Steve Howe Leaves Asia (band) / Newcomer Sam Coulson Named as Replacement

Guitarist Steve Howe has announced his departure from Asia and he will be replaced by Sam Coulson (who has the reputation as a shredder, so I'm not sure I see the fit). Remembering back to something that Geoff Downes had posted circa 1999 - 2000, one of the reasons he pulled out of the then Asia reunion was that Steve Howe wasn't invited to participate. I had always heard that Howe didn't get along with John Wetton so Steve's departure doesn't come as a shock but...the Asia lineups with Mandy Meyer and Pat Thrall replacing Howe always seemed to be missing 'something' as Howe's playing is a prominent part of Asia's sound.

Here is Steve Howe's quote: "I have left Asia to concentrate on Yes, my solo work & my Trio. I've enjoyed the 6 years of touring and recording with Asia, but now it's time to focus more on the above mentioned formations. —Steve"

Here is the quote from the remaining members of Asia: "John Wetton, Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer are delighted to announce that not only do they have an incredible talent in place to step into Steve Howe’s shoes, but also that their first international show with newcomer Sam Coulson will be a high profile performance at Sweden Rock 2013. Sam is a wonderful player, world-renowned amongst guitar virtuosos. Additionally, a new studio album, to be entitled ‘Valkyrie’, will be recorded for Frontiers Records during 2013 continuing the band’s relationship with the label.

John Wetton said, “ASIA is ready to take its next steps along this remarkable road. We cannot wait to perform again for the fans and also to unveil some of the new material, of which we are very proud”. Geoff Downes said, “We look forward to writing another chapter in Asia’s history”. Carl Palmer commented, “We’re all looking forward to the next decade of great ASIA music”."

Check out Sam Coulson's playing and see what you think...





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Asia - 'Resonance : The Omega Tour' Live in Basel, Switzerland CD Review (Frontiers Records)

In looking at the current state of some of the bigger prog-rock bands of the 80's, King Crimson has gone on indefinite hiatus, Genesis became a pop band before going out with a whimper (and a poorly received new lead singer) and Yes is on the cusp of heading onto the greatest hits/revival circuit having replaced Jon Anderson with a second tribute band vocalist. Thirty years ago, who would have thought that Asia (who started off as AOR/pop band) would have matured with such grace and end up as the last of the great prog-rock bands?

Similar to Asia's Spirit of the Night live album which documented the band's 2009 Phoenix tour, Resonance is a 2CD/DVD set that captures the band in front of an enthusiastic audience during their Omega world tour. This show was recorded on May 4th 2010 in Basel, Switzerland and John Wetton describes the show as "Asia live on the road, in-your face and for your pleasure".



What is refreshing is that the band does a nice job of balancing material from Omega (five tracks from this disc are part of the live set) and Phoenix with the obligatory greatest hits. Even the greatest hits though get new life breathed into them as a number of these songs are reinterpreted as stripped-down numbers or extended jams. What is also a pleasant surprise is that the set includes "Go" from the post-Howe disc Astra as I've seen video bootlegs of the Payne/Downes/Howe lineup where Howe would leave the stage when the band played "Go" (and the rumor was that Howe wouldn't play on anything from Astra).

Here is how the band mixed up the set list: "Don't Cry" is John singing with just Geoff playing behind him, "All's A Chord" and "The Valley of Rocks" are songs from Steve Howe's solo albums and it sounds like he is the only one on the stage at the time and the extended version of "Don't Cry" starts with just Geoff and John before Carl Palmer fires up the drums midway through the song and Steve Howe follows right behind. Some of the other highlights are Carl Palmer's drum solo during the extended version of "The Heat Goes On" and Steve Howe playing Mandy Meyer's (Krokus) metallic licks on "Go".

The band sounds in great form - John Wetton's voice has held up well through the years and Carl Palmer hasn't slowed down so the song tempos remain crisp. Both Howe and Geoff Downes are integral contributors to the "warm sound" of the show and their melodic riffs, chords and experimental flourishes keeps the set sounding fresh. Resonance was recorded after the reunited band had been back together for four years and this show documents the sound of a band that has maintained their musical chops and aged with grace.

Asia - Resonance Track List
CD1:
I Believe
Only Time Will Tell
Holy War
Never Again
Through My Veins
Don't Cry
All’s A Chord
The Valley Of Rocks
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
Open Your Eyes

CD2:
Finger On The Trigger
Time Again
An Extraordinary Life
End Of The World
The Heat Goes On
Sole Survivor
Go
Heat Of The Moment

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Asia - "XXX" CD Review (Frontiers Records)

DOWNLOAD/STREAM: Asia - "Face on the Bridge" (Radio Edit)
(Note: Track hosted on Frontiers.it)

Two years ago, I reviewed Asia’s then current release, Omega, and my comment was “While the urgency/intensity and arena rock sound of the early releases is gone, this is a mature release that doesn’t detract from the band’s legacy and it should strike a chord with long-time Asia fans.” At the time of its release, John Wetton had compared Omega to Alpha and said that “musically and conceptually, the two albums share commonality.” With the release of XXX, Asia sounds re-engerized and this disc is the closest that the band has come to recreating the sound of their first album.

This disc is very much the Wetton/Downes show with the focal point of most of the songs being Geoff Downes’ piano and keyboard and John Wetton’s spot-on vocals. The music has a sense of urgency and immediacy that was missing from Omega and John Wetton hasn’t sounded this energized in years. Steve Howe’s guitar work is stellar when it surfaces from beneath Downes’ textured keys but…Carl Palmer’s contributions are fairly inconsequential. Seven of the disc’s nine tracks were written by Wetton/Downes, with Steve Howe sharing the writing credits on the remaining two songs. Most of the songs run close to or just over the five minute mark which gives them a chance to build and only one or two songs sag a bit when the band drifts too far into AOR territory.

The disc starts out strong with “Tomorrow the World” which opens with Downes on the piano and quickly builds up to the melodic and vocal hooks of the classic Asia sound. “Bury Me in Willow” is equally strong and includes the big melodic choruses which Asia is known for. “No Religion” (one of the numbers co-written by Howe) has a driving pace and more aggressive guitar work than typically found on an Asia album and Howe’s guitar work also shines on the other piece that he co-wrote – “Judas”. The disc’s first single “Face on the Bridge” leads in with Wetton’s bass work and features some of his strongest vocals and Wetton and the band’s strong vocal harmonies are also highlighted on “Al Gatto Nero”. The only dud on the album is “I Known How You Feel”, which isn’t horrid but sinks under its AOR weight.



The originally lineup of Asia seemed to run out of gas with their second album Alpha and collapsed shortly thereafter but XXX is a strong third release from the reunited band and shows that this lineup still has plenty of life left in them.

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