The Asia CD Review

Asia in Asia: Live at The Budokan, Tokyo, 1983 (2022)

 
  1. Introduction from Mark Goodman (MTV)
  2. Time Again
  3. The Heat Goes On
  4. Here Comes the Feeling
  5. Eye to Eye
  6. Steve Howe Solo (Sketches in the Sun)
  7. Only Time Will Tell
  8. Open Your Eyes
  9. Geoffrey Downes Solo (Ihiri - The Setting Sun / Bolero)
  10.The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
  11.Wildest Dreams
  12.Carl Palmer (Solo)
  13.Heat of the Moment
  14.Sole Survivor
  15.Here Comes The Feeling
  16.Sole Survivor
  17.Only Time Will Tell
  18.Heat of the Moment

It's a bit weird, and kind of embarassing when one thinks that the first ever MTV concert to be shown on the network was by the band Asia. By 1983 (when MTV was still basically in its infancy) Asia was already in serious decline. The mammoth "supergroup" who surprised everyone with the sucess of their debut album followed up with one ( Alpha) that most conceded didn't nearly reach the calibur of their eponymous debut. It didn't help when two the key frontmen, John Wetton and Steve Howe, were already bickering about the direction and the future of the band. No one has really been able to give a definitive answer, but Wetton had apparently been given his walking papers by the time the band hit the road in 1983 and was replaced by prog-rock soundalike Greg Lake. Had I been told Wetton was the lead singer on this album, I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell any difference. So having Greg Lake here as his solo Asia outing really isn't that big of a deal.

The problem, well problems actually, is that the sound quality is rather subpar and the selection of songs for this release is quite thin. The first song, Time Again states plainly on the album that it is, in fact, in mono. Why? Was there some sort of technical issue? Sadly, you can tell, and you immediately want to disregard this album. It really is unlistenable. Thankfully the problems seemed to have been addressed once the opening song concludes, but by this point, there's nothing here that really warrants serious consideration. 3 of the 4 members get solos that are impressive, but not really memorable, and the tracks repeat from 15 - 18. Why, I don't know. So 14 songs - minus 3 solos - minus an awkward introduction by MTV's Mark Goodman - and we're left with a whopping 10 songs.

That in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when one first glances at the track total on this thing and sees "18", you can see why it tends to be a tad misleading. Fortunately, the key lineup (with Wetton, not Lake) would release a superior live offering many years later in "Asia" Fantasia: Live in Tokyo that was much better. It wasn't really that great if we're being honest, but it was much better than this thing. This album, if anything, might serve as a sovenir of what early MTV was like. Of course, I can't help but wonder if the suits at MTV, as well as the band members of Asia themselves, were a tad embarrased by this one and wished that some other band had the distinction of being the "first".

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