Frownland

I'm guessing you're a fan of Asia's earlier material right TH? Just curious.

It's like tier or position or level or something like that.

It's also slang for being stinky.

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Trollheart

Yeah I liked pretty much all their albums up to about Silent Nation (though I got into that eventually) and though I liked Omega and Phoenix it kind of wasn't the same. Definite John Payne fanboy here, though I did like Wetton too.

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The Identity Matrix

Yeah I meant for what it means to this thread...

Wait Trollheart, you like Alpha then?

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Trollheart

OP now updated.
Yeah I love Alpha. I'm aware of your meh-ness for it. What can I tell you? Even Batty loves the debut. Who'da thunk it, huh?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Identity Matrix

Eh...

I like the debut too. Alpha just rubbed me the wrong way right after the first song.

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What is infinite yet always equal to one?

Enter the Domain - The Identity Matrix Domain

"I'm not a prophet or a stone aged man, just a mortal with potential of a superman. I'm living on." - David Bowie

Frownland

What does the (equally lame) debut have to do with Alpha?

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Trollheart

I'm not sure what you're asking here? They're the first two Asia albums, so you know ... I only mentioned the debut to point out that even Batty can enjoy some Asia in the right moment. I personally prefer Alpha over Asia and Astra, but that's just me. To my mind though they really began to hit their stride when they "reformed" with John Payne from Aqua onwards. Not that you care.

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Trollheart

Yeah it's a very weak start, but I feel once you get to "The Heat Goes On" (that extended keyboard solo!) to the end it's pretty damn excellent. Some weak tracks for sure, but all on the first side, as it were. I feel it recovers very well and never really flags after that.

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Frownland

You guys were talking about Alpha then you brought up the debut without solicitation. I wasn't sure why you did that. Luckily you seem to have answered it with your....reasoning.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Trollheart

Title: Now and Zen
Artist: Robert Plant
Genre: Rock
Year: 1988
Rank: Novice
Why this doesn't cut it: Maybe it was just me, going in expecting a basic Led Zep vibe, but as we've seen with everyone from George Michael to Freddie Mercury and Peter Gabriel to Phil Lynott, this is not always the case. The solo material from a member of a band associated with a certain sound may be far, far removed from what one would expect. And so maybe I expected the wrong thing. This is not an album I've revisited until now, but I remember being disappointed with what I heard. Let's see if that's still the way I feel (!). Opener's good, but it gets very electronic and even sterile too soon, very much more like pop than rock. I'm not enough of a Zep fan to get all the samples used in “Tall Cool One” (though I of course hear Rob singing the refrain from “When the Levee Breaks”) but I hate the song. I think the album works best when he kicks out the programming, keyboards-heavy stuff and concentrates on the blues/guitar-based material, but sadly that doesn't happen enough here, as is clearly evidenced by “Why?” Eurythmics much? Look, it's not that it's a bad track – I actually like it – but it's not what I expect from the Zep legend so it jars a little, especially after the sublime “Ship of Fools”. It's been five years since I last listened to this, before now, and I could easily see it being another five years before, if ever, I give it another chance.
Is there anything good about it? “Heaven knows” and “Ship of fools”, two great tracks. “The way I feel” is good too, though not great, and “Why”'s ok too.
Has my opinion changed now? Nah, not really. Still a pretty substandard album for me. In fairness, I haven't listened to any of his other solo stuff, but then, going by this, I doubt I'd want to.

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