Customer Reviews

Best of Asia - Archives

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although this cd is entirely comprised of unreleased studio recordings from the Geoff Downes/ John Payne period, the cover (as well as the spine and the cd itself) has the title "Best Of". Whatever that says about the label at least they have this material available at a good price. These twelve tracks were found by Downes and Payne when their London studio had sadly flooded, as Payne explains in short but nice notes. While the majority of these recordings are somewhat unfinished, they are all great songs with amazing performances by all concerned. Here is the tracklisting: 1: 'Heart Of Gold' (Downes/Payne) A low-fi gem with great guitar. 2. 'Tears' (Downes/Johnny Warman) Some very interesting and funky bass playing by Payne are right at home in this souful New Age rock ballad. Unusual, but brilliant. 3. 'Fight Against The Tide' (Payne /Andy Mye) One of the most beautiful and poignant of all Asia ballads; why this was never completed and released as a single is baffling. Progressive and metallic, with the greatest vocals I've yet heard in an Asia track. A classic. 4. 'The Mariner's Dream' (Payne) John really pulls it off here- a great instrumental interlude. 5. 'Boys From Diamond City' (Downes/Warman) A hard-rocking track and it works well. 6. 'Ginger' (Downes/Payne/Steve Howe) As searingly beautiful as an instrumental piece written by those three guys as you would expect. Short but amazing. 7. 'Obsession' (Payne/Steve Rodford) One of the more ordinary tracks here, although it is innovative and edgy. 8. 'Moon Under The Water' (Downes/ Warman) Good track which, had it been finished, would be a great one. 9. 'Don't Come To Me' (Eddie Schwartz) This track works despite the somewhat lacklustre lyrics; Asia is sounding magnificent here. 10. 'The Smoke That Thunders' (Downes/Payne/Carl Palmer) Tremendous. Everything about this track is top-notch; but at 3:25 is at least a minute too short. 11. 'The Higher You Climb' (Downes/Warman/Woolfenden) The most dispensable track on this disc. It's good but it is the one track that you can see why it never got past this early stage of development. 12. 'Armenia' (Downes/Payne) Excellent album closer, an eery, strange, haunting and gorgeous instrumental that shows Geoff at his connected greatest. The keyboards are among his finest soundscape experiments (see Asia's "Rare" cd for more great Asia instrumentals). This is a great cd, probably most successful with Asia's dedicated fanbase than the general public, but I can imagine the band picking up a few new fans with this music if they'd ever hear it. And I'm sure that some out there do think this is The Best of Asia as the artwork says, and were not at all disappointed with what they heard. Precise recording dates are not given; some tracks date back to the earliest Downes-Payne pairing in the late '80's and on up to 1996. As usual, this band isn't given proper treatment by the label. But this is still a must- have unless you have the more complete "Archiva" discs; this cd proves that Asia's rejects were as great as their choices in most cases.

Made in USA in 1997, Serial# CAS-70093-2, Playing Time 50:43

This disc basically lifts tracks from 2 studio albums, "Archiva 1" and "Archiva 2", both originally released in 1996.

These albums were released simultaneously in the hopes that "lost tapes" would be interesting to fans of ASIA phase II (with John Payne). Most tracks, though credited as unfinished, still demonstrate Geoff Downes' immeasurable talent, both as a songwriter and keyboard player. The material sounds polished enough to me, so don't let that disclaimer lead you to believe these sound like demos: they're better arranged than most "finished" albums being released these days...

Many people lift up their nose on ASIA recordings since the departure of Howe/Wetton/Palmer; that's their loss: you can't compare the 2 groups, so perhaps a name change would have been in order.

If you own and/or like the "Aqua", "Aria", "Arena", or "Aura" albums, do yourself a favor: buy the 2 full "Archiva" albums. If you don't own any and are willing to take a small chance, this "Best Of" will give you a flavor of the sounds of ASIA in the last 5 years. But remember it contains no tracks outside of these "lost tapes" Archiva albums.

I used to see this at Tower Records back in the late 90's. Basically it's a one-disc distillation of Asia's two Archiva albums, which were a collection of demos, outtakes and B-sides spanning 1991-1996. Geoff Downes is the only original member of Asia here, and John Payne is the vocalist on all tracks. Various contributors on guitar and drums are featured (including the gorgeous Steve Howe instrumental "Ginger".)

Basically, if you're already a dedicated Asia fan who's buying albums of their (mostly rather interesting) outtakes, then you'll want the full two discs. Don't bother with this one.

What a disappointment. Best of? Where is "Heat of the Moment? Only Time Will Tell? Sole Survivor? This waste of plastic and aluminum is a bunch of unreleased (read crap)songs from the current band that lacks the foundation of great artists that were once Asia. Unless you get this on Ebay for a penny, save your money and get instead the much superior remastered collection, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000C5RQM/artscraftarchiof"target="_blank">
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Asia</a> .

If Asia original group mk1 and bargain price best of cd "20th century masters-the millennium collection" is grade 10.
So Asia group mk2 and this cheap best of - Archives cd is grade 9,5. (booklet could be better, but don't forget cd's price)
My opinion is that Band mk2 is nearly as good as original.
Fine singer, fine songs.
If you have both these compilations, you have quite good comprehensive cross section of Asia production.
I can recommend!

quit putting out repackaged stuff. What's even worse is the sound quality from the lousy recordings. No, the original line-up isn't coming back, we all know that. Change the name of band, Geoff. Quit hanging on to the name. Anyone who gave this more than 1 star really needs to recognize that the band now stinks. A Buggles reunion would now be in order to put the name Asia out of its misery.

As an admitted fan of the original Asia line-up, it is not surprising I find releases such as this hard to stomach - last year's "greatest hits" package is far more deserving of a "Best of" label than the tracks contained in this album. I daresay, though, that if I were a fan of the current line-up, I would be insulted by releases such as this, as they are merely nothing more than a re-packaging of previously released material, given a new cover, no doubt, in the hopes of catching unsuspecting fans off-guard. If you are a fan of the new Asia, you are well-advised to know these songs are not from any studio release, but rather are taken from a series of tapes that the band "found" in their flooded basement. That it took a flood to remind the band they had ever done these songs should be enough to send people scurrying away. For those who might be otherwise inclined, though - don't say you were not warned. If this album constitutes "the best of" what new Asia has to offer, I'd hate to hear the worst (though at this rate, they'll undoubtedly release such tracks, too.)