Why do so many Yes fans seem to hate Asia?

[Soundchaser413]

I know it sounds like a provactive title but I'm really curious about this. I first got into Yes (and Asia) for that matter but initially didn't make the connection between the two bands until later. At the time I thought Asia were a good band and I enjoyed their stuff. Even later on I heard some prog elements in their music despite the fact everyone says how commercial they are and often use that as a reason for not liking them. So what I would like to know is it that people didn't like them because they expected Asia to sound like Yes or they just thought they were too commercial or poppy in general. I see people posting the hate on facebook groiups too so it seems to be many Yes fans who don't like Asia. Are they mostly older fans or har core prog fans? Why so much snobbery and vitriol against them?

[Olorin]

I can say that I didn't hate them, but was completely underwhelmed by them. When I heard there was going to be a group composed of members of Yes, King Crimson, and ELP, I suppose my expectations were off the charts. When I realized they were just doing radio-friendly stuff, I was very crestfallen and paid no attention to them after that.

[soundchaser09]

I dont hate them, they dont blow me away either, but I do appreciate the debut album, a great 80s album, I also enjoy Omega and XXX in the recent releases. They are a decent band and catered to a different audience to what the musicians involved usually did- with the exception of Downes (via The Buggles). I enjoy more adventurous music overall. In addition, whilst Asia (1982) was a great debut I still think there are better pop albums out there including 90125 and Big Generator by Yes.

[pianozach]

Easy peasy.

A Prog Rock Supergroup forms - only to be a non-Prog band, with the members' talents astonishingly underutilized.

Howe, Downes, and Palmer were capable of so much more, and they deliberately DIDN'T use their skills and talents to anywhere NEAR the best of their abilities.

In fact, it smelled a lot like "Sell Out".

[luvyesmusic]

Because many are older and expected more from the world's first "super-group? Esp. from the pedigree of talent and classic rock.

Let's face it, it was a time of pop sensibilities, commercialism, and the days of looks, colors, clothing, haircuts and videos of MTV. YES and the Moodies were redone, and reborn, issuing a new generation of fans, ripe for ASIA, as well.

YES was over when I discovered them. Anything YES related was more than welcome. Cinema came out and became YES. Owner got these guys airplay, and, again, a new generation of fans. I finally got to see YES after coming back to the states, and not being old enough to see a solo Jon show in a Boston bar. It was awful. Trevor and company, and bad outfits, with an even worse guitar player. He had nothing on Steve, or any rocker, metal or otherwise I enjoyed.

ASIA had Steve. Sure, I knew Geoff from Video, and later Drama. Jon Wetton? Didn't have a clue. Great vocalist, and bassist. Carl was from a legendary dinosaur band for me. Perhaps my expectations of a prog, super-group were far different. They were a here and now group, with a great mix, tunes that stayed in your head, and now importantly, heavy rotation on MTV and the radio. Was I going to hear much old YES, or ELP on the radio, driving around in my car? No! ASIA, might not have been for everyone, but it was an exciting time, for me a young man. Women loved ASIA, too, even better for me. All I knew was Steve was back, and anything musical was now possible. The more YES related projects, groups and performances the better.

[carlmarx38]

Lots of ASIA memories......first tour was the summer I graduated from HS, I in fact lost my virginity the night of the concert, after the show.

The ASIA Armada Fan Club, which was very active during the Downes-Payne years, had a very large presence on the early WWW in the mid-90's and did oodles to help sell those cheesy Downes/Payne ASIA albums that everyone loves to hate. I was a big fan of all those albums, as well as Geoff's Vox Humana album from the same time period.

Saw the first Warmup gig of the 2006 Reunion Tour, got a free meet-and-greet with the band, but was so drunk I nearly passed out right in front of Geoff......ah yes, those were the days !!

[Roundabob]

I didn’t hate Asia, but they were very disappointing. I absolutely loved the music of UK, which was Wetton’s previous prog supergroup, and I expected Asia to produce something as good, or maybe better. They fell far short of that, but were quite simply trying to create something different in nature from their previous efforts. Not my cup of tea...

[Gilly Goodness]

Lots of ASIA memories......first tour was the summer I graduated from HS, I in fact lost my virginity the night of the concert, after the show.

Here comes the Feeling!!!

[Soundwaveseeker]

'Progitis' is something that strikes many fans of Yes and other similar bands, and symptoms include disdain for what may be considered 'pop' or 'commercial/sell-out' and toxic attitudes towards such music and bands that perform songs that may be shorter, simpler or accessible/hits. I went through a short spell of this, when things like Asia and 80's Genesis were considered 'pop crud' or 'not REAL music', but fortunately my taste buds healed, and my symptoms went away.

Seriously, I did not know Asia were made up of members from three bands I dug at first. When I saw the names attached, I gave it a more honest listen. Listening to the debut album at the beach was a good experience. True, Alpha was a little less involved but still had a large rock sound. Astra was the newest Asia album at the time I started giving them a listen, and was surprised that Voice Of America and Rock & Roll Dream didn't become big anthems. When Asia returned in the 90's with John Payne, I gave them a chance and remained on board when most fans bailed. Asia themselves have disowned this chapter in their career, but you can't really airbrush out a 15 year period with 8 studio albums, but that's another topic. Asia has become one of my top favorite bands and I still drag them to the beach. Orangey summer skies go with those Geoff Downes synth textures.

I can understand why some prog fans saw the line-up when the 1st album came out and expected something like UK or Yes with Carl Palmer on drums, thus felt deceived. Many viewed them as a band trying to fit in with the AOR/Journey/Styx/Boston kinda sound. To me, it sounds like a continuation of the electric Drama Yes sound, or at least the debut does. Even the Dean artwork: the shore on the cover of Drama - you follow that shoreline to the East and you'll probably come to that wider part of the water where that friggin' dragon is splashing around, playing with a giant silver pinball. Other than the first two or three radio hit, which are cool as well, you'll hear a pretty proggy album. Time Again sounds like ELP with special guest Steve Howe, Cutting It Fine is actually two songs, ending with a grand synth-classical composition, and Without You - possibly the best track on the album - is just grand. And emotional. Nothing Journey or Toto about that first album. It's engaging. You want to hear a former progressive band doing a bad pop album? Try Canadian band FM's 1987 album 'Tonight' which includes a lame-for-the-ages cover of Good Vibrations. Once you hear that, you'll direct your venom away from Asia in a heartbeat.

There's nothing to hate with Asia. They really should be taken seriously as a legacy band with a history of ups and downs, line-up changes, direction changes, and 15 studio albums filled with good playing, catchy songs and strong harmony vocals. Anyone who reads a rock magazine, you get the same narrative all the time about Asia. People are generally just told not to like Asia. They may not be for everyone, but they're solid to me. Some albums are better than others, but that's true with any band, including the ones we feel can do no wrong. But count me in for Team Asia.

[luna65]

I don't hate Asia, but I never really got into their music. All talented people, of course, but it just wasn't for me.

Why so much snobbery and vitriol against them?

I mean, I could say the same thing about YesWest. lol.

[Mr. Holland]

I don't hate Asia either. But apart from a couple of tracks from the first album, their music just doesn't do much for me. I find it very bland, there's nothing that graps me by the throat. I also feel they're more a pop band than a rock band. Rock to me means guitars very much at the forefront and I find Asia to be a keyboards dominated band in general. So, they're not really prog, not really rock, but then again not really pop either and that perhaps is part of the problem for me, that they seem to be neither fish nor flesh.

[ragtime]

I like quite a lot bands that might be classed as pop (e.g. Aztec Camera, Spandau Ballet, OMD) and rock bands that are not categorised as 'prog' (e.g. Fleetwood Mac, Budgie, Free), and I like the first Asia album. I saw them at Wembley on that first tour. But the second album was disappointing and everything after that just sounds formulaic to me. I don't hate them but they don't excite me

[PeterCologne]

I don't hate Asia, its really not my favourite music but I like it like I like sometimes some mainstream-rock for its well one can say artully entwined guitar-keyboard-bass-drum-ornamentation. My favourite thing in that section is Journey, Boston comes next.

Asia is kind of a more overblown but fancy Disney- or whatever Musical-version. Well you can get lost a little bit in the dense arrangements, that is something I like. And I also mean albums like Alpha, Astra, Phoenix and Omega.

[pianozach]

'Progitis' is something that strikes many fans of Yes and other similar bands, and symptoms include disdain for what may be considered 'pop' or 'commercial/sell-out' and toxic attitudes towards such music and bands that perform songs that may be shorter, simpler or accessible/hits. I went through a short spell of this, when things like Asia and 80's Genesis were considered 'pop crud' or 'not REAL music', but fortunately my taste buds healed, and my symptoms went away.

Seriously, I did not know Asia were made up of members from three bands I dug at first. When I saw the names attached, I gave it a more honest listen. Listening to the debut album at the beach was a good experience. True, Alpha was a little less involved but still had a large rock sound. Astra was the newest Asia album at the time I started giving them a listen, and was surprised that Voice Of America and Rock & Roll Dream didn't become big anthems. When Asia returned in the 90's with John Payne, I gave them a chance and remained on board when most fans bailed. Asia themselves have disowned this chapter in their career, but you can't really airbrush out a 15 year period with 8 studio albums, but that's another topic. Asia has become one of my top favorite bands and I still drag them to the beach. Orangey summer skies go with those Geoff Downes synth textures.

I can understand why some prog fans saw the line-up when the 1st album came out and expected something like UK or Yes with Carl Palmer on drums, thus felt deceived. Many viewed them as a band trying to fit in with the AOR/Journey/Styx/Boston kinda sound. To me, it sounds like a continuation of the electric Drama Yes sound, or at least the debut does. Even the Dean artwork: the shore on the cover of Drama - you follow that shoreline to the East and you'll probably come to that wider part of the water where that friggin' dragon is splashing around, playing with a giant silver pinball. Other than the first two or three radio hit, which are cool as well, you'll hear a pretty proggy album. Time Again sounds like ELP with special guest Steve Howe, Cutting It Fine is actually two songs, ending with a grand synth-classical composition, and Without You - possibly the best track on the album - is just grand. And emotional. Nothing Journey or Toto about that first album. It's engaging. You want to hear a former progressive band doing a bad pop album? Try Canadian band FM's 1987 album 'Tonight' which includes a lame-for-the-ages cover of Good Vibrations. Once you hear that, you'll direct your venom away from Asia in a heartbeat.

There's nothing to hate with Asia. They really should be taken seriously as a legacy band with a history of ups and downs, line-up changes, direction changes, and 15 studio albums filled with good playing, catchy songs and strong harmony vocals. Anyone who reads a rock magazine, you get the same narrative all the time about Asia. People are generally just told not to like Asia. They may not be for everyone, but they're solid to me. Some albums are better than others, but that's true with any band, including the ones we feel can do no wrong. But count me in for Team Asia.

Oh, yes, that Roger Dean album cover certainly sucked me in and raised my expectations as well. That was a very sly move on their part.

[Ash Armstrong]

Not 'hate', but indifference. As in, I just don't care.