It used to be that we wouldn’t review things that were out of print. The theory was, why tell people how great something is, if they can’t get their hands on it. With the modern era of easy (and often reasonable) sources for buying this kind of stuff, that rule seems obsolete. So, with that in mind, we’re looking back at some older stuff. This single includes the opening and closing tracks from Asia’s album Astra. John Wetton returned on the album, bringing back some of the classic sound. However, Steve Howe departed. He was replaced by Mandy Meyer (Cobra and Krokus) lending a bit of a metal edge.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014  Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

This starts off with some retro sounding keyboard tones. It feels a lot like The Buggles in that section. It fires out from there into a rocking jam that’s classic Asia. This gets a bit metallic on the chorus, though. Still, this is the kind of thing that feels by the numbers for this band, but yet is extremely effective. There is some screaming guitar on this, but also a Buggles like break mid-track.