Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Dukes Of The Orient
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2018
Running time: 53:11
Rating: 4/5
Unbelievable! John Payne is back. A superb musician. In every respect. And on top of that, a great singer too. Together with keyboardist Eric Norlander (Last In Line, Lana Lane), he’s started a project called Dukes of the Orient. If you don’t know the Asia story, it can get pretty complicated. Between 1992 and 2006, Payne handled vocals and bass duties in this cult British AOR band. And the album »Dukes of the Orient« embodies a nice bundle of material that was written back when Payne was still an Asia member and could have ended up on the follow-up to the Asia album »SIlent Nation« (2005). After Downes disbanded the Payne incarnation of Asia to bring the band back in its classic lineup with Wetton, Howe and Palmer, Payne, drummer Jay Schellen and guitarist Guthrie Govan were left »out of work«. Well, not quite. Under the name GPS they put out the excellent album »Window To the Soul« in 2006, which promised a lot, but that’s also where it all ground to a halt. Payne got in touch with Norlander pretty quickly, though, and carried on his career as »Asia feat. John Payne«, but he had trouble keeping guitarists. Govan left and founded The Aristocrats, and after him came Bruce Bouillet, Jeff Kollman and Moni Scaria, one after the other. With Scaria, Payne’s version of Asia finally settled down a bit and in 2013 shot a video for a new song, Seasons Will Change, which has at last found its place on »Dukes of the Orient«. When the great John Wetton passed away last January, it spurred Payne and co. to finally get a studio album together and pay a string of tributes to Wetton. On the other hand, it’s also a very good move, one that will finally draw a clear, lasting »physical« line between them and the character and legacy of Asia.
So Dukes Of The Orient is the artistic continuation of the Asia story from the era of the incarnation that featured John Payne. Except it comes across as more progressive than you’d initially expect. Considering Norlander’s chops, that’s hardly surprising. The »king of the Moog« is the cornerstone of this album, and his playing gives the record a clearly audible outline of seventies prog rock elements.
When it comes to historical traceability, or historical succession, Payne cheekily borrowed the winged lion from the Asia album »Arena« (1996) for the cover art, one of the more progressive moments of the John Payne era of Asia. Even in his mature years, Payne’s voice keeps all the traits that made him so highly regarded, and sought after, in AOR circles. Norlander isn’t Geoff Downes, but his undisputed idols are both Rock Wakeman and Keith Emerson. He adds his own musical and sonic vocabulary to the compositions. Dukes of the Orient lean at least a little toward what Payne did with Asia all the way through. Vocal harmonies richly pad out the ultra-catchy chorus melodies, which hit you on the very first listen. The choruses are the atmospheric peaks of the songs. Where Dukes of the Orient most shamelessly come close to »imitating« the style and sound of the John Payne era of Asia is Time Waits For No One, where they don’t forget to throw a vocoder into the vocal melodies, while Norlander deliberately conjures up the guitar ornaments Steve Howe once used in Asia with his Moog.
So the album is packed with pomp and bombast! The greedy, hook-grabbing choruses make sure of that. But some of the songs also reach a greater degree of variety, so Dukes of the Orient love to sail off into the bosom of seventies prog rock, and in those moments the choruses lose their primacy. First place among the songs goes to the closer Give Another Reason, which is comparable in quality to John Payne-era Asia masterpieces like the classic Free from »Aura« (2001). »Dukes of the Orient« is thus an extremely varied, tightly polished and downright wicked album. It has a huge amount of compact, catchy musicality, which really puts it in the position of reviving the AOR legacy. Add the clearly noticeable layer of arrangement variety, and the album as a whole earns the essential trademark of its own artistic ID card. From here on, there’s no need to guess for long: with their debut, Dukes of the Orient are the legitimate heirs to the musical path of GPS, which also makes them the legitimate heirs to the body of work Asia created between 1992 and 2005.
Line-up
John Payne – vocals, bass guitar, guitar
Erik Norlander – keyboards
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Guthrie Govan – guitar
Jeff Kollman – guitar
Moni Scaria – guitar
Bruce Bouillet – guitar
Jay Schellen – drums
Production
John Payne
Track list
1. Brother In Arms
2. Strange Days
3. Amor Vincit Omnia
4. Time Waits For No One
5. A Sorrow’s Crown
6. Fourth Of July
7. Seasons Will Change
8. Give Another Reason
