As I sat down to do a retro review of the single of "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes," I realized that I've never reviewed this album. I decided to resolve that issue.
This anthology of songs from John Wetton is quite strong. It’s not all progressive rock, and for the most par even when it lands there, it’s more in the AOR end of the spectrum.
Asia - Archiva 1 Review by Gary Hill This album really is a very pop oriented album. It is included in the progressive section of the reviews because both Geoff Downes and Steve Howe are on the album. More...
Asia - Arena Review by Gary Hill This is not your father’s Asia. In it’s beginnings Asia was a band that was arguably the first progressive rock supergroup -- well, OK, ELP probably has that title, but for various reasons, the crown was placed on Asia’s head at the beginning of their career. More...
In 1994, Asia released Aria which was commercially a bit of a failure. The previous studio record Aqua did much better, but by this time it really was the Geoff Downes/John Payne show.
Asia - Asia Review by Gary Hill When this group rose from the ashes of a dying Yes it seemed like a dream come true for progressive rock fans. Take two parts Yes (OK – one and a half maybe since Geoff Downes was only on one Yes album) in the persons of Geoff Downes and Steve Howe, one third of Emerson Lake and Palmer (Carl Palmer) and add in John Wetton (King Crimson, UK) and make a band. More...
Asia - Astra Review by Gary Hill This album has all of the original lineup of Asia except Steve Howe. The music, however, is much different than what we heard on their debut disc.
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Yes - Drama Review by Gary Hill In 1980 when Yes found themselves without their keyboardist (Rick Wakeman) and vocalist (Jon Anderson), they turned to their manager Brian Lane to see if he had any suggestions. As it was, he was also managing a group called "The Buggles". More...
Yes - Drama - Remastered and Expanded Review by Greg Olma This is the bastard child of the Yes family. Many Yes purists don't acknowledge its existence with even Jon Anderson refusing to play any of the material live. More...
Asia - Fantasia – Live In Tokyo Review by Gary Hill Yes fanatic and general prog head that I’ve always been, when Asia released their debut disc, I was all over it. They were the progressive rock supergroup of the time and they delivered with a killer disc. More...
Asia - Fantasia - Live in Tokyo DVD Review by Gary Hill Asia fans rejoice, the reunion tour is now presented in DVD. I covered the CD release in detail, so you might want to check that out for the specifics about the music. Let’s just say that we get treated to a killer performance of Asia classics, King Crimson, ELP and Yes songs.
Only the second album in the history of Yes to be recorded without Jon Anderson, this one, particularly since it’s the only other Yes disc with Geoff Downes on keyboards, is obviously compared to Drama.
Yes - Greatest Video Hits DVD Review by Gary Hill Originally released on VHS, this collection was put out on DVD in 2005. This video is a collection of videos (many of which have not often been seen) interspersed with interview clips from band members (recorded during the Union tour). More...
Where do I begin on this review? I guess I should start by saying that I’m a Yes fanatic and I have been since I was twelve years old – and for those keeping track, that’s a long time ago.
Yes recently did a couple of tours where they performed some of their studio albums in their entirety. This live recording comes from one of those shows.
I drove to The Symphony Hall and bought a ticket for the night's Yes show at the last minute (literally!). It was a long shot, but it really paid off, as I got a good seat in the stalls.
Asia - Live Koln Review by Gary Hill This double disc set is a very strong chronicle of a live performance by Asia. The repertoire includes material from every phase of their career, and they do a great job of performing it. More...
I knew it would be hard to see Yes without Chris Squire! As "Onward" played, with a white Rickenbacker on stage with a spotlight, I felt myself tearing up.
Now this is more like it!I enjoyed the Payne fronted version of Asia also but if you are a purist, then Omega will certainly satisfy those cravings for original Asia material.
Asia - Phoenix Review by Gary Hill Unless you’ve been living in the proverbial cave for the last few years you probably know that the original lineup of Asia (Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton has reunited). This is their first studio CD of the 21st Century.
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Asia - Rare Review by Gary Hill This disc is a bit of a paradox. Although it was released under the moniker of Asia, the material here was actually recorded by just Geoff Downes and David Payne. More...
Apparently this album was recorded in the 80s, but has never before been released. I have to say that’s a shame. There is some solid music here. It’s definitely progressive rock, but on the AOR side of that equation. I’d say this is far closer to what you’d expect from Greg Lake than it is what you’d expect from Geoff Downes, but both men are represented well by it.
Asia - Silent Nation Review by Gary Hill I remember when Asia's first album was released thinking that it was an intriguing combination of sounds, still basically prog rock, but packaged in very accessible cuts that really rocked. After a while Asia seemed to lose their sense of direction, and I often lost interest. More...
I am a big fan of pretty much anything Billy Sherwood is involved with and I love Supertramp, so when I heard Sherwood was in charge of assembling an all star tribute to Supertramp, I was excited.
One of the cool things about these vintage Asia singles is that the song on the flip side is typically not included on the album. That makes these worth having.
There have been a few books written about the band, Yes but this one really includes the involvement of many of the members of the group through extensive interviews.
This brand new live album from Yes is cool stuff. For one thing, it's great to get live recordings of all the Drama songs. There are also two epics from Tales from Topographic Oceans and the "Leaves of Green" part from "The Ancient" on that album. They round the section out with a few other Yes classics. The live sound is great.
I've seen Yes close to twenty times (more times than I've seen any other band), and I can tell you that despite the technicality of their music and instrumental prowess, no two Yes shows are the same. That's true even when you see them on multiple nights in a row. Each performance is a little different because the music tends to take on a life of its own in live gigs. So, don't expect to hear the studio versions exactly covered here. For one thing, the line-up is different. For another thing, I don't think I've ever heard a live Yes song sound exactly like the studio version. I mean, why would you want that? You can listen to the studio version any time. I think these renditions are very faithful, and bring a new life to the songs at times. I highly recommend this, especially for those (like myself) who really love Drama.
Yes - Yesyears Box Set Review by Gary Hill Released during the flurry of activity surrounding the Union tour, this four CD set is a pricey, but fairly solid addition to the Yes catalog. While any compilation will undoubtedly bring up complaints as to what was included and what was not, this album presents a fairly accurate representation of the chronology of the band. More...
