Jon Anderson ~ Song Of Seven (album review) ... Jazz rock meets forest dance!

Style: world beat, prog, folk rock
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1980
Home: England

Members: Jon Anderson ~ vocals/acoustic guitar/keyboards/harp
Damian Anderson, Ronnie Leahy ~ keyboards

Ian Bairnson ~ guitar/bass/b. vocals
Clem Clempson ~ guitar

Jack Bruce, Mel ~ bass

John Giblin ~ fretless bass
Simon Phillips, Morris Pert ~ drums

Johnny Dankworth, Dick Morrissey ~ sax

Deborah Anderson, Chris Rainbow ~ b. vocals

I was as big a Yes fan as one could get in high school. Who was my fave guitarist? Steve Howe. Fave keyboardist? Rick Wakeman. Fave drummer? Bill Bruford. Singer ... you see where this is going (i.e. Jon Anderson & any singer who sounded like him). This was a time when the internet was very young. There was no resource to hear every Yes album, nor even a place to get a list of every album. I discovered Yes' legacy by pouring through music store shelves. With each album I pieced together a new player & historical moment the best I could. A part of me misses those days where a new album might be a many month obsession. To place a little more context on the era, I remember when Yes' Talk was released. I heard it on the radio on the way to high school. After work I ran to the music store before coming home to get the cassette, which was more affordable than the CD. Cherished memories, but I must confess ... Today I don't rush out to buy Yes albums. Actually, I don't listen to them much anymore & don't get excited over new releases. They are still iconic prog rock pioneers, but their new music doesn't grab me like they once did. I don't claim any of the members as a favorite musician anymore, either. All the players currently in the group are super talented & the new albums, both studio & live, are pretty good listens on the whole. They may not ring my bells, but I don't say they are a tribute band that should retire, as some long time fans do. If they came to Portland, Maine I might see them. I've reviewed one of Billy Sherwood's solo albums here happily. Yet, what about the new Yes music doesn't grab me? There's a few little things, but one big thing. Essentially, the thing that instantly got my attention with the very first Yes album I ever bought, which was Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, is the thing that pushes me away now: Jon Anderson's soaring vocals & mystical lyrics. I can't count the hours I have spent memorizing his lyrics & trying to sing like him. I became just as much interested in his solo career as I did Yes. Anything he touched, even with Vangelis though I don't care for that style of music, I wanted to hear. So, when Jon left Yes, so did I. I don't mind the singers that came after him, but they are not the voice of Yes I grew up with & the reason I became a fan on first listen. Sorry, loyalties, you know. My apologies for what is a very long & likely unnecessary introduction to a review of a non-Yes album. I wanted to be clear about my bias. I'm totally biased when it comes to Jon. I would even love to talk to the guy, though I don't know what I would say. When I first heard Song Of Seven, Jon's second solo album, you can imagine from all I've described it was like finding a buried treasure. I spent a lot of time listening to it, having already fallen in love with his debut. Thus, its interesting to come back to it to review decades later, particularly not having heard it in decades & falling out of love with Yes. First, both then & now, its shockingly not Yes, outside of passing moments like a guitar solo in "For You For Me" & some vocal lines in the title track. I'm not sure if Jon was deliberately going for a new musical direction, but Jon solo from day one to the present is not Yes. Lyrically he tends to avoid multi-part songs, & he doesn't create sonic landscapes topographic landscapes with his backing bands to take those lyrics into orbit. He finds a mood &/or style, puts some lyrics into it that are more personal & less abstract than Yes, with the outcome always feeling like a rather simple & modest affair. Considering his later solo work of which I've about half of, I feel that Song Of Seven is where Jon came into being as Jon without Yes. This is where he found his comfort zone & started to explore non-prog directions. This album also debuts his new solo band, the New Life Band, after doing all the instruments himself on his debut. This album lays foundation of so much that would follow in the years to come I feel far more than his debut. I have not reviewed his debut here since it arrived before my cut-off of 1980. With Song Of Seven Jon's vision of what he wants to have his solo career is forming, but its not yet there. Every song here is pretty cool, but there is an uneven musical focus as he is clearly trying to find himself. It would take till the 1990's till I believe he really found his niche, which is not prog or pop rock. The album opens with some songs that might be called jazz-rock. There is the funky cosmic-sounding keyboard-heavy opener "For You, For Me" & the more pop oriented "Some Are Born." From there comes some unexpected R&B with "Don't Forget (Nostalgia)" & danceable "Heart Of The Matter." These two tracks are a complete change of feeling from where the album was but minutes before. Each one of these songs could have spun out an album of their own, but instead we are left wondering where Jon is going next. Its exciting in a chaotic way. Every song is worth a listen, but one wants to hear an album of R&B or maybe more jazz rock. The diversity is like a tease of things not to come here. This diversity is likely due to the fact part of the album was demoed while he was still in Yes recording Tormato. "For You For Me" sounds like a demo for Yes, not too far removed from "Don't Kill The Whale" on Tormato. It even has a Howe-esque lead guitar line that crashes around like waves, courtesy of Clem Clempson of Humble Pie & prog group Colosseum. With the fifth song "Hear It" the album begins to change & fall into a softer more lyrically introspective groove. The keyboards are largely replaced by percussion, flutes & more organic instruments. "Everybody Loves You", "Take Your Time", "Days" & the title track feel more like a cohesive whole of a more new age influenced folk rock album with introspective lyrics, a firm contrast to the first 4 radio friendly songs. This is particularly true over the 11 minutes of the title track that ends on the album on something that might be comparable to modern new age music. Its a bit out of place with its synths going for orchestral sounds over spacey jazz-rock. Only the meandering lead guitar, with a Steve Howe tone, links the two songs as being on the same album. When I was young I like the opening 4 songs far more than the rest of the album. The over the top nature of the songs appealed to youthful me. Though, now in my 40's far from high school prog geek, I actually find everything past those first 4 get my attention far more. The rest of the songs are less glossy & cliched, intricately crafted, introspective & very personal. There is my old age speaking, excuse me. While the R&B of the early tracks is undoubtedly fun, the later half of the album sounds like Jon being Jon & not trying to be anyone else. He is the elf, the spiritual wander, the down-to-earth visionary wandering in the forest. The second half of the album is him speaking his mind crafting something more than just throwaway R&B dance songs, but a musical journey in time & space. He would attempt to find a balance between these 2 sides of his personality in the follow-up albums, with mixed results. His debut didn't have much of this down to earth feel, going for more of a heavy prog experience that always reminded me of keyboardist bandmate Patrick Moraz's early solo albums. Here he really tries to connect with nature & spirituality, almost like he was trying to discover something about himself at this point in time. We are on a journey with him, so this is not really just another album. Its a quite a journey, that is absolutely worth hearing & one of his best earlier solo albums, but be prepared to go all over the place & not necessarily find home. Its been a wonderful ride revisiting this album after so many years.

John Payne's Asia ~ The Collection (hits comp) (album review) ... Don't put a wall around this Asia!

Style: progressive rock
Label: Snapper Music
Year: 2000
Home: n/a

Members: John Payne ~ bass/guitar/vocals
Geoff Downes ~ keyboards/drum programming/b. vocals
Steve Howe ~ lead guitar
Al Pitrelli, Elliott Randall, Aziz Ibrahim ~ lead guitar
Carl Palmer, Mike Sturgis ~ drums

Additional: Simon Phillips, Nigel Glockler ~ drums
Andy Nye ~ keyboards
Scott Gorham ~ guitar

Guests: Tomoyasu Hotei ~ lead guitar
Luis Jardim ~ percussion


There are countless compilation albums out there by the pop-prog early 80's supergroup Asia, which is rather strange considering they only had two successful studio albums before line-up changes leading to a fast fall from the charts & only a couple certified AOR hits in the mix. But, of course, it's always the bands that are one hit wonders or quasi-one hit wonders that seem to have enough hits for a full on compilation & countless variations of such via reissue after reissue ... & the world of music PR & royalty payments would want it no other way. The big bands are too expensive to reissue, but let's maximize the potential of the smaller bands with lower royalty rates & make them the Kmart discount bin favorite & in the end make the hits seem bigger than they really were ... though Asia really did hit the top of the charts with all its glory, they just didn't stay there long. Plus the fact Asia is a catchy memorable name that doesn't belay too much of what the music sounds like, while featuring famed alumni of Yes, the Buggles, King Crimson & Emerson, Lake & Palmer makes them a special quasi-one hit wonder even more ripe for countless run of the mill skimpy packaging reissues for unsuspecting buyers looking for a surprise. But, having said all that, this European compilation might be the most interesting & unique sounding collection of Asia that, intentionally or not, shows a different side to the band. Not the most representative, just unique. But, first, like many Asia collections the contents are a bit deceptive to the unknowing new fan. This is not the original hit making line-up of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, John Wetton & Carl Palmer, nor the Mandy Meyer third album line-up, but the fourth album Asia featuring keyboardist Downes with new bassist/vocalist John Payne & a rotating mix of drummers & guitarists including future Megadeth guitarist Al Pitrelli in an under-utilized almost throwaway role. The John Payne era, as its regularly labeled, is often featured on compilations with the collected songs starting from album four, Payne's debut, & being deceptively labeled as hits though the hits were already a decade past & with a different line-up. The deception is expanded upon by the inclusion of the early hits, "Only Time Will Tell", "Heat Of The Moment" & "Don't Cry", though that last one is mysteriously missing from this particular release, but all of these having been re-recorded note perfect by Payne & Downes. For the release of the first major official greatest hits package Anthology lawsuits prevented the original songs from being used, thus remakes were created & its these remakes that get reissued & reissued hoping no one will realize the difference or maybe will think they are alternative versions or something is just wrong with the vocal track. The fact that the re-makes are stunningly accurate makes the deception that much worse for consumers. Except for the vocal tone it's hard to even criticize the remakes, though to be fair it would have been better to re-invent the songs. Dumping the remakes, between the two eras a nice greatest hits package could be created ... but this is not it & it has yet to happen & probably never will now that two bands tour under the Asia name one with Payne & his current line-up & the other with the original line-up. While poor Mandy Meyer doesn't get a chance. Thus, we are left with piecemeal greatest hits packages like Anthology & The Collection. The lack of "Don't Cry" here while odd is unintentionally perfect. It indirectly verifies that this Payne era collection is not a greatest hits collection, but just a collection as the title says. While it's a collection featuring an unusual choice of songs, that is things that usually don't make the reissues. The selections are dominated by a more ballady AOR side of Asia, versus the rocking prog that mark the hits. At times it doesn't even sound like Asia in any era. The songs are dominated & driven by Downes keyboards, as they would be for much of the Payne era, while the more gutsy Payne songs are excluded. The guitar focused tracks are the Payne era tracks that featured former member Steve Howe in a guest role & are light weight instrumentals that were no more than transitional moments on the original studio releases, including the Santana sounding "Into The Arena", the classical tinged "Bella Nova", plus "Ginger" & "Aria". These are culled from the studio albums Arena, the third Payne release, & Aria, the second Payne release, & Archiva 1 an outtakes collection. It's as if the reissue grabbed every later era Howe song they could, though actually there's a few missing that might be better choices. Alongside these are two of the standout tracks from the Payne era in "Military Man" & "Someday". Again, this is not a greatest hits album & doesn't even come close to collecting the hits of either era. What remains are lesser tracks from the first three Payne albums (i.e. "Lay Down Your Arms", "Back In Town", "Don't Cut The Wire (Brother)", "Arena", "U Bring Me Down") & some tracks from the two part Archiva albums that collected outtakes, demos, songs that never made the cut & tracks from early in the Downes/Payne partnership (i.e. "Boys From Diamond City", "Don't Come To Me", "The Smoke That Thunders", "Armenia"), plus "A.L.O." that comes from Paynes brief time in ELO. The Collection ends up feeling like something akin to a B-Sides collection. As time went on Asia with Payne would become much more gutsy with more focus on his vocals, but in the early days there was a deliberate attempt to have a smooth transition from John Wetton's lighter vocal approach & with the heavy amount of Archiva tracks that transition moment is the feeling here. The transition time also predates any guitarist other than Payne to contribute fancy leads so thus the cause of the keyboard dominance as Asia really was just a duo at this time. Sadly, some folks may buy this & be surprised when they go to check out other albums by the band. This is always the case with compilation albums, no matter how carefully put together, but maybe even more so with this release. While it may be even sadder the fact that the gutsy feeling Payne brought the band that clearly separates him from the original line-up is lost here.

Asia ~ Aqua (album review) ... Trying hard not to drown!

Style: British, rock, prog rock
Label: InsideOut Music
Year: 1992
Home: n/a

Members: Geoff Downes ~ keyboards/b. vocals
John Payne ~ bass/guitar/vocals
Al Pitrelli ~ guitar

Additional: Michael Sturgis, Simon Phillips, Nigel Glockler ~ drums
Ant Glynne, Scott Gorham ~ guitar
Mats Johanson ~ guitar solo

Guests: Steve Howe ~ guitar/mandolin
Carl Palmer ~ drums

This quasi-comeback album with a retooled line-up is not a bad step in new direction, it was good enough to initiate a new era, but it has some weaknesses. All of the weaknesses, which get heavily debated in Asia fan circles & has led to a division among fans over which line-up they prefer, largely get cleaned-up on the follow-up Aria. The result is this might be the more experimental album when it comes to its musical palette yet also more in line with the old Asia sound, while the follow-up has a stronger set of songs & is closer to what Asia would become. That being said, both albums are important moments on the Asia timeline & necessary purchases for any fan & will rise or fall largely dependent on what sound one wants to hear. While original member Geoff Downes had recruited singer/bassist John Payne to step into the shoes of John Wetton in the new line-up not all the material for this re-tooled line-up was written from scratch. Some songs were new, but others came from Payne's previous band while other came from an earlier reunion attempt & not written for Payne's voice. Payne enters his new gig shining with a strong vocal presence, but there are times the production feels like the band is trying to lesson the wide gap between his & Wetton's singing styles & vocal tones. Personally I find Payne the stronger & more textured singer & thus this cover-up approach on a couple songs ends up weakening the material as it tries to stand too much in the shadow of the past. Partly in response to this Payne's vocals would be up & center with no imitative moments on Aria. It also ends up making this feel like a transitional album versus a clear strong step in new directions, something also repaired on Aria where a majority of the songs were new. Payne's vocals is one of the most noticeable changes on the new album as traditionally Asia had somewhat of a focus around Steve Howe's guitar playing, but here he's only a guest on a couple tracks primarily in some intro/outro instrumentals & not involved with the songwriting. Unable to even begin to emulate Howe's style the remaining guitar playing on the album is in a completely different mode that takes Asia in a new hard rock direction away from the pop prog, all courtesy of famed session player & former Alice Cooper guitarist Al Pitrelli. Successive guitarists would come to find a fusion between Howe's pop prog & Pitrelli's rock for some hard rock & far more interesting prog. Pitrelli does contribute some strong playing by not over-playing, almost to the point of perfect under-playing for the biggest impact, but it leaves the guitar in an accessory position versus an intricate contributor. Though, while it might be some strong playing this is not an album to turn to for his best playing. His soloing skills are under-utilized for instead textured rhythms a la 80's power chords which is indistinguishable from countless sessions he was doing at the time, including Donny Osmond & Taylor Dayne. The fact he didn't write the songs, like Howe, but was called in later in their development, the same as would be done on Aria, would never really give him a chance to shine with Asia while the band would come to move into a more keyboard dominated direction. This lack of contribution & the thin line between member & guest makes Asia less of a band & basically a Downes/Payne outing with some hired hands. This might be the weakest link of both Aqua & Aria as it limits the potential, though in their defense at the time this was the most workable approach to moving Asia into the future. The drumming also deserves mention as this new line-up was touted as only partially new. Promotional material made it look like the new boys were only Payne & Pitrelli, while Downes & Howe had returned along with drummer Carl Palmer. But, this was far from true. Howe's tracks were recorded before Pitrelli was recruited, while Palmer contributed three tracks early on. The rest of the drum tracks would be done by three session drummers imitating Palmer's lines from previous recordings, one of whom was Michael Sturgis who had already been considered for an earlier reunion of Asia & on Aria would be credited as a regular member. So, those who gravitate to this new Asia hoping for Palmer & Howe are going to be greatly disappointed. But, if you put away that need this is a solid album with some good songs & some others you'll probably gloss over, but in the end not be disappointed as the material remains strong underneath its weaknesses & the guys do turn in a solid album even if it needs some tightening. As I started this blog saying, it's not a bad step in a new direction.

Trevor Rabin ~ Jacaranda (album review) ... Yes you will like this!

Style: instrumental, experimental country-rock, jazz-rock
Label: Varese Sarabande
Year: 2012
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Trevor Rabin ~ guitar/keyboards/bass/b. vocals

Guests: Vinnie Colaiuta, Lou Molino III, Ryan Rabin ~ drums
Tal Wilkenfeld ~ bass
Liz Constantine ~ vocals

For those expecting TR the Yes 1980's songcrafter who create slick pop prog ... sorry, look elsewhere & don't look back. This is a much more musically mature & experimental TR tainted by a post-Yes career doing numerous movie soundtracks & allowed to go beyond wannabe pop chart hits. This instrumental collection could best be described as a dozen faces of TR on overdubbed solo guitar & keyboards, with a few friends & even his son to spice up the mix. Though, a dozen might be too small of a number for the many hats that TR ends up wearing. "Spider Boogie" is a country boogie on both electric & acoustic guitars, very Steve Howe-ish, while there's the similar "Gazania" that has a New Age feel yet also swings in a very bluegrass way. It's a shock to hear the amount of country/bluegrass flavor on this album. Can you get any farther from Yes or what we might expect from a former member? Playing slide on a steel guitar is the instrument of choice for many melody lines, though its used a bit too much across the album but thankfully doesn't always dominate every melody. Yet, at the same time, "Market Street" is Yes all the way with organ & chugging bass & Yes-like variety in the arrangement. But, with a vocal line played out by an acoustic guitar instead of a vocalist it has a much more complicated feel than Yes ever did. But, really, TR turned in some very complicated songs for Yes to share, the problem was they weren't twenty minute meanderings like before so they sounded weaker & the heavy commercial pop sheen didn't help. But, all the bass, keyboards & guitar lines were well thought out by TR long before he ever brought them to the band to be re-recorded, especially for the first of his three Yes albums 902125. So, who really sounds like who? Is TR copying Yes or did he make Yes who copied him? But, the Yes moments are few & far between on Jacaranda. You get the nostalgic moment & then its over. TR wants to instead share with you his skills playing everything but pop rock. Bringing together musical styles is what he's come to do best, but Yes cut all that away showing a very small piece of what TR can create. Now, he wants to remind you that he's also quite a competent jazz guitarist. "Anerley Road" opens with a few straight ahead Joe Pass jazz bit, before leading into a more esoteric feeling song. The jazz motif is continued with "Freethought" that is much more straight ahead jazz quartet sounding & its hard to call it anything but straight trad jazz with an organ & guitar covering some great dynamic changes. Even when a second guitar comes in for a solo it's still more jazz. "Zoo Lake" takes the similar jazz feeling though the slide guitar gives it a bit of a country feel. Here's the Yes moment, the country moment, the jazz moment & now let's mix them all together. No expectations is the only expectation for Jacaranda. But, there's still another side of TR he wants us to hear. He's got a love of classical trills tucked up his sleeve or in his guitar bag. Almost out of place comes "Killarney 1 & 2" that's a solo piano piece. Of course, we know TR can play the piano, though probably you didn't expect a nearly full on classical feeling, while in "2" the piece goes up-tempo & is joined by guitar for an intricate piece. There's also the out of place & feeling incomplete "Rescue" with an operatic vocalist singing wordless vocals, very Cirque de Soleil. It feels like a bridge for a story that's not being told. Actually, that's more true than not as Jacaranda does indeed feel like an album missing a story. Or, its a soundtrack to a movie yet made. Its hard to really call but a few songs strictly one style or another. It's hard to pinpoint what this album is. An experiment? Certainly it's not a jam though it has moment. Is it songs? Certainly yes, though I'm more reminded of first Yes guitarist Peter Banks's solo work that's just wanting to share ideas, versus later Yes guitarist Billy Sherwood whose crafting catchy prog songs. This is often somewhere in between. Is it prog? There's some stuff here that's more country & jazz than anything remotely rock. Is it even rock? Is it a soundtrack for a movie to be made? Certainly, if I was a filmmaker I'd look no further. It has the turns & delicacy & variety that a movie soundtrack often needs. That might be the best bet. The theme of this movie seems to be mixing genres. It sounds like a good movie. Of note, this is his first solo album since 1989's Can't Look Away, done while still in Yes.

John Payne's Asia ~ Axioms (hits comp) (album review) ... Who will stop the rain in Asia?

Style: prog-rock, greatest hits
Label: Snapper Music
Year: 1999
Home: California

Members: John Payne ~ vocals/bass/guitar
Geoff Downes ~ keyboards
Steve Howe, Al Pitrelli, Aziz Ibrahim, Elliott Randall ~ guitar
Carl Palmer, Michael Sturgis ~ drums

Additional: Anthony Glynne ~ guitar
Simon Phillips, Nigel Clockler ~ drums

Guests: Hotei Tomayasu ~ lead guitar
Luis Jardim ~ percussion

In the early 80's a joining of prog-rock icon/guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, keyboardist Geoff Downes of Yes/Buggles, drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer & bassist/singer John Wetton of King Crimson/Roxy Music created a band that honed in some of the indulgent wanderings of prog-rock for a more radio friendly sound that was better suited to changing national music scenes. They had a few MTV hits with "Heat Of The Moment", "Don't Go" & "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" before falling apart while touring the second album with Wetton. Downes & Wetton kept the band going as a side touring project before Downes created a new line-up in 1992. This new line-up featured Downes with new bassist-singer & songwriter John Payne, Alice Cooper guitarist Al Pitrelli & A-Ha drummer Michael Sturgis. Howe & Palmer would guest on the first of the two releases of this new Asia, often called the beginning of the Payne era. Aqua & Aria would rekindle the Asia flame while bringing a new sound to the band that was both prog-ish but with a harder edge thanks to guitarist Pitrelli. But, Wetton & Payne are two different songwriters & quite different singers & the fanbase was divided. Pitrelli would soon leave replaced by a series of guitarists, while Downes would take his due, replaced by the amazing keyboardist Erik Norlander, leaving handing the torch officially to Payne. Eventually the original line-up of Howe, Downes, Palmer & Wetton would reunite to record & tour spurring two groups to officially hold the Asia name known as Asia, with the original 80's line-up, & Asia Featuring John Payne. Asia FJP continues to be plagued with fans that want to hear the early 80's hits, seeing this as the direct descendent, while the reunited Asia focuses only on its own compositions. Ironically neither groups sounds like the Asia of the 80's, so theoretically one might even say there's three bands: the original, the John Payne led version & the reunited band. This makes for an interesting history but also poses a problem as there's been no Asia greatest hits compilation that's been able to bridge all three groups. Payne has tried to bridge the gap. The Anthology compilation included both the 80's hits & Payne era favorites, the reunited line-up not yet in existence, but contractual problems required Payne & his then bandmates to re-record the early hits. For those accustomed to Wetton's tenor on "Don't Cry" Payne's baritone is a bit of a shock, while nobody can truly replicate Howe's weaving guitar though the effort is commendable & far from disappointing. There will probably never be a good Asia compilation released & a box set seems unlikely. This is a shame as the Payne era might not be the selling point for the casual Asia listener but it's got a far more friendly sound with more interesting & personalized lyrics & deserves due attention which it may not get without being lumped with the early familiar hits. For those who have the first couple Asia albums but want an introduction to the bigger picture Axioms is one's best bet as it focuses entirely on Payne era. The only thing missing is the current Norlander line-up to make this complete. Axioms might be a bit lengthy with 2 CDs for the casual listener, while longtime fans will already have all the tracks, but it includes both fan favorites (i.e. "Who Will Stop The Rain," "Military Man," "Desire," "Sad Situation," "Feels Like Love") & lesser known tunes plus highlighting some of the line-ups of the Payne era including the cuts with Steve Howe & Carl Palmer including a few instrumentals. The majority of fan & critical favorites come from Aqua & Aria with the Pitrelli/Sturgis/Downes/Payne line-up but Axioms offers more the later Arena & even Payne's take on the Downes song "The Hunter" from the pre-Asia Downes produced GTR, that featured Howe, guitarist Steve Hackett of Genesis & drummer Jonathan Mover who would ironically go on to join Alice Cooper with Pitrelli. For those that like the pop-prog & commercial sheen of early Asia but want some more personal lyrics & more experimental musical forays Asia FJP via Axioms shouldn't be ignored. In terms of greatest hits collections the songs are pulled solely from Arena, Aqua, Aria & the earlier compilation Anthology which isn't necessarily enough albums or certified hits to form a traditional hits collection & on two CDs a majority of the albums, particularly Arena, are duplicated. There's also nothing new on the collection for older fans. But, it's definitely cheaper to buy one album than all four while this is no cheap product but care was put into choosing the best of Asia WJP. An interesting experiment of how musicians change when in the company of different musicians is to compare the songwriting on Axioms, all Downes/Payne songs, with the songwriting on the Wetton Downes Icon releases. Downes shines through as always with his classically tinged keyboard playing but the difference between Wetton & Payne becomes quite obvious. Further, it shows why many fans once upon a time encouraged Payne to step away from the Asia franchise to do his own thing as Asia FJP truly is, in everything but name, his own thing that deserves much more attention with the 80's hits sometimes a heavy & sometimes a light albatross around his neck. Since the publishing of this review Asia FJP has disbanded & refashioned itself as Dukes Of The Orient.

Peter Banks ~ Self-Contained (music review) ... The forgotten guitarist of Yes!

Style: instrumental, experimental
Label: One Way Records
Year: 1995
Home: England

Members: Peter Banks ~ guitars
Gerald Goff ~ keyboards

One may not recognize the name of  British guitarist PB, but to go back in time ... he started his career in the Syn alongside bassist Chris Squire. The two would move on to Mabel Greer's Toy Shop. PB would leave and return to a rebooted line-up now including singer Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford & keyboardist Tony Kaye. They'd rechristen themselves Yes. PB was present on their under-rated first album plus some surviving video footage, would leave during the follow-up Time & A Word, & partially wiped from the record, to be replaced by classically-influenced guitar wizard Steve Howe on Yes's legacy making third release The Yes Album. The rest is history ... at least for Yes as PB would eventually fade away & retire completely from music to pursue a retail career before resurfacing with his guitar for a few solo albums in the 90's. Though, before vanishing he'd join the band Flash that would also eventually include Yes alum Tony Kaye & through association with Yes get a reputation boost. Before disbanding in 1973 Flash showed what Yes could have become with PB. Banks would release a solo album Two Sides Of Peter Banks which included Flash bandmates Ray Bennett & Mike Hough plus Jan Akkerman, John Wetton, & Phil Collins. PB would return with a new line-up of Flash under the name Empire until retiring in 1980. In 1993 he's return with the solo album Instinct with Self-Contained following. Though albums before & after might be more cohesive Self-Contained has often been called PB's most expressive & experimental album & showing off his guitar skills the best. For those wanting to know what Yes would have sounded like if PB had stayed on ... we'll never know outside of his forays with Flash as Self-Contained isn't going to help put together any pieces of history. PB in the 1960's was an under-playing who was never given any opportunity to really shine in the keyboard heavy Yes, particularly as the first Yes album is not just harder to come by but also a rarity amongst common fans, while Flash never has had long term international success outside of collectors. The PB of 1995 is a far different guitarist who likes his effects boxes & sound effects including vocal clips, has come under the influence of power metal light & undoubtedly claims peer Jeff Beck as an inspiration. As an all instrumental album the result is an album for guitar connoisseurs rather than the casual listener as it feels more like a collection of studio noodling over a long period of time that PB polished into complete songs. One of the songs is entitled "More Foreplay" & it indeed sounds at times like a little guitar foreplay building up to something ... that never really climaxes ... but the foreplay is better than ... Actually, noodling is the wrong word. Yes, PB might be running scales over sound effects & drum beats but these are complete songs no doubt. There's nothing undeveloped about them. Think of You Had It Coming or Jeff by Jeff Beck for similar albums, though Beck is far more experimental, flashier & faster but full of just as many unexpected turns. In terms of experimental a better comparison might be Les Paul over Jeff Beck. It's almost as if PB is trying to show us what we missed all these days & what his range is. Sometimes it works, but, as I wrote earlier, sometimes it's guitar players first & listeners second ... but this is a common complaint of guitar instrumental albums no whoever the guitarist. One fun vocal insert is a radio recording going "Some critics argue Yes's music is pretentious and empty" with Banks responding "Yes, that's valid, I would go along with that as well" followed by the slow "Lost Days" that's a laidback sitting on the porch type tune that's as unflashy and soothing as music gets. It's one of many in this vein & though they're a bit lengthy are the highlights of the album. The similar "Away Days" sounds like an instrumental Jimmy Buffett while "Two-Rides" is a new aged-esque Leonard Cohen/David Gilmour mix with long languishing notes that give way to distortion echoing in the background and birds in the background. Those who enjoying droning will take to the obviously spiritually titled "The Three Realms" while "Tell Me When" would be good soundtrack background music. The biggest problem with the album is it's length that make require a couple sittings to digest the whole thing. It's like reading through a Sears catalog in one sitting ... a bit exhaustive. One may want to ponder what Yes would have been like with PB, considering how different the band would become which each subsequent guitarist who were also prominent songwriters: Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin and Billy Sherwood. But, that's a useless game. Self-Contained is about enjoying a guitarist as he is now, not what he was or what he didn't do. Sadly, PB died in March 2013 so sadly no more music from him.

Billy Sherwood ~ Oneirology (album review) ... The Yes man's wake up call!

Style: prog-rock
Label: self-release
Year: 2010
Home: California

Members: Billy Sherwood ~ all instruments

From opening title track, & recalled a few tracks later in "The Following", there should be no doubt why multi-instrumentalist composer producer Billy Sherwood caught the attention of Yes's Chris Squire which led to their forming Conspiracy & Sherwood joining a post-Trevor Rabin Yes making a 90's comeback & later forming Circa with Yes's Tony Kaye & Yoso with Toto's Bobby Kimball. If anyone of the next generation has kept the flame burning bright of post-70's modern prog-rock without letting it stray too far from the foundation set by Asia, Yes, GTR, John Wetton & countless other gentlemen of prog it's definitely Sherwood. From the album's opening notes it's obvious he's been taking lessons from the great Steve Howe in soloing & rhythm playing. Oneirology is a modestly packaged release of eight new songs with all instruments & compositions by Sherwood. The songs tend to follow a similar pattern of soaring Steve Howe-esque guitars ("Oneirology", "The Following", "The Gate", "Walking With You") with dense textures ranging from keyboard heavy ("Wake Up Call", "Lost Inside") to laidback acoustic settings ("Setting Sun", "The Recurring Dream"). There's much similarity here in feeling & sound with the albums Sherwood did with Yes as producer, second guitarist behind Howe & co-composer (i.e. Keys To Ascention 1 & 2, Open Your Eyes, Union, The Ladder) which I personally find to be a creative high for Yes they hadn't seen in years. Though, it's hard to say if Yes has influenced the Sherwood of Oneirology or if Sherwood gave Yes a boost of new life. I'm willing to give him the benefit of doubt & say he gave them some new & young blood as Magnification that came after his departure lacked the creativity & brought the band to an end for a decade. But, Sherwood's Yes albums tend to hit hard & immediate with lots of variety while Oneirology takes some time to warm up to. This is not an immediate in-your-face album but requires a bit of focused listening. Focused is not something a lot of people do anymore with music. The problem it faces is that the songs range from six to ten minutes ... the weakness of much modern prog-rock. There seems to be a general agreement in the prog world that songs should have that extra bit of length. But, if the song doesn't have wild arrangements a repetitiveness tends to set in which works against the composition & that's the case here. It's hypnotic music for a generation that abandoned drugs decades ago. Part of what gets lost is the fact that Sherwood is quite a prolific lyricist. He not just has taken guitar lessons from Chris Squire & Steve Howe but also writing lessons from Jon Anderson with a palette of lots of colorful visuals mapping out a common theme of searching for something in light of dreams of the past. I will boldly say that I wish Sherwood was still in Yes as these are the lyrics I wanted to see on their new album Fly From Here. For those curious, oneirology is the scientific study of dreams, though most may need a dictionary for that one ... if the lyrics in the CD don't give it away without hesitance. It's definitely a dreamy album with dreamy musical landscapes that take their time like a long night. "Setting Sun", even at eight minutes, is a particular highlight which opens with an simple acoustic guitar that leads into some heavy guitars & four minutes in completely changes pace with a solo that comes off of a Dire Straits or Jeff Beck album, not Yes. It's one of the most exciting tracks on the album with one of the best arrangements. Coming in second place is the closing track "Walking With You" which at almost ten minutes seems to encompass every song that came before it with swirling keyboards & guitars & highs & lows & even some of Sherwood's most ambitious singing.

John Payne ~ Different Worlds (hits comp) (album review) ... One of the great voices of rock!

Style: hard rock, prog rock
Label: Devgel Records
Year: 2007
Home: California

Members: John Payne ~ vocals/bass/keyboards/guitar
Andrea Datwyler ~ lead vocals
Steve Howe, Al Pitrelli, Sandro D'Incau, Ian Crichton, Guthrie Govan, Torstein Flakne, Elliott Randall, Joel Bogen ~ guitar
Geoff Downes, Alex Seiberl, Ryo Okumoto ~ keyboards
Tony Levin, Emilio Barrantes ~ bass
Chris Slade, Michael Sturgis, Vinnie Colaiuta, Chuck Sabo, Ronnie Wolf, Jay Schellen, Steiner Krokstad ~ drums
Luis Jardem ~ percussion
Steve Overland ~ b. vocals

For me, one of the most distinctive features of British vocalist/bassist & songwriter John Payne is not his bass playing nor his songwriting, but a distinctive baritone that's unique in the rock world of tenors & screamers. It's made his output over the decades immediately recognizable that includes solo work & the bands Lunatica, CCCP, ELO, GPS & most prominently Asia. His songwriting, which I happen to like, comes in second place only because its changed over the years & with different groups.
But, his distinctive baritone means that the songs on this quasi-career retrospective tend to sound more alike than not. Compilations tend to either have a disjointed approach where you hear a musician go through distinct musical styles, if not also technology changes, but the high quality of the songs keeps it all together or compilations tend to sound more like a complete studio album in itself as if everything was recorded at the same time. Different Worlds could easily be mistaken as an original studio album as the collection flows easily from song to song & style to style, though its far from that. It's also potentially one of the best compilations Payne has produced of his music that's neither a gluttonous affair nor focused just on hits, nor featuring any controversial re-recordings, plus gives one a complete picture of his career versus just of Asia, which might be his step-child but isn't all he's done. Also, pulling, the compilation full shows his diverse compositional skills & creativity. If a listener didn't know Different Worlds was a compilation one might be thinking that this John Payne is a very talented guy whose got his thumb firmly on the modern AOR prog-rock sound a la GTR & Genesis. The problem is, I feel, he's not given the credit he deserves, as the shadow of pre-Payne Asia is an albatross around his neck. The early Asia might have the hits, but I've always enjoyed his singing & his songwriting far more. The thing with Payne, though, which I've already hinted at at the beginning of this review, is that he's never an anonymous backing musician but fully involved from songwriting to production, thus all the songs tend to fall into the same slow rock ballad approach which has become almost a trademark style for him & is really best for his vocal approach that is more comfortable trying to yank the guts out of words than rush through them. Payne has often worked with keyboardists, a regular feature of the prog-rock scene, so his music tends to be more harmonic & keyboard heavy with guitars providing texture instead of just typical riffing. This isn't technically a greatest hits collection as many certified hits are missing but more a general look at Payne's sometimes under-appreciated career that he's hand-picked. For those who only know him via Asia it's a good introduction to the rest of his work & with nine tracks given to Asia it's even a good introduction to his most popular musical child. The one problem with the release is it doesn't tell which tracks belong to what bands as outside of identifying writing credits, such as Payne/Downes is Asia, one would have to do any research to know what song belongs where. Though, its probably already-made fans that will pick up this album so that may not be a problem but compilation albums really should be made for strangers not fans.

Jon Anderson & The New Line Band ~ Live In Sheffield 1980 (live) (album review) ... Yes man solo!

Style: progressive rock
Label: United States of Distributors
Year: 2008
Home: England

Members: Jon Anderson ~ vocals
Ronnie Leahy, Christopher Rainbow, Barry De Souza, John Giblin, joe Patridge, Morris Pert, Lee Davidson, Dick Morrisey ~ misc instruments

 

I ran into somebody today who just saw vocalist Jon Anderson in concert, so it seems fitting to post this review of a 1980 concert. I remember the first time I heard Yes. I was in high school and listening to lots of jazz/blues. I picked up the cassette of their incarnation as Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe at Kmart because I liked the cover art, the strange name ... and it was in the discount pile. I loved everything I heard. I'd never heard anything like this & loved every minute of it. I still can sing every lyric and just recently bought it again on CD. I fell in love with Anderson's soaring tenor. When I discovered they were Yes I starting hunting them up. I now own every studio album they've done and numerous albums from the 14 plus members solo careers. Need I say more? But, the solo work of Anderson has remained a favorite, lyrically and musically. His career has bounced from acoustic world rhythms to proggy electronic, but always full of nearly impossible to sing to melodies over complicated arrangements - just like Yes - but largely barren of flashy Howe/Wakeman-esque solos. This 2 CD album is a live recording from his 1980 solo tour which is part of a plan to release all his past work including live, demos, outtakes, etc in the world's first on-going subscription based box set now planned at 20 volumes. I'll confess, it's a bit too much. Even for me. But, Anderson fans have now been given a key to Heaven. The recording quality here is potentially a soundboard recording, which means Anderson's voice is completely up front all the time. The solos, including lots of sax and piano, fall back into the mix making the band sound like one large creature not a bunch of individuals with little moments in the spotlight. Sadly, I believe this organic sound was not actually how the band sounded from the audience but from the poor balance on the recording. Not skipping any corners for his fans, these 40 songs mix solo pieces and Yes classics. The solo pieces are the real highlights of the album and just as strong as any Yes song (i.e. "Some Are Born" & "Don't Forget"). The Yes songs, what many people will probably buy this album for, are largely pushed together in medley format with each song rarely lasting beyond 2 minutes, which everyone can easily guess means Anderson has pretty much removed everything except for his vocal part. Some people might even say he removes the pretentiousness of Yes. Others might say he removes what makes the songs great. But, by cutting the songs down into fragments he is putting extra emphasis on his solo work which is what this is really all about & remains greatly under-looked. The band does a good job at re-interpretting the complicated Yes, but the funky bassist and guitarist are not Squire or Howe & luckily don't embarrassingly trying to be. But, with 2 minute songs they don't have to try much either. Anderson's albums are worth checking out. But, his career has gone through so many musical turns that each album is its own little world. At the time of this recording he had two solo albums that both sounded like overstuffed Yes, though the keyboard textures are gone from the live arena here, while the 1980's would have some weak keyboard based electronic albums including a stint with Vangelis before the 90's saw him venturing into some self-indulgent world music albums. Live In Sheffield 1980 actually is a good introduction to pre-electronic phase. It's not too overindulgent musically, it shows Anderson's ability to reinterpret his own Yes songs, he has a strong band, there's the Yes progressive sound and hits we all know with touches of funk and the acoustic forays he would go into decades later & it has all his early solo hits. Albeit, if you don't like Anderson's voice you're really not going to be able to sit through 2 CDs. Personally, I'd recommend his studio albums over this. This is for fans. Proof is that disc 2 features many of the songs repeated during a rehearsal which has such low production values that it sounds more like a demo. Of the 15 rehearsal songs all but 2 ("For You For Me" & "Everybody Loves You") appear in the concert. "For You For Me" a great song in the studio but not here. Though, this is not a stop and start rehearsal with discussion, it's just a full concert with a poor recording.

Ozzy Osbourne ~ The Ozzman Cometh (hits comp) (album review) ... Open the door & let the Prince of Darkness in!

Style: compilation, greatest hits, heavy metal
Label: Epic
Year: 1997
Home: England

Musicians: Ozzy Osbourne ~ vocals
Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee ~ guitar
Rudy Sarzo, Bob Daisley, Phil Soussan, Mike Inez, Geezer Butler, Robert Trujillo ~ bass
Lee Kerslake, Tommy Aldridge, Randy Castillo, Deen Castronovo, Mike Bordin ~ drums
Johnny Cook, Don Airey, Mike Moran, John Sinclair, Kevin Jones, Rick Wakeman ~ keyboards

The demos of "Black Sabbath" & "War Pigs," followed by: "Goodbye To Romance," "Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley," "Over The Mountain," a live version of "Paranoid," "Bark At The Moon," "Shot In The Dark," "Crazy Babies," "No More Tears," "Mama, I'm Coming Home," a live version of "I Don't Want To Change The World," "I Just Want You" & "Back On Earth" with a bonus disc that includes an artist interview & basement tape recordings of "Fairies Wear Boots" & "Behind The Wall Of Sleep." Need I say more? If you know these songs you know how good this greatest hits album is. If you don't know the songs then you're obviously not a metalhead & here's the CD to start your metal path on. & if you only know Ozzy from his clown role on tv then you don't know Ozzy. These are the songs that have made him the Prince of Darkness. There's a few hits that aren't on this compilation, such as "Flying High Again," "Close Your Eyes Forever" with Lita Ford & "Miracle Man," but that would almost be splitting hairs & just complaining for the sake of it because what here is the best of the best for the casual fan wanting a taste of a musical god not a hard-core collector. If you don't like Ozzy after listening to this ... give up now cause you're never going to like him. Further, you're not worthy to be called a metalhead. Ozzy has more certifiable hits, dare I say metal classics even, than most of his solo musician contemporaries who have been around just as long & that's excluding his Black Sabbath catalog. I dare anyone to challenge this assertion. What's more amazing is that this package starts with his solo debut Blizzard Of Ozz from 1980 & ends in 1995 with Ozzmosis, thus excluding the great albums he's made since is chock full of more amazing metal. Most musicians would die just to have half of this collection to their name. Actually, the fact that this album includes 4 Black Sabbath songs, probably the idea of the sales department knowing that many of us would already have all these songs on their original releases, are sprinkle on an already perfect tasting cake & I'm saying this as a Black Sabbath fan too whose eyes pop out at the words demo version. Actually, honestly, the demo tracks with their poor production actually hurt the album as they are not reflective either of the other songs or Ozzy's solo career, particularly since they open it & take nearly 18 minutes to get through. But, But, what I particularly like about this collection is that it goes in chronological order so you clearly hear the progression of the Ozzy sound which is interesting in itself. Though, note, this album was reissued in 2002 as a single disc with "Shot In The Dark" replaced by "Miracle Man" & the 1980-81 songs have their rhythm section re-recorded by Ozzy's 2002 line-up due to unpaid royalties legal action. A sad footnote. But, anyways, I'm looking forward to Vol. II in another 20 years. Ozzy forever!