Customer Rating:  
Summary: A Weird CD
Comment: Asia Phoenix is a weird CD. It's as if we're back in 1982. The keyboard sound is pure analog synth. As at least one other reviewer noted, it does sound like Chicago circa 1982 but without horns.
Instrumentation aside, there are some strong songs that stand up well against their classic debut. Wetton's voice is still strong as are the instrumentalists.
If you like their classic 1982 recording, you will enjoy this one as well. You may be disappointed if expecting otherwise.
[DW]
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as I thought!
Comment: I put off buying this CD for a long time. The samples I heard, like others have said, sounded too much like something from a Wetton solo album, and there didn't seem to be much of interest going on in the musical/instrumental side of things. The first time I listened to it, my fears seemed confirmed. I felt pretty disappointed with it, but there were some interesting things going on instrumentally that I knew right away I wanted to come back to. After listening a second, a third, and a fourth time, I was hooked. The songs are very catchy and I have difficulty keeping them out of my head. There are some cheesy cliches in most of the songs, but the first two Asia albums, which I've cherished for years, are cheesy, too. There is a new maturity present in all four members. Steve Howe is my favorite guitar player, and his style has become very streamlined here. His newer simplified, more tasteful approach began with his Turbulence solo album, then he brought it to Yes with the Keys To Ascension studio tracks, and the evolution continues here in Asia. It's part of why I was initially let down---at first, it hardly seemed like Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, and Carl Palmer were doing anything much at all, but they ARE, and some very interesting things, at that. The proof of that, and the highlight of the album for me, is the breathtaking instrumental ending of "Deya". It's simply stunning.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is good but should be better
Comment: This is an excellent CD for those that love Asia, as I do, there are a couple of really excellent songs, such as Extraordinary life and Shadow of a doubt, there isn't a bad song on the CD, is very well engineered and produced, but there is nothing that is a standout song. For anyone that has been an Asia fan from the 80's, when they really changed a lot of the music world with what they did, this will be a good, but not a great cd. If you are someone who has listened to Asia before, you will enjoy this, but if you haven't, this CD probably isn't for you. Even with the original members all together again, there is nothing groundbreaking here, and you will either like the original sound or not.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Return of a Supergroup
Comment: This is a classic Asia album. Not just a collection of beautiful, lasting songs but an album and that's something you don't find too often these days. Four original members of Asia reunited first on stage and now with this great cd. I do hope there is more to come because, like this album tells, they are in fine form. In 80's they were entitled a "Supergroup" in 2008 they are still firmly in power.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Visit with an Old Friend
Comment: There seems to be an awful lot of love it/hate it reviews for this album. Perhaps it is related to the hype. Perhaps it is related to all the expectations that listeners bring to this album. I would like to propose a slightly different view of this album.
I purchased this album with some trepidation. Namely, recent history is littered with "great come-back/reunion albums" from groups of the 70s and 80s that were anything but. Based purely on the statistics, the odds were against this being a good album from the out-set.
As it turns out, I have been pleasantly surprised with this album. However, it did not start out that way. I am a fan of Asia and Alpha and, to a lesser degree, Aqua. If you bring that predisposition to this album, it will likely disappoint, at least initially. That is unfortunate as it is a good album on its own merits.
This album has never left me feeling "overwhelmed" or "greatly impressed". However, what it has done better than almost any album I have listened to is leave me feeling...for a lack of better words, pleasant. Listening to this album leaves you feeling like you just spent a great afternoon getting caught up with a good friend you hadn't seen in 20+ years but found out you still consider a good friend!
In a general sense, the music in this album plays very much like a summary of everything that has the name Asia attached to it.(both good and not so good) From a production standpoint, there does not seem to be any effort by Asia to make the music "sound like" the '80s. Production is first rate and up-to-date. In fact, it leaves me wondering/dreaming what the first two albums might sound like if they went back into the studio and re-recorded them with today's technology.
There are some very good songs on Phoenix, as well as a couple that I usually skip over.
The opener, Never Again, feels like it could have been the next track on their first album or Alpha. From there, the album lags and struggles some. Of tracks 2 - 7, I will say this. None, except possibly Sleeping Giant/No Way Back, really delivers anything new nor anything resembling a good reprise, unless you are a big fan of, say Astra. Even then these songs would have struggled to make that album. For these songs especially, the biggest issue I have are the transitions. The musical transitions are often forced or seem completely out of place. It leaves these songs feeling somewhat disjointed or unfinished.
However, this album changes notably beginning on track 8. This track, Parallel Worlds/Vortex/Deya, is easily the best track on the album and a true Asia gem! It is very haunting, very engaging. I don't recall ever hearing Palmer's drums sound so impressive while still belonging in a song. The melody is true Asia, Wetton's voice is true to form, Howe's playing is tight, and the song(s) is/are just perfect. This song feels like it could fit on any of the group's better albums. It reminds me of what I appreciate the most about the Aqua album.
Tracks 9 - 12 all harken back to the best of what this group offered up over the years, while still being original. Track 9, Wish I'd Known All Along, is an impressive piece. This track almost sounds like a song that could be from a late 70s Genesis album with Tony Banks flying all over the keys, only with Wetton and Co. singing vocals.(To reviewer complaining about a lack of keyboards - You've got to be kidding! Listen to the entire album before writing a review!)
Track 12, An Extraordinary Life, is the most positive song I have ever heard from Asia and is a perfect ending for the album. Tracks 8 - 12 leave one thinking/hoping that this album marks a musical turning point for the band rather than the epilog to their career as a band.
Needless to say, this album takes some patience to get to know and appreciate. Given that time, you may never be impressed, but you are likely to become comfortable with it in routine play.
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