Asia

Then and Now (1990)

 

  1. Only Time Will Tell
  2. Heat of the Moment
  3. Wildest Dreams
  4. Don't Cry
  5. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
  6. Days Like These
  7. Prayin' 4 a Miracle
  8. Am I In Love
  9. Summer (Can't Last Too Long)
  10.Voice of America
   

Then and Now, released in 1990, stands as a curious footnote in Asia’s discography—an album that is neither a definitive retrospective nor a truly fresh artistic endeavor. It is, at best, a placeholder; at worst, an attempt to repackage the band’s diminishing legacy for a market that had largely moved on.

Composed of six previously released tracks and four new studio recordings, the album attempts to bridge the band’s early '80s heyday with a newer, post-classic lineup. The older material, drawn from their chart-topping debut and its successor, Alpha, is—as expected—polished and powerful, a testament to the group’s early chemistry and to Steve Howe’s unique contributions. These tracks, which include Heat of the Moment and Only Time Will Tell, still resonate with the bombastic grandeur and melodic efficiency that made Asia a commercial phenomenon in 1982.

The new songs, however, present a different story. With Howe absent, what remains is a sound that lacks the idiosyncratic spark—the interplay of virtuosity and restraint—that once elevated Asia above their more formulaic peers. The standout among the new material is Days Like These, a track that flirts with the quality of their earlier hits. Though it possesses a degree of anthemic sheen and compositional clarity, it is ultimately more serviceable than spectacular.

The remaining three new songs are largely forgettable. Bereft of the compositional complexity and instrumental interplay that marked the band’s strongest work, these tracks lean heavily on familiar tropes—predictable chord progressions, overproduced choruses, and lyrical banality. Rather than pushing the band forward, they merely echo past glories in diminishing form.

More significantly, Then and Now suffers from its own lack of necessity. It was quickly rendered obsolete by subsequent and more comprehensive compilations. For the devoted fan, it offers little beyond a glimpse of what might have been had the original lineup endured. For the casual listener, it fails to serve as a meaningful introduction or a compelling argument for the band’s continued relevance.

Ultimately, Then and Now is emblematic of a band caught between eras—still tethered to its early triumphs but unable to recapture them. It is a release of mild historical interest, but little artistic consequence.

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