With John Wetton making music headlines during the past year, both with the Asia reunion and his Icon project with Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes, this reissue of a 2004 acoustic live album arrives at the right time. Recorded mostly in Poland in 2003, Amata provides a decent (albeit brief) 37-minute overview of Wetton's musical career with alternate takes of songs from Asia ("Heat of the Moment," "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes"), King Crimson ("Book of Saturday," "Night Watch") and solo material ("Hold Me Now," "Battle Lines"). Wetton's voice is surprisingly strong, sounding almost as effective as it did when he fronted Asia back in the supergroup's early days, and he's occasionally accompanied by John Mitchell (Arena) on guitar and harmony vocals and Martin Orford (IQ) on keys and harmony vocals. Threshold's Karl Groom produced the record, which is warm and vibrant. That said, the low-key nature of Amata makes it a bit too sleepy-sounding for all but Wetton's diehard fans.
Track Listing:
1) The Circle of St. Giles (Introduction)
2) Mondrago
3) Heat Of The Moment
4) Book Of Saturday
5) The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
6) Hold Me Now
7) Emma
8) Battle Lines
9) Night Watch
10) You're Not The Only One
11) I Believe In You
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