defend the indefensible: ASIA

Sad news - youngest daughter of Geoff Downes passed away:

http://originalasia.com/message-from-geoffrey-downes/

In defense, I saw the original lineup in a gorgeous little theater in Portland a few years ago. Great time.

A little bummed that Howe has left again, but I still haven't listened to the two albums they made prior to the latest one (which I like a lot), so I'll look forward to that.

I actually like "Face on the Bridge"! Maybe I should give this band more of a chance.

valkyrie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIpmYEYC2rU#t=23

Gorgeous. Asia is quite possibly my favorite band.

Song about mortality. Their songwriting is the real deal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSIcKpOVm9g

sort of feel like "nothing to lose" is the first asia song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPsQPd4kgm8

Best bit of Heat of the Moment is Steve Howe's guitar solo from about 2.45 onward, where he tries to channel Neal Schon but ends up channeling Greg Ginn instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDpPoytXVvo

It is entirely predictable that the execrable John Kalodner put this “band” together.

You can put band in quotes, but people did that to the Monkees, too. They apparently thought they were a real enough band to play together for six and a half years from 2006-2013

They must like all those Asia live albums somewhere. Maybe Asia has adopted the band as one of their own.

xp they did so a lot more than that. They toured every year from 1986-1989, then again in 1996-1997. I have a wife who is a Monkees mega-fan and she's attended many of their concerts (as have I).

heat of the moment is great

they did so a lot more than that. They toured every year from 1986-1989, then again in 1996-1997.

Sorry I was unclear. I was talking about the reunion of the original Asia four-piece, which lasted for three albums and six and a half years.

I'm unclear what the criticism of Kalodner is, too. I think they wanted to do a project with Wetton.

Is the Greg Ginn comparison about the rhythmic feel and phrasing in that solo?

I was being facetious with the Ginn comparison, but making the point that Steve Howe was poorly suited to this style of music. It needs session-man slickness. Not that it stopped him (and Steve Hackett) trying it again with the horrible GTR a few years later.

So you're saying the heart really does rule the mind.

I thought that GTR album was great at age 13. I don't think I've listened to it since then.

Ha, I was trying to hear the Ginn thing and it made the whole thing fascinating. It mostly just sounds to me like Howe was playing a more compact, restrained version of his own style there. I don't really hear it as inappropriate or less interesting than something Schon would do. I don't even think Howe's session chops are anything to sneeze at!

I'm unclear what the criticism of Kalodner is, too. I think they wanted to do a project with Wetton.

I don't even think Howe's session chops are anything to sneeze at!

This! He played on everyone from Lou Reed to Propaganda records as a session musician and it's always sounded like Steve Howe - IOW excellent - within more compact boundaries than he had in YES. His Asia playing sounds like this to me as well. I don't think I've ever heard the guy try to emulate late '70s - early '80s AOR gtr dudes like Schon or Ginn or whoever. He's in a class by himself.

*everything

Few albums can transport me instantly to the summer of '82 (I was 13) like that first ASIA album. Shit is almost like a weird FM Radio Madeleine. This music was everywhere and , well, it was a perfect soundtrack at that age. Nostalgia aside, it still sounds great and *it shouldn't have worked*.

Re: Howe -- show me any other AOR rock guitarist pulling off a stylistic mishmash as gracefully as Howe's in "Here Comes The Feeling".

this guy has opinions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjTnAyWGdA

first asia album is great for what it is; the other 256 albums of theirs are trash.

Oh wait! Greg GINN? I was thinking KIHN lol. Wow -- doubt whether Howe listened to any SST haha.

helping these broken down prog rockers get together

Wetton was 31, Downes was 28.

the other 256 albums of theirs are trash

You've certainly heard all of them! Or maybe just some? Would the three original lineup studio albums they put out between 2008 and 2012 be among those?

Here's a taster from 2014's "Gravitas", kudos to the lads for getting a fire/desire rhyme in if nothing else:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIpmYEYC2rU

I still haven't gotten into that album - Howe had quit by that point. But I always want to hear Wetton's tunes. And that's what *the Asia question* came down to for me - how much do you accept Asia as a genuine manifestation of his artistry. If you look at the overall arc of his career, the Asia records certainly seem like important ones for him.

You certainly are defending the indefensible, Tim.

I love Wetton’s voice and bass playing. Outside of a few pretty generic sessions (the ABWH album sounds like it could be anyone), Howe is the guitarist version of “that guy could sing names in the phone book.” And “Only Time Will Tell” is a classic for me. But really, they have four songs.

Tim's love of Asia does intrigue me, probably enough to actually listen to a whole album of theirs.

And hey: I've never seen the Roger Dean cover that I didn't love! Cool shade of purple on that "Astra" cover.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Thursday, June 10, 2004 12:22 AM (fifteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

if nothing else, this otm

The idea that they're indefensible is outrageous. I wonder if they hadn't had the Roger Dean covers, if they had found some way to brand themselves in a way that highlighted how down to earth, humble, and genuine they were about their music, whether such claims would be made.

Sund4r, the last album with Howe, XXX - that's an excellent album. I miss John Wetton.

This is my favorite from XXX. It's quite beautiful how they came up with something so archetypically Asia-sounding on the last record they did together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bYBLfM7GCs

I got to say clips of the reunion of the original Asia lineup in 2007 in Japan (of course) are really pretty darn good.

They do...

Fanfare for the Common Man
Roundabout

Both takes are pretty good. It's a slower tempo but Greg Lake plays that bass line AND is having to sing Jon Anderson's line. Different vibe, but a pretty cool cover.

Carl Palmer blitzes through Fanfare on drums.

Lake wasn’t in the original lineup tho