ASIA

I have a very soft spot for this album. When it came out, prog was at an all time low. In fact, I'll wager you couldn't name 10 prog albums that were TRULY prog that came out in 1982, (being a fan of Symphonic prog, its a task). When this album came out, it happened to have been a staple of the early days of MTV video-wise. Even our local radio stations played the heck out of "Heat Of The Moment" and "Only Time Will Tell". Bombastic prog- pop, I didn't care, all the players I adored and just the fact that they were being played on TV and radio made me want to jump up and down clapping my hands. I just played this album to death. Come 2004, when I finally bought the disc and played it for the first time I was whisked back to my younger days and I felt good. Sure, it's not complicated prog with mulitiple time changes, but the SOUND was like taking the hookiest parts of prog songs and wrapping them with Wetton's multi-layed vocals. It sounds like heaven to me and to this day I enjoy popping it out and blasting it. Howe's guitar never sounded so sweet and controlled and I enjoy listening to Palmer's steady hands. I'll enjoy this album until the day I die and I think, given the category it's listed in, deserves at least 4 stars.