Re-assessing Asia

Having expelled that first Asia album from my music collection some twenty years ago, I recently picked up a copy of Anthologia for the princely sum of $11.00.  I had not heard them for a while and, having declared myself a member of the Spandau Ballet (and 80's synth-pop in general) fan club in another thread recently (with tongue not firmly implanted in cheek), I thought I'd give them another listen.  Hey, why not.  $11.00 won't buy much else these days.

So what do I newly discover but that I actually like some of their stuff.  Sure, it's not prog, but it is surely as good as most of your standard 80's synth-pop, maybe even a step or two above that since there is some decent musicianship (as opposed to mere production wizardry) involved.  It occurs to me that much of the disappointment in Asia comes from the simple fact that at the time, given the band members' pedigrees, we expected so much more.  What we got is a very good band playing some very good pop-rock.  I think they all in terms of the quality of the music acquit themselves pretty well -- particularly Wetton and Howe.  As for the quality of the songwriting, well let's just say it fit the times.  And it is a slog to get through that second CD, which of course is the later music.

So what do you think?  Do we want to buy Phoenix and encourage these guys a second time around or should we Just Say No?

I always laughed at the negativity toward Asia by the so called enlightened  "critics" right from the get go. They blasted and derided progressive rock in the 70s for being to long winded and self indulgent and made fun of these bands for an inability to write a 4 minute melodic rock song with a hook. They fell all over themselves forecasting the death of prog as they praised the rise of punk played by guys who couldn't hold a candle to the top prog rockers in the musical talent department. Then, when Asia's first album comes out and the thing is filled with melodic, well played 4 minute rock songs with catchy hooks, they deride THAT as selling out for big bucks and underplaying their talent etc. It was laughable. And on top of that of course, you had the prog elitists abhorrent in their scorn for some of their heroes to be 'selling out'.  The bottom line is that the first Asia album is filled with killer songs done in a streamlined manner. They could have all been proggier if they had included extended soloing, but they purposely did not do that because of the times. Sure, this is not deep material, but it was a breath of fresh air at a time when new wave weak ass synth pop, with androgynous frontmen and wimpy vocals, were dominating the charts and airwaves. That first album sounded nothing like the tinkly weak synth pop of the time, which is why it was such a breath of fresh air at the time.

Phoenix is easylistening prog which is nice to play in the background when you're having friends over for dinner. It's far from as demanding as serious prog, but serves a purpose in some situations. It's music for enjoying in the background and not when you need to put on your headphones and enjoy the music with all senses.