By Dave O’Neill
Asia have always been one of my favourite “supergroups”. The openings on ‘Heat Of The Moment’ and ‘Sole Survivor’ whip me straight back into the music of my early 20s. But, with the sad passing of John Wetton in 2015 it looked like Asia was going to be just memories that I may never get to see live… hold that thought!
Twelve years since ‘Gravitas’, the prog rock titans return with original linchpin Geoff Downes flanked by John Mitchell, Virgil Donati and Harry Whitley. Should you care? Damn right you should.
‘The Traveller (Into The Light)’ bursts from the speakers, stacked harmonies and Donati’s drumming driving it along like it’s 1982 all over again. Whitley’s rich, emotive vocals align so closely with the late, great John Wetton’s it’s almost spooky.
Almost every track has a tinge of Wetton to it, this is potentially due to the espoused influences of Whitley and the continued influences of Geoff Downes. ‘Is This The Life?’ opens like its Wetton on vocals but there the similarity ends and Whitley begins to show his own tonic differences. This is a slice of classic AOR that clobbers you with a chorus then finishes you off with a killer Mitchell solo.
The piece de resistance, though, is the near-eleven minute ‘Tattoo Indigo’ suite, containing some of Wetton’s final compositions and going full prog. The keyboard playing of Downes in ‘Part 1’ gives it a complete Asia feel. ‘Part 2’ appears to be a short vocal break before the guitar playing of Mitchell carries the remainder of the track up to the final verse/chorus of Whitley soars over the instruments before the outro.
If the occasional lapse into MOR balladry (‘Change Of Heart’, ‘Life In The Sun’ ‘On A Winter’s Night’) breaks the flow, forgive it, for the ghosts of the band’s past.
‘Night and Day’ couldn’t be any more Asia if it tried even down to the keyboard outro, while collaborations with Steve Howe and his Dobro, on ‘Chesapeake Bay’, and Mike Portnoy on the bonus ‘Tattoo Indigo Part 3’, lend the whole thing nostalgic but not melancholic grace.
The more you listen to it the better it gets. It’s not an instant hit like the first album was but it’s certainly getting there!
So, going back my original thoughts about Asia being a memory I wouldn’t get to see live: would I go to see this incarnation. The answer is a resounding Yes (sic)!
Downes and co have produced a fitting tribute and a bloody good record. Welcome back.