FANTASIA - LIVE IN TOKYO

Well, add another half star at least (or don't add anything else, by regarding of the uneven recording), despite of listening to a few "oldies" from the classic prog/romantic scene ("Roundabout", "In the Court of the K.C." and "Fanfare for the common man") being a bit strident in comparison to some more commercial/pop hit singles such as "Heat of the moment" or "A Ride easy", which could make me change idea about the present reunion...but it's a minor question, because except on a strange execution of the above hits (e.g. "Heat of the moment", where S. Howe is not completely into the riff and the aggressive guitar sound of his original take dated 1981) as well as within their difficult intro of "Time again" (belonging to a few progressive songs of their debut album here just a bit uneven), the other songs are performed with a good impact, especially by John Wetton, whose voice is almost aligned to his glory days!! I think of a band with such a great experience, even though the set of keyboards used by Downes is not always suitable for their oldies and Steve Howe sometimes seems to be - just a little bit - a fish out of water (except on his fine Blues Intersection - even though this latter in their recent concert in Italy at the gig of Asti Festival wasn't so impressive - and of course in the harmonization inside "Fanfare for the common man" or once again regarding of the best guitar parts within "Roundabout").Instead Palmer is always a precise drummer (forget a few breaks through only where the whole band is not completely confident) and as usual excellent in his drum solo or once again within the classic instrumental track from "Works" by ELP.

Long Live Asia!!