Asia

2 x CD with remixed/remastered 2022 audio: Live at The Budokan Arena, Tokyo, Japan, MTV satellite telecast concert (6 December 1983, USA time), remixed 2022 from the master tapes; Live at The Budokan Arena, Tokyo, Japan, previous night’s show (6 December 1983, Japan Time), remixed 2022 from the master tapes.

This marriage of four players with impressive pedigrees proved to be the success story of 1982 when Asia's debut lodged itself at the top of the U.S. album charts for two months. The album spawned a massive number four single in "Heat of the Moment," a follow-up Top 20 hit in the sweeping "Only Time Will Tell," and a handful of other tracks that received heavy radio play despite going against the grain of the new wave styling of the day. Produced by Mike Stone, Asia's strengths were the powerful vocals of John Wetton, the nimble, classically tinged guitar work of Steve Howe, Geoffrey Downes' majestic keyboard playing, and anchoring the band, Carl Palmer's propulsive drumming. The lyrics are overwrought at moments, but there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style.

BMG will issue The Reunion Albums next month, a five-CD box set featuring material from the 2006 reformed classic line-up of Asia, which featured lead vocalist / bassist John Wetton of King Crimson, guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, keyboardist Geoff Downes of Yes, and drummer Carl Palmer from Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The clamshell box set features Fantasia: Live in Tokyo, a live show from their 2007 World Tour (a two-CD set), and the three subsequent studio albums: Phoenix (2008), Omega (2010) and XXX (2012).

This marriage of four players with impressive pedigrees proved to be the success story of 1982 when Asia's debut lodged itself at the top of the U.S. album charts for two months. The album spawned a massive number four single in "Heat of the Moment," a follow-up Top 20 hit in the sweeping "Only Time Will Tell," and a handful of other tracks that received heavy radio play despite going against the grain of the new wave styling of the day. Produced by Mike Stone, Asia's strengths were the powerful vocals of John Wetton, the nimble, classically tinged guitar work of Steve Howe, Geoffrey Downes' majestic keyboard playing, and anchoring the band, Carl Palmer's propulsive drumming. The lyrics are overwrought at moments, but there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style.

This marriage of four players with impressive pedigrees proved to be the success story of 1982 when Asia's debut lodged itself at the top of the U.S. album charts for two months. The album spawned a massive number four single in "Heat of the Moment," a follow-up Top 20 hit in the sweeping "Only Time Will Tell," and a handful of other tracks that received heavy radio play despite going against the grain of the new wave styling of the day. Produced by Mike Stone, Asia's strengths were the powerful vocals of John Wetton, the nimble, classically tinged guitar work of Steve Howe, Geoffrey Downes' majestic keyboard playing, and anchoring the band, Carl Palmer's propulsive drumming. The lyrics are overwrought at moments, but there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style.

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.

This marriage of four players with impressive pedigrees proved to be the success story of 1982 when Asia's debut lodged itself at the top of the U.S. album charts for two months…

Asia hadn't released an album of new music since 1985, so changes were to be expected. But changes for the better – well, that was a pleasant surprise. Aqua found the band infused with new energy, represented by a younger generation of arena rockers in bassist/vocalist John Payne and guitarist Al Pitrelli. Although Payne doesn't invite comparison to John Wetton or Greg Lake (his voice tends to get rougher as it gets louder), he gets the job done and turns out to be a pretty good songwriter in the bargain…

Then & Now is British rock band Asia's half fourth studio/half first greatest hits album. The six tracks 1–5 and 10 are from earlier albums ("Then"), while the four tracks 6–9 inclusive are new recordings ("Now")…