Semi-recently I was with a work colleague in HMV where the new Asia CD was being piped through the store. My colleague surreptitiously picked up the Asia album attracted by the Roger Dean cover and pointed out that it looked like I should like it as he can spot the things I like a mile off. I informed him that the Asia record was unfeasibly good and was in the running to be my record of the year. To that he replied, "But it sounds like bland Coldplay style bollocks!" Well let's hope he never hears Into the Night because it makes Asia look like Napalm Death as it is totally stuck in the middle of the road. I don't mean that as a particular criticism as sometimes a bit of MOR does the trick and Greek born Andy Rock has some very fine songs to offer.
"U Belong to Me" and several others would have been huge hits in the 1980s for other artists because the problem here is not the songs at all it's Mr Rock's voice which at times, I'm afraid to say, is nearly as bad as Meat Loaf's is currently. He strains, he's off key and out of tune and yet in a Richard Marx kind of way there's something quite charming about the album. The hooks are lovely, the solos are are radio-friendly, the lyrical clichés are just right ("Cryin' Every Night( in the Rain)" is just like you'd imagine it to be,") and the ballads are big. With a proper vocalist this could have been a stellar AOR release. As it is we shall have to knock a whole star off for the vocals.
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Semi-recently I was with a work colleague in HMV where the new Asia CD was being piped through the store. My colleague surreptitiously picked up the Asia album attracted by the Roger Dean cover and pointed out that it looked like I should like it as he can spot the things I like a mile off. I informed him that the Asia record was unfeasibly good and was in the running to be my record of the year. To that he replied, "But it sounds like bland Coldplay style bollocks!" Well let's hope he never hears Into the Night because it makes Asia look like Napalm Death as it is totally stuck in the middle of the road. I don't mean that as a particular criticism as sometimes a bit of MOR does the trick and Greek born Andy Rock has some very fine songs to offer.
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