ASIA LIVE: 09-XI-90 MOCквA

Asia are live in Moskow following the release of three fairly pedestrian albums. But with the accomplished musicianship of Downes, Wetton, Howe and Palmer they were bound to succeed. They opted for a commercial approach, sucking the progressiveness out of the music that they had stemmed from. Instead we get a very melodic AOR brand of music that is commercially radio friendly, and therefore more accessible to a wider audience, including a female audience, Howe must have been shellshocked by this new crowd. In any case he was replaced by Meyer on their third album, 'Astra'. Then 7 years later he was back on their next studio album. In between that time the band toured everywhere to hone in on the success of the debut, a surprise success story. The prog feel did not surface until their albums 'Aria' and 'Arena' when Downes was the sole survivor of the group that became fronted by John Payne. But on this live release the guitarist was Pat Thrall so don't expect too much here in the guitar department; it is not Howe that's for sure. The classic lineup would return for reunion performances in the 2000s but the dynamic foursome were missing on this live release.

Let's go through these quickly. Time Again from the debut kicks things off and is similar to the album track. Sole Survivor from the debut is always excellent due to an infectious melody and has been overplayed live and on radio therefore is instantly recognizable. Don't Cry has one of the better guitar solos, and it is taken from 'Alpha'. Geoff Downes has a keyboard solo for 5 and a half minutes which is basically 'Video Killed The radio Star' as I guess he is from the Buggles so this justifies it. The crowd like it anyhow and thankfully you cannot hear them shouting "Ow-ah-oh, Ow-ah-oh". The rest of the track is piano soloing but nothing like Emerson or Rudess on show here, it is fairly pedestrian playing. Only Time Will Tell from the debut has a piano driven melody and strong percussion, and those keyboards that sound retro. The extreme commercial sound with 4/4 time sig is rather safe, as always in this era of Asia, but it works as clean melodic AOR designed to sing to. The vocals are always well accomplished by Wetton. Rock And Roll Dream from 'Astra' has a strong percussive beat and quite good vocals with a sing-a-long chorus. Starless is the classic King Crimson cover and it sounds fantastic along with Book Of Saturday. The familiar songs from the prog legends are a highlight for certain. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (Parts I & II) from 'Alpha' is helped with some strong instrumentation. The Heat Goes On is a longer track at 7:23, from 'Alpha' with a drum solo from the brilliant Palmer, though I have heard better from him on ELP concerts. Go from 'Astra' is a nice little track with some melodic rock guitars. Heat Of The Moment is always a delight to hear from the classic debut, and easily a crowd favourite, one of my personal favourites especially the vocals of Wetton. Open Your Eyes from 'Alpha' features a catchy little chorus and some emotive singing, but very accessible and safe as always, though I liked the keyboard solo on this track and some cool guitar licks. Kari-Anne is the new one and is a studio recording, one of the last until the 1992 album emerged. It is as usual simple melodies, clean guitars and love soaked lyrics.

So in conclusion, this is Asia, the Asia that did not seem to be interested in the innovative progressive music that the members heralded from such as ELP, Yes, and King Crimson (though it was nice to hear interpretations of 2 Crimson gems). With the absence of Howe and the lack of musical innovation, and some poor production values I can wrestle out a 3 star rating, as long as you are not expecting too much. Pick this one up cheap somewhere.