Asia/UK 1990 LD Ver.

"Behold the great Asia." This was the lead text of the flyer placed in stores when Asia's latest video/LD "Asia Live 1990 (original title "Andromeda")" was first released in Japan on February 21, 1991, 26 years ago. Asia's previous video work was "Asia in Asia" released in September 1984, but this was the first video work with John Wetton in the lineup, or perhaps because they had just had a great performance in Japan in the fall of 1990, many people may remember this flyer being placed in a prominent place in CD shops nationwide at the time. It's been almost three weeks since the giant of progressive rock, John Wetton, passed away, but when looking back on his diverse career, I think it's King Crimson and Asia that shine the most. Asia in particular had many problems, such as the friction from management that is typical of a super group, and his own firing and reinstatement, but I think he had a special attachment to the band and its songs. The "Then & Now" era, when Wetton was still in the band, was a time when Asia shone especially brightly. With Pat Thrall on guitar, they were betting on a comeback by making their sound more American-style, passionate and gorgeous, and as you know, this sound was also the ideal form of the Asia sound that Wetton was aiming for. This can also be seen from the fact that all of Asia's dedicated guitarists, except for Steve Howe, were HR/HM types, and I think that the Asia sound with Pat in the band, who was able to make Asia's songs his own the most and fully target the US market, was the ultimate form. This studio live was filmed for Central Independent Television in the UK, and was Asia's second live show in 1990, with a studio capacity of 400 people filled to capacity. Prior to the video release on February 21st, the aforementioned broadcasting station aired the video in the UK from 3am on January 10th, but at this time "Wildest Dreams" and "Go" were cut, and only by buying the video could the entire performance be seen. Most of Asia's performances at this time were faster than usual, making the ensemble more thrilling, and since it was a studio live performance, the musical essence was exposed up close and more than in a normal hall or stadium concert, and no matter where you cut it, the new Asia sound was transmitted directly and swiftly. It is also noteworthy that Downes' keyboards are much more numerous than in the Japan tour, and the show composition and staging also show how much rehearsing and improvement they had made in the three months from this June video to their visit to Japan in September, in preparation for the expectations and long-cherished desire of Japanese fans (= landing as Asia with Wetton at the front). Furthermore, the outfit of light blue jeans, white shirt, black vest (and silver watch) seen here was Wetton's standard at the time, and many people will fondly remember him wearing the same outfit every day during his Japan tour in 1990. Unfortunately, the Japan tour at that time was not recorded as a video work, and no live recording was released to commemorate the visit. This makes this video a very important live video in terms of looking back at Asia and Wetton at the time, but unfortunately the domestic DVD (which contains all the songs) has been out of print for a long time, and it is unlikely to be reissued in the future. Incidentally, this video has been released on DVD several times overseas, but for some reason it was mastered using a video tape version with inferior image quality and sound quality than the laserdisc, or it used an edited version that was broadcast late at night in the UK at the time (as mentioned above, this version does not include "Wildest Dreams" and "Go"). This makes it quite difficult to enjoy the full studio live at that time in high quality. What is presented here is a reprint from a high-quality Japanese laser disc that is still attracting attention from collectors around the world. This time, we opened a completely unopened first-edition Japanese LD for the first time in 26 years and transferred the first-run footage to DVD to bring this important video work back to life in the present day. The deep and neat visual beauty is, of course, incomparable to the video version, and you can clearly feel the fundamental difference in resolution between the media from the very beginning. The sound is also clearer and more transparent than the official overseas DVD, so it is easier to grasp the changes in expression that were not present in Asia until then, such as the very sharp guitar cutting and volume playing accents in "Wildest Dreams," the flashy arm-beating and fast playing in "Sole Survivor," and even the choking and crying. In addition, the scene where Wetton shakes his head from side to side at the end of the song to create a sense of perspective and depth in his voice is accompanied by a sense of amplitude that can only be felt when watching and listening to it on LD. The sound image of "Don't Cry" is very sharp, and the new axis of the song is visible through the superb visual beauty, which is the best part of this Japanese LD. The ultimate form of the hard Asia sound that can be experienced in "Time Again" is also impressive. The glamorous beat that explodes after the theme presentation is unique to the performance at that time, and we hope you will enjoy the new fusion of the renewed rhythm and melody through the visual beauty of this unopened LD played for the first time. In "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes," Wetton switches to an acoustic guitar, and Pat now plays the bass. This scene is in definitive high quality, but as you know, this song was reverted to the original two-part format (= as per the original song and original plan) from the September 24th Japan performance to the 1982 European tour, so the live performance at Studio 8 that you can see here is the last time this song was performed acoustically alone, so it is valuable in that sense. In "Only Time Will Tell," there is a scene at the beginning where Downes' keyboard system can be seen from above for a while, and one of the highlights is being able to see this arrangement, which is different from the Japan performance three months later. The performance also invites the audience to clap their hands, which is the original state of that close approach that continued until recent years, and this is also breathtaking with beautiful images. What I want to pay attention to in "Days Like These" is that Pat participates firmly in the chorus. It is well known that Wetton wanted Asia's guitar to be "flashy to play and sing properly", but it is also worth checking out that this can be confirmed in various scenes in the song with better sound than the video version. In "The Heat Goes On", Wetton's singing voice, which absorbed 100% of the microphone sound, jumps out straight, and the intense lighting that changes with the speedy song is very sharp for each light source. Even in the drum solo in the middle, the lighting reflected on the drum kit shines with a sharp shine with zero blurring or fading, and it is also nice that you can follow and hear the movement of the bass perfectly. In "Go", the lighting is very clear, and you can enjoy the beauty of the shine reflected on each instrument, the spotlights leaking from behind and above the people, and both pale and strong colors with the finest resolution. In "Heat Of The Moment," the four spotlights hitting the pads from above are impressively beautiful, and when Downs lowers his shoulder keyboard and comes to the front, the documentary nature of the formation change is dazzling with the visual beauty unique to Japanese laser discs. "Open Your Eyes" is also a song redrawn with a hard touch, and it stands out with the best sound image and beautiful video in history, and Carl's massive performance is also shown with the strongest visual beauty. The bittersweet and hot explosion that ends with a sharp keyboard chord at the end is exactly like "Behold, the Great Asia." Even so, the sharp and dazzling visual beauty and the clear and dense sound are just amazing. Even now, the high quality of the Japanese laser discs really impresses me, and I am convinced that it is the first playback video that has been unopened for 26 years, with no playback scratches on the disc surface. The original title "ANDROMEDA" is well-chosen, and this video, revived in 2017 with these specs and the latest equipment, is the strongest visual poem that conveys the Asia sound absorbed in the sparkle of stardust in its original form, and you can be sure that this press DVD will continue to move your heart beyond time and space. Why not take this album in hand this weekend and think back to the Asia sound that Asia and Wetton were aiming for at that time? The hard and passionate guitar sound was also prominent in "GRAVITAS," which was effectively the last album, and Sam, who was chosen as the final guitarist, was also that type of player. However, if you watch this work revived in modern times with the latest equipment, you will realize that the ideal form of the Asia sound he envisioned was the great Asia of 1990, which was a full-fledged "ALPHA (= beginning)," and that it was already "OMEGA (= end point)" at that time. Experience once again the heavy, solid and colorful dream of sound that only Asia could release in 1990 with this latest work!Live at Studio-8, Nottingham, UK 23rd June 1990 Taken from the original Japanese Laser Disc (VALC-3222) (61:59) 1. Wildest Dreams 2. Sole Survivor 3. Don't Cry 4. Voice of America 5. Time Again 6. Prayin' 4 A Miracle 7. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes 8. Only Time Will Tell 9. Days Like These 10. The Heat Goes On 11. Go 12. Heat of The Moment 13. Open Your Eyes John Wetton - Bass & Vocal Geoffrey Downes – Keyboards Pat Thrall - Guitar Carl Palmer - Drums PRO-SHOT COLOUR NTSC Approx.62min.