Search - Asia :: Live at Town & Country Club

Brings back fond memories.

Michael K. Martin | Cordova, TN United States | 07/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this particular line-up of ASIA in, of all places, Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Yucatan Liquor Stand. It was in December 1992, almost a month after this show was recorded at the T & C. The recording, although not the best, is better than most of the live stuff I've heard from the "bootleg" series of ASIA CDs. Steve Howe was touring with them and as with this show, he didn't come on until later. Me and my friend (both of us YES fans) marveled at the fact that we were not more than 15 feet away from Steve Howe, and most of the "kids" in the place didn't even know who he was! While the reviews for this CD are typically mixed, I would recommend it for anyone who happened to catch them during the 92/93 tour. "Little Rich Boy" is a particular favorite, which at the time was played live but not available on the domestic release of AQUA."

A good Asia show, but marred by some very poor mixing!

Jeffery K. Matheus | Indianapolis, IN United States | 07/21/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big fan of Asia, and particularly of fan of the music that they have made since John Payne joined the band about 10 years back. I have been waiting for Asia to make a live album that would heavily feature their newer material, and also do their music justice in regards to production and sound quality. After the batch of poor quality Asia bootleg CD's that flooded the market a few years ago, I was excited to read that "Live at the Town & Country Club" was taken from an official band soundboard tape. So what's the verdict then?...While this release does sound leaps and bounds better than those awful "walkman" recordings, and it certainly contains some fine music, I'm sorry to say that it still suffers from some VERY poor mixing! While John Payne's bass and vocals are always loud and clear in the mix (as they should be), Geoff Downes keyboards often sound distant and barely-audible, while at other times, such as on "Who Will Stop the Rain", they come through so loud that they drown-out the other instruments! The Downes solo track titled here as "Piano Solo" (it's actually an acoustic version of the old Asia song "Cutting it Fine") comes through at such a low & distant sound-level that it sounds like the microphone was about a mile away from the piano when it was recorded! The few times that we hear Downes speak to the audience also comes through with a very weak and "far off" ambiance, while Payne's banter with the audience comes through loud and clear. Another such sound problem occurs when Steve Howe guests on the last few tracks of the album. Howe's lead guitar on the Asia classic "Wildest Dreams" is just barely audible in the right channel of the mix, but his mellow acoustic guitar on "Aqua Part 1" sounds fine. If more care had just been put into the mixing and production of these live tapes, this could be an EXCELLENT document of Asia's 1992 "Aqua" tour, instead it is just a "fair" document of what those shows really sounded like for those in attendance. I remember seeing Asia on this tour and being blown-away by how tight and energetically they played, much of that interplay is lost here due to the poor sound mix. On the up-side I am glad to say that this disc does include two songs that are not listed on the packaging, most notably a fine version of "Love Under Fire" (with a some impassioned vocals from Payne), as well as the aforementioned "Aqua Part 1". Luckily the band is able to rise above some of the recording flaws and still deliver some very emotional and enjoyable music, but unfortunately I will always have that feeling of "it could have been better" when I play this one!...Too bad, because I love this band."