Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Asia
Label: Geffen Records
Released: 1983
Length: 45:00
Rating: 3.5/5
The prog rock grandees who joined forces in 1981 to form the supergroup Asia never imagined, not even in their wildest dreams, that their self-titled debut would make them one of the hottest stadium attractions of the early eighties. The original Asia lineup, made up of vocal and bass heartbreaker John Wetton (ex-King Crimson, Uriah Heep, UK, etc.), moody guitar preacher Steve Howe (ex-Yes), drumming champion Carl Palmer (ex-ELP) and keyboard wizard Geoff Downes (ex-Yes, The Buggles), thrilled fans of radio-friendly melodic rock and infuriated the sworn prog purists, who accused them of selling off their artistic identity for a pile of greenbacks. The complaints of those ruffled feathers were justified in many ways, since, despite the high-profile prog credentials of the individual members, Asia delivered compact, highly melodic AOR with no real instrumental adventures and no feel for lyrical intellect.
With “Alpha”, this abandonment of the prog rock heritage only deepened. Compared to the debut, their sound noticeably lost instrumental flexibility and adventurousness and moved even closer to American-style pop rock, with simple rhythms, ultra-melodic choruses and pompous motifs. Wetton and Downes were responsible for the push toward even greater commercialization, taking over as the main songwriters, which caused the first cracks within the band. Howe’s guitar suffered the most from their pop rock exploits, ending up deliberately a bit muddied in the production and getting far less room for solo maneuvering than on the debut. The old jazzer rightly felt cheated, so it’s no surprise he decided to pack his bags not long after the album came out. The same goes for Palmer’s drums, which often sound cramped and never reach their usual bombast. On the other hand, in line with the pop rock trends of the day, the synths became even more dominant in the production, while Wetton’s excellent singing, which plays the central role this time, is the strongest point of this solid but unexciting melodic rock album.
If you judge the album from a strict AOR standpoint and take it as a kind of brain pasture that, in the best-case scenario, belongs in a car stereo alongside the obligatory chewing of gum and a heavy foot on the gas pedal, “Alpha” passes as a thoroughly decent melodic rock record, with a heap of nicely done heart-wrenching power ballads and pompous anthems, all united by classic AOR lyrics about broken hearts and moral (male, naturally) winners in eternal love intrigues. In terms of the full integrity of every band member and reaching their usual instrumental potential “Alpha” is undoubtedly a step back, but on the other hand you can’t accuse it of lacking a fair number of catchy melodies and a generous helping of sonic subtlety.
Wetton shows off in his usual role of inconsolable owner of a broken heart right on the opening power ballad “Don’t Cry”, the hit single and best-known track from “Alpha”, which is an obvious attempt at creating a successor to their biggest hit “Heat of the Moment”, though it doesn’t reach its level, since the thoroughly melancholic chorus is nowhere near as catchy. Upon release, this AOR standard came with a fun video in which the band members played fearless adventurers. I’d rather not dig into the lyrics, whose sugary straightforwardness makes them by far the weakest part of the whole package. “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” is a heart-wrenching Wetton ballad in which the man convincingly uses all of his emotionally superb vocal skills, while the instrumental backing, with symphonic keyboard arrangements, plays only a marginal role. The pompous-nostalgic “Never in a Million Years” is a genuine melodic rock gem with a hypnotic multi-voice chorus, on which Howe’s guitar shows some teeth for the first time through firm riffs, even if the performance is far below what “Mr. Owl” is usually capable of. “My Own Time (I’ll Do What I Want)” is also a convincing melodic rock anthem, with a lovely opening melody on acoustic guitar and some majestic symphonic embellishments, and it doesn’t lack an encouraging multi-voice chorus either.
The pompous wrecking ball “The Heat Goes On” is a true Asia classic and one of the standout tracks on the album. Thanks to its adventurous transitions between arrangements, Downes’ solo spots and a fully busy Palmer on the drum kit, it’s very close to the livelier style of their debut. The highly melodic and dramatic harmonies “hook” one of their most convincing choruses, one that won’t leave your ears for a long time. The hard-rock-infused “Eye to Eye” is one of the album’s often overlooked favorites, featuring some interesting synth motifs and a fully busy Howe on guitar, while Wetton’s singing once again shows off a generous dose of emotion. “The Last to Know” is a rather average power ballad, kept afloat by an excellent chorus and tasteful symphonic embellishments.
With its mix of hard rock and symphonic touches, “True Colors” is mainly a playground for Downes’ synths to take flight, while the fighting-spirit chorus is extremely effective for recharging your batteries when you’re running low on energy. “Midnight Sun” is, apart from Howe’s excellent solo and the fact that it’s the only track on the album without “whiny” lyrics about broken hearts, a thoroughly forgettable affair. The closing “Open Your Eyes” is in many ways the album’s peak and another Asia classic, where Palmer’s drumming acrobatics finally shine at full power too. The atmospheric keyboards are laid down extremely convincingly within mighty multi-voice harmonies. The highlight of the song is the smooth transition in which the dramatic vocal harmonies are followed by a breakthrough into an excellent instrumental section, giving us one of the few moments on the album where the notorious collective taps into its usual prog rock potential.
Compared to the excellent debut, “Alpha” is a bit of a letdown, and you can tell the Asia collective didn’t go into it with everything they had, which goes especially for Howe and Palmer, who were pushed out of the equal creative process against their will. The end result is a solid AOR album for the soul of every fan of quality melodic rock, but anyone who, after the excellent debut, was perhaps expecting an upgrade or even a return to prog rock ideals had to wipe the egg off their face, although the shift toward a bigger AOR component was kind of expected. Howe, who was growing ever more unhappy with his marginal role and smaller artistic freedom, was, as expected, the first to leave, not counting Wetton’s boycott of the East Asian tour, when his vocal “cousin” Greg Lake (ex-King Crimson, ELP) briefly stood in for him. Compared to the huge success of the debut, “Alpha” wasn’t nearly as successful, and plenty of people turned their backs on them for good after the classic lineup fell apart. Their uninspiring future landed on the shoulders of Wetton and Downes, who established themselves as the band’s leaders over the following years.
Lineup
John Wetton – vocals, bass guitar
Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals
Carl Palmer – drums
Geoff Downes – keyboards, vocals
Production
Mike Stone
Track list
1. Don’t Cry
2. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
3. Never In A Million Years
4. My Own Time (I’ll Do What I Want)
5. The Heat Goes On
6. Eye To Eye
7. The Last To Know
8. True Colors
9. Midnight Sun
10. Open Your Eyes
