Search - Asia :: Anthology

Progressing into the 90's

Prog Nerd | Southern California | 06/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anthology was my introduction to 90's Asia, and it won me over just by sheer value for what I got. Think about it...it has every Asia album (up to '97) sampled with a few songs each, plus two new cuts. What's not to like?



As others have mentioned, you do get re-recordings of 80's Asia classics ("Heat of the Moment", "Only Time Will Tell", "Don't Cry", "The Heat Goes On", "Go"), and while some bits of them are good, I still prefer the original recordings. I must say, though, Payne does a superb job with "Go". "The Hunter" is good, but again, I prefer GTR's original. The Asia version is just different. The other new track, "Different Worlds" is fantastic...one of Asia's most haunting and passionate songs, with fantastic lyrics.



The only missteps really are the lack of more tracks from the Arena album, a few typos, and a mis-printed track time for "Aqua Part I", which, by the way, is an edit. (The original had the sounds of rain and thunder at the end.) The CD booklet has small concert photos, and lyrics to all songs.



Musically, the 90's were probably Asia's mostly honestly "progressive" period. They started a little shaky on Aqua (1992), sort've bridging from their 80's to 90's sound (thankfully all of the best songs from Aqua are here on this disc), then moving to the more polished, operatic and hard-edged Aria (1994), and then doing a total 180-degree turn with Arena (1996), which was full of smooth 70's-style classic rock harmonies, Latin and Middle-Eastern rhythms, and dark 8-9 minute prog-metal mini-epics.



If you're curious about 90's Asia, pick this up. If you're new to Asia period and are on a budget, get this and Geffen's Heat of the Moment: The Very Best of Asia 1982-90, and you'll be set. If you have more cash to blow, get Anthologia and Axioms, both double-disc sets."

Almost a great compilation...

Robert Jenkins | Celina, TX United States | 08/23/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Overall, this album is an excellent introduction to the Asia of the 90's for those who have only heard their 80's music. The re-make of the old GTR song "The Hunter" and the new "Different Worlds" track are also excellent, and almost worth the purchase price themselves. The other 90's songs on this album are a good sample of the best tracks from Aqua (1992), Aria (1994), and Arena (1996), although I wish that "Lay Down Your Arms" from Aqua had made it on here. Oh well, can't have everything I guess...What mars this otherwise excellent album are the re-makes of the 80's hits "Heat of the Moment", "Only Time Will Tell", "Don't Cry", "The Heat Goes On", and "Go". I don't blame John Payne for this, I think he is a fine singer, at least the equal of John Wetton certainly. What messes these songs up is the engineering of them. "Don't Cry" sounds like it was recorded down in a well, and the other songs don't fare much better. The best sounding ones of the group are "Only Time Will Tell" and "The Heat Goes On". These sound pretty decent, if still not as good as the versions on Asia and Alpha. I understand that there were a few pressings of this album that made it out onto the shelves before John Wetton got his court order stopping Asia from using the original versions of these songs on the album, which was their original plan. I would LOVE to get ahold of one of those!"