Number 100.... Asia (S/T) (listening on original vinyl)
Asia - Asia, Spotify Album
Asia - Asia, iTunes Album USA
Asia - Asia iTunes Album UK
There is a huge irony that the first Album on our list could have quite happily had it's own entry in my previous "music that shaped me" blog style.
Asia really are a strange clash of cultures band....4 genuine prog rock legends, and a producer with stellar pop/rock credentials.... a true supergroup of their day with a "Yes" style Roger Dean album cover. Of course you might expect a noodling, head scratching flight of indulgence.
What resulted was a true AOR / Yacht Rock classic. There are key and time signature changes aplenty but, with the influence of former Buggles keyboard player Geoffrey Downes, the result, is an album with true pop credentials. Soaring choruses, catchy riffs, and the silky vocals from John Wetton.
The instantly recognisable "Heat of The Moment" is a superb opener, "Only Time Will Tell" will have many reaching for their air drums, and "Wildest Dreams" genuinely sounds like ELP, Toto and the Buggles got in a fight 😊 (in a good way).
But this genuinely hods a special place in my heart...as it was the constant (and I mean CONSTANT) soundtrack to my time spent in Wilmslow High School sound and lighting team! This motley band of us.... Me, Bill, Gareth, Robert, Martin, Nick (remind me if I've missed anyone Bill) would while away rainy lunch breaks "frigging about with amplifiers" (if the words of one grumpy Physics teacher). It was a great get out of jail card. School assembly...we have to run the mics and play and required music, rainy break or lunchtime...it's time to prep for the PTA meeting sound. Our light / sound room at the back of the school auditorium was entered through the library and was quite often just a retreat to chat and drink tea.
A lot that was great came out of my time spent in the team. I learned the basics of stage lighting (which in turn led to Amateur Dramatics, Wilmslow Guild Players and me meeting my wife!). Team members were first pick to run the film society, which was a 2 year passion project for the last stretch of my time at high school. I helped rig and light 4 brilliant school productions, including a truly superb version of Romeo and Juliet .... and it also inspired a love of lighting & sound equipment and technology in general that persists to this day (and informs my current career) and lifelong friends and connections were made.
All of the time, Asia, and it's follow up "Alpha", "Blackout" and "Love at First Sting" (both by Scorpions) were the soundtrack to everything we did, on constant rotation as we went about our work.
Time has not been too kind to Asia...it sounds a little stuck in the 70s (despite it's 82 release date), but as a slice of Pop / Prog there are few better albums.
As suggested - any thoughts on the album, any love or hate out there...any lighting / sound crew memories of your own?
More later.
I was in the assembly hall at Wilmslow High recently and noticed that your control room is sadly no more. Where the window was, has been bricked up. Wish the grown-ups would stop changing things from my childhood ;-)
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame the box has gone. Technically the old “projection booth” style S&L booths are very out of favour (as you probably know from any gig or show you have seen recently) - tech guys far prefer to be in the same room to hear and see what’s going on. As school kids though - we loved our hideaway to sit and snark at the teachers during assembly!
DeleteAnd the library has been renamed the "LRC" (Learning Resource Centre, I think!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think your post about sums it up Ian. And to think that if we'd been in the lighting team 15 years later we'd have been running microphone cables for future multi-Brit award winning pop stars!
On last thing - my main memory of Asia was Robert F. He LOVED that album. He raved about how amazingly clear the vocals were and that you could hear every word. Then he hit you.
Robert F....LOL...what an odd fit for a die hard Motörhead fan.
DeleteBetween the 1975 and Doves....that a pretty decent record for one school!
Great album which brings back fond memories of being a 13 year old discovering my own taste in music. John Wetton fast became one of my favourite vocalists and I followed his career with interest. Heat of the Moment is a glorious track - the drums on that track are immense.
ReplyDeleteI’m with you on John W....at the time I never appreciated how great he really was. A truly amazing voice. There are superb drum moments all over this album, you would perhaps expect nothing less - but they stand out so often.
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