Heat of The Moment (Asia, 1982)

A commercial, catchy, plain song. Still, a very good one. When Asia released their debut record in 1982 I confess I was somewhat disappointed, as I was expecting something more elaborate than that, but after a while I saw that this was exactly what the band wanted to do. A pop side of prog that still works and didn't get older at all. The opening riff is a good classic today and John Wetton's vocals are neat and strong.

Four '80s boys... well, more or less.

The rest is provided by the likes of Howe, Downes and Palmer. That's to say: you can write the simplest of songs, but when it comes to the players, well, you can make the difference! I still listen to "Heat of The Moment" with pleasure and I can see how difficult it is to be successful and original nonetheless.

Only Time Will Tell (Asia, 1982)

When a group of famous prog artists decide to write down a bunch of plain songs, the final result is seldom exciting and, of course, successful. This is exacly the case with Asia's debut album, and this is one of my favourite tracks in it. All is done to please the listener here, and this is both the strongest and the weakest point of "Only Time Will Tell".

This song was the second successful single from "Asia" LP.

No adventurous musical patterns, no brand new solutions, but many enthralling moments and a lot of energy and good melodies. That said, Asia strongly contributed to the creation of what we call today Arena Rock and  their heroic sound is never too pomp or bombastic, as the good taste is part of those musicians' DNA. Useless to say, they all play their instruments the way we perfectly know. "Only Time Will Tell" is one of those songs that wind me up. What about you?

Open Your Eyes (Asia, 1983)

Are Asia a prog band? Old question. For sure, the group's members are what I call prog: not only they come from three of the greatest progressive rock acts of the '70s (Yes, E L & P, King Crimson), but they played an essential role in building and defining this genre and its features. They wanted to find an easier approach with Asia and they succeeded. 

Roger Dean's cover for "Alpha": this, at least, is very prog!

Even so, some of their songs bear the prog rock mark, and it's exactly the case with "Open Your Eyes" and its "arena rock" wall of sound, where tempo changes, instrumental passages, guitar/keyboards dialogues and imaginative arrangements seize the listerer's attention. IMHO, a pearl from Asia's second album "Alpha". OK, there's also a catchy tune... so what? Just try the airy finale and let me know.