Gravitas

Ok

Brilliant. What more can I say

Wetton and Downes are old men. It's unreasonable to expect them to have the fire of their youth - indeed I think Wetton's once-distinctive overdriven bass sound was last heard on "Ride Easy" on the original Asia album! Both have spent a lot of time piddling about in lower-grade work. Any good music needs edge. Generally Steve Howe ensures that any work he is associated with is of a minimum standard, but of course he isn't here.Now I got this through the post together with "North" by John Lee's Barclay James Harvest (The JLBJH effort was so lame it hurt). The comparison made me realise that Gravitas is not at all bad.First, it's got two tracks that I can't get out of my head - "Valkyrie" and "Joe di Maggio's glove". The rest is variable and hasn't grabbed me yet - I've only had the CD for a few days. Wetton's voice on both is good, and the production is crisp.It's not very up-to-date, but then Asia always set their own style which was often at variance with current fashion. I was afraid that it might be a keyboard-driven album, but Asia seem to have avoided this trap largely. The new guitarist is excellent, fits in, and is not as "tacked-on" as Mandy Meyer so obviously was.What I recommend is using the online snippets and listening to a few of the tracks. If it grabs you even that much, then it is for you. If not ... not.

Let me start by saying I really do like this album. It has some great songs. Upon first listen though I have to admit I was disappointed, especially after the likes of Phoenix, Omega and XXX. My concern is whether this can actually be labelled an ASIA album, or more of a Downes/Wetton project? Yes, Downes & Wetton wrote all the songs, but something of a band dynamic seems to be missing here. In my mind this doesn't come across as a band effort unlike the above mentioned albums Palmer seems way down in the mix and Sam Coulson seems to step up for a solo and then disappear again....Four generous stars from a big Asia fan for a good album, but it really could have been so much more.

I think this album is top notch. "Joe Di Maggio's Glove" is one of John Wetton's sweetest vocal performances and "The Closer I Get To You" and "I Would Die For You" are also classic Asia. Not a bad song really and several very good ones with Geoff Downes' keyboards not too dominant. With Omega, their best since Astra. My only gripe is that new young guitarist Sam Coulson could have been given more prominence in the songs and in the mix. Although I love Asia ballads, I don't want too many and prefer the heavier side of their songwriting with more guitars and less keyboards. Hopefully he is just warming up for the next album!

Getting old gracefully...thats what I thought after a few spins of this new album. Carefully crafted, new man on guitar does a good job, but unfortunately not many sparks in here.It starts off pretty well, with the first three songs all holding the attention. Then things get rather nebulous and altogether too "department store lift music" orientated.Nothing wrong with the songs, they just don't make me want to sit down and listen to them rather than simply have them there in the background filling the silence while I do something else.For me, they'd started down this path with XXX, which I felt was a bit of a damp squib after the altogether more satisfying Omega.Overall, not bad, but some way off being a really good album.

I have followed Asia from their inception, and have viewed the rebirth of the original line-up with interest. What to make of this one?First impressions were not great. Nothing jarring, no cringe moments, but the album was pleasant. That's about it. Pleasant. Not something you would look to get from a talented bunch of musicians.What's good? Well, the harmonies are as lush as ever, and Coulson's guitar work (when you can hear it) is good. Wetton sounds in great form, and there are some lovely chord progressions which reference their early work, particularly their second album, Alpha. The album does grow on you as well, and I have probably listened to it around 15 times at the time of writing this review. It is a consistent album, whereas the previous two were slightly more in the Curate's Egg camp.However, I do have some issues. The biggest one is that Gravitas lacks the tension of Omega; it's a bit of a plodder. Most songs could do with being speeded up by 20%. The arrangements are sometimes too lush, adding fat instead of muscle. As a reference, I returned to XXX, which was for me a mild disappointment after Omega, and it seemed rather more vibrant than Gravitas.So - in summary - a workmanlike album, with melodic flourishes, but it's like a movie star, saddled with playing a king, who speaks with a slow deep sonorous voice in an attempt to convey gravitas. That's fine, but it can end up sounding a little flat and, well, predictable. Just like this album.

Its not a bad album but as others have said, it starts very well with the first three songs, then it seems to drift off a bit in places. Just feels a bit rushed and not complete. Other Asia albums tend to have more solid songs and more than nine tracks. Having said that, there are some great songs, just wish i didnt have to skip a couple of songs.

… etwas sehr mainstreaminger Bombast-Rock,aber sehr schöne Melodien, toll arrangiert,hervorragende Musiker und John Wettons Stimme!Dennoch bleibt leider kein Titel so richtig im Ohr, vielleicht auch, weil es kein Titel in die Playlists der Radiostationen geschafft hat, dennoch:Wenn sich beim Autofahren wieder ein Titel dieser CD unter die Zufallswiedergabe schummelt, bin ich jedesmal positiv überrascht und schaue auf das Display: "Ah ja, Asia! Tolle Musik."Mein Lieblingstitel: "Till we meet again". Ist auch so etwas wie ein Vermächtnis von John Wetton an uns:"Think the best of meTill we meet again … Take care, go in peace, and with my kissBe good to each other, and remember thisHead in the clouds, and your feet on the groundI say this, we're the best friends around …True to yourself, till the day you die."

'Si puo' dare di piu' ! Non e' il titolo di una famosa canzone italiana, bensi' quello che mi e' venuto in mente dopo l'ascolto di ''Gravitas''. Certo l'album non e' davvero brutto, contiene brani pop-prog davvero notevoli ('Heaven help me now' su tutte) e rimanda a certe atmosfere che avevamo sentito nei primi due album dei 'Nostri' ('Asia', il best seller, ed 'Alpha'), pero' dai Signori Carl Palmer, John Wetton & Geoff Downes e' lecito attendersi tanto! Detto questo va ricordato che qui non abbiamo piu' Steve Howe (ritornato ad occuparsi in pianta stabile solamente degli Yes) sostituito dal giovanissimo 'funambolo' Sam Coulson che da rinnovata freschezza in certi passaggi del disco (e che, a mio avviso, viene utilizzato al di sotto delle sue potenzialita'). Per finire, 'Gravitas' potra' essere un nuovo inizio per la band ed un stimolo a ritrovare, da qui in avanti,anche una piu' marcata voglia di sperimentare!

I recieved Gravitas in the mail yesterday and listened to it in bits and pieces throughout the day. I was looking forward to hearing what ASIA had to offer with new guitarist Sam Coulson. What I listened to instead were songs that would be better suited under the ICON banner, being that all songs were written by John Wetton/Geoffrey Downes and produced by them as well. It seems that John & Geoff were a little overzealous in releasing their new batch of songs that they did not put much effort into thinking about which name to put it under.Don't get me wrong, all the songs are great and easy to listen to but they don't have that bombastic sound and kick that we've come to expect from ASIA. If Gravitas is the fourth album since the original ASIA reunion it might as well have been titled Icon IV, because this is exactly what the next ICON album (which also would have been their fourth) would have sounded like.Carl Palmer's master drumming is almost void here. Furthermore, I feel bad that a young guitar prodigy like Sam Coulson (who was referred to the band by Paul Gilbert) wasn't given much leeway to strut his stuff. At best we only hear what Sam has got to offer during the guitar solos.Gravitas is a great album but once again Wetton & Downes should have recorded these songs as ICON and not ASIA. I look forward to the next ASIA album where hopefully both Carl & Sam have more of a creative input.

Disco de presentación del nuevo guitarrista Sam Coulson. Se mantienen fieles a su sonido de siempre, por lo que no defraudarán a sus seguidores. El dúo compositivo Wetton/Downes nos sigue ofreciendo cuidadas composiciones AOR de gran nivel. El nuevo guitarrista, recomendado por Paul Gilbert, realiza un buen trabajo, a la altura de lo esperado, sin excederse en sus alardes técnicos, justo en la medida en la que completa el puzzle de la canción.En la misma línea que los tres trabajos anteriores de la banda.Bonita portada de Roger Dean, aunque prefiero otras del grupo, sigue las referencias al icónico dragón del álbum de debut y el XXX.

Siamo sui paramentri abituali degli Asia, gruppo che propone un pop rock a tratti pomp, molto di classe, sebbene standardizzato. Ogni disco contiene, a mio avviso, due o tre brani molto validi, altrettanti ordinari e altrettanti ancora veramente scarsi.Qui non ci discostiamo da questa media.Il brano migliore è "Russian Dolls" che secondo me rivaleggia con "Rendezvous 6:02" (degli UK) sebbene penalizzato da percussioni dai suoni fastidiosamente artificali.C'è anche una breve suite (Heaven Help Me), gradevole ma lontanissima dagli standard legati al prog puro.Se amate gli Asia, questo disco non vi deluderà.

La novedad es el cambio de guitarrista. Es evidente que Steve Howe deja el listón muy alto y que se nota que falta su estilo, pero el nuevo merece su oportunidad y espero que nos muestre grandes cosas. Por lo demás, es un buen disco de un grupo que cada día me gusta más y que merecen más éxito del que tienen.

I really like Asia and have bought all their releases since they got back together for "Phoenix". Steve Howe is gone and they have a new guitarist but other than that the songwriting is still very good. The songs are a little less rocky than the last couple records which is why I only gave the album a 4 star. Some real nice tracks on here though and some tracks that were just ok. "Joe Di Maggio's Glove " is my favorite track followed by the lead off single "Valkyrie" . Also liked the tracks "The Closer I Get To You" and "Nyctophobia" . They redone "I Would Die For You" a song they originally done in the 80's which is not far off the original. The fact that these guys have been writing songs together for so long and still keep coming back with more great stuff is pretty amazing.

Für mich eine der besten Asia-Platten. Bei Valyrie liegt mir zwar der Schwerpunkt ein bisschen zu sehr auf dem Refrain, der dadurch etwas ausgelutscht wird und das an sich gelungene Lied etwas entwertet. Davon abgesehen sind die verschiedenen Titel recht abwechslungsreich, aber trotzdem im typischen Asia-Stil dargeboten. Ich kann die teilweise sehr schlechten Bewertungen nicht verstehen und empfehle ein mehrfaches Anhorchen, wie schon von anderen Rezensenten vorgeschlagen. Für einen Asia-Freund ist diese Platte eigentlich ein Muss...

Yo, es ist anders als die Vorgängeralben, das ist kein Wunder, die Band musste sich ja mit dem Wechsel von Steve Howe zu Sam Coulson arrangieren. Die Musik ist viel getragener und symphonisch, mit einem ganzen Orchester wäre das bestimmt der Hammer. Ich musste mich erst mal reinhören, dann entwickelte z. B. Valkyrie einen ganz eigenen Reiz.Fazit: Anders, aber immer noch sehr ASIA.

Disco magnifico, che omaggia i primi, mitici album della band capitanata dal compianto John Wetton e da G. Downes. In più, ci sono richiami all'attività dei 2 come Icon, il che non guasta affatto, anzi.

Seit fast 30 Jahren bin ich ein ASIA Fan. Diese Gruppe fasziniert mit einfach und die Musik höre ich unglaublich gerne. Diese CD ist eine tolle Bereicherung.

Vale mucho la pena este álbum !

Come sempre un album dove la professionalità dei componenti di questo gruppo, ormai storico, anche se in alcuni momenti si sente la mancanza della chitarra di Steve Howe, solitamente presente...... Apprezabile il chitarrista che lo sostituisce per i virtuosismi in assolo....

Un grande album. Peccato per la pessima registrazione con una gamma dinamica molto compressa e poca spazialità negli strumenti musicali.

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