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Stop the madness.....

08/19/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"quit putting out repackaged stuff. What's even worse is the sound quality from the lousy recordings. No, the original line-up isn't coming back, we all know that. Change the name of band, Geoff. Quit hanging on to the name. Anyone who gave this more than 1 star really needs to recognize that the band now stinks. A Buggles reunion would now be in order to put the name Asia out of its misery."

A sampler of the "Archiva" albums

eveoflove | North York, Ontario Canada | 05/09/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Made in USA in 1997, Serial# CAS-70093-2, Playing Time 50:43This disc basically lifts tracks from 2 studio albums, "Archiva 1" and "Archiva 2", both originally released in 1996.These albums were released simultaneously in the hopes that "lost tapes" would be interesting to fans of ASIA phase II (with John Payne). Most tracks, though credited as unfinished, still demonstrate Geoff Downes' immeasurable talent, both as a songwriter and keyboard player. The material sounds polished enough to me, so don't let that disclaimer lead you to believe these sound like demos: they're better arranged than most "finished" albums being released these days...Many people lift up their nose on ASIA recordings since the departure of Howe/Wetton/Palmer; that's their loss: you can't compare the 2 groups, so perhaps a name change would have been in order.If you own and/or like the "Aqua", "Aria", "Arena", or "Aura" albums, do yourself a favor: buy the 2 full "Archiva" albums. If you don't own any and are willing to take a small chance, this "Best Of" will give you a flavor of the sounds of ASIA in the last 5 years. But remember it contains no tracks outside of these "lost tapes" Archiva albums."

Yechh!

J. Wheeler | San Francisco Bay Area Arts & Crafts Movement | 04/07/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"What a disappointment. Best of? Where is "Heat of the Moment? Only Time Will Tell? Sole Survivor? This waste of plastic and aluminum is a bunch of unreleased (read crap)songs from the current band that lacks the foundation of great artists that were once Asia. Unless you get this on Ebay for a penny, save your money and get instead the much superior remastered collection,

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Asia ."