CROSSING THE LINE

"Crossing The Line" is the debut full-length studio album by French/Turkisk progressive rock act Asia Minor. The album was released through the W.A.M. label in April 1979. Asia Minor formed in 1973 when Turkish students Setrak Bakirel (vocals, guitar, bass) and Eril Tekeli (flute, guitar, bass) settled in France and met drummer/percussionist Lionel Beltrami. On this release Nick Vicente guests on keyboards.

Stylistically the material on "Crossing The Line" is melodic, atmospheric, epic, and very well performed progressive rock. The latter is a great asset and it´s a great joy listening to how well playing a unit Asia Minor are. The music is predominantly instrumental although some vocal parts are included (they are relatively anonymous). The lyrics are in both English and Turkish. In addition to guitars (loads of nice harmonies are heard throughout the album), bass, drums, and keyboards, the flute has a dominant place in the soundscape and if I have to make a comparison to a a more well known progressive rock act it would be Camel, and when the music is most busy Jethro Tull.

"Crossing The Line" features a warm, organic, and detailed sound production which suits the material well. Although Asia Minor are a bit late to the game (progressive rock was more or less dead in 1979), they still manage to produce an album which features all the early 70s trademarks of the genre without sounding too retrospective. The well sounding production alone sets this album apart from most early 70s progressive rock albums. But when the positives are counted "Crossing The Line" still isn´t the most unique sounding progressive rock album, and therefore there´s still a way to go before they reach the highest peaks of the genre. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.

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