Asia
Cover art by Roger Dean
Studio album by
Asia
Released8 March 1982 [1]
RecordedJune–November 1981
Studio
Genre
Length44:22
LabelGeffen
ProducerMike Stone
Asia chronology
Asia
(1982) 		Alpha
(1983)
Singles from Asia
  1. "Heat of the Moment"
    Released: April 1982
  2. "Only Time Will Tell"
    Released: July 1982
  3. "Sole Survivor"
    Released: October 1982

Asia is the debut studio album by English rock supergroup Asia, released in 1982. According to both Billboard and Cashbox, it was the #1 album in the United States for the year 1982.[3] It contains their biggest hit "Heat of the Moment", which reached #4 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[4]

Recording

Asia included keyboardist Geoffrey Downes and guitarist Steve Howe from Yes; King Crimson singer-bassist John Wetton, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer Carl Palmer.[5]

"The production was a bit Journey-esque," Howe noted. "That was down to Mike Stone, who’d co-produced Escape, which was a huge album for Journey. But ‘Heat of the Moment’ was the last song we recorded for the Asia album. By then we’d already done stuff like ‘Time Again’ and ‘Wildest Dreams,’ which were very progressive. There was also this sweetness in ‘[Only] Time Will Tell.’ But as soon as I stacked up the guitar and John started singing, we knew we had something special in ‘Heat of the Moment’.”[6]

"People said, 'No, that's not going to work. It's all keyboards now. It's all synthesizers.' I think A Flock of Seagulls was No. 1," Wetton commented. "Actually, what we did was make a sound that blew synthesizers out of the water. Everyone said, 'Oh, no, no, no. A prog-guitar band ain't gonna work.' But it did."[7]

Artwork

Asia's logo and cover artwork were created by Roger Dean, known for his work with Yes (of which guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Geoff Downes were previous members) and Uriah Heep (of which bassist/vocalist John Wetton had previously been a member). The debut album's art depicts a sea serpent gazing into a crystal orb.

There was a concern that having Dean do the cover would produce something that looked too much like his famed artwork for Yes, but Howe and Downes pushed for his involvement. Geffen's John Kalodner did not initially like Dean's logo for the band.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Christgau's Record GuideC−[10]

Robert Christgau blasted the album, and particularly its lyrics. He stated that it had been a rare occasion that "a big new group is bad enough to sink your teeth into any more" and called the album "pompous – schlock in the grand manner".[10] Melody Maker's Adam Sweeting similarly lambasted the band: "Designed by computer, hand-built by robots...Completely calculated, thoroughly contemptible, Asia is every bit as hollow, shallow and nasty as anyone had a right to expect."[11] On the other side, in a Billboard review, it was favourably noted that "the caliber of the [band's] playing is superb and the music sounds fresh and perfect fare for AOR".[12]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Tom Demalon awarded Asia four-and-a-half out of five, saying that "there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style".[9]

Commercial performance

Upon its release in March 1982, Asia reached #1 in the US and spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard album chart.[4] Asia was certified 4x-platinum in the US by the RIAA on 10 February 1995.[13] It was the best-selling album of 1982 in the US.

In the band's native UK, Asia did not perform as well as in the US, peaking only at #11 and spent a total of 38 weeks in the UK Albums Chart.[14] The record received a gold status in Britain on 18 October 1982.[15] "Heat of the Moment" climbed to No. 46.[14]

Asia's total worldwide sales are estimated at over ten million copies.[16]

Aftermath

“It was really most unlikely that musicians who derived from ’70s bands would come out and be the pinup boys on MTV and People magazine and all that kind of stuff .... There was a difference between the Yes and Asia audiences to some degree, because Asia was such a big thing across America to all age groups.” Downes said. “Yes’ following is really quite eclectic — it’s a big following of course, but with Asia, teenage girls would be into it and stuff like that. It’s an interesting combination for me, because having been with both bands and still at it, it’s nice to get that whole cross section of people following the music.” [5]

2010 Audio Fidelity remastered edition

In 2010, Audio Fidelity released a 24 Karat Gold CD (AFZ 068) remaster of the album, mastered by Kevin Gray.[16]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heat of the Moment"John Wetton, Geoff Downes3:48
2."Only Time Will Tell"Wetton, Downes4:44
3."Sole Survivor"Wetton, Downes4:48
4."One Step Closer"Wetton, Steve Howe4:16
5."Time Again"Downes, Howe, Carl Palmer, Wetton4:45
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Wildest Dreams"Wetton, Downes5:10
7."Without You"Wetton, Howe5:04
8."Cutting It Fine"Wetton, Downes, Howe5:35
9."Here Comes the Feeling"Wetton, Howe5:42
Total length:44:22
Bonus Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Ride Easy"Wetton, Howe4:35
Total length:48:57

Personnel

Asia

Technical personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[36] Gold 20,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[37] 3× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[38] Gold 100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[36] Platinum 200,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[39] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[41] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Howe, Steve (2020). All My Yesterdays (1st ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-785581-79-3.
  2. ^ Deggans, Eric (1998). "Asia". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 44-45.
  3. ^ "The Billboard 200 – Year-end albums – 1982". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Asia chart positions in the US". Billboard.
  5. ^ a b Jason Bracelin (24 July 2019). "Despite prog rock's critics, Yes, Asia keep genre going strong". Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. ^ Martin Kielty (28 April 2020). "Steve Howe Says John Wetton Struggled With Asia's Success". Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. ^ Jeff Giles (18 March 2017). "How Asia Mixed Prog and Pop on Their Self-Titled Debut". Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Roger Dean and Geoff Downes in Conversation". Retrieved 26 March 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  9. ^ a b Demalon, Tom. Asia: Asia > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1990). "A". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 16 August 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  11. ^ "Asia: Asia (Geffen)". rocksbackpages.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Top Album Picks: Asia – Asia". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 12. 27 March 1982. p. 98.
  13. ^ "RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program searchable database". RIAA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007.
  14. ^ a b "Asia chart positions in the UK". The Official Charts Company.
  15. ^ "BPI's certified awards search". BPI.
  16. ^ a b "Asia::Asia". Audio Fidelity. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Asia – Asia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6528". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Asia – Asia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  21. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  22. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – A". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Asia from the menu, then press OK.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Asia – Asia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  24. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 3 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Asia".
  25. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  27. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  29. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  30. ^ "Asia Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  31. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1982". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  33. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Albums". Chart File, Volume 2. London: Virgin Books. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
  34. ^ "Top Pop Albums". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 51. 25 December 1982.
  35. ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  36. ^ a b "Asia strikes it rich" (PDF). Cash Box. 11 November 1982. p. 28. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Asia – Asia". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  38. ^ "French album certifications – Asia – Asia" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 9 September 2021. Select ASIA and click OK. 
  39. ^ Bonhams : Carl Palmer: Album cover artwork and a 'gold' sales award, 1982 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 November 2021)
  40. ^ "British album certifications – Asia – Asia". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  41. ^ "American album certifications – Asia – Asia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

External links

Asia
Billboard Year-End number one albums
Authority control databases
Categories