CROSSING THE LINE

Another band that I heard a lot through the years but that only recently I had the opportunity to hear their music. Asia Minor was a band based in France during the 70´s but their name is veryy fitting since their two main songwriters were from Turkey: Setrak Bakirel (lead vocals, guitars, bass) and Eril Tekeli (flute, guitars, bass). The band´s debut album Crossing The Line was released in 1979 and it showed great promise. Unfortunately the timing was not the best for prog music in general, much less symphonic groups like this, which were considered by the press totally out of fashion and got little, if any, exposure in the media.

It is a pity, since Asia Minor did have a quite distinguished sound from the very start, with middle east folk flavors and rhythms added to their nice symphonic soundscape. Some reviewers say the group was influenced by Camel, but I hardly see any Camel-like sounds here other than some similar guitar chord progressions (unfortunately the emotional guitar solos that made Camel so influential are nowhere to be found on Crossing The Line). Most of the solos are done by Eril Tekeli´s flute that reminds me of Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and, especially, This Van Leer (Focus).

The songwriting was good, and they show some fine early Genesis tendencies that I like a lot. Bakirel´s vocals are also very nice. Although the formula was original at the time and the musicians showed great skill, the formula was clearly on its infancy. Some tracks are very well done while others seemed underdeveloped. The band was still trying to find their way. However, judging by the high quality of their musicianship and the tasteful arrangements, they were heading toward the right direction. Production was very good too.

Conclusion: a nice start. I´m looking forward to listen to their second (sadly their last) effort. if you´re into 70´s symphonic prog rock (with eastern sounds to spice it up) this is surely something worth checking out. 3,5 stars.