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Customer Reviews of Astra

Powerful, if disappointing
When John Wetton was unexpectedly replaced by Greg Lake, I expected Asia's 3rd album to include him. Not only was the '83 live show not released as an album (only a video) but when their 3rd studio album materialized, Wetton had suddenly returned-- while Steve Howe had gone! Roger Dean's stark mechanoid cover painting accurately reflects the album's contents; guitarist Mandy Meyer brings a harsh, hard sound to replace Howe's warmth.

As with ALPHA, the first half of ASTRA are all among my favorite Asia tunes. The powerful "Go", the melodic "Voice Of America", the highly-charged "Hard On Me", the emotional "Wishing" and the epic "Rock And Roll Dreams". But Side 2 was a serious nosedive. Perhaps "Countdown To Zero" was a reflection of a band falling apart-- and "After The War" appropriately ends with the musical equivalent of a A-bomb being dropped. The rest is too downbeat, and oddly enough ASTRA reflects almost exactly ELO's final album, BALANCE OF POWER, released about the same time. But I guess half an album worth of greatness is more than most bands deliver, and that still makes this worth buying.

But what FOOL screwed up the track running order on the CD? (You have to "program" it if you want to play the 10 songs in the original order!)

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A solid disc
Astra, Asia's third full-length album, was released in 1985. It consists of ten songs. The material is in a pop rock musical direction. Altogether, the songwriting is good, the musicianship is tight, and the sound quality is satisfying. Throughout, the music has a majestical quality. I like John Wetton's distinctive, smooth, meat-and-potatoes vocal delivery; besides handling the vocal duties, he also plays the bass guitar. Geoffrey Downes--my favorite keyboardist--does a gratifying job with the keyboard work. Guitarist Mandy Meyer turns out an effective performance. When it comes to the harmony vocals, I find them to be pleasing. Though I find all of the tracks to be listenable, the ones that I enjoy the most are "Voice of America," "Wishing," and "Suspicion." Wetton provides plaintive, industrious vocals on the melancholy "Voice of America," a composition that also features an impressive refrain. The pretty-sounding "Wishing" displays earnest, emotional singing from Wetton. Starting off with a nicely tailored keyboard intro from Downes, the charming "Suspicion" also exhibits a sleek, magnetic keyboard solo from him. Other cuts that I like are "Go" and "Rock and Roll Dream." The album-opening "Go" is catchy and energetic and sports stately keyboard playing from Downes. At almost seven minutes, the epic, adventurous "Rock and Roll Dream" features the playing of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The CD insert does not include the song lyrics. The album cover artwork is creative and interesting. The disc is just over 45 minutes. Astra is a recommendable piece of work.

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"Dig for victory, Go for gold"
Astra is an often overlooked gem. It was the last in a trio of brilliant Asia albums featuring one of the best vocalists of all time, John Wetton. Astra is not as solid as Alpha and does not have the super hits like their self-titled debut, but it is still an excellent album with plenty to offer. It starts with the driving "Go." I did not like "Voice of America" at first because I thought it was a bit sappy but, upon further listens, it is one of my favorites on the album. It is very pleasant. Curiously, it is on the Then and Now 1990 compilation as a "Now" song even though, as far as I can hear, it is the same 1985 version. "Hard on Me" is a very catchy rocker. The verses just makes me want to move my feet, but the chorus is a little awkward. "Wishing" is not very memorable. "Rock and Roll Dream" is a slow, calm song during the verses and then bursts out in tempo during the chorus.

"Countdown to Zero" is a powerful track and is very 1980s Cold War with the spoken verses "Do you realise what's happening in Western Europe? Norway, Finland, Scotland, England. We'll be the first to go." The last spoken lines are kind of silly though: "Don't do it, Don't start the countdown to zero. We want to live. You've got your finger on the trigger. Take it off." "Love Now Till Eternity" is a little sappy and, unlike "Voice of America," I still think it is sappy, but there is nice acoustic guitar at the end. "Too Late" has an addictive rhythm like "Hard on Me." "Suspicion" has a spooky sound and then bursts out with a cool keyboard/guitar piece. It is also very 1980s-sounding (that is a good thing). "After the War" starts out like it is going to be an overdone track like "Wildest Dreams" but then settles down to a very pleasant melody. This album is closer to Alpha than Asia's debut as it keeps the excesses of progressive rock in check. Any fan of Asia's hit singles will enjoy this album, as it is just as accessible and catchy.