Asia: Astra CD Track Listing

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Asia Astra (1985)
Astra (Japanese Pressing)\n1985 Geffen Records, Inc.\n\nOriginally Released November 1985\nCD Edition Released November 9, 1989\nRemastered CD Edition (MCA Special Products) Released February 14, 1995\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Asia was always a bland, derivative excuse for a dinosaur rock band, but when their debut album came out in 1982 and sold three million copies, they seemed like a repudiation of the new wave movement, the pop music equivalent of the Reagan revolution in politics. Like Ronnie, however, Asia ran out of gas around mid-decade. True, they were still constructing keyboard-dominated, heroic-voiced arena pop, but suddenly nobody cared anymore, or at least not enough customers to vault them into the Top Ten, and for this kind of band, it's platinum or don't bother. So, first, guitarist Steve Howe took his marbles and went home to Yes, and then the rest of the band packed it in, too. They'd be back, of course, when the money was right. -- William Ruhlmann\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nNot bad, unlike what the critics said, January 6, 2005\nReviewer: Neil Tiedeman "Rundgren junkie" (Indianapolis, IN United States) \nI actually give it 2 1/2 stars. I stayed away from this album for a long time because of some horrendous reviews by critics. Truth is, it doesn't capture the fierceness of their first album, and although I would have preferred a concept album about a planet of androids, I do enjoy listening to most of the songs on this album. Heavier guitar makes for a more standard rock sound (no Steve Howe), but many of the songs still have that anthemic Asia feel. The album is pop rock with a progressive leaning tune thrown in (Love Now Til Eternity which starts out note for note like Hearts from Yes's 90125). \n\nThose who only listen to progressive rock will hate it with every fiber of their being (this opinion formed from viewing their comments about Asia's first album). But if you like Asia's first two albums, and 80's rock in general, give it a shot. If you wonder what Steve Howe was up to at the time, check out GTR.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nGOing mainstream!, November 9, 2002\nReviewer: M. D. Fonseca "carmarthen" (Zunder) \nASTRA is nothing more than ASIA going totally mainstream, losing all the force of their magical debut, ASIA.\nOf course, all the musicians involved here are highly talented and we have some few decent tunes. But the overall sound is clearly commercial, too polished, too mellow (the worst examples being "Too Late" and "SUspicion"). It seems they were written by a pop metal band.\n\nAlso, with the exit of Steve Howe, keyboards here are more predominant than ever, suffocating the guitar.\n\nIt's not a great album, no way. But the tunes are so commercial that you can listen to it without being "hurt" by it..\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nAstra Not Astronomical, July 20, 2002\nReviewer: Dean Giering (Newton, NJ United States) \nAfter two great albums, number three for Asia is not quite the charm. This album definitely shows the turmoil the group recently suffered with the departure and return of John Wetton along with Steve Howe leaving. Mandy Meyer does a good job at replacing the progressive rock master, but the results are mixed. \nOverall, Astra is littered with good songs, a few great and some not so great. Go is an obvious take off on Van Halen's Jump, but very good nonetheless. I've found new meaning with Voice of America after 9/11. The other highlights are Love Now Til Eternity, Hard On Me and the epic Rock and Roll Dream. The album falls short with filler like Suspicion and After The War. It's not that the songs are bad, but the former is boring and the latter is not Asia. \nIt's too bad the group never found glory with John Wetton again. He's a great singer, but John Payne has done a great job filling his shoes.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nAFTER THE WAR..., December 3, 2001\nReviewer: Pitchulo Dun Dun (Filha de Uma Puta) \nAFter the "pop-opera" ALPHA, Steve Howe (who contributed not a single song for it) went away. In came Mandy Meyer (who??), a respectable guitarrist with a lot of edge to his playing, but caught in the middle of Asia's worst album till date, when Weton and Downes struggled hard to write pop songs who could mantain their sales above the platinum status!! So, all spontainety was gone, and the result was an album with a handful of great songs (GO, VOICE OF AMERICA and the best, ROCK AND ROLL DREAM), but all of them going towards unashamed pop-glam-hair-American-AOR music (Ufa!!). The logical conclusion was that the band closed operations after this thud.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nAn unbelieveably unappreciated album!, August 15, 2001\nReviewer: Robert Jenkins "video geek #1" (Celina, TX United States)\nI never bought this album when it first came out in 1985. I was foolish enough to listen to what I heard "on the streets", as it were. Everything I heard was negative, it was bland, boring, bad, etc. So, even though I loved the first two albums, I gave this one a pass (hey, give me a break, I was still in high school at the time). That was the end of my association with Asia for a long time. \nFlash forward to June, 2001. I had recently "discovered" the 90s Asia, and decided to go ahead and pick up Astra to complete the set. Oh man, was I misinformed! Astra is an excellent album, if not quite as good as Asia and Alpha (but then, what is?) Go, Countdown to Zero, Voice of America, Hard on Me, Too Late, After the War - Quintessential Asia songs all! I should have disregarded the reviews and picked it up back in '85 - I lost 15 years of appreciation for this gem. It's a little different sounding from Alpha, mainly because of the loss of Steve Howe and the acquisition (regrettably short-lived) of Mandy Meyer. I guess my only complaint about the CD is similar to what others have said - the recording quality leaves something to be desired. This album is crying out for a remaster. But, don't let that stop you from buying it! Yes, Go, Voice of America, and Too Late are all present (and much better sounding) on the 2000 Very Best of Asia release. But, there are other great songs on here worth a listen. Don't make the same mistake I did - pick it up!\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nThe Weakest of the 80s Asia Albums, March 25, 2001\nReviewer: WAYNE EIKNER (SHREVPORT, LA United States)\nAfter I bought the debut album and "Alpha", I picked up "Astra" just because it was an Asia record. I expected "Astra" to pick up where the first two albums left off. Sadly, I was disappointed by this one. Although some of the music is great (like "Go", "Hard On Me", "Wishing", and "Rock and Roll Dream"), some of the other songs struggle (like the drab "Voice of America" and "After the War"), and some of the songs die on arrival (namely "Countdown to Zero" and the awful "Love Now Til Eternity"). "Too Late" and "Suspicion" are so-so tracks and would be fine for anyone else. But, Asia should have used a little more smarts for these two tracks. These songs could have been better. I think, however, that the Wetton/Downes writting team must have been struggling at that point just to stay creative. Mandy Meyer does fine as Steve Howe's replacement, but he mainly serves as the background guitar guy dominated by the Wetton/Downes team. Palmer, too, becomes another background guy. (Isn't that sad?) Being the diehard Asia fan I am, I was very pleased that MCA released the CD. I wish they had done a little bit to make the sound quality better, but I'm just glad to have "Astra" on CD. In summary, not the worst Asia CD, but definately not the best. Pick up the debut album or "Alpha" instead unless you are a diehard fan like me.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nThe Third is A Turd, December 8, 2000\nReviewer: Aaron Rom "Music Geek" (Kentwood, MI United States)\nAsia mispelled the title of this album, omitting the second "s" in ASStra. That's what this album sounds like. After the first two records, this album should not have even reached the streets. Voice of America is an awful song, as is Rock n Roll Dream! Okay, John Wetton has never been one for imaginative lyrics, but the songs on this album bring him down further. I think that, had the band waited a year or two and really focused on this album, it would've been a lot better. "Hard On Me" is a great song. Pure pop, it should've been a big hit. But, I mean, what is Countdown to Zero, or Suspicion? Go was a lame attempt at mimicing Van Halen's Jump. Carl even says so in his book Applied Rhythms, released by Modern Drummer press. I lost interest in Asia after this album. To complete the scatological theme for this review, the so-called explosions on After the War sound like toilets flushing.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nPowerful, if disappointing, August 19, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nWhen John Wetton was unexpectedly replaced by Greg Lake, I expected Asia's 3rd album to include him. Not only was the '83 live show not released as an album (only a video) but when their 3rd studio album materialized, Wetton had suddenly returned-- while Steve Howe had gone! Roger Dean's stark mechanoid cover painting accurately reflects the album's contents; guitarist Mandy Meyer brings a harsh, hard sound to replace Howe's warmth.\nAs with ALPHA, the first half of ASTRA are all among my favorite Asia tunes. The powerful "Go", the melodic "Voice Of America", the highly-charged "Hard On Me", the emotional "Wishing" and the epic "Rock And Roll Dreams". But Side 2 was a serious nosedive. Perhaps "Countdown To Zero" was a reflection of a band falling apart-- and "After The War" appropriately ends with the musical equivalent of a A-bomb being dropped. The rest is too downbeat, and oddly enough ASTRA reflects almost exactly ELO's final album, BALANCE OF POWER, released about the same time. But I guess half an album worth of greatness is more than most bands deliver, and that still makes this worth buying.\n\nBut what FOOL screwed up the track running order on the CD? (You have to "program" it if you want to play the 10 songs in the original order!)\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nSeverly Underappreciated, August 25, 1998\nReviewer: Ilker Yucel (oyucel@annapolis.net) \nSo nobody bought this album. So Steve Howe left the band. So it may not be the best Asia has ever done, but it is a damn fine album. Everything that defined Asia in the first two albums is here, and more...the sound is fuller, the guitars are still great (even if they're not Steve Howe), the vocal harmonies I think are far superior on this album than anything on Alpha or Asia. This is an album that needs more credit. It is great!\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nAsia: John Wetton (vocals, bass); Mandy Meyer (guitar); Geoff Downes (keyboards); Carl Palmer (drums).\n\nAsia's third album, 1985's ASTRA, must have confused their fans. Singer John Wetton was replaced by ex-ELP singer/bassist Greg Lake after Asia's second album, ALPHA, but, by ASTRA, Wetton had magically returned, while guitarist Steve Howe was nowhere to be seen (going on to form another prog-rock supergroup, the short-lived GTR).\nASTRA became a fan favorite over the years on the strength of such standouts as the hopeful rocker "Go," and the majestic "Voice of America." However, it failed to match the commercial success of the band's previous two albums (1982's ASIA and 1983's ALPHA), and led to the band going on hiatus until 1990. YEAR: 1985
This rock cd contains 10 tracks and runs 45min 7sec.
Freedb: 8c0a910a
Buy: from Amazon.com

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