The eagerly awaited follow-up to the supergroup's debut, Alpha landed with a resounding thud a year later.
The album still managed to be a platinum-selling Top Ten hit, as did the leadoff single "Don't Cry," but where Asia managed to make old sounds fresh, Alpha fails miserably.
Nothing on Alpha packs the sheer sonic force of the band's debut.
Instead, much of the record is lightweight both lyrically and musically, leaning heavier on keyboard-laden ballads like "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes," which managed to scrape into the Top 40, and "My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want)." The only real meat on the record comes during the last cut, "Open Your Eyes" (and only at the end of the song).
Rumored creative differences, the album's lukewarm reception, and flagging ticket sales for the ensuing tour led to lead singer John Wetton leaving the band before the year was out.
Alpha is sorely disappointing, especially coming on the heels of a promising debut.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Smile Has Left Your EyesJohn Wetton | Asia | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 2 | Never in a Million YearsGeoff Downes, Geoffrey Downes, John Wetton | Asia | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | The Last to KnowGeoff Downes, Geoffrey Downes, John Wetton | Asia | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | True ColorsGeoff Downes, Geoffrey Downes, John Wetton | Asia | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Midnight SunGeoff Downes, Geoffrey Downes, John Wetton | Asia | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 19 mins | 44 MB | |||||
| 19 mins | 118 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asia | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 2 | Roger Dean | Cover Design, Design, Illustrations |
| 3 | Geoff Downes | Composer |
| 4 | Geoffrey Downes | Composer, Keyboards |
| 5 | Steve Howe | Guitar, Vocals |
| 6 | Paul Northfield | Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 7 | Frank Opolko | Assistant Engineer |
| 8 | Carl Palmer | Drums |
| 9 | Mike Stone | Audio Engineer, Audio Production |
| 10 | Mike "Clay" Stone | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 11 | John Wetton | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals |
| 12 | Robbie Whelan | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |