Aria

Delivered in excellent condition, new.A great album.Thank you.

thank you good band

Aria was the second release Asia recorded with John Payne at the helm. The first, Aqua, was (IMHO) a bit disjointed, although it does have some good material on it.Aria is a more coherent package, possibly in part because it's the ONLY Payne era release to enjoy the same musicians right through the recording!We all know how good Geoff Downes is on the keys, and he doesn't disappoint (love the fancy bit on Desire). The vocals are full, much fuller than John Wetton can manage, and boast a hefty dose of diaphragm (something JW rarely employs).The drums are also well played, probably my favourite example of Michael Sturgis' drumming (not so keen on his performance on subsequent recordings Arena and Aura, although the albums themselves aren't bad at all and he's not the only drummer).And Al Pitrelli is (IMHO) a world class guitarist, who was wasted on Aqua, and is given more of an opportunity to shine on this album. He gets several solo's, all of which are stunningly well played. Some might say they're are simply examples of rock cliches, and I suppose I can hear why - but he plays them SO well that who cares!!! The lead breaks on Desire, Summer and especially Don't Cut The Wire are superb. Just wish he'd turn the octaver off. And they fade him out a bit too soon on occasion.The songs themselves are blessed with good solid and generally memorable choruses, and there are enough "proggy" bits to keep fans of that genre interested. And the outro to Don't Cut The Wire is genius.One of the best Asia albums, along with Asia, Alpha and Aura.