  Frontiers/BAM
The last few, or not so few, live albums by ASIA have all been quite soft, almost poppy. But here are Messrs. John Wetton, bass, vocals, keyboards, Steve Howe, guitars, vocals, Geoff Downes, keyboards, vocals, and Carl Palmer, drums and percussion, in full bloom at High Voltage 2010. Something must have happened on the way as this is probably as heavy as ASIA can be. Something must have happened as Steve Howe once again left the band and the youthful (not least in this context) Sam Coulson entered in 2013, in time to feature on their latest studio effort “Gravitas”.
As they are introduced and open with “Time Will Tell” there is a lot more audience contact an live sound than I experienced on their “Spirit of the Night Live in Cambridge 2009”, whicgh was recorded just about a year earlier. Focus here is on “Asia” from 1982, interspersed with a few songs off “Omega”. The mix works well and shows a band still capable of producing hits. The obvious choices like “Time Will Tell” and “Heat of the Moment” are really not all tat far above tracks like “I Believe” or the touching “An Extraordinary Life”. I could have wished for another track than “Cutting It Fine” but it is the appalling version of “One Step Closer” that shows a serious flaw in the professionalism on offer. It becomes painfully apparent that there is only one voice in ASIA, and that is JOHN WETTON. I seriously hope that Geoff Downes will steer clear of vocal duties in the future as they come across as an inebriated cover band.
Otherwise this is a display of seasoned pros having fun as they go along. I still recommend this one over way too soft live efforts in the past...just skip track 3.
Track List
Time Will Tell
Wildest Dreams
One Step Closer
An Extraordinary Life
Time Again
Cutting It Fine
Without You
I Believe
Here Comes the Feeling
Sole Survivor
Heat of the Moment
www.frontiers.it www.originalasia.com
|
