THE TOKYO TAPES

Overall, a joy to listen to. I agree with one who says that 'Watcher of the Skies' is riveting on this live album; (dare I say it:) it is almost better than the Genesis original. Wetton's vocals are actually in very good form (considering that most of his vocals when recording with Asia leave something to be desired). Especially good is an unplugged version of 'Heat of the Moment.' IMO, that is the way the song should be remembered - a nice balladic, acoustic piece, rather than the bombastic pop-spawned version on the Asia studio album. I disagree with one reviewer's comments about Thompson. Doing the solo between 'Hierophant' and 'Los Endos,' some of us forget that Thompson is doing all that fancy footwork on a single bass-drum (I do not believe he has a DW double-bass pedal for the single drum) and, if you listen again, you realize just how amazing that footwork is. The studio tracks need not have been included, but the live tracks of old Genesis, KC, and Hackett solo-album pieces make this set worth including in any progger's collection.