Asia (Asia album)

Asia
Studio album by Asia
Released 18 March 1982
Recorded June – November 1981
Studio Townhouse Studios, London
Genre Progressive rock
Length 44:22
Label Geffen
Producer Mike Stone
Asia chronology
Asia
(1982)		 Alpha
(1983)
Singles from Asia
  1. "Heat of the Moment"
    Released: April 1982
  2. "Only Time Will Tell"
    Released: July 1982
  3. "Sole Survivor"
    Released: October 1982

Asia is the self-titled debut studio album by the English rock band Asia, released in 1982. According to both Billboard and Cash Box, it was the #1 album in the United States for the year 1982.[1] It contains their biggest hit "Heat of the Moment", which reached #4 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[2]

Commercial success

Upon its release in March 1982, Asia reached #1 in the US and spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard album chart.[2] Asia was certified 4x-platinum in the US by the RIAA on 10 February 1995.[3]

In the band's native UK, Asia did not perform as well as in the US, peaking only at #11 and spent a total of 38 weeks in the UK Albums Chart.[4] The record received a gold status in Britain on 18 October 1982.[5] "Heat of the Moment" climbed to No. 46.[4]

Asia's total worldwide sales are estimated at over ten million copies.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Robert ChristgauC−[8]

Since its release, Asia has received highly mixed reception, largely due to a more commercial and pop-oriented sound as opposed to progressive rock, given the past of the group's members. Robert Christgau blasted the album, and particularly its lyrics. He stated that it had been a rare occasion that "a big new group is bad enough to sink your teeth into any more" and called the album "pompous – schlock in the grand manner".[8] On the other side, in a Billboard review, it was favourably noted that "the caliber of the [band's] playing is superb and the music sounds fresh and perfect fare for AOR".[9] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Tom Demalon awarded Asia four-and-a-half out of five, saying that "there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style".[7]

Cover artwork

Asia's logo and cover artwork were created by Roger Dean, known for his work with Yes (of which guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Geoff Downes had previously been members) and Uriah Heep (of which bassist/vocalist John Wetton had previously been a member) which depicts a leviathan gazing into a crystal orb.

2010 Audio Fidelity remastered edition

In 2010, Audio Fidelity released a 24 Karat Gold CD (AFZ 068) remaster of the album, mastered by Kevin Gray.[6]

Track listing

All tracks written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes, except where noted. 

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Heat of the Moment"    3:50
2. "Only Time Will Tell"    4:44
3. "Sole Survivor"    4:48
4. "One Step Closer"  Wetton, Steve Howe 4:16
5. "Time Again"  Downes, Howe, Carl Palmer, Wetton 4:45
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
6. "Wildest Dreams"    5:10
7. "Without You"  Wetton, Howe 5:04
8. "Cutting It Fine"  Wetton, Downes, Howe 5:35
9. "Here Comes the Feeling"  Wetton, Howe 5:42
Total length:
 44:22

Personnel

Asia

Technical personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 13
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[12] 10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 11
US Billboard 200[18] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 35
US Billboard 200[20] 1

All-time chart

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[21] 95

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] 3× Platinum 300,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[24] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "The Billboard 200 – Year-end albums – 1982". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Asia chart positions in the US". Billboard.
  3. ↑ "RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program searchable database". RIAA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Asia chart positions in the UK". The Official Charts Company.
  5. ↑ "BPI's certified awards search". BPI.
  6. 1 2 "Asia::Asia". Audio Fidelity.
  7. 1 2 Demalon, Tom. Asia: Asia > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Review: Asia". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Top Album Picks: Asia – Asia". Billboard. Vol. 94 no. 12. 27 March 1982. p. 98.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Asia – Asia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6528." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Asia – Asia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Asia – Asia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Asia – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Asia.
  19. ↑ Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Albums". Chart File, Volume 2. London: Virgin Books. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
  20. ↑ "Top Pop Albums". Billboard. Vol. 94 no. 51. 25 December 1982.
  21. ↑ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Asia – Asia". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "British album certifications – Asia – Asia". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 October 2016. Enter Asia in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  24. ↑ "American album certifications – Asia – Asia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 October 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

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