THIRD SPIN
And here's something else we haven't done for a while! Time to spin the wheel, and see where it lands. Round and round and round she goes --- please not another Moody Blues album! --- where she stops.... ah! There she stops! Hmm. In-ter-est-ing!
Icon Acoustic TV Broadcast --- Wetton/Downes --- 2008 (Frontiers)
Two accomplished musicans, both former or even current members of Asia, John Wetton and Geoff Downes have collaborated in the past, under the umbrella of the Icon Project. This is an Icon album, though it bears both their names on the sleeve as well as the Icon name, and is an acoustic rendering of mostly Asia hits, as well as a few from the first Icon album, released the previous year. Geoff Downes has been a member (and has returned as a member) of Yes, also collaborated with Trevor Horn in the Buggles, and of course has been with Asia for every album. John Wetton has worked with King Crimson, Wishbone Ash, Uriah Heep and Bryan Ferry, in addition to his solo work and has also teamed up with everyone from Steve Hackett to Phhil Manzanera in his long career, so both have impeccable pedigree within the music business.
The session kicks off with a beautiful understated acoustic version of Asia's top hit, “Heat of the moment”, and it's quite amazing how different to the originals acoustic treatments can be. Stripped down to guitar, piano and keyboard with, it seems, no percussion at all, the song takes on a whole new dimension. It's also very much slowed down, to make it a ballad where the well-known version is a power rocker. “Voice of America” is the next Asia track to get the acoustic makeover, with truly beautiful violin and piano. This
was a ballad anyway, when it made its appearance on Asia's third album, 1985's “Astra”, but there was a lot of power in the chorus, which here is of course missing without the big drum sound, but for what it is, “Voice of America” sounds more like the original than did “Heat of the moment”.
“Let me go” is the first of the Icon songs, and as I haven't heard the first album I can't say how different it is to the original, but here it's given a lovely violin and keyboard treatment before stabbing piano takes over as Wetton begins singing, the piano almost keeping a metronomic drumbeat for the song, which works very well. I get the impression this was a fast, rocky track on the original Icon album, but I like the version presented here. It has an ending very reminscent of Genesis' “The lamb lies down on Broadway”, particularly the track “The Lamia”. Another Icon track follows, “God walks with us” is a nice little ballad, with some really nice backing vocals from Downes, but again it's hard to relate how the track works as an acoustic, not knowing how the original goes. Some really nice Spanish guitar in the track, anyway.
Now this one I feel qualified to speak on! Again from the debut self-titled Asia album, “Sole survivor” is carried on a raft of keyboards on the original, but here it's the piano that takes centre stage, and the tempo is slowed down as well, with good backing vocals and again the piano sometimes used as a percussion instrument (which I guess it is), more like a drum, keeping the beat. The keyboard apreggios on the bridge work very well too. In general though I think this was perhaps a bad song to choose for the acoustic treatment, as it just sounds forced, to me.
“Meet me at midnight” is another Icon original, nice harpischord-like keyboard and classical guitar , then we're into Asia's second album, “Alpha”, for one of the great ballads from that album, “The smile has left your eyes”. This works very well, being a slow and somewhat sparse song in the first place, here played on violin and piano, while “I lay down”, another from the Icon album, is a nice piano-driven ballad, with Wetton on top form, almost religious fervour in his singing. One of my favourite tracks from “Alpha” is next, the powerful closer, “Open your eyes”, here treated to piano and synth arrangement. It may seem a strange thing to say, but it's nice that Wetton and Downes chose Asia songs that John originally sung, as it makes it easier to relate to them rendered acoustically. All the Asia songs here are from the first three albums, after which Wetton departed the band, returning for 2008's triumphant “Phoenix” (reviewed a page or so back) and remaining with them for last year's “Omega”, and he's always been my favourite vocalist in Asia. Downes, of course, has been with Asia from the beginning, and remains with them to this day.
Of course, they couldn't leave out the
other big hit single, which put both of them on the map. “Only time will tell” is again taken along on piano melody, with great backing vocals, but I miss the fast pace of the original, and again I feel that if it hadn't been such a huge hit, and therefore an expected inclusion, they might have left this alone and gone for something like “Without you” or even “Time again” from that album, which in fairness is not one of Asia's best, despite being their debut and a huge seller.
Another from “Alpha” then, “Don't cry” is originally a fast-paced rocker, which actually opens the album, and they do a decent version of it here, at least keeping the original tempo of the song, inasmuch as they can. It's the last Asia track on the album, which then closes with two Icon originals, the first of which, “In the end”, comes across as a nice ballad, with those violins again and the ever-present piano, and the violin takes centre stage for the closer, “There in your bed”, a short track that finishes off the album nicely.
I do have a few complaints, or let's say, niggles, perhaps even disappointments about this album. The first is of my own making, so I take full blame for that: I haven't heard “Icon” so I can't tell whether these acoustic versions are better, worse than or the same as the originals. But the Asia tracks I do know, and while some are handled well, others are not so much. Also, I would have liked to have heard more of John Wetton's guitar in the tracks. While it does crop up from time to time --- and when it does, it's
very good! --- the bulk of the songs seem to rely on Geoff Downes' piano and/or keyboards, and after a while it gets a little samey. There are, in fact, tracks where the piano treatment does not work at all, like as I mentioned “Only time will tell”, or “Sole survivor” --- sometimes you need that guitar!
All in all though, for fans of Asia --- or indeed, Icon, Wetton and/or Downes --- this will be an interesting album. For those using it as an introduction to Asia, I wouldn't: you'll get a skewed picture of them, thinking all their songs are ballads, and while many are, they have some great rockers too. Check out instead the first three albums to get a flavour of what they're really about, and how the songs represented here from their early catalogue actually sound.
Acoustic albums are always hard to review, as there are of necessity fewer instruments, fewer players and much more stripped-down arrangements. Here, Wetton and Downes rearrange their old material from Asia, sometimes well, sometimes not so well, and add in some of their solo work from Icon. It's a decent album, but I am left wondering what the actual Icon album really sounds like?
TRACKLISTING
1. Heat of the moment
2. Voice of America
3. Let me go
4. God walks with us
5. Sole survivor
6. Meet me at midnight
7. The smile has left your eyes
8. I lay down
9. Open your eyes
10. Only time will tell
11. Don't cry
12. In the end
13. There in your bed