1. Never Again - 4:542. Nothing's Forever - 5:46
3. Heroine - 4:54
4. Sleeping Giant / No Way Back / Reprise - 8:10
5. Alibis - 5:40
6. I Will Remember You - 5:127. Shadow of a Doubt - 4:18
8. Parallel Worlds / Vortex / Déyà - 8:12
9. Wish I'd Known All Along - 4:06
10. Orchard of Mines - 5:12
11. Over and Over - 3:33
12. An Extraordinary Life - 4:59
In a swirl of excitement over the new Yes album coming out, I got curious about Asia. I've known of them for awhile, but I never thought they would be worth my time. They sound good on paper: Steve Howe (guitarist from Yes), John Wetton (bassist from King Crimson & UK), and Carl Palmer (drummer from Emerson, Lake, and Palmer) join forces with Buggles (and one-time Yes) keyboardist Geoff Downes for the 80s hit "Heat of the Moment" and short-lived arena rock fame. All four musicians are outstanding, but the boilerplate says they sold out their standards for success. However, when I heard they got back together in 2008, I was very curious. Surely these older, wiser musicians wouldn't release a new album without having something truly inspired to offer, and not just one last desperate attempt at radio success.
What I heard was quite interesting - yes, there are some inspired musical passages, and some of the lyrics are pretty decent as well, but the overall sound is very 80s, very arena rock, and very poppy. The fact that nothing on this is going to come within sniping distance of radio gives the songs a sort of artistic relevance - big rock music for the sake of big rock music, even if no one is listening.
My favorite part of this album is Steve Howe's guitar work. The man is a true original, bringing inventive solos, emotive slide work, tasteful licks, and an overall exuberance that elevates every song, even rescuing the duds. John Wetton's bass guitar is much less exciting, unfortunately - I think he sees himself more as a lead singer now. Geoff Downes' keyboards are as 80s as it gets, though he pulls in more eclectic sounds with Hammond organ, faux orchestra, even harpsichord on the outro to "Alibis." Carl Palmer is solid as ever - he gets a tuned percussion feature in "Vortex", but other than that, he doesn't stand out.
In the midst of dangerously saccharine ballands and feel-good arena rock, the band sneaks in some geniunely creative music. "Sleeping Giant / No Way Out / Reprise" sandwiches a standard Asia song inside a moody, mysterious instrumental, where the keyboards and guitar play a swelling 6/8 underpinned by Wetton's fretless bass and multi-layered vocals in some other time signature (haven't figured out what yet). The aforementioned "Alibis" is a sprightly rock number with a neo-classical instrumental at the end featuring Downes' ever-building keyboard orchestra. The Howe-penned "Wish I'd Known All Along" boasts a chorus in 7/8, though the groove is natural enough you don't notice it. It also has a refreshing classical bridge, along with some great guitar work. Finally, "Parallel Worlds / Vortex / Déyà" is a great extended piece, mostly instrumental, with dramatic harmonized lead instruments in the "Vortex" section transitioning into the stately grandeur of "Déyà", a tune reminiscent of Genesis in their heyday, particularly "After the Ordeal".
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this reunion album. Surprised enough to check out their debut...
Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 sleeping giants
No comments:
Post a Comment