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Gravitas is the thirteenth studio album by British rock group Asia, released in 2014. It is the group's final studio album with vocalist/bassist John Wetton before his death in 2017 and the only one to feature guitarist Sam Coulson.
This song deals with divorce, telling the story of a guy who is going through a split and struggling with the ordeal. All he asks is "Gravitas," which refers to dignity. In our interview with Asia lead singer John Wetton, he explained: "He's just saying, 'For Christ sake, can I come out of this with some dignity?'.
In the episode "The Splendid Source" of the animated TV series Family Guy, the song "Only Time Will Tell" plays and John Payne is introduced simply as "Lead Singer of Asia." Payne gleefully takes advantage of the fact that the ex-wife of REO Speedwagon's lead singer Kevin Cronin will get money if the song "Time for Me to Fly" plays.
Mar 19, 2014 · The 27 year-old Midlander might have played with Paul Gilbert, Tony MacAlpine and Guthrie Govan (the John Payne-era Asia/now Steven Wilson Band incumbent), but can he mix it with a unit of world-class musicians? And how will his apparent proclivity towards hard rock and metal affect this group’s notoriously delicate internal chemistry?
- Dave Ling
Guitarist and vocalist Marc Bonilla is ASIA’s newest member. “The fans have never left ASIA,” says drummer Carl Palmer. “That first ASIA album with all those radio and MTV hits weaved the fabric of the music scene in the early 1980s.
Gravitas finds Asia with a new guitarist as Sam Coulson replaces Steve Howe. Howe, who left on good terms this time, brought character to his guitar work that Coulson does not. Coulson does fine in the roll but sounds like a million other guitar players.
It’s a modern take on the standard rock ballad, and singer John Wetton lets his vocal talent take centre stage. Upon listening, it becomes apparent Asia could very well have made a career scoring music for films and television or even musicals, as tracks Russian Dolls and Heaven Help Me both highlight.
