Customer Reviews

Fantasia - Live In Tokyo: 2007 (2CD)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Asia has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, so when I heard the original quartet reunited and recorded a live album, this attracted my interest. I've heard live CDs from other incarnations of Asia and the sound quality was lacking. For a live CD, the sound is good here. It could be better, but it could be a whole lot worse. Rather than a rehash of the first album, the band also decided to record one song from each of the band members' pasts. They do so with satisfying results. I wondered how Asia was going to pull off "Roundabout" since John Wetton doesn't "communicate with bats" like Jon Anderson can, nor does Jon Anderson have to play Chris Squire's bass lines, but John Wetton handled both vocals and the bass parts seemingly without effort. Geoff Downes is no Rick Wakeman, but he doesn't need to be. He held up his end. Sometimes Steve Howe gets lost in the mix, but the song sounds ok. The band delivered very well.

As the first reviewer mentioned, the acoustic versions of "Ride Easy" and "Don't Cry" are well done. I actually prefer the version of "Don't Cry" here to the original from "Alpha." Steve Howe plays the mandolin while John Wetton handles the acoustic guitar. The band also plays an acoustic version of "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" (also better than the original) with Steve Howe on dobro. Take away the studio gloss of their first three albums and you discover these guys are very good musicians. Steve Howe plays a variety of stringed instruments, John Wetton unplugs with an acoustic guitar, and Geoff Downes does very well with the piano. Carl Palmer plays flawlessly throughout as always. I don't think he ever has an off night.

Also noteworthy is the band's rendition of "In the Court of the Crimson King." Greg Lake was a fine singer in his day, but John Wetton outdoes him here. The thought of a four-piece band playing "Fanfare for the Common Man" intrigued me since ELP recorded it without guitars, but Asia makes it work. It's a bit ragged, but it doesn't suck. "Video Killed the Radio Star" is a fun listen, especially with John Wetton using a megaphone in places. Steve Howe gets a solo turn with "Intersection Blues" from his "Natural Timbre" solo CD. Good stuff.

Overall, a good CD well worth every penny spent. It's good to have the original quartet back.

I was a bit more than pleasantly surprised upon my first listen of this fantastic album. Meticulous in every respect, you'd be hard pressed to find four musicians that top these gentlemen. I love their rendition of "video killed the radio star". And truly the finest rendition of "the smile has left your eyes" they've done to date. I too consider John Wetton one of the finest vocalists on earth. And Steve Howe's guitar and mandolin playing never sounded better.

The press and public did them "dirty" a few decades ago, but Asia has staying power and excellent material to see them through. I'm ecstatic that they're back again. I met John Wetton in May 1996. You won't find a finer gent anywhere. And his guitar and bass playing coupled with Downes and Palmer move like a well-oiled music machine. Great album (er`oops CD). Buy it and ride easy.

The vintage tracks from Yes, ELP, & King Crimson alone were nearly worth buying the record. I never thought the Buggles were anything to brag about since their only claim to fame was being the first video.. you know the rest. They played that tune just to appease Geoff Downes who really never had any success on his own. It was evident when he tried to hold Asia together after everyone split. Anyway.... wish they would have recorded a show in the states somewhere, probably wouldn't have drawn what they did in Japan though. Wish they would have put Starless & Bible Black on here. Like I said up top, they earned some serious cool points for Roundabout, In the Court, etc... & did Steve Howe a solid by letting him do his virtuoso thing. Should have went all out on Don't Cry... forget doing the acoustic version.

I purchased Fantsia Live in Tokyo double CD cause have a few albums on Vinyl of King Krimsom & Yes and Steve Howe has a reputation for being an excellent guitarist so bought Asia's first CD in Years Phoenix and wasn't disappointed and as for the double CD Live in Tokyo Good if you're a fan 3 and a half out of 5 .

The Original ASIA line-up back together for the 25th Anniversary!! Wetton's vocals are indeed up to par and the musicianship is as good as ever! This 2-Disc live set also includes intriguing covers of "Roundabout", Intersection Blues", "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "The Court Of The Crimson King" not previously released on CD by the original line-up (Like "Video Killed The Radio Star" was on "Live From Russia"). A must have for any fan of the original ASIA incarnation and their 3 releases (before Thrall replaced Howe and Wetton's departure, and the subsequent line-up). One can only hope that these four re-unite and create new studio music for us die-hard fans! Add this to your ASIA cd collection as fast as you can!

Wow, this is probably the best live recording I can recall. Treats on this disk for me were "Fanfare For The Common Man" a great re-worked version, bass solo, and Steve Howe electric guitar input to an originaly trio arranged composition. The other was "Video Killed The Radio Star", again, something from the past played with a renewed sound, the musicianship is outstanding from all players.
The two re-worked acoustic versions are also worth the purchase, "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes", and "Ride Easy" gives feel and new flavor to the performances of both.
I'm awaiting the DVD in October to see how the songs were performed, and with Wetton's recent illness, is the only Asia we'll see for a little while.
The mix, backbeat and all peformers are done very well for a live recording, 5 stars + from me...
A great CD for any musician, music, or Asia fan.

Well, add another half star at least (or don't add anything else, by regarding of the uneven recording), despite of listening to a few "oldies" from the classic prog/romantic scene ("Roundabout", "In the Court of the K.C." and "Fanfare for the common man") being a bit strident in comparison to some more commercial/pop hit singles such as "Heat of the moment" or "A Ride easy", which could make me change idea about the present reunion...but it's a minor question, because except on a strange execution of the above hits (e.g. "Heat of the moment", where S. Howe is not completely into the riff and the aggressive guitar sound of his original take of 1981) as well as within their difficult intro of "Time again" (belonging to a few progressive songs of their debut album here just a bit uneven), the other songs are performed with a good impact, especially by John Wetton, whose voice is almost aligned to his glory days!! I think of a band with such a great experience, even though the set of keyboards used by Downes is not always suitable for their oldies and Steve Howe sometimes seems to be a fish out of water (except on his fine Blues Intersection - even though this latter in their recent concert in Italy at the gig of Asti Festival wasn't so impressive - and of course in the harmonization inside "Fanfare for the common man" or once again regarding of the best guitar parts within "Roundabout").Instead Palmer is always a precise drummer (forget a few breaks through only where the whole band is not completely confident) and as usual excellent in his drum solo or once again within the classic instrumental track from "Works" by ELP.

Long Live Asia!!

Straight up, this is a rather dull sounding and boring cd/dvd. Steve Howe's guitar (as good as he is) just simply sounds boring and has no life whatsoever. Bass sounds good and all, drums are good, vocals, so so, but over all this is just a one time listen if you're a fan and put it away forever. Disappointed. If they had some life and punch to their live sound, they'd be pretty awesome. But it's just not here at all. Only 2 stars because I will never have a desire to listen to or watch this again, although it was cool to see them on dvd. Highlight of the concert is Carl's drums in the middle of here comes the feeling.

I have been an Asia original lineup fan for several years and both of their new recordings were quite a surprise. Songs are somewhat slower than original versions. 'Video Killed the Radio Star' has little resemblance with the Buggles version. Steve does a splendid job, guitar in 'Roundabout' sounds as in Yes several years ago. Carl is more audible than he used to be. Geoff doesn't seem affected by time. John's singing is fine but his voice denotes he may be somewhat tired. Wonderful Roger Dean artwork. Recording and sound, good.

This is an excellent live album and captures the reformed group in stellar form. Asia were always about brilliant virtuoso playing and there's plenty of that on display here. Highly recommended.