ARCHIVA 1

The first of two collections of outtakes and advanced demos which did not make it onto the bands official releases. As such, this album is very much "for fans/collectors only". The period covered by both this collection and "Archiva 2" is the late 80's and early 90's when Asia recorded the first three albums ("Aqua", "Aria" and "Arena") of the Payne era. Payne replaced John Wetton in Asia, so while Wetton's influence is occasionally present here, the Wetton era is not represented at all.

The quality of the music is understandably variable. While some of the tracks are as good, if not better than those which appeared on the three albums, it can be pretty clear at times why others were omitted. The opening track "Heart of gold" for example is a decent, typical mid-paced Asia song, which would have fitted in well on their later "Aura" album. This was the second track written by Geoff Downes and John Payne together, and was only left off the "Aqua" album due to an "abundance of material".

"Fight against the tide" is right up there with the best Asia have recorded. Why it remained hidden until it was swept up by this release, is a mystery. This was another track left off of "Aqua", an album which would have benefited greatly from its inclusion. Written by Downes with Andy Nye, as the band themselves say in the sleeve notes it has strong influences of ELO and Queen. It is notably more progressive in structure than much of their work.

"A.L.O." (which stands for Asia Light Orchestra) is interesting, as it was originally written by Payne and Nye as a demo track for ELO part 2. This was the post Jeff Lynne ELO project with which the two were involved, as was the legendary Jim Steinman. Originally titled "Quest for the key", it has a real ELO feel to it, closely resembling their "Rock'n'roll is king".

Echoes of the Buggles (one of Downes earlier incarnations) sound can be heard on "Reality" and "I believe". The latter is a tribute to Roger Daltrey of The Who, Payne having worked with Daltrey on his excellent solo album "Under a raging moon". While the song has the distinctive staccato organ sound of the Who's "Won't get fool again", the vocals are but a pale imitation of the great singer.

"Ginger" is a soft acoustic guitar instrumental featuring Steve Howe. This brief track was recorded around the time of the "Arena" album. Other tracks such as "We fall apart" (which almost made it onto the "Arena" album), "I can't wait a lifetime" (which was considered for "Aqua" and "Aria") and "Dusty Road", are prosaic and run of the mill. While such tracks justify inclusion here, the reasons for their original omission are more apparent.

The album is well presented with interesting sleeve notes detailing such information as how each track came about, why it was not included in an official release, and when and where it was recorded.

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