Asia

The Official Live Bootlegs - Volume 1

(BMG)

8/10

By Paul Davies

This compendium of five official bootlegged concerts from four countries spanning the years 1982 - 2010 by the original line-up of Asia chronicles the live presence of these elite-level Prog players who created a successful blueprint of AOR music. It was a blueprint that was further modelled and copied by many bands - even Asia themselves – as these concerts reveal a band revelling in playing live together before various members eventually departed to finally re-join for another golden run of albums prior to John Wetton’s untimely death. What these ten CDs document and provide is an immersive overview of a group locked deep in their initial huge success with a spring to their musical step then regrouping to reclaim their early glorious footprint in their august years.

As a multi-platinum selling entity, Asia formed and shaped music perfect for FM radio - One Step Closer, Only Time Will Tell, Sole Survivor, Heat Of the Moment, Here Comes The Feeling, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes this list goes on - thus enabling their rapid rise to supergroup status. The first two concerts from Buffalo NY and Worcester MA hold the most interest showing a band riding the initial crest of their hugely successful sound waves created by their first two studio albums together. The remaining shows document the reformation of the original line-up as they picked up the melodic rock baton to conduct further studio albums which these shows reflect. Housed in an impressive clamshell box adorned with brand new cover artwork by Roger Dean, who created all of Asia’s artwork, there’s also an informative booklet written by Asia expert Dave Gallant adding to the shining sonics of these cleaned up concerts.

An essential live addition for Asia fans that tops and tails the live existence of this original band of near-perfect players.