AURA

Progressive Rock? Hah! Prog Related? Ummm... even that's a far stretch with Asia's Aura. The only thing prog related about this album is that Geoff Downes once played on Yes' Drama album and Steve Howe guests on a couple of tracks (althought I can barely even tell).

I really had high hopes for this album. After all, on their Arena album Asia actually took a stab at making some prog numbers: the neo prog numbers The Day Before the War and U Bring Me Down. Don't let the longer than usual times of the songs on Aura deceive you. These are basically AOR/pop rock songs with a few ballads thrown in giving this album a mediocre "sameness" almost throughout the whole thing. The longer times are a result of extending many of the songs longer than they needed to be (i.e., choruses that go on forever, etc.).

The only exception is the 8+ minute long song Free. It's one of the better tracks Asia has done, but it's really nothing to get excited about. There isn't really anything complicated about it at all and sounds much like a generic neo prog song that a typical neo prog band would use as filler.

For fans only. Others should seriously avoid.