When Wetton joined King Crimson, his old schoolmate and musical collaborator Palmer-James chipped in with lyrics.
A ‘scrapbook’ of 24 demos, unreleased recordings and alternative versions, Monkey Business charts their exploits, and though it’s niche stuff there are some curate’s eggs in the clutch. Larks’ Tongues…’ tunes Easy Money and Book Of Saturday are here in embryonic, pre-lyric form with Wetton on piano. The former has Bill Bruford on drums and there’s a live version of the latter from ’94 with It Bites’ John Beck and Bob Dalton. Demos Starless 1 and 2, are of slight interest, as is Magazines (destined for Wetton’s own Arkangel). Palmer-James’s own wordy Cologne 1977 is a challenge, but Confessions is a great new wave/power pop tune. This crops up again on the duo’s ’79 nine-track covers album Jack-Knife, along with a funky read of Billy Boy Arnold’s Wish You Would, a breathless rattle through Chuck Berry’s Monkey Business and other songs the two would play in school together. Palmer-James’s Mustang Momma and slinky Adoration stand up well, but again, while it’s the more listenable disc of the two, this really is for Wetton completists only.
