ARIA

After the year-long Aqua tour was over with, the true beginning of the John Payne era had begun for Asia. Where as the previous release had been more-or-less a collection of left-overs from already existing material, Geoff Downes was determined to make an album in which everybody from the current line-up of the band had equal input. The result was Aria, and actually, it wasn't all that bad.

By this point in Asia's history, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer had split ''for good'' (at least until they realized they could cash in by rejoining the group several years later). So the only founding member of the band to still be a part of things during this era was Geoff Downes. He's on top of his game as always on this record, and regardless of who is or isn't present on these recordings, this is still some of the best Pop music you're likely to hear from the 90s. There is still a lot of that 80s-style, echoing production, but you can tell the Asia sound is moving into more modern territory. Never ones to really repeat themselves, I commend the band for carrying on like this. It's very similar to the situation Yes found themselves in when Howe left town to form this very band. Now that he was on the move yet again, two terrific bands were left in his wake. Both of them decided to carry on without him, and both of them continued their success for a fair amount of years after that.

The composition is simple and subdued quite a bit, here, like Asia always has been, really. So if you're not into this style of music (thundering, slightly cheesy pop music), I don't think the line-up different during this era is going to make much of a difference. The music itself is enjoyable to me, but purely Prog Rock it is not. However, the experimental, symphonic influences remain to a certain extent. In a way, it's sort of a crazy hybrid between the pop hits of the time and the more unusual compositions of the band's forefathers. Quite nice, really.

I think if you enjoyed Asia's music prior to these Palmer-less years, you're still going to enjoy what the band has to offer. It's clear on this recording that all of the people involved were dedicated to producing some truly interesting, majestic music. I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the music inside despite the loss of all but one of the original members. Downes deserves a lot of credit here for keeping this moving forward, and the end result of his efforts will please most fans of the band's early days, I believe. This isn't like Genesis' radical change of direction after Gabriel and Hackett left. For the most part, the quality seems to have not suffered as a result of the departure of key players-- at least not on this one. I have yet to dive in to all of the band's catalogue, so i can only comment on what i have already heard. Aria is an interesting, beautiful, above-par Pop album that will bring a smile to your face and a groove in your stride, if you allow it to. Change in lineup be damned; this is a worthy addition to your Asia collection.

Happy listening.