ASIA

This album was well-received back when it was first released, but now seems to be equally despised by proggers and non-proggers alike. The hardcore prog fan felt that these talented musicians sold out by making radio-friendly AOR music, turning their backs on the music which they had previously graced the prog music world with. Almost everyone else seems to now consider Asia an outdated relic of a time when music was bad and fashion was even worse - a period of history they would just as soon pretend never happened.

As for me, I like this album mainly because it is well-produced, has some great tunes in the first few songs and John Wetton's voice sounds better than ever. Sure, there are some decent moments that harken back to some of the sounds of Yes and King Crimson. But this is not a prog album. As such, I am going to give it three stars even though I really enjoy the first three songs: Heat of the Moment, Only Time Will Tell and Soul Survivor. The rest of the album is pretty dull and despite a fun little Carl Palmer drum solo during Wildest Dreams, there is really nothing particularly notable about the last seven songs. For fans of Wetton's voice, there is a lot to like here even though most of the songs themselves are not very strong.