ASIA - (2006) Reunion Tour in Rochester

Asia
Reunion Tour
2006 August 29
Rochester, USA
Bitrate: 160 kbps

Setlist:
01 - Time Again
02 - Wildest Dreams
03 - One Step Closer
04 - Roundabout
05 - Without You
06 - Fanfare For The Common Man
07 - Cutting It Fine
08 - Steve Acoustic Solo - Ram
09 - The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
10 - Don't Cry
11 - In the Court Of The Crimson King
12 - Here Comes The Feeling
13 - Video Killed The Radio Star
14 - Only Time Will Tell
15 - Ride Easy
16 - Heat Of The Moment

Lineup:
John Wetton - Bass / Vocals
Steve Howe - Guitars / Backing Vocals
Geoff Downes - Keyboards / Backing Vocals
Carl Palmer - Drums / Percussion

ASIA - Silent Nation

I have always gone on record as saying that I much preferred the albums that Asia made when they were no longer a supergroup- the John Payne era, in other words. Whilst Steve Howe and Carl Palmer occasionally contributed to these albums, the band were seemingly generally led by Geoffrey Downes and Payne. I think that 'Aura' and 'Aria' in particular were superlative albums, with a slightly more progressive feel than the bombastic AOR of the 80s albums. However, whilst 'Silent Nation' might feature some of their most progressive material, it's something of a disappointment to me, particularly after the superb 'Aura' which I rated as their best album ever.

I agree with a previous reviewer that said this album has a demo-style sound. It's the production job that I find to be one of the album's weakest elements; whilst I have criticised the 80s albums for having a rather overcooked production (I can think of few 80s albums by the prog big guns, or indeed few 80s albums full stop, that do not, in fairness), this album goes completely the other way and it almost has no real production at all. It's as if the band just pressed record and didn't really mix the album to any great degree- it's a shame after the wonderful work that was done on 'Aria' and 'Aura'.

The other flaw here, though, is that some of the material is rather below par. 'What About Love', to these ears, falls rather flat as an opening track- despite the welcome presence of a Hammond organ and a fairly organic sound, it has about it the feel of an 80s power ballad in the manner of Whitesnake or Def Leppard. It sure as hell does not hold a candle to the wonderful 'Awake' on 'Aura'! 'Ghost In The Mirror' and 'Gone Too Far' continue this relative lethargy, being disappointingly average AOR fodder.

Some of the other AOR songs are better- 'Long Way From Home' is the best of these, with a great chorus and a wonderful lead vocal from John Payne that has real sincerity throughout. 'I Will Be There For You' is a slightly better attempt at a power ballad, although is far from original and (I guess you're getting sick of this comparison...) nothing compared to what I hold to be the best ever Asia track, their cover of 'Ready To Go Home', from 'Aura'.

There are some tracks which push the boat out slightly, and these are definitely the best tracks. 'Midnight' is the most progressive, reminding me a bit of Uriah Heep's song of the same title, with its churning Hammond organ introduction, some neat harmonies and a rather twiddly mid-section where Downes gets to show off a bit on the synthesiser. 'Blue Moon Monday' is an intriguing number that nevertheless, feels a bit underdeveloped, perhaps owing to the bare-bones production job. Still, the track's essential quality remains. The title track and 'The Prophet' are the best of the rest, to my ears.

I would not call this a weak album, but the band have proved themselves to be capable of more than this- indeed, even the releases that followed this, such as the Wetton/Downes album 'Icon' and the GPS (Payne and the other members that were in Asia at that time, with Spock's Beard's Ryo Okumoto replacing Downes) album 'Window To The Soul', showed their talents to better effect. Unfortunately, however, this slightly disappointing effort looks likely to be the last word from the John Payne era of Asia.

Studio Album, released in 2004

Track Listings

1. What About Love? (5:25)
2. Long Way From Home (5:58)
3. Midnight (6:23)
4. Blue Moon Monday (7:16)
5. Silent Nation (6:03)
6. Ghost In The Mirror (4:35)
7. Gone Too Far (6:47)
8. I Will Be There For You (4:09)
9. Darkness Day (6:17)
10. The Prophet (5:15)

Total Time: 58:08

Line-up/Musicians
- John Payne / bass, vocals
- Geoff Downes / keyboard
- Chris Slade / drums
- Guthrie Govan / guitar

ASIA - (2002) Live in Viena

ASIA - Live in Vienna

CD 1
The heat goes on (fades in)
Days like these
Bad asteroid
Awake
Arena
Military man
Wherever you are
Who will stop the rain
Don't cry
Kings of the day

CD 2
Downes Solo
Video Killed The Radio Star
Medley - Love Under Fire - Sad Situation - The Longest Night
Ready To Go Home
Sole Survivor
Free
Only Time Will Tell
Go
Heat Of The Moment

ASIA - (2002) "Anthologia (The 20th Anniversary)"

(Review from Progarchives)

Boxset/Compilation, released in 2002
ASIA had one of the biggest selling debut albums in the 80s with their self-titled art- prog rock masterpiece. Their ascent up the charts was a phenomenon that many groups never experience during a career. They never attained that kind of success again. While ensuing releases had some solid work, their stunning debut proved too difficult to match. The magical formula and achievements of their first recorded works began to dissipate with each successive release. Some of their songs were utter syrupy pop and nothing but a shadow of the powerful artsy progressive rock-pop that they had crafted so perfectly on their first outing.

"This 20th Anniversary" set fills two discs with every song from "Asia", "Alpha", and "Astra" including B sides and some rarities. John Wetton's vocals always reminded of Greg Lake of ELP. He has one of the great rock voices with an immense history behind him. For me, that is why I was originally attracted to this group because I was really into ELP. Besides the fact that is all you heard on the radio and nearly everyone had the album or cassette, it was and is great music.

This was good for me to go beyond the first album and really listen closely. I heard some tracks that I truly enjoyed, like "Countdown To Zero" and "After The War." Although the keyboards remained predominant, the energy was entirely different as you go from album to album, because of shifting personnel.

As sweet as success can be, it's even harder to maintain, and it doesn't matter what field you are in, it isn't specific to music alone. A modicum of success was maintained for several years then eventually the group faded to become another classic prog-rock historical metaphor. They are once again active with a recent release titled "Aura", which is a very good album in my opinion; just don't be too over anxious about what you will hear.

If you are looking for an all encompassing "Asia" set this is this one to pick up.


Track Listings

DISC 1:
1. Heat of the Moment
2. Only Time Will Tell
3. Sole Survivor
4. One Step Closer
5. Time Again
6. Wildest Dreams
7. Without You
8. Cutting It Fine
9. Here Comes the Feeling
10. Ride Easy
11. Don't Cry
12. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
13. Never In A Million Years
14. My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want)
15. The Heat Goes On
16. Eye To Eye
17. The Last To Know
18. True Colors

DISC 2:
1. Midnight sun
2. Open your eyes
3. Daylight
4. Lyin' To Yourself
5. Go
6. Voice Of America
7. Hard On Me
8. Wishing
9. Rock And Roll Dream
10. Countdown To Zero
11. Love Now Till Eternity
12. Too Late
13. Suspicion
14. After The War
15. Am I In Love?
16. Summer (Can't Last Too Long)
17. Prayin' 4 A Miracle
18. Days Like These

Total Time: 159:27
Line-up/Musicians

- John Wetton / bass, vocals
- Geoff Downes / keyboards
- Steve Howe / guitar
- Steve Lukather / guitar
- Ron Komie / guitar
- Mandy Meyer / guitar
- Scott Gorham / guitar
- Carl Palmer / drums

ASIA - (2008) PHOENIX

TrackList:

1. Never Again (4:55)
2. Nothing's Forever (5:46)
3. Heroine (4:53)
4. Sleeping Giant - No Way Back - Reprise (8:10)
5. Alibis (5:40)
6. I Will Remember You (5:11)
7. Shadow Of A Doubt (4:18)
8. Parallel Worlds - Vortex - Deya (8:12)
9. Wish I'd Known All Along (4:07)
10. Orchard Of Mines (5.11)
11. Over And Over (3:33)
12. An Extraordinary Life (4:56)

Line-up:

- John Wetton / vocals, bass guitar
- Steve Howe / guitars
- Carl Palmer / drums
- Geoff Downes / keyboards

Links, LinKs

ASIA - (2000) AURA

TrackList:

01. Awake (6:08)
02. Wherever You Are (5:14)
03. Ready To Go Home (4:50)
04. The Last Time (4:56)
05. Forgive Me (5:26)
06. Kings Of The Day (6:51)
07. On The Coldest Day In Hell (6:25)
08. Free (8:51)
09. You're The Stranger (6:05)
10. The Longest Night (5:28)
11. Aura (4:14)
Bonus Tracks:
12. Under The Gun (4:48)
13. Come Make My Day (5:01)
14. Hands Of Time (5:23)

Line-up:
- Geoff Downes / keyboards
- John Payne / vocals, bass, guitar

Guest:
- Ian Crichton / guitar
- Vinnie Colaiuta / drums
- Guthrie Govan / guitar
- Steve Howe / guitar
- Luis Jardim / percussion
- Tony Levin / bass
- Gary Liederman / bass
- Neil Lockwood / backing vocals
- Simon Phillips / drums
- Elliott Randall / guitar
- Chris Slade / drums
- Michael Sturgis / drums
- Pat Thrall / guitar

Links, LinKs

ASIA - (1996) ARENA

TrackList:

01. Into The Arena (2:59)
02. Arena (5:16)
03. Heaven (5:17)
04. Two Sides Of The Moon (5:22)
05. The Day Before The War (9:08)
06. Never (5:32)
07. Falling (4:57)
08. Words (5:18)
09. U Bring Me Down (7:07)
10. Tell Me Why (5:14)
11. Turn it Around (4:28)
12. Bella Nova (3:10)

Line-up:

- Geoff Downes / keyboards
- Aziz Ibrahim / guitars
- John Payne / vocals, bass, guitar
- Elliott Randall / guitars
- Michael Sturgis / drums

Guest musicians:
- Luis Jardim / percussion (Tracks 1, 2 & 4)
- Hotei Tomayasu / guitar (Track 1)

Links

ASIA - (1994) ARIA

TrackList

01. Anytime (4:57)
02. Are You Big Enough? (4:07)
03. Desire (5:20)
04. Summer (4:06)
05. Sad Situation (3:59)
06. Don't Cut The Wire (Brother) (5:19)
07. Feels Like Love (4:49)
08. Remembrance Day (4:18)
09. Enough's Enough (4:37)
10. Military Man (4:10)
11. Aria (2:26)

Bonus Track:
12. Reality (4:27)

Line-up:

- Geoff Downes / keyboards, vocals
- John Payne / vocals, bass, guitar
- Al Pitrelli / guitars
- Michael Sturgis / drums

Links

ASIA - (1992) AQUA

TrackList

01. Aqua I (2:25)
02. Who Will Stop The Rain (4:35)
03. Lay Down Your Arms (4:10)
04. Heaven On Earth (4:52)
05. Someday (5:47)
06. Crime Of The Heart (5:55)
07. A Far Cry (5:28)
08. Back In Town (4:07)
09. Don't Call Me (4:53)
10. Love Under Fire (5:13)
11. The Voice Of Reason (5:34)
12. Aqua II (2:00)

Line-up:

- Geoff Downes / keyboards, vocals
- Steve Howe / acoustic guitars, mandolin, pedal steel, electic 12 string, Dorbo
- Carl Palmer / drums
- John Payne / vocals, bass
- Al Pitrelli / lead and rhythm guitars

Links

ASIA - (1990) Then And Now (Bootleg)

TrackList:
1.Only Time Will Tell
2.Heat Of The Moment
3.Wildest Dreams
4.Don't Cry
5.Smile Has Left Your Eyes, The
6.Days Like These (new)
7.Prayin' 4 A Miracle (new)
8.Am I In Love? (new)
9.Summer (Can't Last Too Long) (new)
10.Voice Of America

Line-up:

- Geoffrey Downes / keyboards and vocals
- Steve Howe / guitars and vocals
- Carl Palmer / drums and percussion
- John Wetton / lead vocal and bass guitar

Links

ASIA - (1985) ASTRA

TrackList:

01. Go (4:07)
02. Voice Of America (4:27)
03. Hard On Me (3:34)
04. Wishing (4:15)
05. Rock And Roll Dream (6:51)
06. Countdown To Zero (4:14)
07. Love Now Till Eterninty (4:11)
08. Too Late (4:12)
09. Suspicion (3:45)
10. After The War (5:11)

Line-up:

- Geoff Downes / keyboards
- Mandy Meyer / guitars
- Carl Palmer / drums
- John Wetton / vocals, bass

Links

ASIA - (1983) ALPHA

Track List:

01. Don't Cry (3:41)
02. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (3:13)
03. Never In A Million Years (3:46)
04. My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want) (3:46)
05. The Heat Goes On (5:00)
06. Eye To Eye (3:14)
07. The Last To Know (4:40)
08. True Colors (3:53)
09. Midnight Sun (3:48)
10. Open Your Eyes (6:26)

Line-up:

- Geoffery Downes / keyboards
- Steve Howe / guitars
- Carl Palmer / drums
- John Wetton / vocals, bass

Links

ASIA - (1982) ASIA

TrackList

01. Heat Of The Moment (3:54)
02. Only Time Will Tell (4:48)
03. Sole Survivor (4:51)
04. One Step Closer (4:18)
05. Time Again (4:48)
06. Wildest Dreams (5:11)
07. Without You (5:07)
08. Cutting It Fine (5:40)
09. Here Comes The Feeling (5:40)

Line-up:

- Geoffrey Downes / keyboards and vocals
- Steve Howe / guitars and vocals
- Carl Palmer / drums and percussion
- John Wetton / lead vocal and bass guitar

Links