Release date: August 31, 2004
Label: Inside Out Music
Production: John Payne
Length: 58:20
Genre: progressive rock/AOR
Rating: 9/10
In 2004, prog rock/AOR heavyweights Asia briefly pulled together a killer lineup. Alongside founding keyboardist Geoff Downes and longtime singer/bassist John Payne, it featured young guitar wizard Guthrie Govan and drumming veteran Chris Slade (ex-Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Uriah Heep, AC/DC). Govan and Slade had already shown what they could do as guest musicians on the previous Asia album, “Aura” (2001), so they were invited to join the cult English band for good.
With this stable lineup, Asia recorded their ninth studio album, “Silent Nation”, the first one whose title didn’t start and end with the letter ‘A’. It also threw a curveball with a dark, computer-generated cover photo, the first up to that point that wasn’t the work of Roger Dean or Rodney Matthews. That went hand in hand with the somewhat gloomier nature of some of the material, like the opener “What About Love?”, where Asia sound unusually cynical.
Still, “Silent Nation” also had some more traditional Asia arrangements and melodies, as you can clearly hear on the excellent “Long Way From Home”, which also came out as a single, or on “Midnight”, whose ethereal, nostalgic atmosphere and epic chorus stylistically recall some long-forgotten “Aura” cut.
Among the most innovative and refreshing tracks on “Silent Nation” is undoubtedly the unusually furious and dark prog rock experiment “Blue Moon Monday”, which, unexpectedly, despite its upbeat intro, has a pretty gloomy, melancholic chorus with exquisite vocal harmonies. The atmospherically rich instrumental section at the end is one of the most unmistakably prog moments in the band’s history. Besides the usual love themes, Payne’s lyrics were this time more heavily soaked in social criticism, which comes through most on the title track, a sharp takedown of modern neoliberal society.
The title track, another one of the darker highlights, also came out remarkably fresh, with eclectic influences ranging from new wave and pop rock through symphonic prog to hard rock, all wrapped in modern production touches. The far more ‘party-minded’ “Ghost in the Mirror” provides a nice contrast in mood. Bassist/singer Billy Sherwood and drummer Jay Schellen, who later became regular Asia members at different points, also lent a hand on a few tracks. Things get ‘serious’ again on the melancholic, dramatic “Gone Too Far”, which packs a seriously juicy guitar solo.
“I Will Be There For You” is a classic AOR energy booster with loads of pomp, the kind Asia have stacked up by the dozen over their career. “Darkness Day”, with its dark arrangements, slow build-up of drama and an excellent, nostalgic chorus, is one of the more innovative and interesting experiments on “Silent Nation”. The closer, “The Prophet”, yet another bridge between AOR and prog rock, with Downes shining above all through his subtle piano arrangements, makes for a distinctly melancholic finale.
The often-overlooked “Silent Nation”, which boasted excellent production from Payne, was in many ways not your typical Asia album, and that’s exactly what remains one of its biggest draws today. This version of Asia was, sadly (or luckily, depending on who you ask), short-lived, since in 2006 Downes decided to team up with the late singer/bassist John Wetton and bring back the original lineup. Of course, there was no room in it for Payne, Govan and Slade. After a brief adventure with GPS, Payne did try to carry on with his own version of Asia, but, probably because of potential copyright trouble, he hasn’t dared to record an album of new music so far.
by Peter Podbrežnik
tracklist:
1. What About Love
2. Long Way From Home
3. Midnight
4. Blue Moon Monday
5. Silent Nation
6. Ghost in the Mirror
7. Gone Too Far
8. I Will Be There for You
9. Darkness Day
10. The Prophet
Asia:
Geoff Downes – keyboards, percussion
John Payne – vocals, bass, guitar, producer
Guthrie Govan – guitar
Chris Slade – drums
guest musicians:
Billy Sherwood – guitar, bass
Jay Schellen – drums
Kim Nielsen Parsons – bass on “I Will Be There for You”
Ant Glynee – guitar
