Asia - Live in England

Heat Of The Moment; Only Time Will Tell; Sole Survivor; One Step Closer; Time Again; Wildest Dreams; Without You; Cutting It Fine; Here Comes The Feeling; Ride Easy; Video Killed The Radio Star; The Heat Goes On

(Frontiers Music)

Back in the spring of 1982, Asia released their debut album, which was named after the band; they were often referred to as a supergroup because their line-up included Steve Howe from Yes, Carl Palmer from Emerson, Lake and Palmer, John Wetton from King Crimson, and Geoff Downes, who was formerly with The Buggles and Yes.

Downes is the only original member left in the group who recorded this live version in full of their debut album last April at Trading Boundaries in Sussex. The rest of the band now features Virgil Donati on drums – ex-Planet, John Mitchell on guitar from Arena and It Bites and Harry Whitley on bass and vocals with this fresh incarnation of Asia bringing both reverence to the classics and a thrilling new energy to the stage.

Heat of the Moment made Asia a household name in America. The song became their signature track and dusted off any progressive rock tendencies that members of the band might have brought along with them; what could have been an indulgent and overlong track was turned into a pop radio-friendly song by producer Mike Stone at the time.

The distinctive vocals of John Wetton became the band's trademark, besides the excellent musicianship in Asia. Harry Whitley, though a competent vocalist, does not share the deeper and stronger voice that Wetton had, though after a few tracks, the memory of Wetton’s supremacy begins to fade.

Only Time Will Tell still sounds fresh and relevant forty-four years on from its first incarnation, whilst Wildest Dreams still sounds like a mix of early Buggles coming with a guitar solo straight out of a Yes song courtesy of Steve Howe.


The other track that came with hooks as sharp as barbed wire and sounds like a cousin to their introductory hit is Here Comes The Feeling - another number that has stood the test of time.

If the band had released their iconic album today in the current musical landscape, it probably would not have reached the success it did back in 1982, when music channels such as MTV favoured the videos that accompanied the hit singles off the album.

The live set concludes with a surprise version of The Buggles' 1979 number one single, Video Killed The Radio Star, and The Heat Goes On, a track taken from their second album, Alpha. You might be inclined to dig out the original album from your collection to rediscover what was at the time one of the best in the pop/rock genre; however, this live version does not tarnish the legacy of Asia, with variety and musical dynamics still to the fore.