Asia - Very Best Of Heat of the Moment 198290 (18 tracks) +Album Reviews

The Real Best of Asia!

Eugene Callahan | MA United States | 06/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't be fooled by the boatload of Asia collections. This is the greatest hits package to purchase. There are 3-4 Asia greatest hits CDS that focus on Asia from 1992 onward. The new band doesn't include John Wetton, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe. This CD includes all the hits that made Asia a huge smash in the eighties. They were all remastered and sound wonderful. As others have stated, it's a shame that the CD contains two edited tracks(Here Comes The Feeling and Sole Survivor). These two tracks are classics and should be heard in their entirety. The CD does include three b-side tracks. These three tracks make the CD a must have, even if you own all of the original albums. To hear Steve Howe's guitar playing along with John Wetton's voice on three tracks that I haven't heard before is great! This CD rocks!"

The Best of the Classic Asia!!!

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 09/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Very Best Of Asia" truly is what it says. This 18-track compilation encompasses over 77 minutes of music from one of the greatest progressive rock bands of the '80s, Asia. Most of the tracks feature the band's original line-up of bassist/lead vocalist John Wetton, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Carl Palmer. All of the music is taken from Asia's classic trilogy of original albums, "Asia", "Alpha" and "Astra" along with one track from the "Then and Now" compilation and three rare B-sides.

Classic tracks such as "Only Time Will Tell", "Heat Of The Moment", "Wildest Dreams", "Don't Cry", "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" and "Go" are all included here alongside powerful album tracks such as "Sole Survivor", "The Heat Goes On", "Open Your Eyes", "Here Comes The Feeling" and "Days Like These".

The band's strong musical hooks and unprecidented craft shine through in every track on this CD and offers an excellent sampling of Asia during its classic era during the 80s. John Wetton's commanding vocals, Steve Howe's soaring guitar work, Geoff Downes' melodic pop sensibilies rounded out by Carl Palmer's forceful powerhouse percussion gel into an effortless musical blend.

Beginning in the '90s, Asia went through a slew of personnel changes with Geoff Downes being the only original member left in the band. John Wetton left the band in 1991 and was replaced by John Payne who has remained with Asia ever since. Various guitarists and drummers have come and gone with the band over years - its current drummer being the legendary sessionman Chris Slade while the guitar slot is presently being filled by a relative newcomer named Guthrie Govan.

The original Asia band was a special treasure as clearly proven by the music in this compilation. While the current Asia continues to make great music, nothing can take the place of the classic band line-up that took the world by storm over 20 years ago. "The Very Best of Asia" captures the very essence of what Asia was all about and is a fantastic journey down memory lane.

Definitely a must-have collection!!"

Geffen Records blows it again!

erik wyatt | Michigan | 06/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm giving this CD four stars on the strength of the elegant packaging art and robust track listing. But once again Geffen Records shows no respect to this great supergroup by totally messing up the most important part: sound quality. When I saw first saw the track listing and cool sleeve graphics, I thought this would be the perfect compilation. However, these tracks are NOT digitally remastered, and in most cases, sound like fifth-generation 8 track copies simply wrote to disc. There is no excuse for this kind of effort, regardless of how minute an audience Geffen believes Asia to attract. The sound engineer should be fired. Trimming the 5.5 minute track Here Comes the Feeling down by 2 minutes is a horrible decision. Same with Sole Survivor. Basically, this is the only band in my 250+ CD collection where the LPs sound much brighter and crisper than the CDs do. Compare this package to ELP: The Atlantic Collection, a remastered set that highlights mostly early 70s material. The sound quality on that package absolutely shimmers. On the bright side, the long-awaited B-sides are nice to have finally. This one could have been a knockout!"

It was the heat of the moment....

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 07/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amid the flurry of the Second British Invasion, the intensification of heavy metal, and the synthesis of synthesizers and hard rock, came a group that incorporated power guitars, synths, and powerful harmony choruses derived from church choirs. Add to that, all its members hailed from groups of the 70s. Lead singer John Wetton had been with King Crimson and UK, whereas guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Geoff Downes were former Yes-men, the latter also with the Buggles, and drummer Carl Palmer was a third of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Together, they became the supergroup Asia, sporting some of the indulgence of 70s art-rock, but at times sporting the pop rhythms of the new decade.

It is small wonder that one 80s book ranked their debut single, "Heat of the Moment," as #4 of the Top 80 quintessential 80s songs. The crashing drums, power guitars, and fast-paced rhythm incorporated both something majestic, catchy rhythms, and the harmonies on the chorus, provided the blueprint for their awesome sound, exuding the power of Survivor but with a backwash of synths and choruses. This reached #4 on the pop charts and topped the album rock charts. After hearing Howe's guitar here, it makes me think his work on GTR was somewhat watered down.

I remember "Only Time Will Tell" from the video featuring the slow-motion routine of the gymnast. With a majestic synth fanfare that Europe's "The Final Countdown" shared four years later, this song (#17 pop, #8 AR) then sports gentler synths before going uptempo. The chorus, preceded by a crash of guitars and synths, then relaxes, though accompanied by the strident drums. Who would have thought that this song was about a girl who uses someone and dumps them?

The other four songs from Asia's #1 debut album made it on the album rock charts. "Time Again" featured a hard-edged running bass accompanied synth bursts, while "Wildest Dreams" has an outstanding drum intro by Palmer.

"Don't Cry" was the first single from their second album Alpha. This song (#10 pop, #1 AR) burst with the same energy as their debut, with undertones of a 60's love song slathered with Asia's usual drum and majestic synth coating. Its B-side, "Daylight," opens with a baroque-like organ before going into full gear. The second single, "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes," (Pop #34, AR #25) is a sad Chicago-type ballad layered with the usual synths, a triumph for the man when the girl who's left him comes back, but there's no room for sympathy for her. "The Heat Goes On" which hit #5 on the AR charts, is another powerful track.

"Go," from their third album Astra, was the first video of theirs I saw, by which time they were starting to lose their audience. Add to this Steve Howe had left to form GTR with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. It still has the charm of hard guitars, particularly onn the bridge (WOW!) powerful synths and harmonies especially on the chorus, and is one of my favourite tracks. A #7 hit on the AR charts, it only got to #46 on the pop charts. The slower "Voice of America" was a power ballad and them some, given the excessive synths and harmonies.

"Days Like These," the new track added to their Then And Now compilation, showed they hadn't changed and had their stuff together, and that the album rock charts still tipped their hats to them, as it made it to #2 (as compared to #64 pop).

There are times when the majestic and bombastic music content, be it through synths, operatic harmonies, of my blood gets low, at which time I get a fix of Asia, and songs like "The Heat of the Moment" or "Go" do just the trick."

Asia's Definative Collection

J O'Malley | Long Island NY | 07/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Between 1982 and 1985, a rock band known as Asia, had emerged from the shadows of the 1970's and released three of the most dynamic rock albums of 1980's. The self-titled debut was an instant and surprising success, sitting at the top for nine weeks in the summer of 1982. Their 1983 follow up, Alpha, reached #6. A success, but was clearly overshadowed by monster albums by Michael Jackson and David Bowie. 1985's underrated Astra followed, but was lost amongst the ever-changing popular music scene, and Asia decided to go their seperate ways for the next several years.Asia was a very unique band at that time. It's line-up.. vocalist/bassist John Wetton, drummer Carl Palmer, guitarist Steve Howe, & keyboardist Geoff Downes, each coming from then defunct Progressive Rock bands.. King Crimson, ELP & Yes respectively. Despite their musical backgrounds, these four musicians set off in a new direction. Instead of just picking up where they left off in the 70's, they focused on consise and melodic songs but with a dynamic power that seperated them from other popular acts of the early 1980's. Their sound was quite commercial yet richly textured, melodic and edgy. This overdue retrospective shows off the diverse and powerful songs that defined this 1980's rock supergroup.From the debut...Heat Of The Moment & Only Time Will Tell were instant radio hits, Soul Survivor, Time Again, Wildest Dreams, Here Comes The Feeling and Ride Easy..a b-side song that is every bit a classic as the two radio hits. From Alpha comes Don't Cry, the dramatic ballad The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, The Heat Goes On, Never In A Million Years, Open Your Eyes and the two-b sides Daylight and Lying To Yourself. Go, Voice Of America & Too Late are featured from Astra. 1990's Days Like These is the best cut from the transitional Then & Now release."

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