Astra Image Plus 6

Released in 1985, Astra is Asia's third studio album and first without guitarist Steve Howe. While somewhat unfairly regarded in comparison to Asia's first two albums, Astra is nonetheless a solid prog rock outing that finds bassist/vocalist John Wetton, keyboardist Geoff Downes, drummer Carl Palmer, and replacement guitarist, Krokus' Mandy Meyer, delivering a set of melodic and driving rock anthems…

Astra is the third studio album by British rock band Asia, released in late 1985. It was the final studio album to feature original member John Wetton until 2008's reunion album Phoenix. The recording of the album took place at several studios in London during 1984-85. It reached #67 in the US on the Billboard 200 chart and #68 in the UK Albums Chart. Strangely, although Astra itself didn't make the top 50, two songs charted well on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, receiving radio airplay in various markets: "Go" (#7) and "Too Late" (#30), and the video of "Go" (based on the futuristic heroine on the album cover) received airplay on MTV. Allmusic critic Matt Collar gave Astra a three-star rating in a review full of praise. He called the album "a solid prog rock outing", "a truly underrated '80s rock album and a must-hear for fans".

Progressive rock band Ad Astra returns with Surface of Last Scattering. Led by Doug Bowers (music), and Christopher Flynn (lyrics) the material is classic Ad Astra, with all the dreamy, melodic and cinematic elements that fans around the globe have learned to love over the years. However, this incarnation of the band mixes it up with adding elements of physics, stellar cartography and church liturgy that place this album somewhere in between the late 60's proto prog and the new generation of art rock…

Violinist Leticia Moreno, the Houston Symphony and its Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada present two world premiere recordings of works by contemporary composer Jimmy López Bellido. Aurora, for Solo Violin and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2: Ad Astra share a fascination for the stars. While Aurora is inspired by López Bellido’s years in Finland, and particularly the privilege to witness northern lights, Ad Astra is an homage to humanity’s spirit of exploration, and dedicated to the people of NASA, whose bravery and vision continue to inspire humanity’s most ambitious dreams. López Bellido’s symphony adds a new dimension to the notion of per aspera ad astra (“through hardship to the stars”), which has been one of the central narratives of symphonic composition since Beethoven’s days.

This is the 5th studio album for the band but they also did some works for various themes albums (Colossus Project) with long songs. The music is led by keyboards in the symphonic style, sometimes a little bombastic not too far from ELP and Nuovo Era. The guitars on this latest are letting the space to the keys, bass, and drums who are high in the mix. The album starts strongly in the first half with some impressive keyboards and bass lines, the band doesn't need many vocals that are actually very brief throughout…