Old guys still rock – Phoenix by Asia

I was pretty excited for the first Asia album when it was released back in 1982 (a long time ago.) The band was a super group made up of four top-flight members of some of the best progressive rock bands in the world – or at least in England. Steve Howe, the guitar hero from Yes was at the top of my list because his playing always made me sit up and take notice. Geoff Downes, who had recently joined Yes after making his mark with the Buggles' hit "Video Killed the Radio Star," was going to be playing keyboards and, while Downes was no Rick Wakeman, the fact that he had done a stint in Yes put him near the top of my list of cool keyboard players. Carl Palmer from Emerson, Lake and Palmer would be on drums and I thought Palmer was a fabulous drummer so I was stoked for that. In fact, the person who I knew least well was John Wetton, bassist and vocalist for UK and, before that, for King Crimson, a band that I had always held in high regard but one I didn't know too well (yet – I would later listen to them quite a bit.)

In my imagination, the first album from this new supergroup would feature long – very long – songs with multiple sections, long instrumental passages and pompous but often incomprehensible lyrics. There would be a theme – something really huge like "our future as a human race" – that would weave throughout all the songs. And it would have creative artwork which had an other-worldly quality, preferably by Roger Dean who had done most of the coolest Yes album covers. Before I ever heard a single note I had all this figured out. After all, what else could these guys possibly deliver than something that would completely blow my mind?

When I eagerly snatched up their self-titled debut (on vinyl – this was 1982 after all) I was disappointed. I wanted the sequel to Close to the Edge, perhaps Yes' finest moment, or maybe the follow up to ELP's Brain Salad Surgery, both of which had 18-30 minute suites which defined the high point of progressive rock in the 70's. What I got was something quite different. The band decided that they would not go after overly complex heady progressive rock but, rather, they would shoot for short, radio-friendly songs which would actually get played on the radio (or the newly minted MTV) and might even be a hit. They produced songs which showed their love for melody and their instrumental chops without making an album that you needed a long attention span to digest. What I got was the pop sounds of "Heat of the Moment." It wasn't bad. In fact, it was quite catchy. And the synth horns that opened the track were pretty cool. Howe's guitar work was vintage Howe. It was simple but it was still complex in a cool progressive-rock kind of way. It wasn't what I expected but once I accepted it for what it was I liked it. The first album took off big time and was a massive hit. They were everywhere on the radio and on MTV. This was the biggest hit any of these guys had ever had. The four members of Asia had gone from the relative obscurity of the progressive rock confines to being a big arena-rock band. And when I listened with headphones the album had a lot of cool stuff going on. Steve Howe had overdubbed lots of interesting guitar parts and had used a whole arsenal of different instruments to make his patented Steve Howe sound part of the aural landscape. It was a great album. I was excited about the prospect of where they'd be going next.

Unfortunately it didn't last. When their second album, Alpha, was released it sounded like a Wetton/Downes album with Steve Howe relegated to putting a few guitar touches on as an afterthought and Howe left the band soon thereafter. The band tried to continue with other guitar players but they never caught the fire of that first album again. There has been a band called Asia around almost continuously since then but it was mostly Geoff Downes and whoever else he wanted to play with. For most of us Asia was the four guys who started it and the bands that followed may have done some interesting music but it wasn't the same – not even close.

Whatever personal stuff had kept the guys apart for all these years got sorted out and the band got back together a year or so ago and did an oldies tour. That went so well that they recorded an album of new material called Phoenix. I'm glad to say that the classic Asia sound is back. Phoenix sounds like the legitimate follow up to 1982's self-titled debut and, while Howe isn't quite as present as he was on their first album, he's definitely part of the mix. The players have aged, of course, but they still play and sing well. The lyrics still sound a bit pompous but it could be more a function of Wetton's rich baritone voice and of the backing track making almost anything sound that way than any issues with the actual lyrics. Wetton's recent health scares have caused him to reflect on the meaning of life and this comes out in at least a couple of tracks giving the requisite progressive-rock gravitas to some of the songs.

Musically, this album is one of the most melodic progressive rock albums in memory. It could almost be subtitled "the return of the power ballads" as they roll out one after another heartfelt, catchy melodies with powerful hooks and instrumental motifs that get stuck in your head pretty quickly. There are still things I wish for – Palmer's drumming in mostly unremarkable, although there isn't much opportunity for him to show the kind of chops he did on ELP's Tarkus, for example. Wetton's thunderous bass propelled many of the early King Crimson albums (especially Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Red and some of their live material from that era) but his playing on Phoenix is somewhat reserved. And I wish Steve Howe had been part of the basic track on more of the songs instead of being used primarily for instrumental flourishes. But it is the playing and songs of Geoff Downes along with the voice of John Wetton that defines Asia's sound and those pieces are intact. This is a fine album – one that I have found myself listening to a lot more than I expected. While it is quite different than most of the music that is being produced these days, fans of Asia's best work from the 80's will find much to like here and younger listeners might just find something new and interesting to try out.

John Legend covers "Pride"

Worth watching

Most helpful map EVER

Lynnae has to play violin in the school orchestra at Oakland Christian Reformed Church on Sunday night and she asked me where it was. I said it was out in the country. (Actually, I think I said "boonies.") She wanted to know where it was more specifically.

So, being an internet kind of guy I found their address on line and plugged it into google expecting a map. Here is the map that showed up. VERY HELPFUL! (click to enlarge)

Can’t Buy Me Love by Jonathan Gould

I finally finished Can't Buy Me Love by Jonathan Gould. It took me a long time because a) it is a long book and b) I've been quite busy lately. In the prologue, Gould writes that this book is unique in that it combines "three main perspectives – the biographical, the musical and the historical – in an effort to convey the full import of the Beatles' lives art and times." (p. 12) Gould is looking to do all these things in one book, something he claims no other book on the Beatles does. He succeeds on nearly all counts.

As for the biographical, Gould's book is not quite the definitive biography that Bob Spitz' recent book is – and it couldn't be, especially since this book is not as long and covers things that Spitz never intended to. That said, I wonder if a novice could read this book and get a sense for the whole story. I'm not sure. It struck me, at times, that one had to know the story of the Beatles to really understand what was happening in the book. For me, that was a good thing – I don't need five pages explaining things at a level that someone who is culturally illiterate would need. I just found myself wondering if this book was written primarily for people like me who has seen, heard and read it all as far as the Beatles is concerned.

The historical part I found especially enlightening and learned things about the band and the things that were influencing them that I had not learned. The part of the book that is WAY over the top for novices are track by track discussions of nearly each and every song in the Beatles catalog. While the discussions are enlightening and interesting, the level of detail sometimes goes beyond being a fan to being something else entirely. On the other hand, I really dug thinking about the songs that way, and thought that the critique was especially interesting on the Beatles' top albums, Revolver, Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road.

So if you've read at least one other Beatles book I highly recommend this one. It's very very good.

Switchfoot at Calvin College 4-5-08

I was pretty ready to see Switchfoot at Calvin College on Saturday night by the time they came out for their show. I have been playing Jon Foreman's EPs, Fall and Winter, a lot the past month, I had put their last two albums, Oh! Gravity and Nothing is Sound, on rotation in my ipod and I had them in the car. I went to the conversation with Jon Foreman in the afternoon and it was really excellent to hear him talk about his new EPs and his songwriting. We had a fairly quick dinner and then back to campus to wait in line for quite a while. While in the car I played "Stars" for Lynnae and said how it was my favorite song on the album. I sure hoped they'd play it. We got in about 45 minutes before the show was scheduled to start and then had to wait until TWO opening acts did their sets. Emory and Athlete both had 45 minute sets which were, for me, about 45 minutes too long each. To make things a bit worse Emory were really really really loud. To the point where I went to get earplugs. So, after all of that it was almost 10:00 by the time Switchfoot hit the stage. I was already tired and I hoped it was worth it.

Then the lights went down and the band took the stage with Jon Foreman going over to the piano where he sang the chorus from "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine" and when he got to the end of the chorus the band came in with a wash of sound which morphed into the amazing opening riff of "Stars." It was clear almost immediately that this band was not going to be content with merely playing album versions of their songs – they were rethinking and reworking them. I was immediately hooked. They went right from "Stars" in to "Oh! Gravity." The sound was great and the band was on target. By the fourth song Jon Foreman announced that this was the best audience of the tour and it felt like it. The crowd was very much into the band and the band responded with a high energy performance that left nothing in the dressing room.

Foreman is a really good front-man, reminding me of Bono in spots, the way he speaks between and during songs, the way his music deals with larger themes and how he seems to want to raise the level of conversation but also encourage all his listeners to be better people. Jon went out into the crowd at one point standing on the armrests of the seats just behind me. (The picture is my daughter Meredith with Jon Foreman right behind her.) It was clear that the band was watching him for cues on when to change the music around and that Foreman was free to improvise over the band because they knew what they were doing and they were following him well. I saw them a number of years ago outdoors and they've improved greatly since then. The addition of the two newer band members has allowed Foreman to have much more latitude in concert – he doesn't have to worry about playing guitar so much – he has other people to do that.

The concert ended with their hit "Meant to Live" after which Jon came out to do a solo song from his newest EP, Spring. Then he started a solo version of "Dare to Move" which was great but before he was finished with the first chorus the rest of the band joined him and rocked the song out to close out the show. I have liked their music on CD but I really didn't expect them to be that good in concert. I am now a big fan.

a blog milestone

I've mentioned before that my daughter Bethany is a bit of an internet celebrity. Her "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks has been written up by the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune and even the Holland Sentinel!!!!

Today, her blog reached a milestone - she has had over one million page views. That is astonishing. Way to go, Bethany!

Reading / Listening / Watching – March 2008

It has been a while since I've posted so I thought I'd do an update of what I've been up to.

Reading

I'm a little past halfway through the brilliant new Beatles book Can't Buy Me Love by Jonathan Gould. I wrote about it before I started reading it and it is every bit as good as many of the reviews say it is. It does a great job of not only talking about the lives of the Beatles but it also puts that and their music in the context of the times and the political social and artistic changes that were happening in the world. On top of that there is a song by song discussion of each of their recordings. It really is special and, while it is a bit too in-depth to be anyone's first book about the Beatles, for someone like me who has read lots of books on the Beatles, I'm enjoying it immensely.

I have, for the past couple of years, participated in the Calvin Theological Seminary book of the quarter reading group and this quarter we're reading Elizabeth Strout's Abide With Me, a fascinating look at the life of a small town preacher who's wife's death has brought him, his young daughter and their community personal turmoil. It is only through allowing his church to see him broken and in need of help that he can once again effectively lead them. We'll get together three times to discuss the book, once with the author who is visiting Calvin for the Festival of Faith and Writing! It's a good book and I enjoyed it a lot.

Listening

Because I have tickets to the Switchfoot and the Police/Elvis Costello concerts coming up soon I've gotten back into their music lately and, while I've already expressed my love for Jon Foreman's EPs I have mostly lately listened to a lot of Elvis Costello and, I must say, that his gift for melody and for inventive song and chordal structure is really extraordinary. I have long thought "Couldn't Call it Unexpected" from Mighty Like a Rose was a prime example of this but I just lately came to love the album All This Useless Beauty. It is just packed with beautiful songs. And if you haven't heard For the Stars, his duet album with opera singer Anne-Sophie Von Otter, you're missing something truly special.

I have also enjoyed Bethany Dillon and Matt Hammitt's worship album In Christ Alone. Meant to be more a modern hymns album than a praise and worship album it takes a number of songs by Keith Getty and others and puts them in a more modern setting and does a credible job with them. Some of the tracks come across as sub-standard versions of very popular songs (the title cut, or "How Deep the Father's Love" for example) but others, most notably Getty's "Jesus is Lord" which is transformed to a hip, new uptempo version, work really well and gives me a new appreciation for the song.

Finally, in the flurry of new and old music that I've been enjoying, I'm ashamed to say that it took me a couple of years to finally pick up the amazing Before the Daylight's Shot by Ashley Cleveland. I should have known better since her previous album, the live You Are There, is one of my all-time favorites. It's just that she doesn't release albums' very often and so I forget just how good she (and her guitarist/husband Kenny Greenberg) is. Amazing stuff. Meant to be played loud.

Watching

I continue to work through DVDs and I'm getting near the end of both Season 6 of 24 (which is much better than I was lead to believe based on the "24 is losing it" buzz that I heard last season) and Season One of Veronica Mars which also I'm enjoying quite a bit. I must also admit to watching American Idol and I have to say that, while David Archuletta got off to a strong start, David Cook is really bringing it lately … dawg.

I also watched the film Enchanted last weekend and it was wonderful. It dragged only the slightest bit near the end but, as a send up of Disney animated classics it is really great. The songs are catchy and the effects are quite impressive. And Amy Adams is just too likeable as the soon-to-be princess. Even if there are no kids in your house, this one is too much fun to miss.