OMEGA

It drives me insane that Carl Palmer is given so little to do on this release. I've been a fan of Asia for a while, and while I realize that it certainly isn't their job to make grand, genre- spanning prog, this album plods along in a very stadium-rok vein. The persistent 4/4 time and the horrible re-hash lyrics (yes, I imagine the wind does cut like a knife. And yes, I'm sure that the stars in the sky do look like diamonds) make this an album I can enjoy and complain about simultaneously. Some great music - very few people can craft hooks as effectively as Asia - with a sad lack of virutosity.