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Arena (1996)

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Few, if any cds (upon initial hearing) impress me enough to recommend them! This was an exception. Although, I really enjoy Alpha immensely and still rank it as my second favorite Asia album; I would have to say unequivocally that this is my absolute favorite! Not to diminish the artistic expertise of the original group one iota. It is and will continue to be a thoroughly impressive cd! More "art rock" oriented than the early Asia albums. With a host of new musicians, including: Aziz Ibrahim (on lead and rhythm guitar) and Elliott Randall (on lead guitar), Michael Sturgis (on drums) and Luis Jardim (on percussion) and also, Hotei Tomayasu (on lead guitar on "Into The Arena"), in addition to: Geoffrey Downes (on keyboards) and John Payne (on lead vocals and bass guitar); this cd employs several different rock styles, reminiscent of artists who range from: Carlos Santana on "Into The Arena," Yes, circa "Tales From Topographic Oceans" on "Arena." Also, Rush, circa "A Farewell To Kings," or Hemispheres on "The Day Before The War." There is also quite a bit of Yes/Rush influence on "Words," "Tell Me Why" and "Turn It Around" The Police and Rush, circa Signals on "Two Sides Of The Moon." David Bowie on "Falling," and Pink Floyd, especially "Another Brick In The Wall Part Two" or "Run Like Hell" and Rush, circa Power Windows on "Heaven." There is also a great deal of similarity with Rush on many of the other songs! Every single song on this cd is superb! Highlights include: "Into the Arena," "Arena," "Heaven," "The Day Before The War," "Never," "Falling," "U Bring Me Down" and "Bella Nova." There seems to be a slight religious undercurrent to the message on this cd, in addition to the cover artwork which displays a battle between good and evil. This is especially true on "Never," which sounds like a cross between Boston, Rush and gospel music. Even so, this is one of the best "art rock" albums that I have ever heard, on par with Exit... Stage Left, Tales From Topographic Oceans and Power Windows. This cd remains consistently very interesting, due to the fact that there is so much variety on this cd! This includes: "U Bring Me Down" which incorporates Moroccan-type rhythms and "spoken word" into the mix, sounding like a cross between "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin and Rush, circa Roll The Bones. Please click here for another opinion about Arena.

Track No.	Song Title	Track Time	Commnents

1.	INTO THE ARENA	2:58	This particular instrumental track relaxes you to the point that you are definitely ready to enter the arena. The Carlos Santana-like guitar playing is absolutely tremendous!
2.	ARENA	5:14	Another superb song, which has a Yes-like/Rush-like melody throughout!.
3.	HEAVEN	5:16	Beginning with a Pink Floyd-like introduction, this song progresses through Rush-like sounding melodies until it fades into oblivion!
4.	TWO SIDES OF THE MOON	5:22	Beginning with a Talking Heads type melody, this progresses through a Police type riff and finally emerges as something highly reminiscent of Signals.
5.	THE DAY BEFORE THE WAR	9:06	Highly reminiscent of a combination of great "art rock" groups,such as: a mixture of Yes and early Rush, circa 2112, this is an absolutely superb track! The vocals and the instrumental sections play upon each other perfectly!
6.	NEVER	5:31	Think of an odd combination of the Steve Miller Band, gospel, Rush, circa "Power Windows" and Boston and you will get a general idea of how unusual and awesome this particular track is!
7.	FALLING	4:57	Think David Bowie throughout this sonically appealing track!
8.	WORDS	5:17	Think of Yes, circa Going For The One on this track!
9.	U BRING ME DOWN	7:05	Think of a Moroccan type intro, almost like belly-dancing music, follow this up with a spoken word part which is highly reminiscent of a cross between Kashmir and Rush, circa Roll The Bones, more specifically "You Bet Your Life."
10.	TELL ME WHY	5:14	Yes, again but more reminiscent of Drama this time!
11.	TURN IT AROUND	4:28	Yes again, but this time more like Close To The Edge
12.	BELLA NOVA	3:10	A beautiful instrumental by Geoff Downes to end this superb disc!

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