| I thought Asia was a reasonably credible band. As an aspiring song
writer, I have an appreciation for the melodies and hooks that
characterized the first two albums. I must admit, however, that I am
an apologist for pop/metal. While I have the utmost respect for
the technical masters of any instrument, I think it harder to write
a straight melodic song with normal lyrics than it is to screech
at the top of your lungs about death and other miserable things while
firing out repeated harmonic minor scales like a machine gun a la
Metallica.
Carl Palmer may have confessed not liking their music but I think
the problem lies within himself. His contribution was not on par
with his earlier work and that may gnaw at his insides. He just
might not be the percussionist one would use for a song-oriented
(as opposed to chops-oriented) group.
I imagine it's real easy for a faded drummer to call music he
performed poorly (and received no writing royalties) trash.
For those hungry for more Asia music, John Wetton has a number of
solo albums out. One came out fairly recently and for the life of
me I can't recall it now. It was the Wetton- "Something" band.
Also, check "Lark's Tongue in Aspic" by King Crimson. And if you
are real lucky, look for some UK albums featuring John Wetton and
another drummer extraordinnairre, Mr. Terry Bozio. Bozio, ex
of Missing Persons, is reported to be the drummer for the new
Jeff Beck band. Apparently he feels this is a better use of
his time than doing drum clinics in small stores and tearing
down his past bandmates.
STeve Howe defected to GTR, along with ex-genesis guitarist Steve
Hacket. The album is virtually unlistenable. The two neglected the
guitar as "guitar" and spent a lot of time and midi-money making it
sound like keyboards. Why? The signer, Max Bacon, was an honors
graduate from the John Waite-Styx School of Whining, and the songs
lacked hooks and memorable melodies. Howe is largely AWOL from the
new Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford, and Howe, a major disappointment for
guitarists. Howe's last substantial recorded work is on the first
two Asia albums. If you can get beyond the radio singles, he does
some nice acoustic guitar work in the albums.
Incidentally, this is all hearsay, but the demise of Asia was due
largely to the inability of Wetton and Howe to coexist with one
another. If you remember Asia's brief history, Wetton was thrown
out and replaced by Greg Lake, who was featured in the Asia in Asia
concert video. Lake quit, the band had no song writers and Wetton
was asked to return, whereupon Howe quit. The group's third and
final album, Astra, was recorded by noted metal guitarist Mandy
Pantinkin (sp?) but the guitar tracks were noticeably and deliberately
buried. Anyhow, the wildest rumors have Wetton and Howe punching
each other out in some midwestern Hotel.
Keyboardist Geoff Downes produced GTR. That explains the domineering
keyboard sounds and effects, I guess. The essential Downes, I think,
is found on The Buggles. The Buggles consisted of Downes and Trevor
Horn and the two were adopted to Yes in the early 80's when Jon
Anderson and Rick Wakeman quit the band. The resulting album, DRAMA,
is worth picking up for four bucks in the cut-out bins. As often
mentioned in NOTES, the cut Tempest Fugit (sp?) is quite good.
Maybe these British groups ought to form on big group and have
relievers, not unlike a major league baseball team. "Coming in for the
second hour of the concert for middle relief is keyboardist Pat
Moraz."
Think of all the combinations the following people have played in
together:
Rick Wakeman
Eddie Jobson
Pat Moraz
Keth Emerson
Geoff Downes
Trevor Horn
John Wetton
Tony Levin
Chris Squire
Greg Lake
Steve Howe
Robert Fripp
Steve Hackett
Bill Bruford
Terry Bozio
Alan White
Carl Palmer
Maybe it's time to send Lou Gorman over to London and get things
straightened out.
|
| Nice note, Brian!
Just one comment -
> For those hungry for more Asia music, John Wetton has a number of
> solo albums out. One came out fairly recently and for the life of
> me I can't recall it now. It was the Wetton- "Something" band.
It was the Wetton-Manzarek (or something like that). Its not the guitarist
from the Doors, but the guy from Roxy Music (and I always get their names
confused).
cat
|
| Just a nit, but Ray Manzarek was the Keyboardist, not the guitarist for
The Doors. Despite what most people believe, he actually wrote most of
the music (not the lyrics, though) for the songs the Doors did.
Robbie Krieger was the guitarist...
gh
|
| Re: .5
Yes, quite a list people! What about UK? Bruford, Wetton, Jobson, and
and Alan Holdsworth? Their album did no justice to how they performed
and sounded live. Then later UK became Bozio, Bruford and Wetton which
was nothing compared to the original quartet.
larry
|