Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 136
 Pleasant But Lacks Teeth April 17, 2008
James C Smith (MI United States)
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is a pleasant-sounding album and I'd say is "fine", but it, like Alpha, lacked the intensity and great hit singles that the debut album had in droves.
What jumped out at me was how laid back Howe was compare to the original album, and even compared to Alpha. His absence was a huge blow to the sound of Astra (not to mention lame writing), so I figured his return would be amazing and highly intense. It wasn't. A great guiarist still, but instead of being ALL OVER every song, again like in the debut album, he just seems to sit back comfortably for the ride. I don't get it.
At least Wetton's voice 25 years later is pretty much every bit as good as it was then.
The remainder of this is an email my muscially astute friend sent me, and he hits the nail on the head:
"That first album they just had the perfect mix of progressive music but with a pop sensibility; good songs with a lot of subtle touches of ultra-fine musicianship that they didn't let get in the way of the song itself (which is a pitfall too many prog rock bands - nearly ALL of them! - aren't able to avoid; they get too self indulged with playing their instruments and forget that SONGS MATTER).
Since then though, they just seem like 4 really talented guys playing.... pop music. I imagine there are some exceptions and they've got some decent cuts here and there, but for the most part, I would bet that 80-90% of their best songs would come from the debut.
Which to me, them copping out like that is worse than something like... Wham! With Wham, that's the best those sissy-boys could do. But when you have Steve Howe, Carl Palmer... the other guy {an inside joke here}, plus a voice like Wetton's and all you play is watered down pop. Well... you should be tased. Multiple times."
Oh, and they messed up. They didn't name the album with a word starting with "A"! ;-)
 An instant classic April 15, 2008
Alessandro Vasserot (Roma, Italy)
6 out of 15 found this review helpful
I am listening to this album over and over, it gets better each time.
Asia made an album i like very much.
Finally Real music for an entire album!!! April 15, 2008
P. Steele (austin, texas)
6 out of 13 found this review helpful
So refreshing to be able to listen to music as it was meant to be recorded and packaged.
No wonder the first album did so well, talent shines once more.
No corporate control on this one. Substance abounds throughout!!
Yes it has it's catchy pop moments ala "Never Again" but this is the music that has so dearly been missing from all of our lives for far too long!!(does anyone remember Keyboard's)
Welcome back from the Ashes Asia!!
The Spirit of Asia April 16, 2008
James T. Vivacqua (Youngstown, OH USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
There were three absolutes in this world: death, taxes, and the fact that all 4 members of Asia would never play together again. Had you asked anyone in the know they'd have told you that by all indicators, there will never be an Asia reunion. Never. If they tell you different now, they're lying. This is the one reunion that wasn't supposed to happen, let alone a full length studio album of new material.
At one point, Wetton had confronted Downes with the assertion that the Payne Asia was not "the spirit of Asia." Downes reply was that "the spirit of Asia" had been dissembodied long before then, somewhere back when the Alpha effort broke apart. Truth be told, they were both right. No matter what the name or incarnation, we've not experienced the synergy of these 4 members since some time in 1983.
On Phoenix, "the spirit of Asia" is present. That's the best endorsement I can give for this album. Frustrated magazine critics like to quip that "this song is a cheap sister to that," and "this song is a poor cousin to that song," and "they were trying to imitate such and such." In my opinion, this album is so good that it's confusing. It's confusing because people didn't know what to expect, I suppose not even the band themselves. Maybe the greatest thing about this album is the fact that they did their due diligence and felt their way through authentic material. Yes, there is some formula, but in large part the art of the 4 members is on display. The pre-release sound clips were great, but they just don't do it. Listening to the entire piece of work lets you really get your arms around the concept that these guys are an ensemble. With all four of them, the whole is definitely greater that the sum of its parts. You have to listen to the album itself to get that.
Given the pressure of 25 years and the success of Asia Asia, I was actually afraid of a lethargic and robotic release. That's not what we got. This is an album that when you sit down and listen to it straight through(when's the last time you did that with any album), you don't even think about what it set you back to buy it. Courageous. Sincerely, Bravo.
That's the good news for the band. Now the bad news: 25 years between albums will just not due any more, we'll expect an offering every year and a half to two years. It's been too long! But well worth it!
 Glad they're still around April 17, 2008
Paul Bellocq (Slidell, LA USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have been a fan of Asia since the day that their debut album was released. I stayed with them through the John Payne years as well. Needless to say, this was one highly anticipated release for me. I picked up my copy less than an hour after it went on sale (could not wait for the mailman). Since I had psyched myself up so much, I was ripe for a letdown. Sure enough, on the first listen of the first six tracks, I was not blown away. I listened to the second half when I got to my office, and sure enough, the goosebumps came on the eighth track instrumental ending, Deya. By the time I got to An Extraordinary Life, I knew it was worth the wait.
I would rate this release as much better than the garbage that pollutes the airwaves these days, and better than average by Asia standards. However, this is no 5-star effort in my book. This one can't top the first two, Asia and Alpha, or Aura from the John Payne-era. Therefore, it gets four stars after listening to it about six times these past two days. No, I did not listen to it that much because I went crazy over it, it's just that I only have 11 days to become familiar with this new material before I get to drive 200 miles to see them live again after 25 long years.
The high points are the instrumentals Vortex and Deya, An Extraordinary Life (how can anyone NOT like that chorus?), I Will Remember You, and the second Steve Howe cut, Over And Over. If one were to ignore song titles, then I would say to get this CD for John Wetton's beautiful voice, who I rank right up there with Carl Palmer in his prime. The low points are the excessive repetition in places, especially No Way Back. Speaking of which, this song is sandwiched between two new-age sounding instrumentals, making it a long trilogy. Sorry, but this trilogy (Track 4) is NOT progressive, but is mostly annoying to this listener. The strong bass lines and keyboards backing the verses of No Way Back save this one from total disaster. I also don't care much for Alibis, and I find myself daydreaming once Orchard Of Mines gets started.
So, if you are looking for progressive music, look elsewhere. If you are glad to see these four get back together, then this one is for you. As for me, I like both versions of Asia and my all-time favorite Asia cuts from the John Payne era outnumber the original version's by a margin of 2 to 1. Sure, this version will probably never produce anything as bad as some of the worst cuts from the Payne era (i.e. Boys Of Diamond City), but this foursome should have spent a little more time on some of these cuts. Gosh, any moron with a rhyming dictionary could write a better chorus than what is presented here on No Way Back. How about an aaba rhyme scheme for that one instead, with the phrase only allowed one repeat maximum?
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