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Asia: Archives - The Best Of Asia 1988-1997

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Asia
Title: Archives: The best Of Asia 1988-1997
Released: 2000.09.11
Label: Demon Music Group Ltd.
Time: 77:39
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Appears with:
Category: Pop/Rock
Rating: ******.... (6/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2001.06.07
Price in €: 6,40
Web address: www.asiaworld.org

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Who will stop the rain? (Downes/Warman/Woolfenden) - 4:35
[2] Summer (Downes/Payne) - 4:16
[3] Satellite blues (Downes/Warman) - 4:50
[4] Love under fire (Downes/Lake) - 5:15
[5] Tell me why (Downes/Payne) - 5:14
[6] Lay down your arms (Downes/Payne/Hart) - 4:13
[7] Remembrance day (Downes/Payne) - 4:15
[8] I can't wait a lifetime (Nye/Payne) - 4:12
[9] The higher you climb (Downes/Warman/Woolfenden) - 3:25
[10] Anytime (Downes/Payne) - 4:54
[11] Heat of the moment '97 (Wetton/Downes) - 3:52
[12] Heart of gold (Downes/Payne/Hart) - 4:46
[13] A far cry (Downes/Payne/Hart/Mitchell) - 5:30
[14] Don't cut the wire [Brother] (Downes/Payne) - 5:21
[15] The day before the war (Downes/Payne) - 9:08
[16] Only time will tell '97 (Downes/Wetton) - 4:46

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


STEVE HOWE - Guitar (Acoustic), Dobro, Guitar, Mandolin, Pedal Steel Guitar, 12 String Guitar
JOHN PAYNE - Bass, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocals, Producer, Engineer
GEOFFREY DOWNES - Keyboards, Background Vocals, Producer
CARL PALMER - Percussion, Drums
JOHN WETTON - Bass, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

AL PITRELLI - Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Drums
MICHAEL STURGIS - Drums
LUIS JARDIM - Percussion
TOMOYASU HOTEI - Guitar
AZIZ IBRAHIM - Rhythm Guitar

NIGEL GLOCKLER - Drums
SIMON PHILLIPS - Drums
ANTHONY GLYNNE - Guitar
ELLIOTT RANDALL - Acoustic Guitar, Guitar

MIKE STONE - Producer, Engineer
JOHN BROUGH - Engineer
MIKE DRAKE - Engineer
PETE CRAIGIE - Engineer
GREGG JACKMAN - Engineer
MARK WILLIE - Engineer
ANDY REILLY - Engineer, Mixing
JOHN BRAND - Mixing
GARY STEVENSON - Mixing
ANDREW GREASLY - Assistant Engineer
MARK ROBINSON - Assistant Engineer
STEVE RUSH - Assistant Engineer
DOUG COOK - Assistant Engineer

JAMES WILTSHIRE - Production Coordination
ROGER DEAN - Artwork, Art Direction, Cover Design, Paintings
ROGER DEAN - Paintings, Logo Design
HUGH SYME - Design
BRIAN BURROWS - Design
RODNEY MATTHEWS - Artwork
BRIAN GRIFFIN - Photography
PAUL RIDER - Photography
BRIAN BURROWS - Cover Design, Typography
RODNEY MATTHEWS - Illustrations

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


5-014797-294431 (MCCD 443)



When they appeared in the early '80s, Asia seemed to be a holdover from the '70s, when supergroups and self-important progressive rockers reigned supreme. Featuring members of such seminal art-rock bands as King Crimson (John Wetton), Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Carl Palmer), and Yes (Steve Howe), as well as Geoff Downes from the Buggles, Asia did feature stretches of indulgent instrumentals on their records. However, they also could be surprisingly poppy, and that is what brought them to the top of the charts with their debut album, Asia, and its hit single, "Heat of the Moment." Alpha, their second album, also had a couple of hits ("Don't Cry" and "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes") but its follow-up, Astra, was a flop. The group disbanded in 1985, only to reunite in 1990 without John Wetton; John Payne took his place. After churning out a couple of new songs for a greatest-hits collection, the band hit the road, including two sold-out dates in front of 20, 000 fans in Moscow, of all places. Since then, they have toured sporadically and have released two albums, Aqua in 1992 and Aria in 1994.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide



The band have sold ten million albums in a career spanning 15 years, but although the core of their support still comes from those who bought 1982's eponymous multi-Platinum debut, they continue to come up with fresh, interesting and exciting ideas. One listen to 'Arena' - the third album to throw keyboard wizard Geoff Downes together with vocalist / bassist John Payne - is all it takes to understand why ASIA still exist, and why their fans continue to celebrate the fact. Nobody else makes such intricate yet accessible music, which has been the band's blueprint since their inception.

"The musical concept of ASIA has always been to play music that is panoramic, symphonic and Rock at the same time," explains Geoff Downes. "But it's good for the group to try different directions, not just made carbon copies of the previous record, and I'm confident that the fans will like what we've done."

While 'Arena' was being conceived, ASIA always knew exactly what they had in mind, so besides using A-ha / 21 Guns drummer Michael Sturgis again, they tracked down three specific musicians - guitarist Aziz Ibrahim (Simply Red) and Elliott Randall (Steely Dan) and percussionist Luis Jardim - to help them realise their vision. 'Never' and 'U Bring Me Down' might deliver all the expected pomp and splendour, but this new approach has paid dividends on material like 'Into the Arena', 'Two Sides Of The Moon' and 'Heaven', each tune gliding along effortlessly on wave after wave of intoxicating Eastern rhythm. Unbelievably, 'Two Sides Of The Moon' even ends up with a spoof reggae jam section!

"Maybe ASIA's music had become a bit too serious," ponders Downes, who has even replaced some of his trademark banks of synths with warmer sounding Hammond organs. "Maybe some of the arrangements of our previous albums were a bit too dense, so we made a concerted effort to make this one sound very natural. That said, there are also longer songs like 'The Day Before The War' (nine minutes) and 'U Bring Me Down' (seven minutes), which I suppose you could say fit in with the 'old' ASIA sound."

For the uninitiated, ASIA formed in 1981 amid a fanfare of audience expectation and outright press vitriol. A union of former Yes men Steve Howe (guitar) and Geoff Downes (keyboards), ex-King Crimson / Uriah Heep / UK frontman John Wetton and Emerson, Lake & Palmer sticksman Carl Palmer was the last thing the trend-conscious media could stomach.

However, the 'ASIA' debut topped the US charts for ten weeks, selling five million copies in the process and spawning such massive hits as 'Heat Of The Moment', 'Sole Survivor' and 'Only Time Will Tell'. Meanwhile 1983's successor, 'Alpha', also gave the world the Top Ten Hit 'Don't Cry', selling two million along the way.

Subsequent releases 'Astra' (1985) and the part-compilation 'Then And Now' (1990) saw Howe, Palmer and eventually Wetton all eventually seeking pastures new, leaving just Geoff Downes alone at the helm. Luckily, the keyboardist had the extreme good fortune to cross paths with the golden-voiced John Payne (who had worked with Roger Daltrey, the Electric Light Orchestra and unknown London act The Passion) in time to record 1992's watershed release, 'Aqua', and ASIA's long-overdue regeneration process could begin in earnest.

Realising that they had plenty of wasted time to make up for, ASIA toured relentlessly, visiting the States twice and selling out medium-sized theatres all over the UK, where they had not played since a couple of Wembley Arena dates in the early 80's. 'Aqua' also topped the Japanese charts.

"In many ways it was like re-decorating your house, it was something fresh," said Downes at the time. "The group had become stale over a number of years and it was as if one chapter had closed for another to open."

Meanwhile, far from taking the 'new' ASIA to task over the departed ex-members, the UK press shocked everybody by acclaiming 'Aqua' as a return to form. "A major work that spans decades of influence, yet sounds fresh and relevant," claimed Rock World, while Raw stated: "Throughout ASIA's history one factor has remained constant - the songs." Metal Forces proclaimed it to be: "Classic AOR from a classic band."

To record and tour 'Aqua' and its follow-up, 1994's 'Aria', ASIA have occasionally borrowed back former members like Howe and Palmer, as well as the cream from the up 'n' coming musicians like Al Pitrelli (Alice Cooper / Danger Danger / Widowmaker), ex-Dare guitarist Vinny Burns and Trevor Thornton (Walk On Fire). But Ibrahim, Randall and Sturgis did such sterling work on 'Arena' that ASIA hope to retain them for a 15th Anniversary tour which is being planned for later in 1996.

But effectively they have become a duo - and that's the way they seem to like it. Statisticians might even be surprised to learn that John Payne has now been a member of ASIA for as long as his predecessor, John Wetton.

"People are now beginning to accept John Payne as the singer of ASIA," smiles Downes, "but there will always be someone. Alan White once told me that even after being in Yes for 15 years people would still think he was Bill Bruford!"
 

 L y r i c s


WHO WILL STOP THE RAIN?

This problem is insoluble
The answers seem impossible
The logic ceases to exist
Emotion is the beat we miss

I stand on a world
Where dreams, realities, existence are the same
We take from the mother's skin
But the world is not to blame

Who tells the wind which way to blow?
I wonder who will stop the rain
The rocks that hold the secrets, they don't know
So who can stop the rain?
We've lost the path for all we know
Now tell me when will it start again?
And as the old man lifts his hands
Please can you stop the rain?

Stars fall far away
Like they never did before
A new moon shining
Like it never will again

Desert white cloud
Spirits they sing
Rain falls from the big sky
Onto broken wing

There is no sense in turning back
To wash the debris from the track
World without fears without rhyme
We fought for peace within our time


SUMMER

Her fingers feel the air
The mantle now so bare
From green then into brown
Lie scattered all around
We hope they will return
Like those before did learn
Now that their summer's gone
We have to carry on

Till we rise, I just can't wait
Now tell me, who are you
To judge my fate?

Chorus:
Oh, the rain burns on
Now that summer's gone
Oh, the wind blows strong
Now that summer's gone

Across the fields we ran
To emerald castles, banned
By rule of modern man
Who built a winterland
Then as the seasons change
He'll fly and hide away
Above a cloud of words
On wings of gold I heard

We must rise, it's not too late
Now tell me, who are you
To change our fate?

Chorus


SATELLITE BLUES

Hey you, you're walking down a New York street
Feel the tension in the midday heat
You're walking on blood
TV, it's all there on a Japanese screen
East, West, there's no in between
Now, we just love "The Reds"

Everything is now because the past is dead
You've got to look forward if you want to get ahead
What kind of person sells a young person drugs?
You bring them up good but don't call them thugs
Third world stories, well they make the news
It's a five minute wonder, call it...

Satellite blues
Any way the wind blows

Dive, dive! Underground is just the place to be
So cool, it keeps the city clean
Now walk on by

I said "Walk, walk, don't run!"
Don't you know you've got to follow the signs?
This life's so cruel, so cruel to be kind
It's a one-way street

You've got to live on the edge just to make a big deal
This life's big fun, man, it's like a roulette wheel
What kind of world would let these children die?
There's so much money we could all retire
We could all live happily if we choose
But it's a five minute wonder, call it...

Satellite blues
Any way the wind blows


LOVE UNDER FIRE

Love under fire
We stand in the flame
Now and forever
After the rain
When is forever?
You can take it from me
It may be never
C'est la vie

Love under fire
And we stand in the flame
Now and forever
After the rain
When is forever?
You can take it from me
It may be never
Just wait and see

You can hide in the jungle
You can climb up a tree
You can scan the horizon
Tell me what you see?
As cold as a mountain
With a heart that can freeze
There's a storm on the water
With every heart that she seas

Love under fire


TELL ME WHY

Tell me why,
I don't believe in you.
I don't believe it's true.
I don't believe in you.

Happens nearly every time,
If you let them, they'll control your mind,
Yes your mind.

But that was only yesterday,
So you had to wash your head in hate.
In hate, in hate.

Tell me why,
I don't believe in you.
I don't believe it's true.
I don't believe in you.

Shall we stand against the wind?
Staring at the justice of their sins,
Their sins.

What have they done to live this way?
In a modern world, the fragile pay
They pay, oh yes they pay.

Tell me why,
I don't believe in you.
I don't believe it's true.
I don't believe in you.


LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS

We used to live in a better world
Where sky and water were free
We point the finger
We point the gun
Is that the way it should be?

We rape the land
And we tear the skin
Burn the blood In the stone
To fuel the fire of a selfish mind
Do you want to live here alone?


Lay down your arms - surrender
You know you'll never get out of here
Lay down your arms - remember
No force - you'd better lay down your gun

Such are the sins of humanity
Dark is the air that we breathe
A war to hide in society
Don't close your eyes to deceive

Too many promises
Too may tears
Where does the future lie
If we burn away the years

We can make this a better world
Where sky and water are free
So give the hand without the gun
That's the way it will be


REMEMBRANCE DAY

The battlefield, the smoke has cleared
Silence in sight, the blood lies deep
Look from the hills, the valley calls
Six hundred fall, a lost to all

Someday, somewhere, ever calling
One time, one life, ever falling

Chorus:
And will you remember
The flowers in the fields?
And will you remember
The loss of one so dear
And will you remember
Through the mist of lies?
Remember
Their spirit never dies
Remember

Out of the skies, and into the green
Fuelled by the lies, paid by soul

Soldire, hero, well 'Uncle Sam'
He don't wanna know

Chorus


I CAN'T WAIT A LIFETIME

After all is said and done
Time will wait no more
Have not the strength to carry on
Light grows cold
Steals away the life in me
Cold with this uncertainty
Forgive me

I can't wait a lifetime
Won't let this child die within my heart
I can't wait a lifetime
Don't let it slip away
Don't let it slip away
From me

In the end I had to turn
Hurt to see you cry
Beneath the skin the prison lies
Love the only crime
Do I unlock the life in me
Or ride the storm eternally
Forgive me

I can't wait a lifetime
Won't let this child die within my heart
I can't wait a lifetime
Don't let it slip away
Don't let it slip away
From me


THE HIGHER YOU CLIMB

There is no comeback from the big divide
Maybe there's a future to be found waiting on the other side
If it's illusion, then what is real?
In life's confusion, take what you can
Fight it till you reach the goal.

And the higher you climb you can fall
But never look down
And the faster you run, it's a crawl
To the end of the line.

Seems all directions lead to one place
There are no signposts guiding me
It takes a long time to see

And the higher you climb you can fall
But never look down
And the faster you run, it's a crawl
To the end of the line.

The age of reason has come and gone
The changing seasons move on and on until you reach the goal

And the higher you climb you can fall
But never look down
And the faster you run, it's a crawl
To the end of the line.


ANYTIME

As a child, we played the game
Fought the war, but felt no pain
Arm to arm, we left the skin
THen said the words, remember them

Oh, never a moments doubt
Oh, feel it, scream it loud

Chorus:
Anytime that you call
Anytime if you fall
Anytime I'll be there for you
Any moment of fear
Anytime say the prayer
Swear that our word is true

Should I go
Should I stay?
I won't turn my head away
Cross the line, the great divide
So kill the silence, where we hide

Oh, never a moments doubt
Oh, feel it so scream it loud

Chorus

If clouds fall, stand tall
As mountains climb from endless sea
Call out, fear not
Bring back that memory

Chorus


HEAT OF THE MOMENT

I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do
One look from you and I would fall from grace
And that would wipe this smile right from my face

Do you remember when we used to dance
And incidence arose from circumstance
One thing lead to another we were young
And we would scream together songs unsung

{chorus}
It was the heat of the moment
Telling me what your heart meant
Heat of the moment shone in your eyes

And now you find yourself in 82
The disco hotspots hold no charm for you
You can't concern yourself with bigger things
You catch the pearl and ride the dragon's wings

{chorus}

And when your looks are gone and you're alone
How many nights you sit beside the phone
What were the things you wanted for yourself
Teenage ambition you remember well

{chorus x2}


HEART OF GOLD

We are the future within our dome
A new generation, we live alone
Washed the words from the subway wall
We had to fight to survive
You still can have it all
So listen to our cry

With a mind of steel, but a heart of gold
The winds of change you can move the stone
By the hands of love you must free the soul
To live forever with a heart of gold

We are the future, we hold the key
The messengers are calling, "wake up your race"
All but man did turn to dust
Then we saw her fall
Cut her down by the sword of greed
So listen to our cry

With a mind of steel, but a heart of gold
The winds of change you can move the stone
By the hands of love you must free the soul
To live forever with a heart of gold

With a mind of steel, but a heart of gold
The winds of change you can move the stone
By the hands of love you must free the soul
To live forever with a heart of gold

You are the future, it's up to you
You are the future, it's up to you


A FAR CRY

In the dead of night
On the wings of the wind
I hear the ocean bell
With a flash of light
In the beat of the dark
The sound I know so well

I shall never forget you
It's been so long
I should never have left you
The call so strong


It's a far cry from a wild world
It want to get back to you
Such a long road, to the homeland
I must make my way to a far cry

From the chords of the earth
To the depths of the sea
I will return
As I look to the hill
Through the eyes of the storm
I touch the flame

I shall never forget you
It's been so long
I should never have left you
The call so strong

It's such a far cry


DON'T CUT THE WIRE (BROTHER)

He was just a lonely kid
No matter what he did
Was never recognised
Then you came along
Was the second son
So special in their eyes

Oh how he ran
To the city where his dreams would turn to man
Oh how he ran

So he lived his life alone
Where he lay was home
Then they made him move along
From town to town
With his head held down
Then he turned twords the gun

Again how he ran
From the badge he had no chance to understand
Oh how he ran

Chorus:
Don't cut the wire, cos he really needs you now
Don't cut the wire, in the final hour
When it comes to the rest, you were always the best
Brother don't you cut the wire

Many years have passed
But behind the mask
He always thought of you
Now with a gun in hand
It's his final stand
Your brother needs you too

He knows how he ran
From the child he was
Then later from the man
Oh how he ran

Chorus


THE DAY BEFORE THE WAR

Standing on the border,
Waiting on the line.
Silence is a stranger,
In these troubled times.
I recall a better place,
Where I controlled my mind.
We had no fears at all...
The day before the war.

Hands across the water,
The sun is in the East.
Who will feed the famine
After lions feast?
In the name of Jesus,
In the name of God,
You took it all in vain...
The day before the war.

Standing on the border,
Waiting on the line.
Feet in bloody water,
Deafened by the crime.
I recall the beauty,
Young will never see.
We had no fears at all...
The day before the war.

Hearts across the water,
The sun is in the East.
Ships arrived this morning,
From the burning sea.
Take away the glory,
Take away the pain.
You were a friend of mine...
The day before the war.


ONLY TIME WILL TELL

You're leaving now
It's in your eyes
There's no disguising it
It really comes as no surprise
To find that you planned it all along

I see it now
Becomes so clear
Your insincerity
And me all starrey-eyed
To think that I would have know by now

{chorus}
Now, sure as the sun will cross the sky
This lie is over
Lost, like the tears that used to tide me over

{Only time will tell}
One thing is sure
That time will tell
{Only time will tell}
If you were wrong
The brightest ring around the moon
Will darken when I die

{chorus}

{repeat first verse}
{repeat second verse}
{chorus}

{Only time will tell}
You're on your own
Inside your room
{Only time will tell}
You're claiming victory
You were just using me
And there is no one you can use now

{Only time will tell}
One thing is sure
That time will tell...

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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