Asia Albums Ranked
Asia is an English rock band formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful line-up was its original, which was a supergroup of four members of different progressive rock bands of the 1970s: lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton of King Crimson and U.K., guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, keyboardist Geoff Downes of Yes and the Buggles, and drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Their debut album, Asia, released in 1982, remains their best selling album and went to number one in several countries. The lead single from the album, “Heat of the Moment”, remains their top-charting and best-known song, reaching the top 40 in over a dozen markets and peaking in the U.S. at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The band underwent multiple line-up changes before the original four members reunited in 2006. As a result, a band called Asia Featuring John Payne exists as a continuation of John Payne’s career as Asia’s frontman from 1991 until Wetton’s return in 2006. In 2013, the original line-up was broken once again when Howe retired from the band and was replaced by guitarist Sam Coulson. After a few years of inactivity, Billy Sherwood (of Yes, World Trade and Circa:) replaced an ailing Wetton (who died shortly thereafter) in Asia for a summer 2017 tour with Journey. Following the end of the tour, the band went on hiatus again, re-emerging in 2019 with Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal replacing both Sherwood on vocals and Coulson on guitar. Here are all of Asia albums ranked.
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“Coulson’s integration into the band gives Gravitas a sound unlike that of the original lineup; it actually does sound like “Astra” in places, but frankly Coulson is a more proficient and melodic guitarist than Mandy Meyer was, and while Gravitas is certainly harder-edged musically than the other reunion albums, the introspective, spiritual and thoughtful tone that Asia has developed continues to unwind itself into their music. The result is a unique album and – this fan hopes – indications that there is more to come.”
9. Aura (2001)
“It is a very adventurous sounding album, almost like you are on a long journey. ‘Free’ was the first song I checked out, which blew my mind! Definitely one of the most under rated ASIA tracks out there. I had to check the rest of the album out, so I went ahead and bought it. Awake, Wherever You Are, The Last Time, On The Coldest Day In Hell, You’re The Stranger, Aura and Come Make My Day were my particular favorites after my first 2 listens.”
8. Arena (1996)
“Arena: Originally released 1996, this album had Asia switching from AOR/arena rockers to a more experimental progressive rock/adult contemporary band. This is evident from the Santana-esque opening instrumental “Into the Arena”. “Arena” continues the same vibe of its predecessor, with some great drum beats and impressive vocal harmonizing. Cosmic keyboard tones and Payne’s warm and passionate vocals take command of “Two Sides of the Moon”. The lyrics are imbedded with simile and metaphor, but it’s not hard to hear that this is a statement on the effects of war.’
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7. Omega (2010)
“Omega’ is packed with variety, there’s everything here from big, stadium rockers, prog, pop and folk. It’s a vibrant, lively album of music played by a completely re-energised group, full of confidence.
Steve Howe’s guitar work is outstanding throughout and John Wetton’s vocal displays are stunning.
Roger Dean’s artwork, just puts a cherry on the whole package. Asia deserve some real success this year, and I hope they play a good chunk of this music on the tour because it’s every bit as good as anything they’ve recorded. And that’s saying something.”
6. Phoenix (2008)
“My personal favorite album that Asia ever produced in any lineup is “Arena”. That album was created by the 3rd incarnation of the group, which included Geoff Downes (keyboards) and John Payne on vocals as the core members. John Payne has a voice that is 100% more powerful and distinctive than John Wetton’s. I can’t say enough about Wetton. He sounds as good as he ever did, superb vocals. And his bass-playing has always been underrated.”
5. XXX (2012)
” The best album of the reunion era. All of the Steve Howe songs stick out on all of the reunion albums. The Howe contributions all have a distinct sound and style that bring you back to the first album. After hearing this album I wondered how they would top it but tragically we never did, but it may be a good thing Steve Howe retired as Yes and Asia were eating up all of his time and Yes is his baby.”
4. Aqua (1992)
“The songs on Aqua are fair to very good in quality, patchy taken as a whole, probably owing to their mixed pedigree and sometime reliance on hair-metal formula. Material was taken or reworked from earlier projects by Geoff Downes (Rain with Scott Gorham and others, Ride the Tiger with Greg Lake) and by John Payne with Andy Nye. The presence of Al Pitrelli’s guitars adds heavy-metal flourishes that sometimes work well, sometimes don’t.”
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3. Astra (1985)
“Astra has long been looked down upon as the weakest of the original three Asia releases. With Steve Howe officially out of the fold, the disintegration of the original Asia prog-rock-alumni-supergroup concept was well underway, and this would prove to be the last Wetton-era studio release (not counting 1990’s largely compilatory and contractually obligated “Then & Now”) for another 20 years.”
2. Alpha (1983)
“Its symphonic and highly creative. The lyrics are touching, the instrumentation is out of this world, the vocals oh so passionate and the album cover is just a thing of beauty. There are good songs and there and great songs. Not an ounce of filler in sight. Its just a crying shame that this band would disappear from view shortly after this near masterpiece. Don’t Cry, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, Open Your Eyes, Midnight Sun, The Heat Goes On,gosh what captivating music.”
1. Asia (1982)
“The big hits “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell” give a good indication of ASIA, both album and band, overall. One can hear traces of King Crimson in Wetton’s elephantine bass sound and passionate vocals; there are moments that recall Yes when Howe interweaves his classically-tinged guitar lines with Downes’ beefy keyboard textures. But ultimately, this doesn’t sound like some alchemical fusion of its members’ former bands. Because by focusing their attack into four-minute blasts instead of sprawling LP-length epics, Asia strip prog down to its sinewy core – “arena prog”, if you care to put a label to it, sounding as much like Journey as Genesis. (Early Genesis, that is – in the early 80s, Genesis were blazing many of the same trails as Asia were.)”
