ASIA - The Reunion Albums: 2007 - 2012 Box Set To Arrive In June

April 28, 2021, 3 years ago

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ASIA - The Reunion Albums: 2007 - 2012 Box Set To Arrive In June

Asia, the multi-platinum selling English supergroup formed in London in 1981, are celebrating their 40th anniversary by releasing a 5CD boxset The Reunion Albums: 2007 - 2012, through BMG Records on June 11. Pre-order it here.

This 5CD deluxe clamshell box set features the 2CD live recording Fantasia, Live In Tokyo together with the three reunion studio albums Phoenix, Omega and XXX.

Asia took the world by a storm with their eponymous debut album, globally the biggest-selling album of 1982. The single "Heat Of The Moment", a huge soft-rock anthem, reached the top 40 in over a dozen markets, peaking in the US at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

The four original members of Asia - John Wetton (King Crimson, lead vocal/bass), Steve Howe (YES, guitars), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, drums) and Geoff Downes (The Buggles, YES, keyboards), reunited to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2006 and 2007 with a world tour.

A live album from the tour Fantasia, Live In Tokyo was released in 2007 as they returned to the studio together for the first time in a quarter of a century. The reunion would yield three stunning albums Phoenix (2008), Omega (2010) together with XXX (2012) as they celebrated their 30th anniversary.

Of these later albums Carl Palmer said, "The chemistry and energy that comes out when the four of us are working together, is reflected in the new material."  For his part, John Wetton marvelled at how far the band had come. "Each one of us is comfortable as a human being, and the sound reflects the collective maturity of these four people who are not only eager to explore but also relaxed enough to luxuriate in the strength of the material."

This boxset features the original Asia line-up, reformed in 2006, and brings together, for the first time, all of ASIA's essential music into one concise collection.

Fantasia, Live In Tokyo, the 2CD live show from their 2007 World Tour, features many of the tracks from their first two albums Asia (1982) and Alpha (1983) and includes Heat Of The Moment and Don't Cry together with heritage tracks from each of the band member's musical history. The band also performed live, for the first time, an acoustic version of "Ride Easy", a B-side from the debut single "Heat Of The Moment".

The boxset collection is completed by the three reunion studio albums Phoenix, Omega and XXX. These represent some of ASIA's finest moments and allowed the band to explore fully their rock and progressive roots.

These albums are presented together in a superb collector's edition boxset designed by Roger Dean, who produced all of the original albums' artwork. The boxset cover image was previously unused and the Fantasia sleeve design has been updated by Roger.


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