Album of the Day

Asia, by Asia (1982): A lot of times, our reaction to a piece of music or a movie is so tainted by our expectations that it's hard to get a clean read on it. I'm sure that was the case with Asia when this album came out in 1982. The spawn of three major-league proggers (and Geoff Downes), it could have been (should have been?) a great prog super group. Given that neo-prog in the form of Marillion, IQ, and Twelfth Night was on the rise, such a thing wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. Instead, you got a pretty mainstream AOR-type album. As much as a disappointment as it was for what it wasn't, the fact is Asia really isn't that bad for what it is. Certainly, it went downhill quickly thereafter (1992's Aqua wasn't even worth the cut-out price I paid for it). But try and put your expectations aside and listen to the music on it's own terms. It might make a difference. Or it won't.