ALPHA

After an epic debut, Asia decided to play more of the same...actually the exact same. The songs seemingly have the same exact lyrics as the first album, same hooks, same notes...same everything. Anyone would fine themselves bored within the first 10 minutes of the album. The music is still fresh and well produced, but the musicians are getting fairly stale and lack any type of new ideas in their music, which is a bore at most times.

1.Don't Cry - A good opener to an average album. The song is very dramatic and that works well in the effect, though the lyrics are obviously a tedious listening, the instrumentation is actually fine considering the rest of the album being a carbon copy at times. Catchy, harmonic chorus always helps with a good song. (8.5/10)

2.The Smile Has Left Your Eyes - The song is always skipped, as with most of the tracks on the album. The track is a rocking ballad, though it falls flat on its face. The vocals are trying to be some they are not: super macho, but cannot pull it off because of the hidously cheesy music. (2/10)

3.Never in a Million Years - A decent track after the absolutly horrendous opening second track. The vocals are tolerable, but don't really connect with me, as with the lyrics that seem to be the same thing repeated in the album over and over again. The music is actually fresh and interesting, with guitar playing from Steve Howe that excel. (8/10)

4.My Own Time (I Do What I Want) - This track uses very good use of acoustic guitar, and could be used in a good prog tune, but the lyrics don't connect to that concept at all. The opening electric part is boring, but the acoustic really saves the song from utter dissapointment. (6.5/10)

5.The Heat Goes On - And the heat goes nowhere. The song is another attempt at a dramatic love song that goes into the depths of embaressment, though the guitar parts are excellent throughout the track. Vocals are excellent..when in harmony. I can't stand the vocals when Wetton is just singing, and I have no idea why either. Something about this track just pisses me off sometimes. (3.5/10)

6.Eye to Eye - Also a skip track. The same thing has been repeated; dramatic vocals that seem forced and annoying instrumentation. Lame. (1.5/10)

7.The Last to Know - The first true ballad of the album, which actually does a good job at being dramatic, as we all know Asia cannot do correctly. The echoed vocals are excellent played in the intro, but the vocals themselves, combined with the lyrics, are terribly cheesey. The track soon turns into the standard pop tune. What a shame, it could have been decent. (5/10)

8.True Colours - Worst track of the album, hands down. Annoying everything, i just cannot stand listening to this track for more than 2 seconds. (1/10)

9.Midnight Sun - The standard Asia track, which is actually good and well executed, with a different beat than what I have normally heard from Asia. The song is something I can listen to, but one thing that does bug me is that their is not enough showcasing of Howes excellent guitar playing, only alot of Geoff Downes keyboard playing, which is good to say the least. (7.5/10)

10.Open Your Eyes - Probably the most progressive of all the tracks, with an excellent opening sequence at that. The songs lyrics could put anyone away, but the music itself is defiantly a keeper and sounds excellent with lots of moog synthesizers that sound nice and juicy. (8.5/10)

The album was a huge dissapointment after an excellent debut, but this album has some excellent song, and some terrible duds. 2 stars at most, as I was considering 3, but that got shot from the same old same old sounding tracks.