Current Asia Line-up
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Topic: Current Asia Line-up
Posted By: plodder
Subject: Current Asia Line-up
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 04:20
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Can anyone tell me the current Asia line-up? I'm going to see them on
Monday and I want to know if I'm going to see 3 session musicians and
Geoff Downes or the classic Asia (without Steve Howe). Cheers. |
Replies:
Posted By: nacho
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 06:55
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Geoff Downes - Keyboards John Payne - Bass and vocals (and occasional acoustic guitar) Guthrie Govan - Guitars (and occasional bass) Chris Slade - Drums I saw them in Salamanca (Spain) a month ago. They were OK: nothing to be remembered forever, but OK. Actually, out of the four members of the band the one I enjoyed the least was Mr. Downes: he was showing up, surrounded with lots of different keyboards (and doing very little with them, IMO), when we know that he could do exactly the same with a couple of them. And he also did a stupid keyboard solo, based mainly on the "Video killed the radio star" melody... But maybe I still hate this guy from the Drama shock... John Payne is OK singing and playng lod bass lines, Guthrie Govan is a young and promising guitarist, not showing up at any moment with the classical "look how fast I can play", but just playing every note needed. And Chris Slade, well, I was expecting something more "basical" from an ex-AC/DC drummer, but he sure can play prog (OMG, did I say that Asia is prog?). Anyway, enjoy the concert! |
Posted By: plodder
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 07:24
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Nacho, thanks very much. I'll post a review with pics hopefully. |
Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 07:56
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Asia just did a week of shows in Italy with Carl Palmer on drums. Unfortunately for you tho, he just did it as a favor for the Italian shows... but if I was going to see an Asia show... I would of wanted to see one of those.... ------------- THIS IS ELP 
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Posted By: plodder
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 08:01
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I saw the Classic Asia in Wembley in '82. My brother is the coach driver for them so he's getting me VIP tickets. We saw Quango a few years back, other than Wetton forgetting the words and looking pissed all night Carl Palmer was awesome. Lucky for me I suppose 'cos I would've made a fool of myself if I met Carl Palmer before/after the show. Ahh well, at least I'm not having to pay for the tickets.  |
Posted By: dropForge
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 15:17
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Yep, sounds like Geoff...
I can't believe he still fashions a "solo" around that stupid tune. Geoff has been in a rut ever since he joined Asia, except for a few minutes on his Light Program work (only the first one). Geoff plays it far too safe. This is a guy who once played with Gary Boyle in Isotope!!!!!!!!
Drama's the last thing he did that I give a sh*t about. Killer album! Sorry to hear that you don't like it. Maybe one of these days it'll suddenly click for ya... |
Actually, out of the four members of the band the one I enjoyed the least was Mr. Downes: he was showing up, surrounded with lots of different keyboards (and doing very little with them, IMO)Posted By: dropForge
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 15:18
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Asia's just Asia, no matter who plays drums. If you get my drift... |
Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: March 20 2005 at 18:01
Hardly!! Maybe with studio output, but live... its not the same when you watch Carl play! ------------- THIS IS ELP
|
Posted By: dropForge
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 02:05
You know what I mean, Linda! What, the songs were no longer in 4/4...? 
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Posted By: plodder
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 17:50
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Well they were awful, absolutely awful. Dare were quite good but Asia were abysmal. My wife's favourite "Wildest Dreams" opened the set and they killed it stone dead and it just went downhill from there. We left halfway through as they were killing "Military Man" I just won't let my standards drop that low. "Video Killed The Radio Star" as a keyboard solo? Aye Caramba. |
Posted By: dropForge
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 21:26
| LOL!!!!!! That's what you get for going to see a band that should have stopped after Astra. |
Posted By: Guillermo
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 21:36
| For all the people who wants to listen to the original Asia line-up in concert, I remember that last year a record label released two albums on CD from concerts from the 1982 and 1983 tours. They are not included in the Asia Discography in Progarchives. I have not listened to them. I saw them in record shops here: they are expensive, and maybe the sound quality is not very good. Progarchives included another live album by Asia released by the same label, called "Dragon Attack", but it is another live recording from the 1990 tour with Thrall. |
Posted By: ProgRockerJDS
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 22:03
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I'm new to this forum, by the way, so hello! **waves** I'm just getting interested in this band, after buying an old cassette of "Then And Now" from a local thrift shop(whoever gave this thing up has no taste in music at all, IMO), and playing practically nothing else the past few days. Are the post Wetton years really that horrible? If so, I won't even bother with them, although I might like them. John Wetton is a genius and an incredible vocalist, so I'll definately be buying anything from that era of the band. Take care, Joshua |
Posted By: dropForge
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 22:10
| Josh, if you like Wetton, you need to skip Asia and go back to U.K., Uriah Heep and King Crimson! |
Posted By: ProgRockerJDS
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 22:14
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I'm a huge fan of King Crimson's mid 70s lineup, and I have a U.K. bootleg(which I'm actually listening to right now, it's very good.) I haven't heard any Uriah Heep yet though - what albums in their catalogue are the most significant?(And I apologize for going a bit off topic there, sorry. Take care, Joshua |
)Posted By: dropForge
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 22:27
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The two Uriah Heep albums Wetton is on are Return To Fantasy and High & Mighty. David Byron is still Heep's singer, but Wetton gets some leads in, like on the classic "One Way Or Another" which opens H&M. I'd get that one first. Both are remastered with bonus tracks. Btw, the 'Now' side of Then and Now is pretty rank! |
Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: March 25 2005 at 07:47
Hi PrJDS, The two albums mentioned above do indeed have Wetton on them, but they are not the most significant in the band's catalogue. For those, you would need to go back to "Look at yourself" or "Demons and Wizards". |
Posted By: Sweetnighter
Date Posted: March 25 2005 at 10:58
Pretty much... of the original lineup, Downes was the least known member and rather secondary to Asia's success... seems to me like he's just riding out an old name to make a living. I hold the same opinion towards Banks and Rutherford for "Calling All Stations". ------------- I bleed coffee. When I don't drink coffee, my veins run dry, and I shrivel up and die. "Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso? Is that like the bank of Italian soccer death or something?" -my girlfriend |
Posted By: topographic2112
Date Posted: March 25 2005 at 11:17
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I admit that I didn't really like John Payne's voice at all when first that era of the band, but I've grown used to it and he pulls off some amazing vocal deliveries. I hold a very special place in my heart for the original Asia line-up, but the music Geoff and Co. have been putting out since Aqua is nothing short of greatness, although a little bit harder-edged and rockier. I saw Geoff and John perform in my old hometown of Williamsport, PA in July of 2003 on their Asia Across America tour and I must say that it was a great performance. Geoff, even though backed by a MIDI computer, actually performed the whole of "Tempus Fugit" from Yes' Drama album and John and Geoff played a little tribute to Steve Howe with "Aqua I," one of the few songs Steve actually did play on Aqua. I got to meet Geoff after the show and had a smoke with him and got my picture taken with him. He was very nice and cool to hang around. It's too bad Carl Palmer never came back to Asia after the second demise of ELP, but at least he's not afraid to go back and relive some moments with the band. ------------- "Rock is the medium of our generation." - Yes - "Release, Release" |
Posted By: Guillermo
Date Posted: March 25 2005 at 12:01
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I agree with you in that Downes was the least known member of Asia, but he wasn`t secondary to their success, because he was the co-composer (with Wetton) of almost all the songs in their 3 studio albums with Wetton and in the compilation "Then and Now". He has songwriting credits in the first album in : "Heat of the Moment", "Only Time Will Tell, "Sole Survivor"(these 3 songs were hit singles!), and "Wildest Dreams" (all composed by Wetton/Downes), "Time Again" (Downes/Howe/Palmer/Wetton), and "Cutting it Fine" (Wetton/Downes/Howe).In "Alpha", all the songs were composed by Wetton/Downes except "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" (by Wetton only). In "Astra", apart of being the co-producer of the album, all the songs were composed by Wetton/Downes and 2 by Wetton/Downes/Palmer. In "Then & Now" there are two new songs by Wetton/Downes. I also think that, like in the Travelling Wilburys Band in the case of Tom Petty (with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne), he was very lucky to be in a band with superstars Howe, Palmer and Wetton. Downes is a good musician, but at that time he wasn`t very known apart from being in The Buggles and the "Drama" album line-up of YES. I also think that he uses the name "Asia" to earn money to live. In the beginning, "Asia" was more John Wetton`s idea. He met former YES manager Brian Lane in early 1981. They talked about forming a new band. Howe was introduced to Wetton by Brian Lane. Palmer was the next to join the band, invited by Wetton. Downes was the last to join the band, maybe invited by Howe. As someone metioned before, even Downes wasn`t in some line-ups of the band. In the case of "Calling All Stations", I think that Banks and Rutherford really had the right to call themselves Genesis, because they always have been composers in the band and they were the only original members of the band until the end. Maybe they tried to prove to themselves that they could carry on without Collins, but IMO, Collins was more than the drummer and singer in the band, and was more important for the band and for the fans of the band. Maybe they tried to diminish Collins`influence in the band. But Rutherford and Banks did a mistake recruiting a singer like Ray Wilson, because his voice wasn`t right for the sound of the band, IMO. |
Posted By: plodder
Date Posted: March 25 2005 at 12:13
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They played their own songs Ok, if you like that kinda thing. Every old Asia song they tried to perform they played way too quickly. To be dragging their arses around pubs and clubs is a sad way to treat the name of the band. |