------------------------------------------------------- MAY 2, 1982 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Los Angeles Times Asia Policy: Space, Pomp By Patrick Goldstein "ASIA." Asia. Geffen GHS 2008. What can you say about a band that announces on its first record that since it's 1982, "You can concern yourself with bigger things" like catching a ride on "the dragon's wings." Who do these guys think they are, God's other sons? Have they gotten hold of a large-type Tolkien anthology? Will they sell a million records? Probably all of the above. It's too bad England doesn't have a space program, because everyone in Asia would make a great astronaut, doodling on a bank of celestial synthesizers, gazing raptly at the spheres and musing contentedly about "riding the hounds of hell." What else would you expect from a veritable space-and-pomp all-star team, including such heavy thinkers as ELP's Carl Palmer, ex-King Crimson vocalist John Wetton and a pair of Yes-men, Steve Howe and Geoffrey Downes. To be fair. Asia sounds wonderful, as ornate and enchanting as a royal wedding. Wetton's vocals are as soothing as eucalyptus balm; Downes' synthesizers bray happily, and producer Mike Stone fills the album with a brocade of cosmic sounds, opening "Time Again" with an airy vocal chorus and concluding "Wildest Dreams" with a cathedral full of chiming bells. Unfortunately, this is a band with a permanently furrowed brow, its somber epics weighed down with grammar-school mysticism and lumbering romantic verse. Of course, that's part of Asia's appeal. America's sensory-starved teenagers have always loved musicians that don't make the least bit of sense. As long as it provides a smooth ride, who can complain about a band that wafts through the clouds like a hot-air balloon, surveying a sunny landscape with no trace of shadow? Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com