Alpha

I have the first domestic remaster of 1996......weak sound and weak bass ....brittle highs..I bought this Jap 2011 remaster.....the sound is slightly better..a bit more output...warmer highs...but disappointing overall.....It hardly matches the recent domestic masterpiece remaster they did for the first album......It FINALLY sounds like it was meant to sound.....maybe they will do the same for this discThe price is a bit steep...considering what little improvement they made......Some recent Jap remasters that are very worth the priceREO Speedwagon-You Get What You Play forJourney-infinityBeck Bogert and AppiceYes-Big Generator

Asia's sophomore album arrived in July 1983. This was quite a fast production, considering that their previous album had only come out in April of 1982, which was then followed by months and months of touring.Bassist/vocalist John Wetton and keyboardist Geoff Downes had emerged as the main songwriting duo behind Asia. As a result, every song on here (as opposed to Asia's debut) is purely a Wetton/Downes credit. And I think this is one reason why it's not as universally-accepted as the debut album. Vocals and keyboards are a bit more dominant, Carl Palmer's drums aren't mixed as well...and where's Steve Howe? His guitars are a thin whisper on many of the tracks. His sole songwriting contribution to Alpha was "Lying To Yourself" and it was filed away to be issued as a B-side. No wonder he left in '84.It's not that I think Alpha is a bad album. In fact, it's quite stunning. It's just that it's more of the same, but not nearly as good. It repeats itself too much, and doesn't feel like a band effort. Too much money was up in the air and Asia had become too successful, too fast. Everyone had cabin fever when they wrote it, and egos were starting to clash within the group (mostly with Howe and Wetton, who's rift broke up the original group for 23 years.) Mix this in with huge arenas that had thousands of empty seats, as well as growing Euro-pop trends, and Asia -- and other hard rock bands -- were in trouble."Don't Cry" starts off the album positively. Very nice vocals and some good drumming from Palmer. It's a pretty standard pop song, and it was the first Asia tune I ever heard. This song absolutely soars, and is incredibly uplifting."The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" is a pretty little ballad driven by keyboards and vocals, and is solely credited to John Wetton. This was written in 1982, along with "Midnight Sun" -- both of which were played on the previous tour in different form. I think that the song turned out better in later years, played live and with a real piano sound as opposed to the Casio-sounding keyboards on this studio version."Never In A Million Years" gets things rocking and the album starts to pick up some steam. Awesome vocals and some great keyboards, especially during the second verse. One wonders how much better this song had been with it's original intro, chopped off at the suggestion of a record executive because it "Made the song too long and less commercial.""My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want)" is an amazing song. It begins with a bombastic fanfare and then quietly fades in with Wetton's distinctive smoky vocals coupled with some beautiful acoustic guitar from Howe. The song builds and builds, Wetton's singing just dripping with emotion and fire. Palmer's drumming is another highlight here, in addition to the short little keyboard "trumpets" that Downes plays as the song fades out."The Heat Goes On" is often considered (along with "Open Your Eyes") to be the best song on Alpha. I won't go into too much detail, but everyone involved is at the top of their game in what is basically a straightforward classic rock tune. Play this loudly and people will likely ask who it is. A shame it gets no radio play. "The Heat Goes On" was originally titled "Eye of the Hurricane", but the lyrics were changed to basically make it a sequel to "Heat of the Moment". I would have preferred the original lyrics. (After the success of HotM, it struck me as kinda lame that they were trying to remind people of their biggest hit.)"Eye To Eye" is where the album starts to get a little slow. This song is very good, but gets a little repetitive, even as short as it is at three minutes or so. I *love* the keyboards though. Very icy-sounding, perfectly mirroring the lyrics and vocals. There's some wonderful instrumental pieces in here, subtly recalling Howe and Downes' 1980 Drama album under the Yes banner."The Last To Know" used to be my least-favorite song on Alpha but I enjoy it more these days. It's just that the lyrics are extremely sappy for guys in their 30's, and aside from when I remember myself at 13 in junior high, I can't relate. Nice classical interlude, though -- especially Palmer's drumming.I used to love "True Colors" when I first got Alpha... now it's my least-favorite. It just repeats the chorus over and over. Still good, but too keyboard-driven -- even if the darker sound does seem pretty cool."Midnight Sun" used to not really do anything for me, but I grew to really enjoy it. Don't ask me how that happens. It's probably the most non-Asia-sounding song on Alpha, and one that Yes fans would probably dig on the most (Downes keyboards are a lot like the ones on Drama...the use of the Fairlight Excalibur really recalls that album.) The lyrics are very Sci-Fi, and whenever I hear it, I imagine a darkened red moon rising over a massive cityscape of Neo-Tokyo, straight out of some 80's anime movie.Alpha closes with "Open Your Eyes", a powerful lament for an Asian girl seeking fame and fortune in America. Thankfully, as on "The Heat Goes On", everybody overcomes the other pitfalls of Alpha and really shines forth as they did in '82. The lyrics are damn good, and I love the use of a vocoder during the intro and outro (as well as Howe's electric sitar, not used since "Close To The Edge" in '72!) As the song gets quiet and then thunders back for an ecstatic rush of an ending, I always get chills. Superb ending.If you love Asia's first album, by all means, get this. Chances are, you'll like it. In fact, a small minority regard it as better. You can make it even better by making a CD-R (or MP3 playlist) and adding the two B-sides, "Lying To Yourself" (goes good after "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes") and "Daylight" (a stunningly powerful and underrated Asia song) as an album-closer.I do hope that Geffen rereleases and repackages this someday. Especially because there's a lot more material which didn't make it -- the earlier versions of "The Heat Goes On" and "Never In A Million Years", as well as two previously-unreleased songs in "Jodi" and "Keep The Love Alive".As much as I love this album, I can only give it 3 stars. It loses one for the lyrics (not bad, but overall worse than the debut) and one for production (again, worse than the debut.)Ironically, one of Alpha's best features is Roger Dean's breathtaking cover art, which I would say is among one of his best works. In an odd juxtaposition, we see a Sci-Fi utopia of a pyramid and arcologies set amongst an exotic jungle. An eagle (representing freedom) flies overhead, joyful in the bright blue skies. Underneath the brush lay hidden black tigers peering between the leaves, representing an inner darkness. As a strange synchronicity, we see large blocky moth statues at the edges of the jungle, and if we look closely at the jungle leaves, the exact same moth lay perched...is it the architectural hand of God who sets events in motion? Maybe I read too much into it, but I tend to get lost in Roger Dean's worlds...3 stars + 1 for an emotional connection

Disque dans un bon état et service impeccable

Would be good to receive unbroken items...

アナログレコードは持っていたのですが、なん十年ぶりに聴いて車で聴きたくて購入しました。１０代にタイムスリップしました。

Aïe ! Cet album très bon mérite une remasterisation d'urgence!!! le son est pourri... aucun relief .D'excellents titres comme : The Heat goes On , Midnight Sun , Open your Eyes.Etonnant que les commentaires précédents ne le mentionnent pas !Même remarque pour l'album suivant : Astra.

Super !