REVIEWS:
COMMENTS
My favorite songs on each album were: Only time will tell (ASIA), My own Time ( I'll do what i want) ( ALPHA), and Rock and roll Dreams (ALPHA). I think this band Super . Alpha and Astra deserve more credit then what they've received. "My own time" is such a great song that is never played or mentioned. The lyrics are awesome ."Walking though the snow kicking my heels seems that sunlight never felt so good before . Cast your mind back not so long ago i was always busy playing by the rules."
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: Sole Survivor, Only Time Will Tell, Heat Of The Moment, Without You. LOW POINTS: Wildest Dreams, One Step Closer.
Much of what people say concerning Asia is quite true: they were, in nearly any sense of the term, little more than a generic eighties arena rock outfit, birthed out of the frustrations of some former members of major prog artists of the seventies, and really not worth your time. In fact, there is little done here that Boston didn’t arguably do better four years later, as most of the songs share that much-despised style that has become so associated with the 1980s. But even in spite of this, there are two groups of people I can see appreciating such an album as this. First of all there are the few who go in for that sort of thing, and if you happen to be such a person congratulations, you’re all but alone in the world. Your copy of Asia sits planted between your Journey and Poison records, where I must honestly (and regretfully) say it does belong.
There is also, however, another group to whom this album may appeal, a group to which I not so proudly pledge my own membership, for this specific record, at the least, and this is that of bias. I must honestly confess that if Asia were not populated by (at least at this point) Howe, Downes, Wetton and Palmer, I would most likely not have given the record a first, let alone second, listen. But as it stands, I happen to be a remarkable fan of Yes, Crimson, and ELP, and thus I find Asia a more or less satisfying album, in fact, superior at the least to Yes' own attempt at a commercialised eighties product, of which I mean 90125 (and not the brilliant Drama). Then further there is also the fact that we who are curious about such a release can find it for quite an affordable price, in fact I own two copies of Asia (cassette and vinyl), both of which I got for under a dollar.
On the whole, specific song analysis would be rather pointless as they do more or less follow a similar pattern, and if you are one who quickly tires of monotony, you have both my sympathy and strong word against obtaining a copy of this album in any form (unless you can find a fifty cent vinyl copy so you can get a nice large image of the excellent cover: a Roger Dean-drawn dragon of sorts, arguably one of his best). There are a couple of missteps here and there (other than, of course, the generally uninspired tone, which I'm sure will drive away even some of the most dedicated fans), as I suppose is to be expected on such a release, and the band winds down perhaps a little bit too deep into the faceless for even my own bias to appreciate. The highlights as listed above are mostly the more radio-friendly tracks (whether they were actually singles or not I'm not sure, but I have heard all except "Without You" on air at some point or another), and as such they tend to be at the very least slightly catchier, and that by the standards by which I judge this style of music makes them better. This isn't to say that the entire album isn't more or less a pleasant release on the whole, but the first few songs aside, it isn't anything too special.
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(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: Don't Cry, The Heat Goes On, Eye To Eye. LOW POINTS: The Smile Has Never Left Your Eyes, Never In A Million Years, True Colors.
I suppose there really wasn't all that much of an Asia flame in the first place, and so it comes as little surprise that the band's second release Alpha dives far too deep into that land of faceless arena rock to be salvaged even by my own bias toward the members and the covers. This isn't really to say that Alpha is necessarily painful in the musical (or any) sense of the term, bit it's quite hard to think of it as anything other than bad or bland, or, getting closer to the problem, simply a rehash of other area rock releases, the band's own debut being no exception. Naturally Alpha is still superior to a lot of other, most decidedly poorer efforts of the same style and era, but once more, that's most likely my bias toward the members involved speaking.
There was no change in the line-up this time around, so this drop off in quality cannot be attributed to some other ex-prog member entering the band and bringing with him a whole new body's worth of lacking talent, but rather I believe that the side note of being uninspired of which I referenced briefly has grown to be something quite more than an underlying tone beneath the melodies themselves. This is especially apparent through the increasingly derivative sound from all sorts of other sources, both in Alpha's failures and even successes. Even my favourite track on here seems oddly ripped from Journey, who at this point I would probably say were most likely making better music than this album all around. To be fair, though, Journey's (who I sill have not a problem comparing Asia to, at this point) largely unduly beloved Steve Perry never sounded as pleasant as John Wetton, who, inspired or not, still is much more pleasing to my ear, simply as a fine all around voice.
Of course, since this is also a common find in used bins, I'd still give the vinyl copy my hearty recommendation, depending on the price, once more for another gorgeous album cover (though still somewhat lesser than the debut's) to add to your Roger Dean collection. As for the music, if you managed to make it this far into Asia's career in the first place, you've most likely been wasting your time all around. Should you also happen to enjoy the music present here, I'd still tip my hat off to you (and scowl) for your dedication to follow these four men right into the abyss of their musical talents. More personally, I should much prefer enjoying them at their peak than trying to grow accustomed to music they hardly seem very excited about making in the first place.
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(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: Suspicion. LOW POINTS: Countdown to Zero, Too Late, Voice Of America
Pushing even further into their career Asia sound even drearier, less inspired, and certainly less worth writing about. Perhaps it would merely suffice to say that whatever stroke of chance churned out the handful of excellent singles on the first album had all but disappeared (the exception being the above-noted "Suspicion") by the time they unleashed Astra upon us. Even Roger Dean seemed to lose interest, delivering quite a pitiful cover (and therefore closing off the last of reasons why one should bother with the third Asia album, even on vinyl) particularly in comparison. Of course, most of the problem here is just the same path down the constant downward slope that most likely began with the debut itself, but became much more noticeable with Alpha. This is not to say that the musicians here are in a complete slump of song writing quality, so much as they do not even seem to be trying, or caring, about the music put out. Which is all well and good, since this is hardly an album that anyone remembers, or that most people have even heard of, so even if the band that did "Heat of the Moment" has now delivered one of the lesser albums of the decade, it is hardly likely that many will notice, and those of us that have will quite soon forget.
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