Album of the Day

Danger Money, by UK (1979): UK had a brief but explosive existence. It was originally a four-piece prog super group (think Asia without the suck) featuring Bill Bruford (ex of Yes and King Crimson and fresh off working with National Health, IIRC), John Wetton (post-Crim, pre-Asia), Eddie Jobson (from Zappa's band), and the relatively unknown Alan Holdsworth. Their first album was a mix of frantic prog and fusion, with extensive use of the new Yamaha CS80 polyphonic synth by Jobson. And it's very good. But, there was trouble in paradise. On the ensuing tour, a riff developed between Bruford/Holdsworth and Wetton/Jobson over the level of improvisation the band should undertake. As a result, Bruford and Holdsworth took their balls and went home (to collaborate with Jeff Berlin and Dave Stewart in Bruford's band).

Wetton and Jobson carried on, with fellow Zappa alum Terry Bozio joining on drums. This, their second and last album, stripped away many of the jazzier elements of the first album and is more firmly rooted in the prog genre. As a result, lots of people look down on Danger Money as a lesser UK album, which is not very fair. It's certainly different than the first one, but it's still pretty good, particularly given what else their contemporaries were doing at about the same time (Love Beach anyone?). "Carrying No Cross" is a great track and the other five all have something to recommend them.