Customer Reviews

Aria

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Aria is a good album from Asia. I find it to be respectable, melodious, and solid. Everyone of the songs are listenable and cohesive. The musicianship, songwriting, and production are tight. Geoff Downes does a nice job with the keyboard playing. The keyboards really do add a nice atmospheric quality to the tunes. John Payne is also a likeable vocalist, and Al Pitrelli does well with the guitar duties. The album is in a straight-ahead pop rock direction and is quite catchy. The songs that I like the most are "Anytime," "Enough's Enough," and "Sad Situation." I have always considered Aria to be a decent and enjoyable album from Asia. Roger Dean's album cover is also pretty nice. Aria is worth a listen.

As an Asia fan and owner of all of their studio albums, I found "Aria" to be a big disappointment. I've always found their melodies catchy and their technical skill in the past has always impressed me. Aria did not shine in that either of those areas, nor lyrically. It's the basic late-eighties, long-hair rock.

Their first track "Anytime" is their best. The verse begins in a minor key, jumps to a new key in the channel, and a new key for the chorus. The melody is typical Asia fare. "Remembrance Day" isn't a bad tune, but doesn't develop lyrically. It's almost as if Asia wants to make a statement without defending their position. Songs like "Don't Cut the Wire" "Military Man," & "Desire" do not add anything to the album lyrically; musically "Desire" has a great guitar solo, one of the few that the artist develops on the album.

If you're a fan of the original Asia line-up, you'll miss Steve Howe's lightning scales and arpeggios and Carl Palmer's ghost tones. If you're wanting to try the new lineup with John Payne, try "Aqua" and "Aura." The last Payne album, "Silent Nation," has some winning moments (the guitar work is especially good), but is more on the "Arena/Aria" vain.

This is definitely one of the best CD's of the 90's. Rock solid performances, metal like jams, and more importantly, some fantasically written songs! This CD burned in my player for months on end. There are some outrageous and genuinely original guitar riffs from Al Pitelli and dramatic vocalization from John Payne. Their mix with Geoffrey Downes sets the pace for the market. It wasn't the bands fault that the lable dropped the guys market potential in the U.S. You WILL NOT regret it if you purchased this CD, and its a must have for any ASIA/YES fan!

I wouldn't have guessed that I'd be ranking this one higher than the band's beloved debut. _Asia_ is generally considered a time-honored classic with the band's most progressive sound, featuring the legendary talents of Steve Howe and Carl Palmer. This one, on the other hand, comes from their later and more sneered upon years. That said, the better song-writing, more vibrant sound, and better vocals found in _Aria_ beat out the self-titled debut in my eyes. I actually picked this one up used after discovering that this album came from the brief period of the band's history when their lineup included one of my favorite guitarists, Al Pitrelli (Megadeth, ex-Savatage/TSO). I'd list other differences in the band's makeup from their debut, but it'd be easier to list the similarities, as only keyboardist Geoff Downes remains. I enjoyed the vocals of John Payne a bit more than Wetton's performance on the debut, and while Pitrelli doesn't really have much of a chance to shine here, I can't say I find myself longing for Howe's presence, either. The music is very poppy and straight-forward, and if it's progressive at all it's quite fluffy. However, with a handful of weak tracks aside, there is a lot of well-written material on this album. "Summer" is a fantastic song, and my personal favorite, with "Anytime", "Desire", "Feels Like Love", "Military Man" and the title-track all making this one a very good listen.

i have been a fan of asia for quite some time now and have all their studio albums.this their fifth is easily the best one,it has melody goes at a good pace,and not like the earlier john wetton albums where the music was too blocky and disjointed.i have given this five stars because this is what the old asia should have sounded like.in my opinion steve howe though a fine guitarist ruined the first two albums.my favourite tracks are anytime,sad situation both you sing along to very loudly and feels like love with lyrics i can relate too.well done lads on a fine effort.i do prefer john wettons vocals,having seen him live but john payne though less vocally talented,rocks more and has more energy.

"Aria" was never a disappointment in my opinion. Not as good as "Aqua," but still a good album. It's more straight ahead than "Aqua," or "Arena." "Sad Situation" is my favorite song on this album. Worth a listen.

The one problem with the 1992 Aqua release was that the album sounded very disjointed and fairly unfocused, jumping from progressive to AOR and back again. With 94s Aria, Downes and Payne show what Asia is becoming capable of, musically. The songwriting is stronger and the album flows much more smoothly, based more in progressive rock styles. The only major downfall is that the album feels a little dry without Steve Howe's trademark virtuoso guitar play...

This album reminds me of the maxim "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Having seen the radical departure the band took with its 1992 release, Aqua (featuring a new lead singer, drummer and guitarist), I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Aria. Hugely disappointed in Aqua, I guess I hoped Geoff would return more to the sound that made the original Asia so popular - soaring guitar and keyboards, precision percussion, thundering bass, and powerful vocals. Well, the soaring keyboards are still there, but that's about it. The songwriting is still lacking, and vocalist John Payne still plays the poseur more than the performer. Were it not for the band's name, most people wouldn't give Aria a second thought. Unfortunately for the band, those who do give it a listen probably won't give it a second thought, either.

The first time I heard this album,I knew I had to get it,if you liked Aqua ( I did ) you will surely enjoy Aria ,the vocals on this album are excelent,and there are great details on every piece. Anytime and desire are maybe the best ones on this one,but this is music for refined listeners,if you like complex yet melodic music I'm sure you'll like this cd,it incorporates pop to hard rock elements,and It's great to listen to. I recommend it specially to musicians,who will apreciatte the virtuosity of this band.

I consider Asia to be a guilty pleasure. This is not a slam against the band - it's just an expression of how while there are many elements of their style that would appear to be bad on the surface (cheesy lyrics, somewhat dated production) - I wind up enjoying their music still the same.

_Aria_ is Asia's second release with 90s singer John Payne. A common critique of _Aqua_ (his first album with the band) was that he came off as an 80s "metal" singer. Some may still find that on _Aria_, but he's no more over-the-top than Wetton was on the first three albums. And while the lyrics are often cheesy, they are not nearly as bad as Wetton's lyrics with the band. The best element of the album is (as always) Downes, who never fails to come up with nice keyboard sounds and often spacious production. There is some really nice piano/keyboard parts of several songs. The only real thing that bogs the album down are the lyrics which just sometimes can't be overlooked for their cheesiness. However, some people don't focus on lyrics as much as I do, so use your own judgement with regards to how important they are to your enjoyment of the songs. The playing is very good and is along the lines of what is found on _Aqua_ - if a little more "pop" ("Anytime", "Feels Like Love"). The best tracks are "Desire", "Sad Situation", "Enough's Enough", "Military Man", and the title-track.

Your enjoyment of this album basically depends on which phase of Asia you prefer. If you simply couldn't stand _Aqua_ or any other Payne-era release, you most likely will not like this album. If you do enjoy Payne-era Asia then it's more than likely that you will enjoy _Aria_ as well.