When the four original members of Asia went their separate ways 25 years ago, they left one of the biggest rock bands on any continent.
You might only know the group for “Heat Of The Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell,” but Asia’s self-titled 1982 debut remains one of only four albums to ever hold the No. 1 Billboard album position for nine weeks. The band has sold more than 15 million albums, and it has landed 14 singles on the U.S. charts. Asia’s heyday also coincided with the dawn of MTV, where the band’s videos became heavy-rotation staples.
After years of shuffling musicians in and out of the lineup to varying degrees of success, the original members — John Wetton (vocals, bass), Geoff Downes (keyboards), Steve Howe (guitar) and Carl Palmer (drums) — reunited in 2006.
While the reaction from fans new and old has been positive, the lofty peak Asia reached in the 1980s is not a realistic goal this time around. And that’s just fine with the band.
“I think that we’re not expecting an enormous success worldwide, but I think we’re doing the right thing, and we’re very content with what we’re doing,” Downes said in a phone interview from his London home last week.
The U.S. leg of Asia’s current world tour will kick off in Wilkes-Barre Friday, April 4, at the F.M. Kirby Center. The tour supports “Phoenix,” the founding lineup’s first studio record since 1983’s “Alpha.” “Phoenix” will be released April 14 in North America on EMI America Records.
“Alpha,” Asia’s second album, reached No. 6 on the U.S. charts and went platinum but was actually seen as a disappointment compared to the debut album. The pressure was so intense to replicate the success of “Asia” that Wetton was out of the band by the time the band played the high-profile “Asia in Asia” in Japan in 1983, the first concert broadcast over satellite to MTV in the U.S. Howe was out by the time the band began the third album, “Astra” (1985). The lineup changes since “Astra” are nearly impossible to keep track of, with Downes being the only player to appear on every Asia record.
Getting to work on “Phoenix” on their own terms made the process an easy one for Wetton, Downes, Howe and Palmer, despite the long layoff.
“The first album was so big, it sort of stifled the development process in many ways, and we never really had a chance to expand on what we wanted to do,” Downes explained. “Twenty-five years later now we have the opportunity to do it.”
Asia formed in 1981 and was the first 1980s supergoup — a band made up of members from already proven, successful acts. All of the musicians came from progressive rock groups, with Wetton having done time in both King Crimson and U.K. and Palmer being known for his membership in Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Howe was a star in his own right with Yes, in which he played for one album with Downes, who joined Yes from The Buggles, who had a smash hit with “Video Killed The Radio Star.”
Despite Asia’s art-rock pedigree, the sound it forged had more in common with the mainstream radio-friendly arena rock of the time — Journey, Boston, Styx. Gone were the lengthy, conceptual pieces in favor of more concise, polished material. While the new approach struck many critics as opportunistic, forced and corporate, Downes said that was not the case at all.
“I think we proved that it was possible to have a band that had alumni that were from a progressive background create a song that was commercially successful,” Downes said. “But it was a natural development.”
The Asia reunion has not been without its setbacks, most notably Wetton’s battle with health issues that led to open-heart surgery and forced the band to cancel its West Coast and sold-out United Kingdom tours last year. (Palmer also had a less-serious heart procedure.)
But Wetton has recovered — the ordeal inspired the song “Extraordinary Life” on the forthcoming album — and the band recently wrapped a string of U.K. dates before a brief break that will end when Asia hits the Kirby stage Friday night. The tour will take the band across the U.S. from east to west, Europe, and, of course, Asia, where it will perform five shows in Japan.
Drawing not only from the band’s back catalog of albums as well as “Phoenix,” Asia in concert also pays tribute to its members’ roots by offering selections from the legendary bands — Yes, ELP, Crimson and even The Buggles — that led to its formation.
“We just finished the U.K. tour, now we’re heading to the states, and we’ll take it from there,” Downes said. “Everyone’s geared up for it. … I think the set we have right now is well-balanced, and I think it will please the old Asia fans as well as the new Asia fans. I feel that we’re making the right moves.”
w
go:
Who: Asia
Where: F.M. Kirby Center,
71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre
When: Fri. April 4, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $35, $42.50 at box
office, Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone 570.693.4100,
Info: 570.826.1100