Know When It's Over
I am a big fan of the guitar /keyboard based rock that carried the 70’s and ushered in the 80’s. For those of us who grew up during that time, we were blessed with a variety of diverse musicians, each contributing their own style and sound to the airwaves. One of the groups that formed from the remnants of several super groups was Asia. Asia was the incorporation of talent from Yes, Uriah Heep, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. That is quite a pedigree.
Their self titled album in 1982 created a big stir in the music world. It was a commercial success that you would expect from a group sporting Steve Howe from Yes and Carl Palmer from ELP. You could not turn on the radio without either hearing one of their songs or having it announced in the line up for the next set. It was released during the beginning of the 1st Reagan administration and was peppered with the typical musical liberalism of total nuclear destruction. Although the philosophy was from a bankrupt view point, the music rocked. The music was powerful and the lyrics very telling.
Their next several albums were good but nothing near to the success of their debut. The group lost members and deteriorated into a shell of the original line up. Fast forward to 2008 and the release of a new album Phoenix. It contains the original line-up and the back of the CD has a photo of the band members. It is almost frightening to look at the picture. All of them are obviously aging rockers and the latest product of their musical collaboration sounds extremely out of touch with even their sound from 1982. It sounds like they are stuck in the groove that created their dynamic debut album but the needle has severed the talent from the music. It is plain and lacking the spark of creativity that made 1982 such an exciting year.
Some groups like the Rolling Stones continue to put out music but it is the tour that people look forward to. People clamor for a Led Zeppelin or Cream reunion but Asia had their hay day and left no legacy to back it up. They look like a group of aging rockers that have blown through their fortunes and are looking for a cash infusion to retire on. I guess if I was in their shoes, I would consider the same thing.
Icool
Cobb
Their self titled album in 1982 created a big stir in the music world. It was a commercial success that you would expect from a group sporting Steve Howe from Yes and Carl Palmer from ELP. You could not turn on the radio without either hearing one of their songs or having it announced in the line up for the next set. It was released during the beginning of the 1st Reagan administration and was peppered with the typical musical liberalism of total nuclear destruction. Although the philosophy was from a bankrupt view point, the music rocked. The music was powerful and the lyrics very telling.
Their next several albums were good but nothing near to the success of their debut. The group lost members and deteriorated into a shell of the original line up. Fast forward to 2008 and the release of a new album Phoenix. It contains the original line-up and the back of the CD has a photo of the band members. It is almost frightening to look at the picture. All of them are obviously aging rockers and the latest product of their musical collaboration sounds extremely out of touch with even their sound from 1982. It sounds like they are stuck in the groove that created their dynamic debut album but the needle has severed the talent from the music. It is plain and lacking the spark of creativity that made 1982 such an exciting year.
Some groups like the Rolling Stones continue to put out music but it is the tour that people look forward to. People clamor for a Led Zeppelin or Cream reunion but Asia had their hay day and left no legacy to back it up. They look like a group of aging rockers that have blown through their fortunes and are looking for a cash infusion to retire on. I guess if I was in their shoes, I would consider the same thing.
Icool
Cobb
posted by Cobb at
10:28 AM
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