When Tesla released Five Man Acoustical Jam back in 1990, who would have thought that a new type of performance would emerge within metal and even prog?  MTV had a whole series of unplugged performances that worked so well that they released them on CD.  Even Kiss got in the game and used it to unveil a reunion.  Asia is not one of the bands that I would have thought would strip back their music to do an acoustic set because their tunes were always grand, epic (in a pop single way), and full sounding.  I wasn’t sure if removing  that studio gloss would take away all of the charm that an Asia track brings to the listener.  Thankfully, a release like this puts all those concerns to bed because Asia manages to perform many of the songs in a slightly different way while still maintaining the core identity.  While Geoff Downes remains the mastermind behind Asia here, John Payne handles the lead vocals on the disc. I was always a fan of acoustic versions because I feel that a good song was a good song whether or not it got the full studio treatment.  Asia proved that their tunes were good no matter the rendition,  thus proving my point.  I recommend Live Acoustic to non-Asia fans, as well, because these new versions of classic tunes does take away some of the poppy-ness that turned away so many prog fans.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Things start off with a track that previously had a big sound and driving rhythm. Here the tune takes on a more muted, but very rhythmic approach.  Payne does a great job with vocals, and the music has a stripped down sound while remaining very enjoyable.