Search - John Wetton/Geoffrey Downes: Icon - Acoustic TV Broadcast on DVD

Disappointing........

trebel19 | Toronto | 01/04/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge Wetton/Downes/Asia fan, but this is not worth the money. It is a lip sync of the CD, not a recording of the session or a new session.

It was tough to watch, and the first thing by these two that I will not watch again.

Kevin"

Songs this good shouldn't be this boring

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 02/28/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"On paper this should have been a winner. You get founding Asia members John Wetton and Geoff Downes, fresh off a well-received collaboration called Icon, and have them perform songs from the album as well as their Asia hits, all acoustically, for a television special. It should have worked. It failed spectacularly.

Main Program - The whole performance consists of John Wetton with an acoustic guitar, Geoff Downes behind a piano, and a cellist...oh, and some potted plants. Wetton and Downed lip-synch their way through material from their Icon collaboration as well as some Asia staples, gradually sucking the life out of each song. By the end I was starting to suspect the potted plants of having more energy than these guys. I normally love "unplugged" performances, but without an audience to interact with, Wetton and Downes were literally going through the motions, and didn't seem remotely interested in what they were doing.

Bonus Features - You get some interview and promotional footage, but that's pretty standard stuff.

The Verdict - I hate to say it, but this just isn't very good at all. The performance was flat and completely devoid of energy. It's certainly not something you'd want to see twice, and I barely made it through the whole disc the first time. I love Asia, and thought the Icon album was terrific, but I just can't recommend this DVD release."