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Customer Reviews
Unfortunately having 4 such strong individuals proved the downfall of the original line-up, and eventually Geoff Downes found himself alone with the name and no bandmates.
So he recruited John Payne (who was being courtod by ELO at the time), and recorded Aqua, which probably ended up matching "Astra" in sales figures (around 1 million).
What's it like? Well, after a quiet keys + guitars intro, the new band proves pretty good. Geoff's keys are as good as ever, John Payne is a solid bass player, and Al Pitrelli (Alice Cooper, Transiberian Orchestra, etc...) is an excellent "American rock/metal" guitarist, who gets to solo frequently and provides a significant improvement to Mandy Meyer (who replaced Steve Howe on Astra). And indeed Mr Howe drops in on 6 tracks playing acoustics, 12 string guitars, dobros...anything he feels like really.
4 drummers contributed, including Carl Palmer (no animosity, obviously).
The vocals...well, they're nothing like John Wetton's voice. Payne has a far more powerful voice, with a raw edge, loads of diaphragm (if that makes sense), and screams a bit too, something Wetton never does. The big harmonies are still there, but the change does take some getting used to, and not all fans of the original Asia will appreciate the difference.
But the songs are pretty good overall, Don't Stop the Rain is solid mid-tempo AOR, with some great 12-string playing from Howe and a cool electric solo.
Back in Town steals the line from Thin Lizzy, but the vibe is pure Asia, with a driving bass and big chorus.
Love Under Fire is a decent rock ballad, although a bit generic and the singing gets a bit hysterical at times (which is a criticism that I'd make in other places as well, eg. Lay Down Your Arms). But overall it's a good album, and if you can get used to the different vocals, AOR fans should like it.
Bonus track is good too.
Payne's vocals are a lot more bleeding hearted than Wetton's but the transition of frontmen is fairly seamless. In fact, Payne tear-arses through this record with awesome vocal range and fluid playing.
Geoff Downes is his usual flawless self on keyboards, new boy Al Pitrelli gives it some welly on guitar and Steve Howe's cameos are sublime. The production is also very slick. The only gripe here is the amount of drummers on this album, one wishes that either Carl Palmer or Michael Sturgis had played throughout.
Standout tracks are 'Who Will Stop The Rain' (should have been a hit!), 'Love Under Fire', 'Someday', 'Voice Of Reason' and 'Heaven On Earth'. I would have given this record full marks if it hadn't been for the tedium of the instrumental pieces that bookend the album, the corniness of 'Little Rich Boy' and the cringe-worthy lyrics of 'Crime Of The Heart'...YUCK!
Anyone who felt there would be no life without Wetton needs to give this a go. Classic AOR.
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