Review | Asia – Live In England

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Asia….. one of the so-called super groups from the early eighties existing of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes, drummer Carl Palmer and singer/bassist John Wetton. When these four giants got together, they got signed to Geffen Records by their iconic A&R manager John Kalodner and put in the studio with producer Mike Stone. The first album simply called ‘Asia’ was maybe not so progressive as fans of the genre had expected (based on the former work of the involved musicians), but it was a huge success. The single ,,Heat Of The Moment’’ became a hit and the album ended on top of the US Billboard charts and sold extensively in many other countries.

The 1983 album ‘Alpha’ and any other record that followed never matched that success. So, as to be expected there were line-up changes, too many to mention throughout the years. There were several reunions as well. Albums kept coming and often good ones, but the magic of that first album was never recaptured. From the original band only Geoff Downes is left. John Wetton passed away in 2017 while Carl Palmer and Steve Howe came back, left again, came back etcetera. You can read the history of this band on Wikipedia and other platforms.

NEW LINE-UP

Here we are in 2026 and a new live-album that features all the nine songs from that illustrious ‘Asia’ album are all featured. Geoff Downes put a new line-up together in 2024 with the Australian top drummer Virgil Donati, former Arena-guitarist John Mitchell and singer/bass player Harry Whitney, who, in comparison with his current band mates is just a spring chicken (born in Wales in 1995). Harry put some songs including several Asia tracks on his own You Tube channel and somehow Geoff Downes got wind of that. The rest is history.  A new line-up for Asia that went straight on tour without recording any new material, putting a set together with just old songs.

MEMORY LANE

Recorded somewhere in England and by the sound of it not in front of a large audience the album kicks off with ,,Heat Of The Moment’’. And although John Wetton’s singing is hard to replace our friend Harry gets the job done remarkably well. In a certain way he reminds me even of Wetton. The whole album is purely a trip down memory lane, as all the nine songs of the first Asia record are being played in the album-sequence with towards the end the addition of the songs ,,Ride Easy’’ (from the second album ‘Alpha’ and ,,The Heat Goes On’’ (a bonus track of the debut).

MISPLACED

Oh yes, there is also a version of ,,Video Killed The Radio Star’’, a song I always hated with a vengeance, originally recorded by The Buggles, a band where Geoff Downes was part of before Asia was founded. I find it completely misplaced to put such a piece of shite on an album that is all about the past of Asia.

ASIA – THE CONCLUSION

I have no problems with this release except for the inclusion of ,,Video Killed The Radio Star’’.  We are dealing here with seasoned musicians plus a newcomer who steps loud and proud into the shoes of John Wetton. The sound is up to scratch and most of the songs have survived the test of time (,,Sole Survivor’’, ,,Wildest Dreams’’ and ,,Here Comes The Feeling’’ as most prominent examples next to ,,Heat Of The Moment’’). We know now that the old repertoire is in good hands with the current line-up but the real test will be when a new studio-album hits the shelves, quite likely later this year.

Release date: 13 March 2026