1982 studio album by Asia
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.
[4]
It contains their biggest hit "
Heat of the Moment
", which reached #4 in the US on the
Billboard
Hot 100
chart.
[5]
Recording
[
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]
Asia included keyboardist Geoffrey Downes and guitarist Steve Howe from Yes; King Crimson singer-bassist John Wetton, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer Carl Palmer.
[6]
"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"."
[7]
"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."
[8]
Artwork
[
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]
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.
[9]
Critical reception
[
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]
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".
[11]
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."
[12]
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
".
[13]
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".
[10]
Commercial performance
[
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]
Upon its release in March 1982,
Asia
reached #1 in the US and spent nine weeks at the top of the
Billboard
album chart.
[5]
Asia
was certified 4x-platinum in the US by the
RIAA
on 10 February 1995.
[14]
It was the best-selling album of 1982 in the US.
[
citation needed
]
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
.
[15]
The record received a gold status in Britain on 18 October 1982.
[16]
"Heat of the Moment" climbed to No. 46.
[15]
Asia'
s total worldwide sales are estimated at over ten million copies.
[17]
2010 Audio Fidelity remastered edition
[
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]
In 2010, Audio Fidelity released a 24 Karat Gold CD (AFZ 068) remaster of the album, mastered by
Kevin Gray
.
[17]
Track listing
[
edit
]
Side two
Title
| Writer(s)
|
---|
6.
| "Wildest Dreams"
| Wetton, Downes
| 5:10
|
---|
7.
| "Without You"
| Wetton, Howe
| 5:04
|
---|
8.
| "Cutting It Fine"
| Wetton, Downes, Howe
| 5:35
|
---|
9.
| "Here Comes the Feeling"
| Wetton, Howe
| 5:42
|
---|
Total length:
| 44:22
|
---|
Bonus Track
Title
| Writer(s)
|
---|
10.
| "Ride Easy"
| Wetton, Howe
| 4:35
|
---|
Total length:
| 48:57
|
---|
Personnel
[
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]
Asia
[
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]
Technical personnel
[
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]
Charts
[
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]
Weekly charts
[
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]
|
Year-end charts
[
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]
All-time chart
[
edit
]
|
Certifications
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"RIAA"
.
- ^
"BPI"
.
- ^
Deggans, Eric (1998). "Asia". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.).
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
. Detroit:
Visible Ink Press
. pp. 44?45.
- ^
"The
Billboard
200 ? Year-end albums ? 1982"
.
Billboard
. Archived from
the original
on 5 February 2009.
- ^
a
b
"Asia chart positions in the US"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
Jason Bracelin (24 July 2019).
"Despite prog rock's critics, Yes, Asia keep genre going strong"
. Retrieved
24 February
2023
.
- ^
Martin Kielty (28 April 2020).
"Steve Howe Says John Wetton Struggled With Asia's Success"
. Retrieved
24 February
2023
.
- ^
Jeff Giles (18 March 2017).
"How Asia Mixed Prog and Pop on Their Self-Titled Debut"
. Retrieved
24 February
2023
.
- ^
"Roger Dean and Geoff Downes in Conversation"
. Retrieved
26 March
2023
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
a
b
Demalon, Tom.
Asia:
Asia
> Review
at
AllMusic
. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^
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.
- ^
"Asia: Asia (Geffen)"
.
rocksbackpages.com
. Retrieved
26 March
2023
.
- ^
"Top Album Picks: Asia ? Asia".
Billboard
. Vol. 94, no. 12. 27 March 1982. p. 98.
- ^
"RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program searchable database"
.
RIAA
. Archived from
the original
on 26 June 2007.
- ^
a
b
"Asia chart positions in the UK"
.
The Official Charts Company
.
- ^
"BPI's certified awards search"
.
BPI
.
- ^
a
b
"Asia::Asia"
. Audio Fidelity. Archived from
the original
on 11 October 2012.
- ^
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
.
- ^
"Austriancharts.at ? Asia ? Asia"
(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Top RPM Albums: Issue 6528"
.
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Dutchcharts.nl ? Asia ? Asia"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
Pennanen, Timo (2006).
Sisaltaa hitin ? levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972
(in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava.
ISBN
978-951-1-21053-5
.
- ^
"Le Detail 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
.
- ^
"Offiziellecharts.de ? Asia ? Asia"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Classifiche"
.
Musica e dischi
(in Italian)
. Retrieved
31 May
2024
.
Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Asia".
- ^
Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970?2005
(in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo:
Oricon Entertainment
. 2006.
ISBN
4-87131-077-9
.
- ^
"Charts.nz ? Asia ? Asia"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Norwegiancharts.com ? Asia ? Asia"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Swedishcharts.com ? Asia ? Asia"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Asia Chart History (
Billboard
200)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^
"Jaaroverzichten ? Album 1982"
.
dutchcharts.nl
. Retrieved
2 March
2021
.
- ^
"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts"
.
GfK Entertainment
(in German). offiziellecharts.de
. Retrieved
2 March
2021
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
"Top Pop Albums".
Billboard
. Vol. 94, no. 51. 25 December 1982.
- ^
"Greatest of All Time
Billboard
200 Albums"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
28 October
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Asia strikes it rich"
(PDF)
.
Cash Box
. 11 November 1982. p. 28
. Retrieved
20 December
2020
.
- ^
"Canadian album certifications ? Asia ? Asia"
.
Music Canada
. Retrieved
28 October
2016
.
- ^
"French album certifications ? Asia ? Asia"
(in French). InfoDisc
. Retrieved
9 September
2021
.
Select
ASIA
and click
OK
.
- ^
Bonhams : Carl Palmer: Album cover artwork and a 'gold' sales award, 1982
at the
Wayback Machine
(archived 1 November 2021)
- ^
"British album certifications ? Asia ? Asia"
.
British Phonographic Industry
. Retrieved
28 October
2016
.
- ^
"American album certifications ? Asia ? Asia"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Retrieved
28 October
2016
.
External links
[
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]
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Studio albums
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Extended plays
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Live albums
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Compilations
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Singles
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Related articles
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1956?1975
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1976?2000
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2001?present
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