles
2. The Last Thing on My Mind
3. Sole Survivor
4. Battle Lines
5. Book Of Saturday
6. Martin Orford piano solo – “Ode To Quilmes”
7. Emma
8. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
9. Hold Me Now
10. The Night Watch
11. Only Time Will Tell
12. In The Dead Of Night
CD 10 – Live At The Sun Plaza Tokyo 1999 (2024 Redux) – Pt. 2:
1. Easy Money
2. After All
3. Rendezvous 6:02
4. Time Again
5. Starless
6. Heat Of The Moment
7. Don’t Cry
8. The Celtic Cross
