ASIA

Asia's debut album.Now do we call this progressive rock? Answer NO! Good got that out of the way. Second question is it any good? Answer Yes! There are some good songs on here but the intention was to make a radio friendly album,something the band made no secret of.Hence the best music is on side 2 (vinyl wise) where they allow some expansion of ideas and more closely related to prog music.Wildest Dreams has Carl Palmer giving the bass drum a good working plus some decent anti-war lyrics.Without You is a very nice 'power ballad' and allows Steve Howe to excel with some impressive guitar work.Cutting It Fine is my favourite track on the entire album -great lyrics about the breakdown of a relationship and Geoff Downes instrumental peice at the end is beautifull.Overall this is not a masterpeice and no one can seriously make that claim.It's not even essential but still worth looking for in the bargain bucket section of the CD store it if you are a fan of any of the musicians present.