Customer Reviews

Alive in Hallowed Halls

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Made in EU in 2001, Serial# ZCRCD-50, Playing Time 54:16

ZOOM CLUB records usually release good quality albums that allow people like me to retire some of their vinyl: WAYSTED, LEGS DIAMOND, UFO to name a few.

This time, this live recording (except for track 12, which is a leftover studio track) is, well, pretty bad.

I saw ASIA on that tour back in August 1983, and this disc is "supposedly" recorded at Pine Knob in Detroit in September 1983. I say "supposedly" because I know an ASIA "maniac" that owns a CD called "Last Original", recorded on September 10 1983 at Pine Knob, and some versions sound completely different!

In any case, this disc features the original quartet of Downes/Howe/Palmer/Wetton but the band is recorded rather poorly, some tracks have been edited, and some of the key tracks have been omitted (like Steve Howe's guitar solo, "Here Comes The Feeling" and "Sole Survivor").

The performances are nothing extraordinary, so I would recommend this only to the die-hard fans. It's too bad that there are no "legitimate" live albums from that era. Trust me, this one doesn't count...

The quality of the recording on this CD is less than average for a typical bootleg version. The last song, "Ride Easy" is NOT live, it is the studio version. The Midnight Sun track starts halfway through the song. The original master tapes that were used were warped. Remember what a cassette tape sounds like after you leave it in the sun for a few days? That was what the CD sounds like. Also, the real show had a lot more songs played than what winds up on the CD. It's probably around 2/3 of the entire show. The liner notes are weak, maybe 75 words and the packaging follows the same trend. I have read that this came from drummer Carl Palmers personal collection, but he obviously didn't care about putting out a quality product, instead just putting something out. John Wetton reportedly was supposed to release the entire Pine Knob show under the title "And The Last Shall Be The First". Hopefully, this release does not deter him from doing so as John would hopefully take the time to put out a better product. Steve Howe does play on this CD and it's a pity that it sounds so bad. Carl just didn't think of the fans when he released this.

Unfortunately, this CD is not what it's supposed to be, namely the last concert by the original ASIA lineup. Instead, it's cobbled together from shows in 1982 and 1983, with sound quality that's one step above a bootleg. "Midnight Sun" begins in the middle of the song, and "Don't Cry" has the opening from the studio version tacked on. Unless you are a hard-core original ASIA fan, pass this dud up.

I am so dissapointed. This could have been a really neat retrospective on one of the great musical groups of the 8o's but alas it was not meant to be. Surely there was enough tape around to find a decent recording of this group in the original lineup? Come on, this one stinks, not worth the 20 dollars i shelled out. It will go into my cd section to collect dust for a few months and then will probably be sold to a used music store for credit to something resembling a musical recording...that is unless i can pawn it off on some unspecting nostalgic fan and score my investment back...Kinda like Carl Palmer did to all of us who loved this band in the 80's...What a disapointment