Omega

OK, first off: let me tell you where I'm coming from. I am a serious prog rock fan, but enjoy lots of stuff, and always appreciate a well-written and performed song, as I am a songwriter myself. I am NOT an Asia nut or partisan in any way. I had the 1982 debut record like everyone else, and loved it (I was 12, so take it for what it's worth), but I would more likely throw on King Crimson, Yes, or ELP than anything else the band has done (and I've never even listened to the John Payne version--Asia is Wetton's band, to me, and his distinctive vocals and personality in singing is a big reason I even thought about looking into this new record). It never occurred to me to look into 2006's Phoenix, and I assumed that the band would be a pale imitation of its former success. I am not a huge fan of AOR rock (e.g., I don't listen to Journey, REO Speedwagon, et al), and have little tolerance for dumb lyrics and lighter-raising stadium rock moves. But. . . .I love Omega. I read the strong review in Classic Rock magazine and was surprised they had such good things to say about how revitalized the band was. So, I listened to the 30 second samples here and was surprised how good they sounded. Still, I didn't buy it; I've been burned before on samples that turn out not to represent the song as a whole. But a funny thing happened. I couldn't get the melodies from those 30-second samples out of my head. That is very unusual, and a sure sign that there is some strong songwriting on Omega. So, I finally downloaded it via Amazon, and seriously, guys, it is GOOD. Firstly, the record sounds fantastic--the excitement and power of the debut record but with no early-80s, dated production sheen. Clear strong sound, lots of air, not overly compressed and loud. Second, from the playing it is immediately clear that these old guys are not going through the motions (as I gather many thought they were on Pheonix, which I've not listened to yet). They are pumped up. The playing is really strong, tight, not flashy, no long solos (sorry proggers. . . I wouldn't have minded a few myself), but lots of very thoughtful licks that serve the song. The excitement and FUN is immediately apparent and very winning. I can't really believe how great Wetton's voice still sounds. I'm tempted to say better than ever--he used to have just a little bit of pitch trouble in the old days but his voice is now a very appealing, powerful and strong instrument in itself. Third, and most important--the SONGS. Really good writing, nearly every song has multiple strong melodies in the verses and choruses, that stay with you after one listen. This is an art that is sadly lost today, even by those like Asia who once had a firm grasp on it--well, no more for this group. Like most records today, it should be 45 min. instead of 60 (I'd get rid of "There Was a Time" and "I Believe", two of the weaker tracks), but oh, those 45 minutes--great tunes played with excitement, joy, and power by excellent musicians. To those who blast this release for being pop: oh, jeez, get over yourself. Asia was always a pop band and a great one. They prove it here. For those who lament, for example, that "Carl Palmer is given so little to do here": firstly, don't be misled. I'm a drummer, and to play with strength, control, and to really swing in the beat while driving the song forward---that is not simple. Sometimes banging all over the kit to something like "Tarkus" is actually easier than what Palmer does here, for example. Also: did it ever occur to you that no one is "giving" any of these guys "little to do"? Did it occur to you that, like me, and (hopefully) like you, these musicians like many types of music and choose, in the context of Asia (Howe has played much more proggy material recently with Yes, you know), to write and play great, sophisticated pop songs that sound great on the radio? Maybe "Emily" sounds like the Beatles because. . . hold on to your seats. . . .the guys in Asia LIKE THE BEATLES. Who doesn't? The relevant question is not: is it prog, or is it Asia? The relevant question is: is it good? And the answer is yes. I was not at all prepared to love this record, but I do. The guys have really pulled it off, and I hope that they get recognized for it. Are the lyrics sometimes banal? Sure, just like they were on the debut record, and frankly, in much of what Wetton does. But this is not the Shins, or Belle and Sebastian, or Grizzly Bear, OK? This is classic, big, catchy, prog-pop that would sound awesome blasting out of a radio this summer (not that it will probably get much airplay these days). Enjoy it for what it is, check your cynicism for a minute and dig it. With "Finger on the Trigger" blasting away, I can tell you, I at least feel like I did in 1982, when I heard "Heat of the Moment" and raced to the stereo to hit record on my cassette tape filled with airshots of top 40 hits on WKTI, Milwaukee, 94.5 FM. At $7.99 to download the album, you can't go wrong.

Falsetto vocals. The story of a tragic romance with a lesbian. Children dancing barefoot in the moonlight. Assurances that God is love and that love is the key to happiness. Fast pop tempos and spacey, high-octave synthesizer riffs. Promises of "semper fidelis" to one's beloved. Sexual innuendo, but more cutesy than Kiss-like. This is Asia?My brother and I were fans from early on, but mostly lost interest after John Wetton left (although John Payne's Asia did put out a handful of interesting tunes). So we were quite pleased to hear some years ago that the original Asia had reformed and was recording again. We both enjoyed  Phoenix , although it was apparent that things had changed from the glory days. With OMEGA, things have changed even more. We were listening to Omega the other day, first time for my brother, when he said "I'm not sure what their marketing plan is for this". Just who is the target audience?After a while, it struck me. This one is meant to interest women of any age above the Taylor Swift crowd. Quite interesting - an aging supergroup whose former audience demographic, i.e. young men, have long abandoned Asia's bombastic, high-intensity prog/rock musical style. You can't go home again. But your lead singer still has an angelic voice, your keyboard man has a techno-pop heritage, and the guitar and drum guys have enough talent to adapt to anything. So you try some different directions and write songs about love, devotion, loss, sensuality, spirituality and feelings. You make sure the words will thank the someone-special in a man's life, or savor her memory. Yes, I believe that's the marketing plan.OK, Omega wasn't produced exclusively for guys who turned to Asia in 1982 when Yes and ELP had seemingly lost their creative muse. But it still offers us enough to make Omega worth a listen. Actually, many of the songs are quite good; but they are not in the style that we will remember Asia for. I could only imagine two songs that could have appeared on  Asia  or  Alpha . Those would be Through My Veins and There Was a Time. Finger on the Trigger is a standard rocking album-opener, and Ever Yours is a rehash of elements from Heroine and I Will Remember You from Phoenix (but I personally liked those songs, so I don't really mind).Holy War brings back the old anti-war message and socially-involved lyrics, but the music behind it is not the usual brooding, ELP-like dirge; it's more happy and snappy, making for an odd mix. Listen Children and Light The Way continue the up-tempo pop trend. End of the World seems to bring back the pompous contemplation of a world gone wrong (e.g. Rock and Roll Dream and Countdown to Zero from ASTRA), but then turns to love as the answer. I Believe is part 2 to this theme. I'm Still the Same could be used in one of those old "follow the bouncing ball" sing-along shows of long ago. The mood behind the opening lines of Don't Wanna Lose You Now reminds me of Starbuck's Moonlight Feels Right, but Asia still hasn't used a xylophone (although Moonlight's synthesizer refrains are similar to some of Geoff's work on Omega).And then there's Emily, the story of the girlfriend who ultimately "bats for the other side". Many reviewers don't like this tune, calling it "Beatles-esque"; probably from the bouncy piano intro. And yet, Steve Howe later adds a nice guitar break, and the last 40 seconds or so sound like the fade-out from Open Your Eyes. Thus, the music is just as confused and bittersweet as the relationship.So this one is different from the old Asia groove, more "sensitive", more Barry Mantilow. Phoenix was heading in that direction, but Omega seems to have crossed the line. And yet, many of the elements that made us prog guys love Asia in the first place are still there. You still hear an occasional echo of the past, close your eyes and say . . . Yes. Omega, like Phoenix, is a John Wetton album. But Geoff Downes comes in a close second; his keyboard work leads along new paths (new for Asia, anyway). Steve Howe is third in overall influence, but the quality of his guitar work keeps this album from fermenting into cheese. And Carl Palmer is there, drumming skillfully and vigorously but with few opportunities to show off his power, as in the old days.I hope the new marketing strategy works, as it is good to have the original Asia team out there. Omega is still worth a listen, even if you are a (sole) survivor of the old marketing strategy.

Wow, what a great album. So good is the quality of songwriting and musicianship on 'Omega', and so addictive are the melodies, hooks and choruses on offer, listening to this record is like spending an hour gorging on two tons of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.Opener 'Finger On The Trigger' was a free download single and is a snorting rocker, very similar to 'Never Again' from Asia's previous album 'Phoenix', with some raw, jagged guitarwork from Steve Howe.'Through My Veins' is a stark rock track with another great performance from Howe.'Holy War, is classic Asia and works as a 'Wildest Dreams' for 2010. Nobody does war songs quite like Wetton and co. and the energy in this track alone blows raspberries in the face of the collective age of these musicians.'Listen Children' and 'I Believe' are delightfully cheesy and 'There Was a Time' is one of the best bitter sweet ballads I've heard in a long old time.Asia also show a bit of humour with the catchy 'Emily'.'Omega' is packed with variety, there's everything here from big, stadium rockers, prog, pop and folk. It's a vibrant, lively album of music played by a completely re-energised group, full of confidence.Steve Howe's guitarwork is outstanding throughout and John Wetton's vocal displays are stunning.Roger Dean's artwork, just puts a cherry on the whole package.Asia deserve some real success this year, and I hope they play a good chunk of this music on the tour because it's every bit as good as anything they've recorded.And that's saying something.

I remember in 1982 when the Asia lineup was announced the hype and interest surrounding the release of the (still superb) debut album. Nowadays Asia albums come out with little fanfare which is such a shame as they contain wonderful songs, instrumentation and deliver what all good music should do, i.e. make the listener feel good after listening.In the context of most other stuff that is released these days, I have to award this album five stars even though I prefer its predecessor; the excellent 'Phoenix' album released in 2008. We've also had three excellent Wetton/Downes albums as well in recent years, so we're really spoilt. On production duties here is Mike Paxman who for many years worked with Judie Tzuke as co-writer, guitarist and producer. Mike co-wrote the classic 'Stay with me 'til Dawn'.Kicking off this album is the very familiar 'Finger on the Trigger' from the 2nd Wetton/Downes album 'Rubicon'. Why record again ? Simple answer; Steve Howe. The guitar licks added to this really take the stirring song to further dimensions. The intro is improved also.'Through my veins' is a mid-tempo second song which is a great second song for an album. One of only two songs on the album not written by the prolific 'Wetton/Downes' partnership - this is a Howe/Wetton collaboration. One of my favourites.'Holy War' is much faster which contains a wonderful instrumental break two thirds of the way through that showcases Carl Palmers virtuoso drumming alongside Geoff Downes' keyboards and Steve's unmistakable guitar.'Ever yours' is a slow ballad in the same style as 'Heroine' from the 'Phoenix' album. John's voice is very well suited to these songs and it was a treat to see 'Heroine' performed live on the last tour - let's hope 'Ever yours' in put into the set as it would make a nice contrast to the louder numbers.The anthemic 'Listen Children' is fairly standard Asia-fare; what never fails to delight is the instrumentation; time a time again what could be ordinary fares are given little bells and whistles that take them above the ordinary. Ecoutez!'End of the World' contains a chorus with what appears to be two voices singing; the other is probably Steve Howe although he is not credited with vocals on the sleeve. No mistaking him on guitar though. "Auto da fe" is mentioned in the lyrics which is a first!One of my favourite tracks on the album is the other Howe/Wetton composition 'Light the way' with its stirring keyboard intro before the drums kick in. Great lively song with harmonies and Howes guitar continually much to the fore.`Emily' is billed as the bonus track included with the limited edition digi-pack release. It's an unusual track lyrically for Asia and includes the line "you bat for the other side" which doesn't refer to cricket. It also repeats the line KAZ53313 at the end; goodness knows what this means? I have to say that for me this is the weakest track on the album.Much better is `I'm still the same' which is probably the most poppy track on the album where John manages to evoke the ELO sound, but is none the worse for this. Just a great tune which would not feel out of place on Ken Bruce's R2 show if only Ken's Producers could get to hear it!`There was a time' has an intro that somehow reminds me of the soundtrack to `Lord of the Rings' (no bad thing). It's nearly four minutes before Carl's drums strike out. An epic track that is quite unlike anything Asia have served up before; unlike......`I believe' is probably the track that captures best the original Asia sound from the 80s. Completely in the `buy Asia, get this' vein. No surprise, just quality but why not? It's just great.The album closes with `Don't wanna lose you now' which is surely a title that has been used on countless songs before (or something very similar). It's a relaxed end to the album in contrast to the uplifting `An extraordinary life' that closed out `Phoenix'. A lilting tune that you feel could be performed as a laid back rather than bombastic encore to a live show. Did I spot an alto trumpet somewhere in the mix towards the end?So in summary, this is recommended again; the band is still relevant in 2010. Keep them coming please.

I'm going to put this on both the UK and the US amazon sites, since the reviews of this album are reasonably similar as at the time I'm writing this.I've gone through other reviews on both sites and I think references to John Payne aren't valid or relevant anymore since he's gone and this Asia is what was at the beginning and is once more. Therefore I'm only going to make comparisons to Asia, Alpha, Astra and Phoenix.Having given the debut album 5 stars I can only give this one 4 stars since its in no way comparable in content or quality, but its better than Astra and Phoenix which I'd say were 3 star albums.Like Phoenix, and for that matter the other 'proper' Asia albums, this one starts with what is essentially the best track. A rousing rocking number with a good beat. 'Finger on the Trigger' lays the foundation to what is hoped to be an enjoyable musical experience (5/5). I had the same hopes for Phoenix but apart from the start, the end and one other, it was like a caramel bar; soft and sickly sweet in the middle. 'Through My Veins' was only marginally less than the opener (4/5), and that was because I didn't care much for the melody but Steve Howe's guitar play pulled this one through.'Holy War' was a delight (5/5); top marks for John Wetton managing to get the word Trebuchet into a song. As a fan of history I enjoyed this one for its content as well as the melody and the racey beat. But then after this the album fell a little flat in the middle. 'Ever Yours' was too much like the sickly sweet offering from Phoenix. I liked this one the least (1/5). Things picked up nicely with 'Listen Children' (4/5), an upbeat number that had Yes-style chords to it towards the end with Geoff Downes' synths.Then there was a relapse. 'End of The World' was reasonable (3/5), with a great anthemic intro but maybe a little too much of a Christian type of lyrics? The ending was nicely melodic. Then we had three consecutive songs that I thought were (2/5); 'Light The Way' had an average sounding melody and a harsh beat to the song which I found a little jarring. 'Emily' was reminiscent of a 70s pop song, at least Geoff Downes' piano was anyway, and the whole sound reminded me of Pilot. Did enjoy the story of the song with a man's lament of never being able to consumate his love of a woman as she was a lesbian. Nice Mona Lisa-type twist there. 'I'm Still The Same' ends the trio of songs I didn't really care much for, even though it does sound like an ELO song. I liked ELO but this song just doesn't sit well with Asia.Thankfully came two good songs after this, (4/5). 'There Was A Time' certainly has a folk influence, and that's something I like and admire. I'm getting more into folk music these days and after seeing Jethro Tull live and am about to see Show of Hands, this track shows how much English folk music has been forgotten. We need more of these sort of things. John Wetton's voice is so versatile and superbly suits this style. 'I Believe' has a great start and carries on with a lovely foot-tapping, head-nodding beat. Its what I'd call Driving Rock. And I agree with other reviewers who state this should have been the album closer.Finally a bit of a let down with 'I Don't Wanna Lose You Now', (2/5). Its a comfy pipe and slippers sort of song that really doesn't do much and this should never have been an album closer.

I was not that impressed by the last album by the 'new revised original' Asia. It tried too hard to be like early 1980's Asia releases without being very successful. This album is much more independent of what has gone before. It sounds like they are having a jolly time just playing pop and having fun. Its much more upbeat and there don't seem to be any dud tracks.John Wetton is in tune, and enjoying himself. Its definately worth a listen, even if you don't normally like Asia that much.

I like John Wetton on vocals and this is a decent enough album. In my opinion it isn't a lot different from the early albums (Asia, Alpha...) which is not necessarily a bad thing as I enjoyed them. My favourites, 'Listen, Children' and 'Holy War', are both good and I will stick them on my i-pod playlists, the rest are average and I won't. 'Emily' - the bonus track - isn't a bonus, it's tacky and I dislike it.Overall ...OK.