XXX (2012)


 

  1. Tomorrow the World
  2. Bury Me in Willow
  3. No Religion
  4. Faithful
  5. I Know How You Feel
  6. Face on the Bridge
  7. Al Gatto Nero
  8. Judas
  9. Ghost of a Chance

 

No, this title is not in reference to anything pornographic, it's the Roman numeral representing the 30th anniversary of Asia. A bit of a silly title since the only incarnation of this band that anyone really ever cared about broke up for a quarter of a century shortly after their second album was released way back in 1983. Unfortunately, what is mostly here sounds pretty subpar, which is sad since they bounced back pretty well since they reunited in 2006, especially finding a good groove on 2008's Omega.

This record sounds tired, flat and uninspired. It's definitely the real Asia - you can't really replicate Steve Howe's unique guitar playing, nor John Wetton's rich arena rock voice, it's just that most of the songs never find a groove to make anything sound remotely memorable. Part of the appeal of the original Asia was the ability to sound majestic. Seeing a Roger Dean cover depicting a mammoth mythical serpent fighting waves on some uncharted body of water seemed to be a perfect representation of the sound that these guys were playing. Even when they were singing about lost love, and faltering human relationships, the music was so powerful that one felt as though they were in a 15,000 seat arena even when they were at home in their living room. That production is largely absent here, so something that is really necessary for success within Asia is sadly missing.

It also doesn't help when the average length of a song seems to be in the neighborhood of six minutes (I haven't actually calculated this, it just seems like the songs never end). So when they finally get into the groove with one of the better songs such as No Religion, it becomes spoiled when the actual tune is about three times longer than it needs to be. The majority of this disc sounds like the guys really don't care. You really hope that was, in fact, the case. Had they actually cared and put this thing out, it would be much more depressing.

To be fair, the last number are o.k. The slow tempo Ghost of a Chance has some redeeming qualities. It's still way under produced, but perhaps the light-hearted easy listening feel on the track make it easier for the faithful to digest. It's a shame it's tacked on at the end since, by this time, the listener is so disgusted, that they've already written this record off as a failure.

It should also be pointed out that this would be Steve Howe's last record for this go round. He and Geoff Downes were now also full time members of Yes, and whether or not that's where he wanted to focus more of his efforts, it's sadly of little consequence. Just a ho-hum tidbit on a poor record.

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