In 2008 the supergroup, Asia, release the album titled Phoenix.
The original line-up of John Wetton, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes, and Steve Howe were at it again. Sounding just as forward as they did with their debut record in 1982 that featured the hit Heat of the Moment, Phoenix was indeed a rising up again.
Downes, one of the greatest technical key players on earth. Wetton from King Crimson. Palmer from Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Howe a veteran of Yes. Together they are one of the tighest group I have ever heard and I just plain like their sound.
John Wetton’s voice may be my favorite in all of rock and roll. There is just a smooth, ‘come along as I tell this tale’ in his voice. Wetton’s voice is a straightforward instrument with inflections that most singers only dream of locating. For him, it just came out. John Wetton passed away in 2017 at age 67 after a battle with cancer. I never heard him sing in person.
I rediscovered this album this weekend and listened to it as I walked four miles and change. When it came out in 2008, I listened to it on Friday nights on the back porch with my grilling buddy, Luther.
I listened and I walked.
One last trip up the hill toward the house and then on to the soybean fields behind the house.
I walked and I listened.
The beans look good.
I am blessed to have peaceful roads and a bean field to walk next to.
NIL deals notwithstanding, thanks to the IU Athletic Department for parting with a couple schedule posters. They didn’t need to explain anything to me. I still look at that end zone and see pictures ini black and white. Some of you remember. There was a raised up piece of turf and a simple scoreboard. The only pictures were the ones we saw on the field with our own eyes.
The 1988 Indiana University Football Media Guide tells us that in the nine year tenure of Head Football Coach Lee Corso, the Hoosiers only appeared on televison seven times in the nine years he was head coach. Look at that list. Heading into the 1988 season, Indiana had only played five nationally televised games in school history. Times have changed slightly.
These days I can see it both, like this photo of Coach Bill Mallory. If I choose to see the pictures that were only on that field, they are still with me and this ironclad memory of mine. If I choose to do otherwise, Youtube is a good source. I watched the Iowa game from 1988 not long ago. Gary Bender and Dick Vermeil were there calling the game for ABC. That is still my favorite game. IU beat Iowa 45-34. The game lasted forever. Chuck Hartleib was 44-60 for 551 yards for the Hawkeyes. Anthony Thompson carried the call 47 times for Indiana. It was wonderful.
Head Coach Tom Allen is driving the team bus now. I believed in him the day Indiana hired him. I still believe.
For me, an old disgruntled Mallory fan who walked away at one time, Indiana is finally easy to root for again. The coaches and the AD are a breath of fresh air, as was Fred Glass, the Athletic Director who preceeded current AD Scott Dolson. They are easy to root for. I know. I know. I was there. I was in Bowling Green for the last Hoosier football victory and left glad we were playing quarters and not fifths. Yes, it has been a while. And yes, the schedule is brutal. Things will be better this season.
Me, I will always been torn between the seasonal green fields in my mind, the seasonal green fields before me now, and the ones I walk next to that bring me closer to the earth and reasons to keep walking and listening.
Speaking the Rights…
Danny Johnson