I’ve got their first two albums and have always enjoyed them - probably more for nostalgia’s sake than on their music merits, I’ll admit, although there are some great songs on there.
I know Asia has done other albums over the years. Are you a fan? What other albums of theirs would you recommend, and why?
I went back and listened to my copies of the first two albums after seeing “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” Eh. They were very much “of their time.” Interesting as an exercise in nostalgia, but not much else.
William V. - as silenus observed, the mention of Asia in 40yoV is not going to have people leaping up to show support. The group gets a big diss during the movie…
As I have mentioned in other posts, the drummer in my current band engineered Asia’s 3rd album and has many stories about what primadonna twits they were by that time in their careers…
WordMan, I believe it was you who mentioned that Palmer could not keep time. Any other stories you might care to share?
Yep - that was me. In terms of other stories, I would have to ask my friend. Keeing things general, let’s just say that there was one member who would go through a cycle: come in clean and nice, do massive amounts of coke and become this evil prick, really abusive to everyone, then disappear for 2 weeks and come back to cycle through again…
Yikes, I thought Asia broke up after Astra (1985)! They’ve put out 12 albums, and are still around!? :eek:
Are you aware that theirs is the music heard in the THX promo?
It was intersting that Steve Howe was in Asia for a while and then joined Steve Hackett is the similarly-themed GTR (very short-lived - one CD).
You could do a great family tree on some of those 80’s bands. Members of Asia were also in the Buggles and some ended up in Yes.
Back when they were still pretty big, I saw them in Santa Cruz. They had this ass-kicking juggler for an opening act who would juggle to music. Of course, he utilized a lot of black lighting, strobes, and other effects, but I must say it was damn cool. Then again, maybe it was just the recreational pharmecuticals talking.
That same night, while we were waiting in line for the doors to open, my friend had to go find a bathroom and somehow made his way inside the auditorium. While standing at the urinal, the singer for Asia stepped into the stall next to him. They talked a bit (afterwards) and my friend mentioned that he had seen his videos, which shocked the singer a bit (MTV was still pretty tiny back then). He said that he made a big mistake in one of those videos (Heat of the moment IIRC). He shaved after the first day of filming, and the director was really upset since the continuity would be ruined. So makeup did the old coffee grounds glued to the face trick in order make the different takes match. He said if you look closely, you can see what parts were filmed on day one, and the parts fimed on day two.
He didn’t think it would matter much because really, who watches music videos? 
Back around… I want to say 1993, I went to see Asia at a local concert venue. I’m always a bit leery when I see an older band playing such a small place, because sometimes that’s a sign that the original members have all quit, and their 3rd bassist or 4th drummer somehow got legal rights to the band’s name. But no, the local newspapers carried ads for the concert, and the ads named the 4 original members: Wetton, Howe, Downes and Palmer.
Talk about false advertising! The band consisted of Geoff Downes and three guys who were probably in junior high when the first Asia album came out. Worse still, they played almost nothing but original material that nobody in the crowd was familiar with.
Every song was greeted by a loud rounds of “Boos” and a louder round of “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU???”
I left after 20 minutes. About half the crowd didn’t even stay that long.
I think all of the members of Asia had much better success and creativity with their other respective groups.
Described by one reviewer as “Ttl Sht.” 
Okay, one other story from my friend: So they are in the studio and are working through tracks and Steve Howe wants to try a different guitar. He looks at the racks of guitars to his side and decides which he wants. He calls out to his guitar tech, so he (the tech) can hand Howe the guitar. No tech. Howe then proceeds to keep calling his guitar tech and not move - and yes, he could stand up, reach over and grab the guitar - it is, what, 4 feet away from him?
Howe refuses to move. Finally, he does get up - to go find the guitar tech! The whole production crew is in stitches watching this primadonna. Howe finds the tech (choking down a quick meal in another part of the studio) and has him come out, food in mouth, and hand Howe the guitar. Fucking Spinal Tap.
And yes, Howe is as good as everyone says he is, according to my buddy. Did some dazzling stuff in the studio.
And maybe one more (I may have told this one before in the earlier thread). So my buddy is at Palmer’s drum kit, tuning it up and placing mic’s. When it is all ready, he launches into a rock riff so the other engineers can check all the levels. While he is doing so, all the other members - except Palmer - come into the studio. They hear my buddy play and start this over-the-top dramatic bit: “ohmigod - a drummer who can keep time! I don’t believe it! Tell the media!!” and so on - they even offered him a job and acted like they would have him record the tracks on the album. The teasing of Palmer behind his back was apparently pretty bad…
But that is a completely different story than when my buddy was playing on the drumkit of the guy in Motorhead…
WordMan, thanks. Any other stories he and you are willing to share, I’m willing to read!
No worries - it is very very fun to get my drummer and bassist into a few beers and start trading stories. Between the drummer’s studio stories and the bassist’s touring stories (he hung out with everyone in the early '80’s New Wave scene in London - had a record deal, a hit single, etc…) they are hilarious. I am so glad I stayed out of that scene - I couldn’t’ve come close to handling it when I was younger…
Thanks for all the great stories, but… back to the OP. What Asia albums (if any, other than the first two) would you recommend?
I really like their first album, which I have on CD now, and I still listen to it. The second album (Astra?), which I bought the day it came out, is awful and I have not listened to it in 20 years I’m sure. I know nothing more about them!
I don’t know if I’ve even heard anything of there’s after the first two albums. I did see the original band on their first tour, in one of their first shows (Pittsburgh, The Stanley Theater.) I liked the show, but from this thread and what I had heard over the years, I probably wouldn’t have liked them on subsequent tours and records.
Their second release was Alpha and had the minor hit “Don’t Cry”.
Astra was the third album and had the song “Go” (not a bad song, but a weird video featuring the woman from the cover in a skimpy tight outfit and wearing a big ass helmet).
Most of their album titles start with the letter “A”. For some reason, they have a huge number of live releases.
Yea, me too. Imagine my surprise when I found out they reformed a few years later with a new lead! I read the details on their official website. I’ll have to check out the soundbites for their latest album on Amazon after work to see what it sounds like, as it seems to be a completely different band nowadays.