{"id":39809,"date":"2006-06-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/asia\/"},"modified":"2006-06-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-22T00:00:00","slug":"asia","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Wow, what a concept! A supergroup comprised of
\nprogressive rock luminaries. Sounds promising at first glance, when
\nyou realize said luminaries are Steve Howe, virtuoso guitarist of
\nYes; Carl Palmer (percussion), the “P” in ELP; John Wetton (bass,
\nvocals) from King Crimson and ex-Yes and Buggles keyboardist Geoff
\nDownes. What mind-bending voyages of creativity would they take us
\non? What new heights of art-rock bliss would they reach?<\/p>\n

Answer: None of the above.<\/p>\n

The result of this collaboration is completely banal
\nand simplistic pop-rock dribble. It’s as if they couldn’t bridge
\nthe gap between progressive rock excess and pop-rock simplicity
\nwith any of their creative juices still flowing. They came out of
\nthe gate with two big hits, “Heat Of The Moment” and “Only Time
\nWill Tell,” both of which are sanitized mid-tempo power ballads
\ncompletely lacking in power.<\/p>\n

The attempt to mesh their musical backgrounds into a
\nradio-friendly format is so forced it’s laughable. The big joke is
\nthe attempt to force some prog-rock flourishes into these
\nrun-of-the mill songs. “Hey, let’s throw a funky time-signature
\ninto the bridge here,” you can hear them saying. Oh clever! Now
\nit’s a completely boring song with an odd-time signature in the
\nbridge.<\/p>\n

A good example of this is the almost-listenable “Time
\nAgain,” which sounds promising until you realize that it’s the ELP
\nstandard “Fanfare For The Common Man” with some dopey lyrics
\nadded.<\/p>\n

The guys’ attempt to reinvent prog-rock to appeal to
\na wider audience while still trying to retain a nuance of their
\nroots only makes the lack of creativity in these tracks all the
\nmore apparent. In comparison, Genesis did it with smashing success
\na year earlier with Abacab<\/i>, and Yes (sans Howe) would do
\nexactly the same thing a year later with 90125<\/i>.<\/p>\n

This is such a waste of talent it’s criminal. The
\nploy for airplay and big bucks seems to be the only motivating
\nfactor behind this collaboration. Creativity and art certainly
\nweren’t part of the equation. To see musicians of this caliber
\nperform this middle-of-the-road dreck still irritates me 25 years
\nlater.<\/p>\n

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