Asia (2) ‎– Aqua

I know I'm in the minority, but I tend to enjoy the later Asia albums with John Payne on vocals almost as much as the best-selling original Asia material. Who cares that keyboardist/songwriter Geoff Downes was the only original member left in the ‘90s when the music Asia released was so good?

1992's Aqua was the first album of the new Asia lineup. At this point, it was Geoff Downes and original guitarist Steve Howe, plus incoming vocalist/bassist John Payne and journeyman guitarist Al Pitrelli (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra). I had relatively low expectations when I first bought Aqua, but once I got past the instrumental intro "Aqua Part 1" (there's an "Aqua Part 2" that closes the album), I immediately fell in love with Asia's new sound. It's still the keyboard-driven melodic rock the band is so well known for, (see especially "Who Will Stop the Rain" and "Lay Down Your Arms"), but songs like "Love Under Fire" and "Crime of the Heart" just seem more mature and personal. A lot of this is due to Payne's warm and emotional vocals. I love John Wetton's voice, but to me Payne will always be the voice I associate with Asia.

Aside from the throwaway instrumental tracks and perhaps "Little Rich Boy," Aqua is a remarkably strong melodic rock album. I'm sure there are old school Asia fans who simply won't be satisfied with anything but the original lineup, but Aqua should please anyone open-minded enough to give it a chance.

Reissue Notes: Snapper reissued Aqua in 2004 as part of their Snapper Classics line. The reissue features digitally remastered sound, digipack packaging, and the bonus track "Obsession", which also appears on the Archiva collection. "Obsession" is a great song, and totally fits the mood of Aqua. The remastering isn’t anything special though, and the digipack is pretty cheap-looking.