ONLY TIME WILL TELL

First I admit that my personal Asia relationship is very nostalgic. "Asia" (1982) was perhaps the first vinyl I ever listened to by my own, I was twelve or thirteen years. The album really grabbed me. Soon it was followed by several other early 80's vinyls owned by my sister or brother, e.g. Dire Straits' Love Over Gold, Jon Anderson's Animation, Yes' 90125 and Rush's Signals. That was the beginning of my prog history!

There were three singles taken from that debut of the commercially succesful prog-related supergroup, the first one being obviously the mega-selling 'Heat of the Moment' (in fact I never digged it, too commercial even for the little kid that I was), the others being 'Sole Survivor' and this one. 'Only Time Will Tell' is an enjoyable and catchy pop song with a strong emotional dose. The powerful and melodic playing with especially guitars and keyboards in front... No wonder I was hooked. If I had heard this music for the first time in the age of thirty or fourty, how much would I have liked it? Impossible to know. And besides, how different my music taste would be with completely different first steps?

On the B-side is 'Ride Easy', a beautiful, acoustically oriented, peaceful ballad, in which John Wetton uses his great voice more sensitively. It wouldn't have been a bad inclusion on the album, but as a non-album song it only increases the validity of this single. Back to my teenage years: I also gave the second Asia album (Alpha) a few spins, but didn't like it much, not to speak of anything I have happened to listen to from Asia in my later years.

A single from 1982 from which I read a review in a newspaper in the same year. If I remember well, the reviewer liked the "Asia" album a lot (the same as me) that he also bought this single because it had in the Side 2 a song ("Ride Easy") which wasn't included in the "Asia" album. I also looked for this single in some record shops in my city...without success because maybe it was an imported copy and it wasn't released in my country! (a thing that I never really knew). Anyway, it was until I bought the "Asia Gold" (2005) 2 CDs compilation in late 2008 that I finally listened to "Ride Easy" in its studio version.

Well. This single has in the Side 1 a song from the "Asia" album called "Only Time Will Tell", composed by John Wetton and Geoff Downes. It is really a Ballad with very good arrangements, particularly with very good guitar arrangements and playing by Steve Howe.This song was successful and had some radio playing in some radio stations in my city. It even was used in a TV ad some time later. It is really a more Pop Rock song with very few Prog Rock influences. That was a thing which made some Prog Rock fans "hate" this band. It wasn't my case.

In the Side 2, there is "Ride Easy", composed by John Wetton and Steve Howe. It is another Pop Rock song from this band with some Prog Rock influences. Maybe the most Prog Rock influences in this band came from Howe's songwriting contributions and guitar playing. Before the band played this song in concert, Wetton introduced the song to the audiences, with him saying that this song was one of his favorites and that it was one of the first songs that Howe and him wrote for the band. I don't know why this song was finally destined to be in the Side 2 of this single. It is a very good song.

If I remember well I bought the "Asia" album on LP in mid June 1982... thirty five years ago. It still brings good memories to me.