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Everyone knows the first Asia album. It was such a huge hit and received tons of airplay on MTV when it was first released back in 1982. The group didn’t waste much time and released their second album a year later called Alpha in 1983, and most people know that one too. Then there was Astra that came out in 1985, which some people still probably recognize. However, that was the last album with John Wetton on lead vocals for a while. (he would return many years later) From that point on, the band released ten more albums from 1992 to 2014. During that time, the band went through many lineup changes, and a lot of the music released during this period was really good. However, we think a lot of it has been overlooked, so we’re going to rule out the first two albums on this list simply because everybody knows the music from those records, so you won’t see anything from Asia or Alpha on this list.
The whole point behind the underrated songs listing articles is to turn people on to music they may have missed, and that could be hardcore fans, casual fans, or people who know nothing about the band. Additionally, we have a lot of fun doing this because we go through an entire catalog and, in many ways, turn ourselves back on to music that we forgot all about. So here we go, only time will tell.
# 10 – Valkyrie – Gravitas
We open up our list of the 10 most underrated Asia songs with this beautiful song from the band’s final studio album entitled Gravitas. The song selected here was the opening track on the album, titled “Valkyrie.” John Wetton’s heartfelt vocals will cut right through you from the opening a cappella line all the way through. This is just vintage-sounding Asia; it’s a tremendous piece of music on a really good album. Gravitas was released in 2014. The band’s lineup at the time consisted of John Wetton on lead vocals and various guitars, Geoffrey Downes on keyboards, Sam Coulson on guitars, and the Rock God drummer Carl Palmer. This is a good way to start out this list.
Read More: Carl Palmer: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
# 9 – The Day Before the War – Arena
If you’re a fan of progressive rock music, this is one of the most epic pieces the band ever recorded. It’s also one of the longest, coming in at over 9 minutes. At times, the group sounds like Dream Theater at the beginning, and of course, there’s the Yes influence, even though Steve Howe is not on this record. This is a really wondrous piece of music and a joy to listen to, probably a surprise to some people out there. It was released on the album Arena, which was the band’s sixth studio album.
This one was issued in 1996, and at the time, the band consisted of just three members: Geoffrey Downes on keyboards, John Payne on vocals, and Michael Sturgis on drums. There were many guest musicians, including Elliott Randall on guitars, Aziz Ibrahim on guitars, Holger Larisch on guitar, and Luis Jardim on percussion. It actually did quite well, breaking into the top 40 on the UK Rock and Metal album charts, although in the US, it was pretty much ignored.
# 8 – Never Again – Phoenix
Phoenix was a special album in the band’s catalog; it was the first time since Astra in 1985 that the original lineup released a new album. Of course, music had changed dramatically since the ’80s, but it was wonderful to get a new album from John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, and Carl Palmer. We had thought that we would never see that again. The song picked here was the album’s opening track titled “Never Again.” One would have thought that the return of the original lineup would have catapulted the album to the top of the charts; however, like we said before, it was a different world in 2008, and the band had lost many of their early fans. In the US, it peaked at number 73 on the Billboard 200. However, in the United Kingdom, it did much better, reaching all the way to number 10.
# 7 – Long Way From Home – Silent Nation
There are multiple reasons why we picked this song to be placed on this list. First, we love the tune; it features an intense driving beat, fueled by the phenomenal Chris Slade on drums. John Payne sounds incredible on vocals, the guitar work by Guthrie Govan is fantastic, and, of course, Geoff Downes brings it all together with his sensational keyboard work. This powerful tune served as the opening track to the band’s ninth studio album, Silent Nation.
What’s particularly interesting about this album, and you may not have noticed, is that it’s the first Asia album titled without a word that begins and ends with the letter ‘A’. Additionally, the cover art is very different from the traditional Roger Dean artwork. This album broke a lot of Asia’s traditional molds, but hey, that’s what rock and roll is all about. Interestingly, this would be the last album to feature this lineup of musicians, as the original lineup returned for the next album, Phoenix.
Read More: Chris Slade: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
# 6 – Face On The Bridge – XXX
XXX would be the final album that the band would release with the original lineup. In total, the lineup of John Wetton, Geoffrey Downes, Steve Howe, and Carl Palmer released five studio albums, starting with Asia in 1982, Alpha in 1983, Phoenix in 2008, Omega in 2010, and XXX in 2012. After the release of XXX, Steve Howe left the band. Sadly, five years later, John Wetton passed away in 2017. There was some really good stuff on this record, and the song that we’ve chosen to represent the album on this list was actually the single that was released from the record, entitled “Face on the Bridge.” The album performed well in the UK, breaking into the top ten on the Independent Albums Chart, but did not fare as well on the US Billboard 200, where it stalled at number 134. However, on a chart that was called the US Top Tastemaker Albums, it broke into the top ten. Nonetheless, for Asia fans, this was another album that featured the original lineup and, sadly, the last one to do so.
# 5 – Holy War – Omega
At the halfway point on our Asia Underrated Songs list is a smoking tune called “Holy War.” The song was released on the band’s album entitled Omega, which debuted in April of 2010. Once again, this album featured the original lineup of Wetton, Howe, Downes, and Palmer. Almost all the songs on the album were written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes, with the exception of a pair of songs written by Steve Howe and John Wetton. There were no singles released from the album, and it did not perform well on the charts; in fact, it didn’t even break into the US top 200 album charts. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? This song cranks.
# 4 – Enough’s Enough – Aria
“Enough” was definitely a hidden gem on the band’s fifth studio album called Aria. This album featured the lineup of Geoff Downes on keyboards, John Payne on lead vocals, the incredible Al Pitrelli on guitars, and Michael Sturgis on drums. Released in 1994, as the grunge scene raged on, this style of music really was not receiving a lot of attention anymore. It didn’t even break into the US Billboard Top 200 album charts and kind of just drifted away. It’s not one of our favorite Asia albums, but there are still some good tracks on it, especially this one.
# 3 – I Would Die for You – Gravitas
“I Would Die for You” is the second of two songs featured on this list from the Gravitas album, making it the only album on this list that is represented twice. Perhaps it’s a sentimental pick, as this album marks the final Asia release featuring John Wetton. Nonetheless, it’s a really good song that was co-written by Wetton and Downes. Interestingly, the song was actually written in the ’80s but had never appeared on any album before. You can hear the difference in this song compared to the rest. Gravitas is a solid album, but “I Would Die for You” was definitely the standout track.
# 2 – Wherever You Are – Aura
This is a really interesting one due to all the people involved in the recording and writing of this song. The Aqua album was released in 2001, in Japan only. This album is unlike any other Asia album as, at the time, the band only consisted of John Payne and Geoff Downes. However, what they did was bring in different musicians to play on different songs. Some people might not have liked that, understandably so, but if you’re someone with open ears, an open heart, an open mind, or even an open can of tuna fish, you might have enjoyed it. I liked it; I thought it was fascinating.
The song that we’ve chosen to showcase on this list also features Chris Slade on drums and Guthrie Govan on guitars, who would actually become part of the official Asia lineup over the next couple of albums. However, it’s the songwriters involved in this song that we found quite interesting. Of course, Geoff Downes and John Payne have writing credits, but also on board were Andrew Gold and 10cc’s Graham Gouldman. It’s a pop song, but it’s a pop song with power, which was one of Asia’s trademarks. So, if you’ve never heard this one, you might actually be surprised by how good it is.
# 1 – Go – Astra
As we wrap up our underrated Asia songs list, we turn to the band’s third album, entitled Astra. This was the first album to see a lineup change in Asia; Steve Howe left the band and was replaced by Mandy Meyer on guitar. Meyer was relatively unknown at the time, having only played in the band Cobra. Of course, after his short stint with Asia, he would go on to play in bands like Krokus, Gotthard, and Unisonic. Astra would be the first Asia album not to achieve gold status. The first two albums had gone platinum in the US, but there was a huge drop-off with this album.
The debut album had hit number one in the US, and the follow-up reached number six, but Astra only reached number 67, and it would be the last Asia album to break into the US top 200 until the original lineup returned with Phoenix in 2008. Nonetheless, this song is really good. The video might be a bit cheesy, but it has its charms. The powerhouse track, written by John Wetton, kicks off the album impressively. Additionally, the album is visually complemented by iconic artwork designed by Roger Dean
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