Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2001
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I was pretty stoked to hear of another new release by the original line-up of the supergroup Asia, one of my favorite bands of all time....
...until I listened to it.
When Asia reformed the original four members to tour the 25th anniversary of the landmark 1982 self-titled smash album, the concerts sold out, and the resulting DVD is on my front row of concert discs. When I heard they were actually going to do another album, I got really excited. And 2009's Phoenix didn't disappoint. It was a return to the feel of that first album, with several tracks (most notably the blistering track "Never Again") sounding as if they were lifted off those recording reels.
This release, however...I was really disappointed in. Now, I love Asia...I really do. I can probably safely say I'm the only one here (for sure the only one in my own group of musically inclined friends) who followed Asia all through the John Payne years. When John Wetton left the band and Payne took over, they lost a lot of fans, but I thought they were putting out some great music. Yes...they were pretty much just John Payne, keyboardist Geoff Downes and a constantly revolving cast of guest musicians...but Asia put out a series of very adventurous albums. In fact, 1992's Aqua is still not only one of my top 3 Asia albums, but one of my favorite progressive rock albums of all time. I still have songs like Who Will Stop the Rain?, Lay Down Your Arms and Crime of the Heart on my MP3 player.
(I know this is supposed to be a review of Asia's new album, but as a side note, if you never checked out any of the John Payne-era Asia, do yourself a favor and do so. John is still preforming with the band "Asia featuring John Payne"...after an amicable decision between John and the original members to retain his 14 year legacy with the band. When Geoff Downes decided to rejoin the original Asia, Payne retained a large portion of the rights to the name, and being the longer-tenured vocalist...he got to keep the amended name. While the original Asia only performs material from their own catalog, John Payne's Asia performs material from the entire Asia history.)
Ok, anyway...I can't say that Omega is a bad album, per se. It has some decent songs, catchy hooks and I will say that John Wetton's powerful voice has not aged a day since his King Crimson years. However...it's not a great album. There isn't really a stand-out song that defines it, with the released single "Finger on the Trigger" sounding like pretty much everything else on the album. It's kind of like an album full of the "other" songs that bands like Journey and Styx would wrap their hits around back in the 80's. No memorable riffs from Steve Howe, limited experimental textures by Geoff Downes (who mostly provided synth chords ala 1985) and drumming from Carl Palmer that really could have been recorded by anyone. The ballads, while well-written from a lyrical standpoint, are rather plodding and predictable...and the "politically aware" tracks are FAR removed from such protest-type classics like Wildest Dreams, Countdown to Zero and After the War.
As to the title, John Wetton states that "Omega" doesn't mean the end, but was meant to be a bookend of sorts to their 1984 release Alpha, which he says this album is similar in feel to. While I dig John Wetton, I gotta disagree with this completely. Alpha was arguably Asia's finest work in their history, in my mind even surpassing their mega-platinum debut. But Omega has nothing to compare to such prog masterpieces as Don't Cry, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, The Heat Goes On, or Open Your Eyes. That album ranks third on my list of prog albums, right behind Rush's A Farewell to Kings and Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. This "bookend" doesn't even make the top 100...not because it's that bad, but because anything that could be called "progressive" has been stripped out of it.
For hard-core Asia fans, Omega will find a place in your collection. Like I said...it's not that bad, it surely doesn't suck...but it's not what I'd call a strong effort. The guys sound good after all these years and it's good to see them still going, and I'll still go see them on tour. It's just not that special an album at all. I was really disappointed.
...until I listened to it.
When Asia reformed the original four members to tour the 25th anniversary of the landmark 1982 self-titled smash album, the concerts sold out, and the resulting DVD is on my front row of concert discs. When I heard they were actually going to do another album, I got really excited. And 2009's Phoenix didn't disappoint. It was a return to the feel of that first album, with several tracks (most notably the blistering track "Never Again") sounding as if they were lifted off those recording reels.
This release, however...I was really disappointed in. Now, I love Asia...I really do. I can probably safely say I'm the only one here (for sure the only one in my own group of musically inclined friends) who followed Asia all through the John Payne years. When John Wetton left the band and Payne took over, they lost a lot of fans, but I thought they were putting out some great music. Yes...they were pretty much just John Payne, keyboardist Geoff Downes and a constantly revolving cast of guest musicians...but Asia put out a series of very adventurous albums. In fact, 1992's Aqua is still not only one of my top 3 Asia albums, but one of my favorite progressive rock albums of all time. I still have songs like Who Will Stop the Rain?, Lay Down Your Arms and Crime of the Heart on my MP3 player.
(I know this is supposed to be a review of Asia's new album, but as a side note, if you never checked out any of the John Payne-era Asia, do yourself a favor and do so. John is still preforming with the band "Asia featuring John Payne"...after an amicable decision between John and the original members to retain his 14 year legacy with the band. When Geoff Downes decided to rejoin the original Asia, Payne retained a large portion of the rights to the name, and being the longer-tenured vocalist...he got to keep the amended name. While the original Asia only performs material from their own catalog, John Payne's Asia performs material from the entire Asia history.)
Ok, anyway...I can't say that Omega is a bad album, per se. It has some decent songs, catchy hooks and I will say that John Wetton's powerful voice has not aged a day since his King Crimson years. However...it's not a great album. There isn't really a stand-out song that defines it, with the released single "Finger on the Trigger" sounding like pretty much everything else on the album. It's kind of like an album full of the "other" songs that bands like Journey and Styx would wrap their hits around back in the 80's. No memorable riffs from Steve Howe, limited experimental textures by Geoff Downes (who mostly provided synth chords ala 1985) and drumming from Carl Palmer that really could have been recorded by anyone. The ballads, while well-written from a lyrical standpoint, are rather plodding and predictable...and the "politically aware" tracks are FAR removed from such protest-type classics like Wildest Dreams, Countdown to Zero and After the War.
As to the title, John Wetton states that "Omega" doesn't mean the end, but was meant to be a bookend of sorts to their 1984 release Alpha, which he says this album is similar in feel to. While I dig John Wetton, I gotta disagree with this completely. Alpha was arguably Asia's finest work in their history, in my mind even surpassing their mega-platinum debut. But Omega has nothing to compare to such prog masterpieces as Don't Cry, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, The Heat Goes On, or Open Your Eyes. That album ranks third on my list of prog albums, right behind Rush's A Farewell to Kings and Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. This "bookend" doesn't even make the top 100...not because it's that bad, but because anything that could be called "progressive" has been stripped out of it.
For hard-core Asia fans, Omega will find a place in your collection. Like I said...it's not that bad, it surely doesn't suck...but it's not what I'd call a strong effort. The guys sound good after all these years and it's good to see them still going, and I'll still go see them on tour. It's just not that special an album at all. I was really disappointed.
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