Artist: Asia
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2008
Rating: 1/5
John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoffrey Downes and Carl Palmer. Where on earth have these four poor souls been hiding?!?! This was one of the bigger reunions of classic lineups that shaped the rock map of the eighties, and the hype around it has been piled sky-high so far. From the health problems of Carl Palmer and John Wetton, to all the back-and-forth over whether Downes was even right to fire the then-current Asia lineup with John Payne in favor of reviving the original one. However this reunion of old geezers came about, the revamped Asia have since been touring the world big time, playing their classic hits, the ones that made them huge, which is also why we got a fresh live album from Tokyo (“Fantasia”, 2007), which, by the way, sounded very promising. Truth is, these four big-name musicians didn’t need a new album at all. But still. Here it is.
The opener Never Again is an attempt at what? Guessed it yet? No? An attempt at a replica of Asia’s evergreen Heat Of The Moment. A pale shadow. Sadly, the rest of the material on the album has nothing more to offer than pale shadows of former glory. Nothing’s Forever quickly cools down the initial seductiveness that sparks some interest, while Wetton’s pathos in the verses of the ballad Heroin already goes past the limit of good taste. That’s barely the third song in a row, and the album is already starting to bore like hell. The album is synthetic, with no real rock energy, no dynamite. You literally can’t feel Steve Howe on this record. Sure, the guys desperately try to conjure up the famous Asia atmosphere by repeating multi-part harmonies in the choruses over and over, but they never come close to the level of the band’s first two albums, which are the only real reference points here. The production is weak and thin, with no pronounced contrast between the instruments, and Wetton’s vocals drift among them completely lost and lonely. Nor is there any trace of that famous wit between Howe and Downes, which the guys used at the peak of their powers on “Asia” (1982) and “Alpha” (1983) to so nobly adorn the otherwise AOR-style catchiness of their songs. What we have in front of us is still AOR, sure, but totally hollow and without any real spark of art rock expression. Wetton’s whininess just never seems to end. Between Never Again and the instrumental Vortex (track nine), which flows smoothly into Deya, nothing worth mentioning happens, except that Asia diligently steals minutes of the listener’s life and gets on their nerves. From there to the end of the album, we’re still treated to total pathos, blatant predictability, and expression with no fire and no creative spark. All of that once always adorned these four artists, who have in rock music pretty much achieved everything there is to achieve.
“Phoenix” really comes across as a naked need for an old gang to hang out together, and this time it feels completely unnatural and forced. An album teeming with potential anthems for the retirement home. Who knows, maybe that was Wetton, Downes, Howe and Palmer’s intention all along? And what’s the situation after the last decisive battle? Downes was left without the driving force of Payne, the guy who always put together perfect music, and so listening to “Phoenix” always leaves a sad, bitter feeling lingering in your ears. “Phoenix” is almost a solo album by John Wetton, since it markedly magnifies the hard times, the personal crisis this otherwise highly esteemed musician was going through during the classic reunion of the band. Yep. This is an Asia album that was totally unnecessary and could be very harmful to the band’s future, not to say potentially fatal.
And, by the way. If the copyright defenders at Frontiers Records hadn’t so diligently encoded the music on the promo CDs with some kind of “voice over” announcements in mangled Italian-accented English, recorded over individual tracks, writing this review would have been a lot more enjoyable.
Lineup
John Wetton – vocals, bass guitar, backing vocals
Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals
Geoff Downes – keyboards, backing vocals
Carl Palmer – drums
Production
Asia
Tracklist
1. Never Again
2. Nothing’s Forever
3. Heroine
4. Sleeping Giant/No Way Back/Reprise
5. Alibis
6. I Will Remember You
7. Shadow Of A Doubt
8. Parallel Worlds/Vortex/Deya
9. Wish I’d Known All Along
10. Orchard Of Mines
11. Over And Over
12. Extraordinary Life
Album rating: 2/10
