John Payne & Erik Norlander's Dukes Of The Orient ~ Dukes Of The Orient (aka debut) (album review) ... Asia Featuring John Payne ends in glory!

Style: prog rock, hard rock
Label: Frontiers.
Year: 2018
Home: California

Members: John Payne ~ lead vocals/guitars/bass
Erik Norlander ~ keyboards/b. vocals

Additional: Jay Schellen ~ drums
Guthrie Govan, Bruce Bouillet, Jeff Kollman, Moni Scaria ~ guitars
Molly Rogers ~ strings

After the death of original Asia frontman John Wetton, the band Asia Featuring John Payne was retired ... only to be soon reborn as the Dukes Of The Orient with a much anticipated debut album on the home run making label Frontiers Music. I say 'home run', as while there's been albums they've released I've not personally liked, I honestly can't think of anything I've heard that wasn't top notch quality, particularly from older musicians who have been on the scene for decades. Frontiers is great when a musician needs a bit of a re-invention, or shot of inspiration to get back to doing what they do best. Since keyboardist Geoff Downes left Asia to join the re-union of the original line-up, leaving Wetton successor John Payne to carry on as Asia Featuring John Payne, recordings had been numerous by the reunion group but few by the Payne led version. Honestly, I wish it was the opposite. I liked some of what I heard by the re-united original Asia, but there was a lot of filler & a lot of it sounded more like Wetton-Downes than a group effort, while I liked most of what I heard by Asia Feat. John Payne but just wanted more. Payne's writing has always been top-notch & I would propose maybe better than the early overly commercial Asia hits. I also love his deep voice far better than Wetton's. I think he has one of the strongest baritones in the rock world, even more so than Paul Rodgers. While Downes successor in keyboardist Erik Norlander might just be one of the best prog-rock keyboardists on the scene of the last decade. His solo effects I have reviewed here & highly recommend. I also have felt Downes might be a good composer, but he always had a light touch to my ears. Norlander is much more willing to take musical chances & brought a heavier non-commercial feel to the Asia sound. Maybe I'm biased. A decade after first discovering Norlander I can recall many of his keyboard bits, whereas I can't hum a single note I've ever heard Downes play, including from Yes & the Buggles. Thus, every bit of new music from Payne, Norlander & company, even if under a new name & classy retro look, is exciting & much welcomed. Yes, the self-title debut by the Dukes Of The Orient lives up to expectations. There is a fine line between the two entities. Payne & Norlander are now the primary members of the Dukes, but are joined by some past members of Asia Feat John Payne & Asia. While the album includes "Seasons Will Change", which was released years earlier with a video under the name of Asia Feat. John Payne. Its thus hard to persuasively argue that the Dukes is not essentially Asia. Though, I do not know how much else on the album dates from pre-Duke recording sessions. There could be a lot or a little, so that missing info will sway me to if I see this as Dukes or Asia with a new name. For years there was talk of a new Asia Feat. John Payne album tentatively named Americana, so is this those lost recordings? I don't know. For the sake of argument, for a moment let's say there is no difference between the two groups. In that case, thank you god for aligning the stars to have Payne & company release this album. Now, let's say outside some overlap Dukes is a new musical entity. In that case, thank you god for keeping alive the sound of Payne & company that so many of us have enjoyed & supported, even saw in concert (in the famed Manhattan concert of only Payne & Norlander where his keyboard's computer rebooted mid-solo). Asia Feat. John Payne was a powerhouse group making some amazing heavy prog that I didn't hear elsewhere, while Payne's voice hasn't aged a day. When he would sing "Military Man" with earlier line-ups of Asia you felt like he was a proud soldier in the heat of battle, far different than so many of his prog peers who sang with more a cosmic feeling regardless of the lyrical content. When he laments here of "Strange Days" you can feel his heart tearing from his chest. I find myself singing along even. It helps that the album isn't full of cliched cliched songs of love or typical rock odes to one's lustful desires. He has something to sing about & put his heart into. "Brother In Arms", "Time Waits For No One", "A Sorrow's Crown", "A Fourth Of July," "Give Another Reason" are the titles on the Dukes album. Out of 8 songs that's a lot that don't give any hint that this will be a bang bang girl guy cock rock song. As he sings in the rockin' "Brother In Arms": "In this life / do not forsake me / scorch the land of misery ... My brother in arms / I cannot take anymore  ... My brother in arms / why are we fighting this war." Powerful stuff, made even better with a great ascending melody the shows how strong Payne's vocals are. Thus, what was started with Asia continues here without any shortcuts, via great emotional singing & unpredictable musical landscapes. The Dukes craft songs where every instrument contributes to the groove, versus just a bland riff or a beat with some solos. These are well crafted songs that sound inspired. I enjoyed this album when it debuted. Listening again years later to write this review, I come away from the experience with the same feeling as the first listen: I'm left breathless, my heart has been pumping a bit faster, my emotions exhausted after a wonderful musical journey. Its an experience, not just music to listen to in the background. The Dukes website reads: "If you like albums such as Aqua, Aura, or Silent Nation then Dukes Of The Orient is for you!" Honestly, I think this is far better than all three of those album, as Dukes Of The Orient take it up a notch with less filler, a harder edge & more memorable songs. This is the Asia Feat John Payne you've been waiting for, now staking their royal claim.

Erik Norlander ~ The Galactic Collective (album review) ... Space Force won't protect you from this galactic assault!

Style: instrumental, prog-rock, hard rock
Label: Think Tank Media
Year: 2010
Home: California

Members: Erik Norlander ~ keyboards/guitars
Mark Matthews ~ bass
Nick LePar ~ drums
Freddy DeMarco ~ guitar

Additional: John Payne ~ guitar/vocals
Mitch Perry, Mark McCrite, Ron Redfield ~ guitars
Lana Lane ~ vocals


I've reviewed the live DVD of this album, but what about the original studio version? Live versions are never an exact replica of their studio counterparts as there's always a difference, whether it be instrumentation or augmented instrumentation, performers, pacing, recording & production quality, mistakes or just the sheer energy of the performer or audience at the gig. Well, take your pick whether you want to enjoy the live concert with narration & a few less guest guitarists or the studio album that inspired the concert ... you're not going to be disappointed with either of these EN releases & you might even want them both ... the DVD comes with a CD too, so you're all set for a long car ride. Both have great production quality, so that's not an issue, plus the same core group of musicians. The other fact is being instrumental music, except for some chorus vocals, with a non-improvised background, keeps the arrangements very similar in both settings. I'm sure there's a difference in the number of keyboards EN uses here versus on stage & there might be some guitar overdubs missing, but I believe only a diehard fan will get particular or anxious over those things ... the rest of us will hear the essence & not the individual tonal changes. So, all that being said, is there is a difference? Yes, this has a more layered feeling so its sounds thicker & fuller at times. Further, while the obvious focus is EN's keyboards, for me the live show with less overdubs gives a bit more prominence to his melody lines, or I should properly say they stand out more, whereas here sometimes they float into the mix & it's just this wave of sound where at times you don't know if you're a hearing a guitar or a keyboard or both. It should be noted the live DVD includes the "Astrology Suite" of "i. Astrology Prelude/ii. Secrets Of Astrology", but here's its only the "Astrology Prelude", while this album includes "Dreamcurrents" but the live concerts features the complete "Into The Sunset Suite" of "i. Sunset Prelude/ii. Into the Sunset/iii. Dreamcurrents/iv. Hymn/v. Into the Sunset Reprise/vi. Sunset Postlude". But, this CD includes "Capture The Sun" which isn't on the live DVD. Now that list might make you want to get the live album over this studio album. For those that like a prog song going into double digits of length, three of the songs here hit the ten minute mark & nothing is less than five minutes ... & never once does a song sound like it drags or needs some scissors, even with the contemplative sounding "Dreamcurrents". The live concert is obviously longer, but I personally like my prog short & to the attack. I'm more likely to listen to something for five minutes that is tight, in your face & leaving you wanting more than ten minutes that leaves me satisfied. So, if what is here or not is an issue for you consider, then do you like your prog to the point & never potentially going on too long or do you like when things are given their full fare & really developed out? As I said, either way will lead to a good buy. I do have to do a special mention of one musician in this line-up. They're all great, though I find it interesting John Payne contributes guitars & not his trademark bass, reminding us he's also quite a proficient guitarist & has played guitar on all the Asia albums. But, I find myself particularly fascinated & engrossed with the driving force & the tonal quality of bassist Mark Matthews who lays down these underlying repeated grooves for EN & the rest of the troop to play off of, but they're unlike anything I've heard. When I think prog bass I think of Chris Squire of Yes, but sadly I've never gotten into his lines as they were cosmic without the groove. This is more akin to Billy Sheehan but without the unnecessary flash. Just a nice deep low-end that keeps the songs grounded. I find myself wanting to pick up my bass to learn what he's playing. For those not familiar with this project, that spurred not just the live DVD/CD but also a DVD/CD of this album being played in the studio with great 'behind-the-scenes' explanations of each song by EN & his different keyboards, no it's not a compilation, even though that's what the word collective brought to my mind until I went through the detailed liner notes ... but, on the other hand, it is a compilation ... just with a different approach. This is a collection of EN's favorite instrumental tracks from his catalog of work including both his solo albums & bands he's been in, including going back to his first solo album Threshold in 1997. But, as is typical, these have not been haphazardly pulled together & given a greatest hits compilation ... but re-imagined & re-recorded. Basically, new versions of songs given anything from new arrangements, to new instrumentation, to a new feeling, to a fusion of the studio original with later live versions ("After The Revolution") & to songs created on the road not recorded in the studio before ("Garden Of The Moon"). All the songs have appeared repeatedly over EN's career usually through different live versions popping up with different band configurations on different albums, though "Neurosaur" & "Fanfair For Absent Friends" have actually been given new studio versions in the past. Though, as I said on review of the live DVD, I've not heard all of the source albums for the included tracks, so I can't say if these are better than the past or, except for a few I have heard, how different they are. I will assume many reading this album might be in the same position, so I'll just say on the whole you won't be disappointed. This is a prog rock album with a bit of an edge. Most prog fans that I've met love EN's work, so if you're new the comeback of the genre or like out of the ordinary rock or instrumental albums, though this is not easy listening, you won't be disappointed with this collection. & it'll be your homework to hunt up the originals & compare. For those not familiar with EN he's in my book one of the best prog-pianists in the scene, right there with Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater. His career is long & winding moving beyond his own solo albums with his band Rocket Scientists & work with his wife Lana Lane whose albums I also highly recommend, plus more famously as the keyboardist in Asia Featuring John Payne & a long catalog of session work. He also works with the Moog organization developing their new keyboards ... & even educates through his career about Moog, an instrument I never thought much of beyond a name until getting into EN. A Moog Ambassador or Ambassador of Moog? Maybe best to forget about titles & just stick with the music ... & the title for that is The Galactic Collective.

Erik Norlander ~ The Galactic Collective: Live In Gettysburg (DVD review) ... Let the battle begin!

Style: instrumental, prog-rock, hard rock
Label: Think Tank Media
Year: 2012
Home: California

Concert location: Rites Of Spring Festival, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Year Recorded: 2011
Length: 2 hours
Bonus Features: two CDs of the concert, bonus track from 2010 concert

Members: Erik Norlander ~ keyboards/narration
Mark Matthews ~ bass
Nick LePar ~ drums
Freddy DeMarco ~ guitar
Lana Lane, Debriss McKinney ~ vocals

Guest: Michelle Moog-Koussa ~ introduction

I've reviewed keyboardist-composer-pianist EN's vocalist wife Lana Lane, I've reviewed his band Asia Featuring John Payne, I've dropped his name as a favorite litmus test for contemporary prog-rock keyboardists & composers, let alone regularly encouraged the discovery of his growing catalog ... so, it's about time I finally reviewed his own work. The fact that he has two new simultaneously released DVDs, both including two CDs & detailed packaging, not just works for my schedule but is also very exciting. They're based on his earlier CD The Galactic Collective that featured reworked versions of favorite songs from his career. But, now, we get to discover the project a new way via videos of the original studio sessions, extensive interviews, alternative audio versions & a second DVD of the album & a bit more on stage. It's a grand concept of doing everything sans turning the album into a picture book or redoing it with other musicians in a self-tribute format or rearranging it for a Romanian gypsy band! Though, if EN wants to pursue any of the above ... The problem is, both as a fan & a reviewer, I don't know what to say in response either to the project as a whole, or this particular live DVD The Galactic Collective: Live At Gettysburg. What more can be said about EN that hasn't already been said by reviewers? "Keith Emerson was so impressed with EN's Threshold, that he wrote the liner notes" ... let alone handed off his keyboard tech ... "evocative synthesizer technique is reminiscent of the legendary Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson & Jon Lord, while still very unique & forward-moving in its own right" ... "all his recordings are recommended" ... "well thought out & packaged with the fan in mind" ... "EN's star is certainly in the ascendant at the moment" ... "In these days where mediocrity is celebrated & true ability often ignored it is wonderful to see a musical craftsman of EN's stature receiving praise for his many talents." I recently posted in my other blog a brief interview with Erik about the releases, where he discussed their background & his current activities, so I don't wish to repeat that here, but instead let you investigate his own words. So, I'm left with only some general off-the-cuff responses to watching him & his troupe, including wife Lane, in concert during 2011's Rites Of Spring Festival, indeed at the looming battleground. First, though I enjoy his playing I'm not obsessively familiar with it. I don't know what song reinterpreted here appeared on what album or when, nor even how it originally sounds, nor who performed it previously. I have a handful of his albums, some I've listened to & some I haven't found time for yet. For some bands who reinterpret their own catalog, knowledge of the past is part of the experience. You need the comparison to fully comprehend the new creative process & outcome. I'm reminded of the final INXS album where they brought in guests to sing all their old hits, that were reworked in every way but the familiar. Or, for example, it helps knowing Metallica before you can really enjoy Van Canto. To enjoy or not enjoy these new album you really needed to know the roots. While, for an example closer to home, John Payne of Asia re-recording older Asia songs, before his time in the band, might be decried by some long term fans but the jump isn't so big where you really don't need one to appreciate the other. So, on some level for EN's new work I might be missing out, but I don't feel the loss is that big & I don't think anyone should worry coming to the project. EN has not recrafted the songs to reflect changing bandmates, as The Galactic Collective is a new band assembled for this project with their future unknown, nor to mark a career moment or revival, nor to discover a new style of music. EN is not making a leap from prog pianist to gypsy prog king & needing to demonstrate how the old songs hold in up a new folk context. He's recrafted the songs for his own enjoyment - the end. Though, if you know of a gypsty band he might be interested ... The Galactic Collective also focuses on the instrumentals, which have sometimes gotten lost in between his vocal output. With this new band, based on his narration in the concert as he introduces each song with a little background giving the whole show an intimate feeling, he's given his works a more edgy rock feel than may have been delved into before. Certainly, the show stomps forward & is the more rock end of prog then hypnotic trance-like or drug-like, depending on the decade. It might even stomp a bit too much as, having not heard the original release or seen the companion DVD yet, I was expecting a roller-coaster of emotional contexts. Songs full of soft moments next to cacophonic prog. Extreme variation that was more akin to a greatest hits ride. There's no solo piano moments here, no Wakeman-esque flourished showcase with a spotlight only on EN, & everything is kept within a rock mood creating a sense of cohesiveness & flow. The songs meander like traditional prog, but they also stay linked into a groove that keeps things focused, courtesy of a masterful powerhouse finger aching bassist & a laidback 60's drummer who never seems to break a breath. Focus & groove is something not often distinguished in the prog vocabulary & show's the modern feel of EN's music. EN rotates his solos with guitar solos keeping things squarely in the format of rhythm section with lead melody lines versus an intertwined rock symphony. He has but two keyboards & a Moog, connected to what he calls a the Wall Of Doom a 6 console control system looming behind him, so there's not even a Rick Emerson look at me moment ... who once had 28 keyboards on stage earning him a Guinness World Record. It's rather modest. While the prog side of me was expecting a bit more variation, at the same time keeping things largely within the same mood means this will be equally enjoyed by the non-prog enthusiast who doesn't want the instrumental spirals & cacophony that the genre is gluttonously famous for. This is not a show that's going to get maudlin. Uplifting is the key word. Vibrant alongside it. Thus, unintentionally, the subtle nature of EN's playing, though still prominent with his trademark heavy use of vibrato, tends to be more a bridge between big moments than a focus. Since most of the songs are instrumentals the focus is undoubtedly on EN who plugs out the melody line. EN fans tend to be divided over if they prefer better his instrumental or vocal works. This is certainly his show, even if some of the songs were written with others in mind. Certainly, with a vocalist he's forced to step back more often than not, while the instrumentals force a lead instrument to come forward. There's a few vocals here with Lana Lane taking the center spotlight & a backing vocalist who often sings sounds over words, something that has a great effect. In the end, its nice seeing both aspects of EN's music in the live venue. As it is, most of us aren't used to a solely instrumental show. As for guitarist Freddy DeMarco, he doesn't overplay, though he does turn in a lot of semi-shredder solos that feel a bit more showy than the music might really need. It would be interesting hearing EN expand his band a bit to including an additional non-rock guitarist, such as a flamenco or classical player, allowing both the rock & non-rock style to sit side by side. Though, for DeMarco's credit he does show a lot of courage by playing the guitar with a violin bow, as made famous by Jimmy Page & barely repeated since, & doesn't show-off or so much solo but actually uses it as a strange new sound. For those wondering, no, this does not sound like Rocket Scientists or Asia Featuring John Payne or a Lana Lane concert. EN's troupe has its own particular feeling. Perhaps, a bit more rock than EN's other efforts. Also to be noted, Michelle Moog-Koussa, the daughter of of the famed inventor introduces the show ... with a bit of an academic style versus lets get rocked. It keeps sets a tone immediately of an intimate show, which really this feels. The only bonus tracks on this DVD is a clip of Lana Lane's "Garden Of The Moon" live in Cleveland, 2010, though sans Lane. A great little song but some odd camera views, going from static balcony to oddly angled onstage shots & a wobbly back of the audience shot that ties to show the full experience of the theater but fails. It's obviously something that wasn't intended as anything but a rough record of the experience, probably never meant for public consumption. It merits inclusion as its the stage debut of this line-up. The real bonus is in the linear notes which includes lots of photos, an extensive essay of the equipment by his keyboard tech who previously worked for Emerson, lyrics to the few non-instrumentals - though there's a bit too much reliance on rhyming Jon Anderson-esque cosmic sounding lyrics that luckily sound far less cliched when Lane sings them - & an essay on the background of the project by EN himself. The two bonus CDs reproduce the entire concert sans the introductions, making it feel like a slightly different experience. Some live concerts require the visual, while others just aren't that interesting visually. Being stuck immobile behind a keyboard may not be the most exciting thing, but watching EN casually work his magic in front of his Wall Of Doom has its treats ... while listening to it with only one's thoughts has its own set of treats.

Lana Lane ~ El Dorado Hotel (album review) ... With candy on the pillow!

Stye: progressive
Label: Think Tank Media
Year: 2012
Home: California

Members: Lana Lane ~ vocals
Erik Norlander ~ keyboards/guitars/bass/programming

Guests: John Payne ~ b. vocals/mandolin
Guthrie Govan, Bruce Bouillet, Freddy DeMarco, Neil Citron ~ guitars
Mark McCrite ~ guitars/bass/mandola/programming/hand claps/b. vocals
Don Schiff ~ stick bass/hand claps
Mark Matthews ~ bass
Jay Schellen ~ drums

In high school my musical tastes made me a total retro geek. Besides the Top 40 bands on the grunge dominated scene I tended to find comfort within a couple genres: classic jazz, blues & 70's prog, all of them feeding into each other as the prog rockers wanted to be jazzbos & the blues-rooted jazzbos inspired the prog rockers. I went nuts over the multiple layers of Yes, decrying Pink Floyd who weren't doing enough. I eventually moved away from the prog-rock genre as I felt the movement to be dead with the dawn of the 80's & in the 90's whatever scene did exist was too far underground for my reach & what was above ground I'd felt I'd exhausted or was just not interested in. Unbeknownst to me the scene was still alive & much larger than expected, but so many of the older bands were out of print &/or somewhat obscure, while contemporaries such as Radiohead, Dream Theater, Asia & Marillion were too far from what I defined as prog proper. I've since come to have an appreciation for these groups & how they were keeping a movement alive by molding it to new musical trends & influences. But, at heart I've remained a child of the 70's template: the wandering staircase guitar solos, elaborate keyboard hurricane interludes, multi-part songs, odd dynamic rhythms, symphonic wind tunnels & esoteric mysterious lyrics. Though, as all prog fans know, sometimes this could all get disastrously carried away into the land of uninspired directionless rambling. In the last decade not just have there been discoveries & reissues of long lost forgotten bands but current musicians have worked on bringing back what made the 70's scene so exciting & stripping away that which came later making it stale & pretentious & over-commercialized. Vocalist LL is one of the keepers of the traditional flame bringing prog-rock into a new century pulling together all that has come before while still tapping into all that modern musical trends & technology can offer to heighten the experience. There's quite a handful of folks out there keeping prog alive, particularly in the metal world that has largely adopted the form as its own, but most are instrumentalists with few nameable solo vocalists outside of Yes's Jon Anderson. LL is thus largely playing her own game, particularly as a woman vocalist, & she's playing with bursts of fire tamed & controlled with mesmerizing creativity. Her name may not be familiar to many readers but LL is no new face on the block. She's been on the scene for at least 15 years, 10 studio albums & toured extensively with the Rocket Scientists & The Galactic Collective. After a five year gap since her last solo album LL returns with the unassumingly titled El Dorado Hotel. As always, she's accompanied by keyboardist/songwriter & husband Erik Norlander, the king of prog-rock piano if Jordan Rudess ever decides to vacate his popularly chosen title. Filling in the holes is an array of friends including the entire line-up of Norlander's other gig Asia Featuring John Payne including former guitarist Guthrie Goven, plus Mark Matthews & Freddy DeMarco from Norlander's Galactive Collective which also includes LL, while Mark McCrite, Neil Citron & Don Schiff go back to LL's 1995 debut. In this tapestry called El Dorado Hotel don't look for allusions to Hotel California ... except that both are welcoming the listener to another world, though in the Eagles case it was a single hotel while for LL it's a world in ten epics. In LL's world are thick crunchy chords of guitars & keyboards that might today be called prog-metal but once upon a time could be heard with abandon in Yes ... lacing together a musical tour-de-force that doesn't fall into the trap of overly technical solos that drag down the energy & focus ... while Norlander makes the keyboard sound like everything but a keyboard & sometimes his illusion makes one question if he's actually keeping a full orchestra in his studio that he's forgotten to give linear note credit to ... highlighted by comforting vocals that go from a whisper to the cries of Athena giving courage as a battle of feelings, emotions & passing moments is waged ... with gothic shadows haunting the turns of the soldiers. LL doesn't necessarily have the most immediately recognizable voice. It's not crooked like Greg Lake nor does it dominate or try to cut through the music like Jon Anderson, but instead glides over & through the music riding it like waves ... accentuating it. Part of the hidden magic of El Dorado Hotel is how it's a journey of interlaced ideas & images ... the droplets of one song spawning the ocean of the next. The El Dorado Hotel is not a particular place but mystical metaphor for the past, present & future. The addictive rock opener "A Dream Full Of Fire", that will have one hitting repeat to hear it again & again forgetting that it's not the only song to be heard, sets the journey in motion with: "A hot summer rain washes away/all the tears of yesterday/& when it is done/the afterglow/you'll finally know/which way to go". Knowing which way to go after moving away from yesterday's pain - this is a journey of beginnings. As the traveler takes to the road maybe we'll meet again after years gone by (i.e "Maybe We'll Meet Again") in our current travels (i.e. "El Dorado"). But, don't assume it's a movement from place to place as it could just as likely be from hopes & dreams to differing hopes & dreams, for cannot the traveler "hear El Dorado calling you/like a dream out of the blue" (from "El Dorado"), as it's hopes & dreams that makes things possible in the end (i.e. "Darkness Falls"). Yet, within this there's also to be found fear, sorrow & loneliness (i.e. "Darkness Falls", "Hotels"). But, only at the lowest point can the traveler finally truly move forward as "we've got a new life/& we're leavin' today" (from "Believe") bringing celebration at the closing of the day(i.e "Life Of The Party"). Yet, don't be surprised as what happens after a party is a new day laced with fading memories of the night before (i.e. "Gone Are The Days") & uninvited ghosts that call out the traveler's name (i.e "Moon God"). Suddenly the traveler has gone from moving forward to being stuck in the past ... its this return to the beginning, to the "tears of yesterday" & "afterglow", with which comes the revelation that there is "a place in the sun at the end of the world/you think about he days & nights that brought you to this place". Everything comes back to the start because "you can be anyone cause you are free" ("Exile"). So, however far one travels the secret in the end is not where we've gone or where we're going but where we want to go. The ebb & flow of the songs on El Dorado Hotel is nearly magical. It's the long lost art of programming & not the modern artless world of singles. Some, maybe even LL & Norlander, might say that this is no concept album & there's no story. But, if laying songs together in a particular order can make something appear that isn't intended to be there ... that's called musical magic, & maybe then there really isn't a story after all, it's just a dream ... just another lonely hotel. There's repetition in the ideas of the songs but not in the music itself & one will be dragged away into a cornucopia of musical ideas that somehow remain uncluttered, but yet they also require more than a casual listen to get the full power of the instrumentation & arrangements. Heavy metal breaks with flights of Yanni-esque ambiance sit aside each other comfortably & there should be no surprise if a gypsy melody comes floating along (i.e. "A Dream Full Of Fire") or a Spanish guitar (i.e. "El Dorado"), while even synthesized vocals don't sound out of place (i.e. "Believe") though they are a bit discerning. The art of lengthy songs, or those over 8 minutes, even by such stalwarts as Yes, has always been a tricky game as many languish just as they attempt to get off the ground. LL & company soar instantly at take-off. Some prog albums are solo after solo or jerkily cut from one section to another but these songs are finely crafted with graceful transitions where the transition vanish into the mix versus interrupting it. There's nothing worse than a prog-rock epic that sounds like it was numerous songs stuck together. These songs flow so much together that under a distracted listen one might think it's all one grand symphonic piece. Which, honestly, might be the biggest problem with the release. Prog rock has never been meant for casual listening. This is a crafted album. But, do people have the attention span any more to give it anything but a one ear listen? Will anyone be able to hear the music as it moves from the eye of the storm to the winds themselves to safety far away? Will anyone care that LL & Norlander are a rare breed of craftsman in a modern age when electronics make even the craftsman lazy? Will anyone hear this as more than just a collection of genre-expanding songs? Check them out & come to your own decision ... it's such a lovely place, a lovely face ...

Asia Featuring John Payne ~ Military Man (EP) (album review) ... An amazing tribute to the soldiers!

Style: prog-rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2009
Home: California

Members: John Payne ~ vocals/bass
Eirk Norlander ~ keyboards
Guthrie Govan ~ guitars
Jay Schellen ~ drums

Most would probably consider this three track & two radio edits release a single with the obligatory B-sides, which I don't review on this blog, but given the history of AFJP & the lack of ensuing recordings Military Man has come to be an EP in disguise ... being both the introduction & only studio recording of more than just new music but also a new era to the band, if not on some level a new band. In the early 80's supergroup Asia hit the scene with prog-rock stalwarts Geoff Downes, John Wetton, Steve Howe & Carl Palmer. They hit MTV hard with a somewhat prog-ish but heavy commercialized sound, but by their third album had lost the media buzz & even some members. Keyboardist Downes kept the music alive into the next decade with a new line-up, including ex-A-Ha drummer Michael Sturgis & ex-Alice Cooper guitarist Al Pitrelli, who'd go on to Megadeth & Trans-Siberian Orchestra, & brief guest appearances by Howe & Palmer. But, the most important change to this mix was bassist/singer & new frontman John Payne, who also picked up the writing partnership gap left by the departure of Wetton. In an ironic repeat of history the band would find some modest success & some criticism, while everyone would end up leaving, with Payne being the last man standing this time around. The original Asia line-up would regroup, having now produced three albums, but for his efforts Payne would be granted the right to continue now billed as AFJP. Sadly, both group would call themselves the true Asia with fans equally divided. Though, really, they're two completely different bands ... actually three as the reunion is far different now thirty years later. After Downes departure Payne would come to find perhaps the strongest musical foil/partner in his career in keyboardist Erik Norlander. In modern prog-piano circles Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess is often seen as the king of the keys, but due to constant experimentalism & creativity, large output & understanding of when to throw out flourishes & when to hold back Norlander is surely next in line for the thrown if not the real heir, for me anyways, ... but Rudess has the commercial break-through that has eluded Norlander. To inaugurate the permission to continue as Asia, Payne with Norlander, guitarist Guthrie Govan & drummer Jay Schellen, released Military Man with two re-recorded Asia songs while Norlander contributed a re-recorded track from his solo output. Two radio edits were included of the Asia songs, but are completely unnecessary except to fill in space. Two lives tracks would have been a better inclusion, though honestly new music from the quartet would be most welcome. Being that "Military Man" is one of the later era, or the Payne era as it is often referred, Asia songs that was one of their few later day hits this little release comes off as feeling like a single for it. But, the fact that AFJP has yet to release any further studio recordings, live albums are many, though they've been steadily writing, touring & recording, retrospect turns this into an EP. Plus, given the changes to the band its also hard to want to dismiss this as just an EP, but see it as an important point in their timeline. "Military Man" was first heard on the second Payne era Asia album Aria with Pitrelli, Sturgis & Downes, an album that might really live up to its reputation as the best of the Payne era. The changes in the re-recording are subtle yet influential. Pitrelli, taking over from Howe, brought to the band a more hard rock sound that has been retained, while the light touch of Downes has been replaced by the heavier & more varied playing of Norlander. Downes had a sound that sometimes wants to slip into the background, while Norlander carves up an array of layers & nuances missing from the original & steps right into his new spotlight without hesitance. Payne's voice has also slightly changed over the years & has actually become more nuanced, or at least he now sings in a far less restrained manner using his voice to mold the words not just sing them. The ballad "Long Way From Home" appeared on the album Silent Nation that was Downes' swan song & also included Guthrie on guitar & AC/DC drummer Chris Slade. The re-recording of this piece finds a similar outcome with more nuances & inflection than the original, more highs & lows, both in vocals & instrumentation. It's almost as if playing the songs for so long Payne has finally taken them as his own, even if they were both co-written by Downes. The instrumental "Neurosaur" gives all the focus to Norlander & might be the best way of introducing the new guy to the audiences. A re-recording of a track from his debut solo album the new "Neurosaur" is much lighter in feeling. Though technically not an Asia song it fits well into the mix. Asia's comeback Aqua featured some Howe instrumental songs so this is no strange inclusion on that level. "Military Man" might be one of the best songs Payne ever wrote & remains a fan favorite with its patriotic theme & thus its no surprise to be chosen for a new release. Payne & Norlander even reworked acoustically it in 2010 for an online video. So often when a band re-records old songs the result is questionable, if not weaker, & land unceremoniously & immediately on the critic's chopping block. Payne has been no stranger to this after being forced to re-record the early Asia MTV hits for the Anthology release. But, here the result might just be far stronger & less maudlin sounding & without the commercial sheen that the 90's gave to the original release. Further, prog has made a firm comeback so one doesn't have to hide the legacy that Asia stems from & Payne can let his inspiration wander. Many folks will be happy to have the original of these tracks via Aria & Silent Nation, but if for no other reason its worth it to check out this EP just to discover Norlander's genius & hear how much stronger a singer Payne has become. & it's the best that's going to come until AFJP releases its next studio album.