ONLY TIME WILL TELL

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.