Gravitas

I've liked Asia ever since day 1. And over the years since 1992's debut, they have turned out some great albums (wasn't so enthusiastic about Alpha though) and this latest offering shows that they can still come up with a good batch of songs. This is the first with new guitar player Sam Coulson, and he does an admirable job. OK, he doesn't dominate like Joe Satriani would, but he doesn't need to. There are some good riffs here and some "short but sweet" solos. Sounds akin to Astra to my ears. This album is better than XXX, but on an equal par with Omega. On their next tour I hope they do play a good mix of these recent albums as well as the classic songs from the first.

John Wetton provides some his customary sleeve notes to 'Gravitas' as he has done on several other recent albums. But on here it's what he doesn't say or rather who he doesn't mention that really struck a chord before I even played a note of this new cd. Mention is given to another Steve (Lukather) who was favoured for the vacant guitarist spot, but not of the departed founder member. "You say it best when you say nothing at all". Indeed. John Wetton and Geoff Downes penned all nine tracks on this album and John Wetton and Geoff Downes handle production duties (taking over from Mike Paxman who was at the controls for the last two albums). One song 'I would die for you' harks back to the 80s but otherwise it's a mixed bag of new compositions circa 2013. Opening up with the fast paced and harmonious 'Valkyrie' complete with trademark cello licks (Katinka Kleijn taking over from Hugh McDowell) and sumptuous harmonies, you instantly feel on safe Asia ground. New guitarist Sam Coulson is let off the leash at around the four minute mark and instantly you know the Asia sound is back with us, even if he's been strangely silent for the previous four minutes. Next up is the title track 'Gravitas' another anthemic track, split into two parts and then the stonking ballad 'The closer I get to you' (reprised as a bonus acoustic version). 'Nyctophobia' (what?? looked it up in the dictionary and it means 'fear of the dark', didn't know that before so I have learnt something!) is a quirky number followed by my least favourite track 'Russian Dolls'. 'Heaven help me now' has a prelude intro to it before the chord and chorus roll out; a definite highlight and this is followed by the 80s rocker 'I would die for you' which has Carl Palmer drumming like fury. The strangely titled 'Joe DiMaggio's Glove' is probably the only song that will ever be written with that title but it's a nice mid-tempo song also reprised in acoustic style. 'Till we meet again' is the last track and this is a title that has been used previously as a song title. The song here however is nothing like the Chicago song 'Till we meet again' and instead is a stomping anthem, not one of my favourites on this album however. So in summary a patchy album with nice guitar solos spread across the tracks from Sam Coulson but, as other reviewers have commented, these feel somewhat slotted in. I'm giving 3.5 stars as I love Asia, but of the four albums recorded since John Wetton rejoined Geoff Downes to reform the original Asia, this is probably my least favourite and actually ranking behind the excellent three Wetton/Downes albums.

The final album with lead singer Wetton. A great album that captures the magic of Asia, they would never be able to recapture their first three albums but this album proves the band as matured and aged well. Sadly John Wetton as died though I hope for a further future album? Should Geoff Downes make up with John Payne?

I've waited a few days and a number of listens to this CD before making my mind up. After the last two albums - Omega and XXX - this was not quite up to that standard, albeit marginally better than Phoenix. The big talking point of course would be how did Sam Coulson fit in and would it make much of a difference after the departure of Steve Howe? Well to my mind Sam did a reasonably good job here. He's a different type of guitarist and more suited to the AOR or Stadium Rock type of music, similar to that of Mandy Meyer who played on the Astra album. I just felt he was somewhat strait-jacketed into the structure of the songs a little too much before Wetton and the guys said 'alright Sam, you can cut loose' in the solo sections. Otherwise his guitar playing was by and large too much in the background. The songs themselves were variable. Valkyrie and Nyctophobia were the two clear best with Heaven Help Me Now closely on their heels (this was more like the old 80s Asia sound). Gravitas sort of was alright, it had good melodies and a nice proggy make up to it, but Russian Dolls was a disappointment after such a great atmospheric start and John Wetton's wonderful singing. It kind of died and went nowhere. Till We Meet Again tried too hard to be an anthem and failed. It was boring. However, Joe Di Maggio's Glove was quite good and may well end up being one of the better ballad-type offerings from the band in years to come. Loved the lyrics to it too. I would Die For You sounded far too much like the candy floss tat on Phoenix and is instantly forgettable to me. So 3 stars (7 out of 10) - good but could have been better. I would also like to touch on the DvD as well. The Makign of Gravitas was a waste of time and told us nothing and yes, was made for £50 as another reviewer said. I did like the 3-track excerpt of the band's gig at Plovdiv and I would love to see this line-up live, and hoping they will play Go as part of the set!

I was sad when Steve Howe left, and wondered if this was going to be the end of a band I'd followed since the first album came out. But, seeing clips of Sam Coulson on YT showed how good he was, but would he fit in? - A question quickly answered. This is a fantastic album in the true Asia tradition. 4 fantastic musicians at the top of their game, and a bag of fantastic songs does not disappoint. John's voice is also better than ever. Definitely recommended to any Asia fans who have yet to get this CD, or any lovers of rock with classic pop hooks.

En point d’orgue de ce superbe album d’Asia, figure la prodigieuse et puissante chanson : Valkyrie ! Mes trois autres titres préférés sont : - The closer I get to you ; - Heaven help me now ; - I would die for you. Asia est l’un des plus grands groupes de Rock-Progressif, et qui, malgré le temps qui passe, reste au top du plaisir musical ! Un grand merci à vous messieurs, et s’il vous plaît, continuez encore longtemps à nous enchanter de la sorte…

Vale mucho la pena este álbum !

前回よりも出来はいいと思う。1曲目から印象的な曲だ。メンバーが替わったことがいい影響を及ぼしていると感じられる。

unfortunately it sounds like the end , this is one of the best album with John Wetton , ride easy mister Wetton .

Album da avere per gli estimatori degli Asia, sicuramente il migliore dalla reunion. Il nuovo chitarrista aggiunge un tocco di modernitá che non guasta.