Resonance

This was a fantastic album for Asia fans like me who really dig their new reunion material (Phoenix and Omega) in addition to the classic, original Wetton triptych of the early 80s. Wetton's voice shines, where the added husk with age seasons his clear, potent, and on-pitch vocals. Downes is spot-on with his licks. Palmer is how I like drummers- i.e. I DON'T notice them, aside from interesting solos, because they lay in the groove in a way my subconscious likes, without being too busy. What makes this live album such a treat for me is that the cuts are either tasteful departures from the original (like an unplugged version of "Don't Cry" with just Wetton on vocals and Downes on piano accompaiment), while other cuts are essentially the forms and grooves of the of the original album recordings, but without all the thick production and tinny mastering. It allows the GUTS of the songs (and Wetton's vocal timbre) to come through without all the synthy bling.What dings it for me are Steve Howe's increasingly imprecise playing, especially rhythmically, where at times, his noodling and riffs seem all to often not in command of the beat, but fumbling in search of the beat, like running to barely catch a bus. Yes, I know it's sacrilege to Asia faithful, but honestly, it really grates on me. This is because 99% of the time when I hear things like that in my own musical doings, it's because the soloist really can't mentally incorporate and lock in with the beat (or tries to write a technical check that his chops can't quite cash), NOT because the soloist is trying to be "hip." For you Howe fans, you'll enjoy his acoustic solo offerings. They sounded pleasant, but kind of like the Motel 6 theme to me, and were completely out of character for the rest of the album and the general sound of Asia, but it's Steve Howe, so on the album it goes....I would normally give the album only four stars because of Howe's imprecision, but this many tracks for only nine bucks is a STEAL, so five stars it is. Get it. You won't regret it.

I discovered the original Asia rather late in the game, having been exposed first to GTR and Yes, who were contemporaneous with my high school years. However, the band was an instant favorite, and I bought almost everything the members did as individuals or with groups (even "Wetton-Manzanera" and "3") until John Wetton left the Asia days behind in 1992, seemingly for good.I never really enjoyed the "Asia in Asia" concert with Greg Lake, and I must also confess being disappointed by the Payne era. For me, John Wetton was always the voice of Asia. I was excited when "Phoenix" came out, and "Omega" surpassed my hopes for a follow-up album. This long-awaited live concert features the best of the "Omega" album, plus highlights from Asia's career.John Wetton's voice has stood the test of decades, and his bass guitar anchors the music well. Geoff Downes, always one of my favorite rock keyboardists, supplies dramatic flair to each song. Steve Howe's unique style adds weight to Asia's progressive pop sound, and his two acoustic pieces are delightful. Carl Palmer deserves special praise for his propulsive drumming and stage presence.As a side note, I have used the anti-war song "Holy War" to demonstrate to my Western Civilization classes how the Crusades are still with us in spirit. I can only anticipate that the live concert album for "XXX" will be just as great, and that Asia will be performing for several more years -- no longer just a super-group of the '80s, but now a "super" group in their own right.P.S. This includes the full-length 2-CD live album as well as the full concert DVD -- easily worth the value!

I been long time Asia fan since they created the band in 1982. I own all CDs, live recordings, DVDs, etc. All of them are great, but this one is fantastic, from the set list to the mixing, audio, video, art work and packaging, thus this is the reason I am still buying CDs or DVDs. The set list is much better than any previous live recording mainly because they have integrated songs from great records such as Phoenix and Omega which were previously unavailable and all of them sound amazing live. As well set list is balanced with songs the original lineup have produced such as Asia (4 songs), Alpha (4 songs), Astra (1 song), Phoenix (2 songs) and Omega (5 songs). Perhaps I would enjoyed if they included at least one more song from Phoenix which is also a great album, however they seemed concentrated promoting Omega which was at that point of time their latest release. All songs are great and the highlights are I believe, Only time will tell, Never again, Don't cry, Open your eyes, Sole Survivor, An extraordinary life with special remark on Holy War and the always poweful Time Again. They don't need to have a great production in their show and it's enough hearing the music and watching them playing the songs with such intensity regardless their age which is above 60s. If you want to have a compilation of Asia "Wetton, Downes, Howe & Palmer" this is in my opinion the best available with the bonus of watching their virtuosity live in concert, including great solos from Howe and Palmer.

The album contents two CD's and one DVD, and a 8 pages "booklet" with pictures from the "Omega tour 2010", and some information from the tour and the making of the album, 18 songs. This concert is a live recording from the Basil in Switzerland, 4th of may 2010. The tour started in Rome. A fantastic album cover and very good sound on this live album. Geoff Downes on keyboards, Steve Howe on guitars, Carl Palmer on drums and of cours John Wetton on bass and lead vocals (the best lineup of Asia). If you like Asia, this is the best live album from this band - no doubt. One of the reasons I like the band is that Geoff Downes and Steve Howe are in this band - great musicians! Geoff Downes, what a great keyboardplayer.

Pagar 4,95 € por un doble CD + DVD, en edición digipack de lujo, aunque se trate de un disco lanzado hace ya unos años, me parece un chollo indudable. El set list del concierto que forma esta grabación (porque evidentemente es un directo, concretamente grabado en Basilea el 4 de mayo de 2010) es muy acertado, con todos los temas representativos de la banda incluidos en la misma. A destacar el solo de batería que se marca el señor Carl Parmer y la calidad en general del sonido, así como las indudables tablas que tienen todos los miembros del grupo.

La band in stato di grazia, è il tour che toccò anche l'Auditorium di Roma. Spledida testimonianza live, una scaletta che fonde il passato e accoglie i nuovi brani.

Notre époque, qui n'est pas toute rose, a quand même du bon... On peut se procurer des pack 1 DVD + 2 CD a un prix où il y a 30 ans on avait tout juste un disque vinyle ! En plus de SAXON ( Heavy Metal Thunder - Live : Eagles Over Wacken ) ou PRETTY MAIDS ( It comes alive (maid in switzerland) , ASIA propose le même style de coffret.En attendant de recevoir cet article, j'ai re-visionné le très bon  Asia - Live in Moscow [With CD] [Import anglais ]. Puis une fois le DVD arrivé à bon port et inséré dans le lecteur, j'ai bien failli tomber de mon canapé ! Et pour cause : 20 ans se sont écoulés depuis ! Nos 4 amis n'ont plus du tout le même look qu'à l'époque où ils jouaient à Moscou ! Sur scène donc, au moment de cet enregistrement : John WETTON (61 ans), Geoffrey DOWNES (58 ans), Steve HOWE (63 ans), et Carl PALMER (60 ans). Normal qu'il y ait quelques kilos en plus, quelques cheveux blancs, quelques calvities naissantes ou prononcées... Et oui, les autres vieillissent ! Dieu merci, moi pas ... ;-)A l'actif de cet ensemble, 2 CD audio de très bonne qualité sonore. Un répertoire rafraîchit par deux chansons de  Phoenix  et surtout 5 de  Omega , dont est issue cette tournée. Il était temps, il existe une quantité de LIVE d'ASIA qui tournent toujours autour des mêmes morceaux, ou qui font appel à des chansons de YES, U.K., THE BUGGLES, ce qui n'est pas le cas ici. Même avec ce remodelage, 9 des titres proposés ici figuraient déjà dans le  Asia - Live in Moscow [With CD] [Import anglais ] !Mais le coup de gueule que je me dois de pousser ici concerne le son du DVD. Pas de 5.1, et la stéréo n'en est en fait pas une. L'essentiel du son est restitué par la voie centrale, à un niveau ridiculement bas, et les enceintes droites et gauches doivent se contenter de quelques aigus d'ambiance, "travail" généralement assigné aux enceintes de derrière ! Ces dernières dorment d'ailleurs bien tranquillement...Certains DVD proposent un réglage dans le menu, qu'il est impossible de modifier en cours de lecture. J'ai donc appelé le menu, et constaté qu'en plus de n'avoir aucun bonus, ce DVD était audible dans une seule configuration possible. J'ai été obligé de caler les CD sur l'image pour avoir un son digne de ce nom ! (Point positif : les CD sont la réplique exacte du spectacle, donc une fois calés au début, on peut suivre une moitié de concert sans les recaler à nouveau). C'est, à mon sens, tout bonnement INACCEPTABLE ! Comment un concert enregistré en 2010 et sorti en 2012 peut-il avoir un son aussi merdique ????? Cette lacune (majeure) coûte irrémédiablement une étoile à la note, et aurait pu en coûter 2, tellement ma frustration fût grande lors du premier visionnage.Une fois le calme revenu (lol !), il en reste un show vraiment sympa, notamment au niveau du choix des chansons ("Holy War" est au moins aussi bon en concert qu'en studio). Et c'est peut-être la dernière fois que l'on peut voir ASIA sur scène avec pour line-up la formation d'origine, Steve HOWE ayant quitté le groupe très récemment. Alors, pour le prix, pourquoi se priver ? Heavy Metal Thunder - Live : Eagles Over WackenIt comes alive (maid in switzerland)Asia - Live in Moscow [With CD] [Import anglaisPhoenixOmegaAsia - Live in Moscow [With CD] [Import anglais

Wie mein Vorredner bin ich auch der Meinung dass der Sound der DVD Hauptkritikpunkt an "Resonance" ist. Wie gewohnt darf man keine Giga-Lightshow wie bei Floyd, Genesis etc erwarten,und das vermisse ich auch nicht bei Asia, wo die Musik im Mittelpunkt steht. Daher würde ich mir wünschen dass der Klang zeitgemässer, d.h. transparenter und klarer wäre. Es entsteht ein einigermassen druckvoller, jedoch ziemlich dumpfer und unausgewogener Klang,wobei in der Tat die Keyboards öfters rausstechen als Palmers Schlagzeug. Wie auf allen Cd's und DVD's seit 2007 vermisse ich am meisten den Schlagzeugsound, wie ihn nur der Produzent Mike Stone hinbekommen hatte, der die Reunion leider nicht mehr erleben sollte. (Auf 'Phoenix' waren die Drums oftmals nur in der Ferne zu hören, was besonders bei einem Weltklassedrummer wie CP umso bedauerlicher ist). Wie auf den Studioaufnahmen stimmt auch hier die Performance, das handwerkliche Können sowieso, Wettons Stimme ist immer noch sehr stark und die Songs, auch die von 'Omega' sind überzeugend. Ich bedauere den Kauf keinesfalls, würde mir aber eine bessere Produktion (siehe Rush u.a.) für das nächste Mal, wünschen. Daher nur 4 statt 5 Sternen, da ja das Gesamtpaket bewertet werden soll. Nebenbei bemerkt, hat mir der Klang von der "Spirit of the night" DVD am besten gefallen, wogegen "Fantasia in Tokyo" ein wenig steril rüberkam. Asia sollte einen Produzenten auf Augenhöhe haben, der ihrer Klasse würdig ist, live wie im Studio.

Buena grabación de unos de los mejores grupos de música progresiva que aún van recorriendo los escenarios, se nota las tablas que tienen