Trollheart

Asia

True, hardly the hardest-rocking band you could come across, but Asia have their moments. They do however do a really great line in ballads, so let's have a look at what they've produced, in their various incarnations over a career spanning almost thirty years and a dozen albums.

Oddly enough, their self-titled debut has no ballads on it at all, though it does contain their two most well-known and successful singles, “Only time will tell” and “The heat of the moment”. Some people might think “Without you” qualifies, but I disagree. In my opinion (which, in the context of this article, is all that matters!) it's not until 1983's “Alpha” that they really started writing great rock ballads.


Alpha (1983)

Making up for the complete lack of ballads on their debut, “Alpha” has three in all. First we have this one, “The smile has left your eyes”


It might start off a little rocky, but “My own time (I'll do what I want)” turns out to be a mid-paced ballad

Then there's the lovely “The last to know”


And we finish on the atmospheric “Midnight sun”.


Astra (1985)
Asia's next album, “Astra”, was released two years later, in 1985. For this album founder member and guitarist Steve Howe departed, to be replaced by Mandy Meyer. This situation would partially reverse itself in 1992. The album is seen as their least successful, but it does contain the anthemic “Voice of America”

and the less powerful, more low-key and frankly substandard “Love now till eternity”, which itself sounds suspiciously close to the melody for “Voice of America”...


After that, it seemed Asia had broken up, and to some extent they had. They released one odd album in 1990, made up half of old material and half of new, which they called “Then and now”.

Then and now (1990)

There's just the one ballad on it, “Prayin' 4 a miracle”.



It was another two years after that --- seven since their last "full" album --- before they would reappear with a changed lineup. This time John Wetton was gone and vocals were taken by John Payne, who would remain in that slot for another sixteen years and seven albums, making him by far the longest-serving (consecutively) vocalist in Asia. Steve Howe was back, supplemented by Al Pitrelli on guitar.


Aqua (1992)
The new album, “Aqua”, contains some stunning ballads, including “Love under fire”,

the beautiful “Crime of the heart”,

the bitter “Don't call me”

and the powerful, almost-closer “Heaven on Earth”.


Two years later came “Aria”, with the departure of longtime drummer and founder member Carl Palmer, replaced by Mike Sturgis. Steve Howe also left, for the second time, not to return until 2008's “Phoenix”, when Palmer would also make his way back to the fold along with John Wetton, to recreate the original lineup. Geoff Downes is therefore the only member of Asia to remain through every incarnation, and thus had a huge input to and influence on the band.


Aria (1994)

The album features four ballads, of which “Summer” is the first,

followed by “Sad situation”

then the wonderful “Feels like love”

and closing with the fragile reprise in the title track.


1996 was a great year for Asia fans. Not only did they release their sixth album, but also two volumes of rarities and unreleased material. For “Arena”, Al Pitrelli was replaced by two guitarists, Aziz Ibrahim and Elliot Randall.


Arena (1996)
It's a great album, but not as chock-full of ballads as the previous. It does, however, have the powerful “Words”

and the rather excellent “U bring me down”


Staying in 1996 then, as mentioned Asia got together a whole bunch of unreleased stuff and put out not one, but two full albums of these rarities.

Archiva 1 (1996)
Both going under the title of “Archiva”, it's volume 2 that has the most overall ballads, though volume 1 has the Queenesque “Fight against the tide”

The jaunty “We fall apart”

and the powerful and emotional “I can't wait a lifetime”



Archiva 2

“Archiva Volume 2”, released at exactly the same time, has four ballads, all of which, oddly, come one after the other and near the end of the collection. First off is “That season”

the tragic “Can't tell these walls”

then “The higher you climb”

and the soulful and heartfelt “Right to cry”.

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After all that activity, it's not surprising that Asia then took a five-year break. When they returned in 2001 with a new album, it seems the only core members were Downes and Payne, with others, including Sturgis and Randall, as well as Steve Howe, relegated to the status of “guest musicians”.

Aura (2001)

It has four ballads, among them being this one, entitled “Forgive me”.


Also the slightly more uptempo “Kings of the day”


and the excellent “On the coldest day in Hell”


Not to mention the powerful “The longest night”


It was three years before they came back with a new album, this time Payne and Downes adding new drummer Chris Slade to the lineup, completing that lineup with Guthrie Govran on guitar. “Silent nation” was the first studio album ever from Asia (not counting the weird "Then and now") not to have a title beginning and ending in “a”.


Silent nation (2004)

Not one of my favourite Asia albums, it has nevertheless some good ballads on it, including “Blue moon Monday”


the standout “Gone too far”

and the closer, “The prophet”, which was in fact the last song John Payne sang with Asia. After sixteen years, he was replaced on the next album by original vocalist John Wetton.


Seen as having broken up (again!) Asia nevertheless returned in 2008 with a brand new album, reuniting the original lineup of Carl Palmer, Steve Howe, John Wetton and Geoff Downes (who had never left) for the first time since 1983.


Phoenix (2008)
A huge return to form after a somewhat shaky few years, “Phoenix” has some terrific ballads, including the beautiful “Heroine”

“I will remember you”

and the wonderful “Orchard of mines”


The last album Asia have released to date has been 2010's “Omega”, which retained the reunited original lineup.

Omega (2010)

“Omega” continues the great tradition of excellent Asia ballads, including “Ever yours”

“There was a time”

and the country-flavoured “Don't want to lose you now”.

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Absolutely the March is not great, but then that's the nature of Random Track of the Day: I have to take whatever comes out. I'm not a huge Mozart fan (my sister is) but even I know that would not be something chosen to showcase the guy. It's just the luck of the draw.

I don't actually know any other Jeffrey Osborne: the worm just needed some artiste beginning with O that wasn't Oasis!

I've spoken at length about AAE; all I have to say is first album great, second album bad, after that I lost interest, which is a pity. Maybe they made better albums, but S&OS bugged me so much that I wasn't prepared to check them out. Yes, I heard the story too: bloody TOTP!

Thanks for commenting!

TH

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Trollheart

A very good Sunday to you all! The worm approaches the end of his alphabetic adventure, and we're up to the letter U...

Today's Daily Earworm was brought to you by the letter U, with Ultravox, and “The Voice”.

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A dramatic turn of events --- Dream Theater --- 2011 (Roadrunner)


Now before anyone asks, no, I'm not a DT fan, in fact I only recently acquired their discography, and it will be some time before I even get to it, never mind through it, but this album, being a 2011 release, was originally intended to be featured in the “Meanwhile, back in the real world” slot, until time caught me up and 2011 became 2012. So now, though current, it does not fulfil the criteria to be in that section, but I would still like to review it, so here it is.

Fans will know of course (as will most musically-savvy people who read a rock mag or even casually peruse music forums) that this album is the first without founder member and drummer Mike Portnoy, a fact which will mean more to proper DT aficionados than it does to me. Talk to me about Fish leaving Marillion. Engage me in conversation about Genesis sans Gabriel, or go on at length about the departure of Roger Hodgson from Supertramp, but in this particular subject I am completely ambivalent. There's no doubt Portnoy was (is) a great drummer and was loved by the DT faithful, but as I've mentioned before, though I would not put down any drummer's abilities, I find it hard to see any real difference between even the greats. Cozy Powell or Carl Palmer? Phil Collins or Brian Downey? I just don't see it. I'm sure drumming is a great skill, and takes years to master, but I'm just not musically aware enough, I guess, to be able to pick out the nuances of a good drummer from those of a less good, or even a bad.

So I can't tell you how new drummer Mike Mangini compares to Portnoy, though I'm sure there was and is much heated debate about the subject on various DT forums. I also can't tell you how this album compares to their previous output, but I'm going to have a listen to it and review it on the basis of it being a new album by an established band. Hell, knowing little or even nothing of the music of a band prior to reviewing one of their albums has never stopped me before, so why start now?

So, it opens on the lead single, “On the backs of angels”, which has a nice acoustic start, echoey guitar and swirling synth, John Petrucci's fluid electric guitar work coming in as Mangini announces himself behind the drumkit. Choral vocals fill out the sound until Petrucci's guitar comes to the foreground, starting up a heavy rock riff while Jordan Rudess joins him on the keys, setting down the soundscape with Mangini providing the beat. Then James LaBrie's vocals come in, and I'm sure for Dream Theater fans it must seem like the band has never been away, despite the fact that this is their first album in two years. The song becomes a powerful epic rocker, with twiddly keyboard fills from Rudess dancing about with sharp riffs and solos from Petrucci.

A lovely piece of classical piano then from Rudess as the song nears its end, then we're into “Build me up, break me down”, with hard-edged almost muted guitar and synthesised vocals from LaBrie, a slower, moodier song with some solid synth work from Rudess, but riding mostly on Petrucci's growling guitar. Stabbing keyboard chords --- what are those called? Sound like samples --- also drive the song along, giving it an epic, dramatic feel, but there's a low-key, atmospheric ending which brings us to track three, one of the longer ones on the album.

Dream Theater, it seems, don't do short tracks, and many of the songs here are over eight, nine, even ten minutes, with one clocking it at a massive twelve, but “Lost not forgotten” just skims the ten minute mark, opening with deceptively soft piano before smashing into a fast power rocker as it takes off on twin rails of galloping keyboards and chugging guitars, Mangini's drums thundering behind them. However this track exhibits a trait I've heard, an accusation levelled at this band, that they tend to overindulge in showy demonstrations of how good they are on their particular instruments, and indeed here there are lengthy instrumental passages that seem, really, to be there just for the sake of it, leaving LaBrie with often very little input into the song. It's a point I'll be exploring as the album goes on.

Short, by their standards, at seven minutes, “This is the life” is the first ballad, played on sweet guitar and dreamy synth, with LaBrie getting into his stride as a vocalist. There's no doubting Petrucci's expertise on the guitar, as he shows here with a lovely restrained little solo. I'd just prefer his instrumental breaks to be there for a reason, as they sometimes seem to be out of place with the song. This is nice though, with what sounds like female backing vocals, though they're not credited as far as I can see. Nice piano work from Jordan Rudess again, and I can see this being a situation where lighters are called for when it's played live.

“Bridge in the sky” is another long one, eleven minutes, and opens on shimmering synth and choral voices, then Petrucci's guitar slams in and Mangini's drums punch out the rhythm, and the song gets heavier and harder as it leads up to LaBrie's vocal, which doesn't come in until about three minutes in. Like most songs of this kind of length, “Bridge in the sky” goes through a few changes, from hard rocker to prog epic, with lengthy keyboard solos and guitar solos peppering the song, so that it's kind of hard to pin down exactly what to describe it as. Near the end it slows down for a bit, then changes gear back up to its dramatic conclusion. Powerful, certainly, and varied without a doubt.

Another eleven-minuter, “Outcry” opens with synth again, this time deep and throaty, accompanied by a very bright piano line from Rudess, running along the melody like a skater on ice, before the whole thing explodes again --- the ice breaks? --- and big, booming, choral synth and powerful drums take the song off to new realms, Petrucci's guitar doing its bit but a little subsumed, for once, in the overall mix. Of course, he soon remedies that, and as the “overture”, as it were, dies away, he takes command, standing front and centre with his trusty guitar slung over his shoulder, master of all he surveys. Some pretty frantic and excellent keyboard and piano work from Rudess, but again the song becomes a pretty big part instrumental, and I again have to ask the question, is this necessary to the shape of the song or is it, to be rude, technical wankery, as DT have often been accused of? Are these songs too long, or more to the point, have they too much in them?

Frankly, eleven minute tracks followed by other eleven minute tracks are a little hard to digest, unless there's some real cohesive structure to them, or some story being told with the lyric, and I have to say I find evidence of neither here, nor in the previous. I think these songs are longer than they need to be, and on that basis it makes it a little hard to objectively review them.

An example of how Dream Theater can pull it all back and write a decent, short song is shown in “Far from Heaven”, a few seconds short of four minutes: miniscule in their terms, hardly a Petrucci solo! But it's really nice, another ballad, carried on Rudess's emotive piano and what sounds like violin but may be his keyboard, James LaBrie singing faultlessly and with a lot of wounded passion. See guys? Songs don't have to be twenty minutes long... Oh, they're not listening to me, as the next one is the longest, at over twelve minutes. Oh well.

With a big, dirty guitar intro, “Breaking all illusions” is the only song on which bassist John Myung gets involved in the lyrics, co-writing them with Petrucci, who otherwise has iron control over the rest of the songs, bar the one just gone, which was written by LaBrie. Hey, have you noticed? Four out of five of the members of DT have first names that begin with the same letter? James LaBrie, Jordan Rudess, John Petrucci and John Myung. No, no, I'm not bored. Not at all...

There's a sort of swaying, half-ballad feel to this track, though as ever it doesn't stay that way, and within four minutes we're into faster, uptempo territory, with rocking choral synths and wild guitar, LaBrie getting more animated on the vocals, and now here comes the obligatory instrumental part. Lasts how long? Let's see... O-kay. Five and a half minutes. See what I mean? Admittedly, this time it did sound like the music was integral to the song, unlike previous ones where it really did seem just like showing off. Still, there's no reason why this song couldn't be half the length it is, without really losing anything. I'm all for long tracks and value for money, but DT seem to take overextension to new heights of indulgence.

The closer is at least not another monster. Coming in at a very respectable five and a half minutes, “Beneath the surface” starts on nice laidback acoustic guitar and those violins/keyboard sounds again, with LaBrie nicely restrained in his soft vocal delivery. A third ballad? So it would seem. A very simple song, quite fragile and very sincere, and a sweet and low-key ending that I didn't really expect.

As I said at the opening of this review, I'm not a fan of DT, so perhaps I'm missing something, but the overlong nature of many of their songs tends to drive me away rather than make me want to hear more. I'm no stranger to epics of course: I'm a big Genesis, Marillion, Rush and Pink Floyd fan, and there's nothing at all wrong with long songs, but they really do have to go somewhere, and I feel that, for the most part, Dream Theater's epics just tend to wander around, looking for some direction, and then kind of tail off. For me, it's more a trial to get through one of their longer songs than an enjoyable experience, and does indeed make it hard to review them fairly.

I shouldn't worry of course: DT fans will more than likely love this album, but if I'm to use it as a possible gateway into their world, a chance to get more into their music and a spur to listen to more of their albums, then I'm afraid for now, for me, it's a gate that remains more or less firmly shut.

But perhaps one day.

TRACKLISTING

1. On the backs of angels
2. Build me up, break me down
3. Lost not forgotten
4. This is the life
5. Bridges in the sky
6. Outcry
7. Far from Heaven
8. Breaking all illusions
9. Beneath the surface

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Here are a few random tracks I really like, and think perhaps you may like too. All decisions are final, no refunds given. Terms and conditions do not apply...

I've always liked this song, though for some reason I always thought the band were Irish. Not so: they're from Australia. Now how could I have made that mistake? Moving pictures is the band in question, think this was their only hit.
What about me (Moving Pictures) from “Days of innocence” on Epic


A band who are Irish, this is the Adventures, from their third album, and the only song (to my knowledge) on which Lloyd Cole collaborated. Love this one.
Desert rose (The Adventures) from “Trading secrets with the moon” on Elektra


I love the sense of, for once, male empowerment and the honesty in this song, from Steve Earle.
I thought you should know (Steve Earle) from “The revolution starts now” on Esquared


Track now from the Eagles, before they got all West Coast cool, and knew how to write a really good country song...
Bitter Creek (The Eagles) from “Desperado” on Asylum


And speaking of the Eagles, epitomising the other side of the band, I've nevertheless always loved this one from Glenn Frey, from his solo work.
Part of me, part of you (Glenn Frey) from “The solo collection” on MCA


One of my all-time favourite bands, this is Marillion, from indeed an album which was one of the first I ever reviewed in this journal.
Wrapped up in time (Marillion) from “Happiness is the road, Volume I: “Essence” on Intact


One of Bowie's lesser-known hits, I've liked this since I discovered, way back when we had singles, that it was on the B-side of “Life on Mars”.
The man who sold the world (David Bowie) from “The man who sold the world” on Mercury


Another of my favourite bands, this is Shadow Gallery, with a lovely little track from the album “Carved in stone”.
Alaska (Shadow Gallery) from “Carved in stone” on Magna Carta


Powerful and moving track from Suzanne Vega's debut album.
The queen and the soldier (Suzanne Vega) from “Suzanne Vega” on A&M


Always loved this one from Gallagher and Lyle. Just reminds me of holidays. Not surprisingly, as it was once used in a TV ad for one of our (now defunct) travel agents.
Breakaway (Gallagher and Lyle) from “Breakaway” on A&M


And to wrap things up this time round, here's Threshold, from the album “Hypothetical”, with a really nice little ballad.
Keep my head (Threshold) from “Hypothetical” on InsideOut

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Robert William Gary Moore (April 4 1952 – February 6 2011)

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the tragic and untimely death of one of rock's most beloved and accomplished guitarists, a man who ate, slept, drank and breathed (and of course played) the blues like no other contemporary musician since the passing of the great Rory Gallagher. A man whose musical output stands as a testament to his talent, his eye for a song and his great and enduring love for the blues; a man who will be, and is, sorely missed at this time, and always.

In recognition of the loss of this great talent, we will be featuring Gary's music all next week, with album reviews, specials, top tens, information, tributes and anything else we can lay our hands on. “Gary Moore Week” will run from tomorrow, Monday February 6 2012 to Sunday February 12 2012. We will be featuring, at minimum, an album review a day --- sometimes more --- as well as specials crafted around the man's music, such as his instrumentals, his cover versions of blues songs and his best and worst work.

Join us then for a celebration of the man whose music informed a new generation about the power of the blues, and who has left behind a legacy few can match. Struck down at the age of only fifty-eight, Gary Moore surely had so much more to give, but fate will have its way, and all we can do is remember the giant star he was, and how his music affected us. If anyone would like to comment on Gary or his music feel free to drop a comment onto the journal, or email me if you have something specific you would like to hear or be featured.

For those who are not interested in Gary's music (shame on you! Why not?), don't despair, as we will still be running the usual regular features as well as some non-Gary Moore album reviews and sections. Going to be a busy week, both for the staff here and at Music Banter! Sorry guys, but it's all in a good cause!

Gary Moore: gone far too soon, but never forgotten, at least, not here.

Thanks for your time. We now return you to your regular scheduled programme...

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Haven't heard from the girls for a little while, so let's sample some more of my favourite female artistes. Kicking off with Alicia Keys, this is “Fallin'”.


One of my favourites from the late Laura Branigan, a big hit for her at the time, it's “Gloria”.


And another favourite from my (long distant) youth, Debbie Gibson, who I had such a crush on! This is from her album “Electric youth”, track called “We could be together”.


Full of energy and one of the top soul/disco acts of the time, it's the Pointer Sisters, with “Jump!”


And finally, the “smooth operator” herself, Sade, with a beautiful track from her first album, this is “Haunt me”.

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starrynight

84 is a bit of a nostalgic year for music for me, I loved some songs a lot from then. Jump by The Pointer Sisters is another of those. As is Sade's Smooth Operator. I remember when I first heard it, I was listening to Radio Luxembourg and I knew it would be big straight away, as did the DJ Andy Hollins. The whole Diamond Life album is great though and it just shows that records that sell huge can also be very good, people don't have to be snobby and ignore them later. Music that you have lived with for a long time becomes part of people's shared memories. I'm not sure I ever go off music that I truly love.

Laura Brannigan herself met an early death, both Gloria and Self Control were covers of Italian songs, the second song having a typically extravagant and inventive 80s video (which may remind some of Eyes Wide Shut, the Kubrick film).

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