Asia – XXX (Frontiers) (review)

Face it – most reunion albums are disappointing affairs.  The guys are older, recording budgets are smaller, and good melodies are usually hard to come by.  Plus, most reunited bands fall flat by trying to update their sound to whatever trend is popular.  That’s what makes Asia’s reunion so unbelievable – they’ve created an entire album of excellent songs that stand up to their finest work

Asia’s debut was one of the biggest albums of 1982, spending nine weeks at number one and going quadruple platinum.  XXX, the third album of the reunited original lineup, is a nod to that successful first record (“XXX” in Roman numerals is 30 – you remember that from high school, right?  It’s the amount of years since that album’s release).

When Asia formed in 1982, all four members – Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, John Wetton, and Geoff Downes – had roots in progressive rock, a style of music known for long songs with lots of improvisation that had fallen out of public favor years ago.  What made the band so successful was their ability to take their technical prowess and surround it with an abundance of radio-ready melodic hooks.  Amazingly, all these years later, the band still delivers on that original idea.

Thankfully, the band hasn’t updated their sound one bit – their songs are still built with Downes’ keyboards laying the foundation, with Wetton, who is still in fine voice, singing overtop, and Howe and Palmer providing the occasional guitar and drum flourishes to keep things interesting.

The band’s gift has always been crafting songs that build into big choruses.  The disc opens with “Tomorrow the World,” which starts with a contemplative piano before giving way to a churning beat, fueled by a Downes’ synth line.  The song breaks down near the end, then builds to great effect.  “No Religion” is a surprising rocker with an interesting middle section that adds to the excitement before once again breaking down near the end.

“Faithful” is an interesting track, opening with a pulsing synth straight out of 1982, the song begins as a midtempo ballad.  Howe enters midway through with a solo, and the song takes off, raising the key with thunderous drums.  The track ends with an anthemic singing of the chorus.  There’s also a cohesiveness to the playing – they’ve been together now since 2006 and examples like “I Know How You Feel,” have a groove to them that only comes from playing together for a long time.

The album’s first single, “Face on the Bridge,” is propelled by a synth bass and features some of Howe’s best fretwork near the close of the track.  One of the album’s finest cuts is “Al Gatto Nero,” which contains a call and response chorus.  The disc closes with the gentle “Ghost of a Chance,” with some ethereal keyboards and another big chorus.

Any fan of 80’s rock will find plenty to enjoy here.  And, if you’re one of the original 4 million that snatched up their debut, you won’t be disappointed with this one either.  –Tony Peters