{"id":1004,"date":"2017-06-19T19:09:40","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T19:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2017-06-19T19:13:35","modified_gmt":"2017-06-19T19:13:35","slug":"ftv-the-end-revisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=1004","title":{"rendered":"FTV: The End Revisited"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the fall of 2016, we spent two editions of FTV discussing the end – as in \u201cwhen a band comes to an end\u201d and not \u201cThe End of the world\u201d (9-28-16 and 10-5-16 if you care to backtrack a little). \u00a0A couple of months ago, we spent sometime talking about the sudden end, and then the surprising resurrection of one of my favorite sources of information, <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0Having their own close brush with \u201cthe end\u201d has given <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i> the proper perspective to examine some of the major rock bands that have played (or will soon play) their final shows. \u00a0In a few cases, the passing of some key band members has made it likely that a few more bands will not be getting together to celebrate 40 and 50 year milestones. \u00a0To keep this edition shorter than <\/span>War and Peace<\/span><\/i>, we shall concentrate on four household names: \u00a0Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Asia, \u00a0Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Emerson, Lake and Palmer won\u2019t be celebrating any anniversaries with the original classic line up now that drummer Carl Palmer is the only one still standing. \u00a0Tragically, keyboard wizard Keith Emerson took his own life last year. \u00a0His close friends knew he was having difficulty with a degenerative disorder that was making it increasingly difficult for him to perform, but no one knew how low Emerson had fallen. \u00a0Bassist-vocalist-guitarist Greg Lake had is own serious health problems but he was still performing almost to the end. \u00a0Videos of him near the end were consistent with someone battling an illness with steroids as he had a swollen look about him, but his voice and mannerisms didn\u2019t give one the idea that he was close to death. \u00a0With two legs of the three legged stool gone, there would be no way for Palmer to mount anything close to the original band. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Palmer has actually been snake bit twice as his other major band, Asia, also lost a founding member when vocalist – bassist John Wetton succumbed to colon cancer at the end of January of 2017. \u00a0Asia has had a revolving door of players on bass and guitar, but keyboardist Geoff Downes and Palmer have been with the band throughout. \u00a0Guitarist Steve Howe left, came back, and left again but it was Wetton\u2019s departure and return that proved what a key member of the band he was. \u00a0Wetton had his share of band endings in his career and it was Asia that finally brought him the acclaim he deserved.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Wetton, a member of some notable bands in his early years, was performing with Family when he got a major break by joining Robert Fripp in King Crimson. \u00a0He was finally able to contribute to a band as both a singer and a songwriter, opportunities that were lacking in his earlier bands. \u00a0When Fripp decided to pull the plug on King Crimson, the disappointed Wetton found himself knocking around as a sideman for bands like Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, and Wishbone Ash. \u00a0While with Roxy Music, an Atlantic Records west coast \u00a0employee named John Kalodner took Wetton to lunch and basically said, \u201cJohn, playing back up to Brian Ferry is not your destiny\u201d and planted the idea in Wetton\u2019s head that he should be focusing on a higher hill. \u00a0By the time Wetton had cycled through some solo projects and the aforementioned bands, Kalodner had joined the fast growing Geffen Records label and was instrumental in getting the classic Asia line up together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Asia\u2019s first self-titled release set the bar so high that the band was under a lot of pressure to get out their second album, <\/span>Alpha<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0Steve Howe threatened to leave the band but for some reason it was Wetton who was sent packing (replaced for a short time by Greg Lake). \u00a0When negotiations to get Wetton back in the band were instigated, Wetton agreed, but only if Howe was fired. \u00a0As Wetton said, \u201cSteve had squeezed me out of the band, so I did the same to him. \u00a0I lived to regret that decision, but I wanted my toy back and I was prepared to do anything.\u201d \u00a0By 1991, Wetton felt that the line up of Asia had become a parody of themselves, so he left the band (again). \u00a0There were ill feelings between Wetton and Downes for some time, but Downes kept a line up playing under the name, albeit to smaller and smaller audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Wetton and Downes eventually buried their differences when two events brought them back together: \u00a0Downes contributed to a couple of tracks on Wetton\u2019s<\/span> Rock of Faith<\/span><\/i> album. \u00a0This lead to them forming \u00a0the duo iCon which put them one step closer to reforming the classic line up. \u00a0In 2003, Palmer and Howe came on board for a full reunion, but not until Wetton quit drinking. \u00a0As he recalled, \u201cOh God yes, I was absolutely awful. \u00a0Sometimes you couldn\u2019t get a coherent word out of me after nine o\u2019clock in the morning.\u201d \u00a0The classic line up continued on until Howe left again in 2013 (under much better terms). \u00a0\u00a0Asia soldiered on even after Wetton was diagnosed three years ago. \u00a0Plans were being laid for a new Asia album right up to the end as Wetton was getting ready for a new round of chemotherapy and discussing touring dates with Journey. \u00a0In Wetton\u2019s case, there were many \u2018ends\u2019 in his career, but he proved many times over that you can go back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Black Sabbath had some ups and downs with vocalist Ozzy Osbourne over the years, but once they resumed playing together, they became one of the biggest touring draws over two decades. \u00a0Guitarist Tommy Iommi\u2019s cancer and contractual problems with drummer Bill Ward weighed heavily upon them, but they still managed to produce one of their strongest albums in years (2013\u2019s <\/span>13<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0The classic lineup minus Ward (Tommy Clufetos has filled Ward\u2019s seat for several tours) set off on their \u201cThe End\u201d tour in Omaha, Nebraska in 2016. \u00a0The tour took them around the world and finished up where they started, back in Birmingham, England on February 4, 2017. \u00a0After the final notes of <\/span>Paranoid<\/span><\/i> faded away at the last show, Iommi said they really didn\u2019t know what to say. \u00a0He read a brief statement from the stage (\u201cThank you, goodnight. \u00a0Thank you so much.\u201d) and that was it. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Iommi admits that they could record again or do a few small projects, but this marks the end of any large scale tours for the band: \u00a0\u201dIt\u2019s always possible but we haven\u2019t spoken about it. \u00a0My own future is fairly open and I\u2019m keen to explore whatever\u2019s around. \u00a0I\u2019d be up for doing a whole lot of stiff . . . provided it\u2019s not touring.\u201d \u00a0A band with a legacy like Sabbath faces the end in a far different manner than a band that implodes. \u00a0Iommi is glad to be wrapping things up, but when asked, \u201cHow would you like the band to be remembered?\u201d he said,\u201dWe started this form of music, basically, and I\u2019m really happy that the fact has been recognized for many years. \u00a0And I\u2019m very proud that we helped to put Birmingham on the map.\u201d \u00a0He also let <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> know he was happy that they survived their recent brush with \u201cthe end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Speaking of bands imploding, Deep Purple is another legacy band that has had its share of trials. \u00a0Mercurial guitar virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore was not a happy camper near the end of both his tenures with the band and when Ritchie wasn\u2019t happy, nobody was happy. \u00a0Of the founding members, only drummer Ian Paice can lay claim to playing in all the versions of the band. \u00a0The second time the classic lineup dissolved \u00a0(the one including Jon Lord (keyboards), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Gillan (vocals) along with Blackmore and Paice otherwise known as the Mark II version of the band), they settled on a core of Lord, Glover, Gillan and Paice with ex-Dixie Dregs – Kansas guitarist Steve Morse stepping into the lead guitar slot. \u00a0Lord eventually retired from the band and was replaced by Don Airey who spent his pre-Purple years with Cozy Powell, Jethro Tull, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, and Ozzy Osbourne. \u00a0He got to know Glover when they both did a stint with Blackmore\u2019s Rainbow so finding Lord\u2019s replacement was a very short search for Glover and company.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Purple still play their classic songs but they have also written and recorded new music with the current band. \u00a0Airey has already been the keyboard player in this version for 15 years, which is longer than both incarnations of the Mark II band combined. \u00a0Do they still sound like Deep Purple? \u00a0Morse can play the Blackmore parts on the iconic tracks, but he has the skills to put his own stamp on the Purple catalog (old and new songs) without it becoming a distraction. \u00a0Gillan\u2019s voice has deepened with time, but an old pro like him knows how make his voice fit the music the band is performing. \u00a0The title of their new album is <\/span>InFinite <\/span><\/i>(released in April 2017). \u00a0The Sky Arts TV documentary about the making of the album is called <\/span>From Here To Infinity<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0If this is their last tour, it won\u2019t be a short one: \u00a0entitled \u2018<\/span>The Long Goodbye\u2019<\/span><\/i>, it will wrap up in Europe at London’s O2 Arena on November 23, 2017 and is likely to continue with dates in the Far East and South America into 2018. \u00a0After that, Airey only hints at the future: \u00a0\u201cGroups are funny things, and this one\u2019s not so much a band of disparate as desperate characters. \u00a0I could be wrong, but I don\u2019t think any of us has an exit strategy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In honor of \u2018The End\u2019 of these bands, WOAS-FM will be featuring their music when we resume broadcasting the third week of August. \u00a0Tune in to 88.5 FM and we can all celebrate a lot of music covering a lot of years as these bands wind down their careers. \u00a0Unless, of course, they pull a Brett Favre. \u00a0Only time will tell.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video – John Wetton and Asia when they were the darlings of MTV