ASIA

Only pleasant, commercial and really well made AOR music, wich has nothing to do with any of the Asia's memebers bands. Ok, the prog influences are here, of course... Like the good Downes's keyboards in Here Comes the Feeling, sounding like some kind of neo-prog precedent. Cutting it Fine has also some symphonic elements, being the instrumental end of this song on of the most proggy parts of the album... Time Again has also some original elements, not really ususal in the AOR genre.

But of course, I can't call this music progressive... So the term prog related is pefect for Asia.

Apart from the album's style, the songs are really good... Very commercial and radio oriented, but really well made, with a cristal clear sound, and perfectly played. John Wetton's mellow voice is really good for this songs. He has not a high range, but his voice fits perfectly with the mood of the tracks, being very radio friendly. Steve Howe's elegant playing is also remarkable, specially in the stronger songs like Sole Survivor and Time Again. Geoffey Downes offers a diversified playing, giving a special taste to every song... The epic One Step Closer chorus, the symphonic elements in Cutting it Fine, the keyboards riff and solo in Here Comes the Feeling... Or just giving deepness in Sole Survivor and Heat of the Moment. Really talented keyboardist, I think.

And Carl Palmer... His strong playing is also really important for the Asia's sound. Like the double pedal used at the end of Sole Survivor. I also appreciate the drum's sound very much. Simply spectacular!

Best songs: Heat of the Moment (of course... The great hit of the album), Sole Survivor (the strongest song of the album... The ending is almost heavy!), One Step Closer (I really like the chorus...) and Here Comes the Feeling (I love the neo-prog feeling of this track).

Conclusion: very good AOR rock, with some proggy and symphonic elements... Made for this great group of musicians. Every instrument shines in this work, and the sound is also spectacular. I like also almost every song of the album... But being not really progressive, I think I can't give this album more than 3 stars, because it's not essential to any prog music collection.

My rating: ***

Share this ASIA review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to The Crow
• Report this review (#172540)
• Buy ASIA music online with PA partners
• Show all ASIA MP3/Stream
• Go to ASIA page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Asia page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for ASIA related discussions