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2010.10.24

オメガ　/　エイジアの自作解説

テーマ： UK～エイジア～ジョン・ウェットン(1660)

カテゴリ： UK～ASIA～ジョン・ウェットン

オメガ

価格：2,800円（税込、送料別）

Through My Veins and Light The Way: Mr.Howe's original songs, completely rearranged, and lyrically re-addressed. If Steve ever puts out a 'Homebrew' with the demo of TMV and LTW, you'll see how they changed. My idea for TMV was a more persistent, U2-type 8th note pulse,with a key-change, and strong harmonies for the chorus. There is also a sequenced keyboard from GD, but it's quite low in the final mix, but it provided the 'glue' for the preliminary overdubs.

Holy War: Geoff's title, my lyric. I'm a big student of medieval warfare---one of the best authors to read for factual as well as fictional material is Bernard Cornwell--his detail is staggering, and his descriptions of Crusades battles are second-to-none. My lyrics will always give a positive slant, and at the end of the song, just as in another of our anti-war songs, 'Wildest Dreams', the whole message turns on its head,and with the introduction of 'we want no more Holy War', it becomes a pacifist mantra. I got an email from a professor at Cambridge saying what a pleasure it was to see the word 'Trebuchet' in a rock song. The Trebuchet was an original 'WMD', a massive catapult capable of unbelievable destruction and carnage.

Ever Yours: No Asia album would be complete without at least one blatant love song, a no-holds-barred churning bucket of sentimental lurve, with more than a hint at the Universal Power for the Positive--whatever form that takes for you, be it Lady Luck, a Guardian Angel,or your god.

Listen Children: This refers to an event which actually took place, in a village near Grasse, in Provence, southern France, in the summer of 1992. It was a little festival, with children having the time of their lives. With no limitations, curfew, or much parental supervision, an innocent twilight perfect evening, with a band, eating, drinking, and much pleasure, in a balmy , warm, joyful summer village fete. The mood of the lyric is drawn from 'Uncle John's Band' by the Grateful Dead, and the vocal chorus from 'Carry On Wayward Son' by Kansas, but of course, the final result is nothing like either--- these are just some of the reference points in my head.There was an opening for putting 'La Marseillaise' quintone very quietly under 'Ecoutez', it was never done, but I always sing it when I hear the track . It's essentially Geoff's track, with my melody and lyric, some have called it overly sentimental, but I love it.

End of the World: Always one of my favourite from the whole record, it was written towards the end of the recording, when GD and I were very focussed.For me, it's very Asia, from the bombastic intro to the melodic pop chorus. If you don't know what Auto-da-Fe is, it's being damned if you don't, and damned if you do. I love the way the chord sequences dovetail, it's a real Wetton/Downes stereotype---love it. The lyric, of course, is autobiographical--all of my stuff is, just some is more than others. One of the lines that I started the chorus with, but ditched, was 'I don't wanna spend the rest of my days in an alcohol haze'. I preferred 'I believe that God is Love', but it's strange how songs and lyrics start their lives, and how they magically transform into the final version.

There Was A Time: This was a something that came out of one of our (JW/GD)writing sessions at my house, on the 'magic piano'. We developed it further at Geoff's studio in Wales, and lyrically is very much a retrospective look back at a time with a specific person----the woman in question is a spouse/partner---where did it go wrong? What could I have done?As the writer wishes her only the best, it ends with an optimistic 'There will come a time for you' over a brilliant shuffle that Carl does so well, and a superb solo from Mr. Howe.

I'm Still The Same: A tune that I had, a rock-based shuffle which is actually the 'other half' of a ballad, which starts with the same C to Fm modulation. I first mentioned the coupling to Mike Paxman very early on in the recording process, that it would be great to have two songs----one ballad, and one rock--- on the same record, with a chordal, melodic correlation and lyrical continuity. Initially he was excited about the prospect, but when we played the rough sketches on piano, he said 'nice chords, but....." I don't think Mike understood fully what we were capable of at that time. I believe that if we were to present again, he would understand. The finished article (ISTS) doesn't quite hit the spot as far as I'm concerned--it's not rocky enough---the guitar is very jazz, and the drums aren't heavy enough. That's no fault of Steve Howe, or Carl Palmer, it's my fault for not being there at the time. What's also my fault is the fact that the song has no bridge ---there is a 'C' section which was never recorded, and it fits perfectly with the ballad which forms the 'other half' of the piece. Hopefully, you'll hear that in the next year or so. This song has a lovely chorus, but possibly would have benefitted from being an iCon song, with iCon treatment---you never know, that might just happen. The lyric is about a man totally mystified by his partner's about face behaviour, about his partner's head being turned by another, when it is obvious to him that it will never work. We do the strangest things in the name of love, no question that we are considered to be' insane' when in love. Big Brian Wilson influence on vocal harmonies, as usual.

Drop a Stone: Written in Kansas City, at one of our road-writing afternoons in a hotel room on a day off. It is not really the way I had intended, it was meant (in my head) to be more Floydian, spacey, with a huge vocal and massive synthesizers. It is now a blues tune, hence it is a bonus track. Steve does incredibly well on this song, if anything it's turned into a country tinged blues song. The vocal is in-your-face, up close and personal---not the way I had intended, but that's what happens .I suppose, because it was written in Kansas City, it was destined to have a blues flavour. It's about having faith, helping someone else, and about letting go ---sometimes when we think we need to hang on with all our might, the best thing we can do is let go.

I Believe: One of the last songs written for Omega. On a rainy afternoon in the Welsh Valleys, after a lunch of chicken and Nando's incendiary hot chilli sauce, I pulled out a tune that had been in my head since crossing the Severn Bridge that morning (this bridge links England and Wales, is spectacular, and very very inspiring. Sometimes I just want to stop, and sit for a while--but you're not allowed to --for the mile or so of bridge, you must keep moving).Geoff instantly added the verse, and there we had it. Thankyou, Nando.

Don't Wanna Lose You Now: I just wrote the verse part of the song on 12-string acoustic guitar, and the words fell out of my mouth simultaneously. There was the first verse. I didn't know what it was about (I thought it was a straightforward love song) but it dawned on me that all of these word were saying 'thankyou'--it was a debt of thanks to someone, and it occurred to me that I may be talking to the audience the person listening to the record, or the ticket-holder at a concert. So the rest of the song (including Geoff's beautifully crafted bridges) fell into place. It's about being grateful, not taking anything for granted, and enjoying the moment.

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