Asia Heat of the Moment / Ride Easy (vinyl single) Review by Gary Hill
The old school Asia singles are cool because they generally include b-sides that aren't available on the main albums. This is no exception. I really like the entry here a lot. It's quite a proggy piece. The review for "Heat of the Moment" I've included here is a modification of the one from the album review for the sake of consistency. While this is certainly out of print, it shouldn't be much trouble to get it in the modern age of internet shopping for rarities.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Side 1
Heat of the Moment
It seems like most people will have heard this hit. This cut starts off with a short, somewhat crunchy segment. It drops to a more stripped down segment for John Wetton’s vocals and after the verse a bouncing Buggles meets Steve Howe approach takes over for the chorus. This becomes the alternating pattern until a tentative mellower interlude moves it into the harder rocking take on the verse. There isn’t a lot of Steve Howe on the song proper, but if you listen carefully there are some recognizable fills, and he gets a full solo during the instrumental break where he gets to strut his stuff with style. Carl Palmer shines on that segment quite a bit. Howe keeps soloing right through the energized reprise of the chorus that fades down to end the piece.
Side 2
Ride Easy Intricate keyboard stuff accented by blasts of rock makes up the intro here. The verse section is more stripped back, but Howe brings some great guitar fills to it. I like the chorus to this. It's more AOR styled, but it's also quite coolThe tune gets more involved as it works into the second verse. It also has an intriguing proggy instrumental segment mid-track. There is a Howe dominated instrumental section later, too.
You'll find concert pics of this artist in the Music Street Journal members area.
