Perhaps every visitor to our website knows that the band Asia started as a supergroup in the eighties. Featuring former Emerson Lake & Palmer member Carl Palmer (drums), former UK and King Crimson member John Wetton (lead vocals and bass) and the former Yes members Steve Howe (guitars)and Geoff Downes (keyboards). Many musicians came and went over the years, but Downes always remained behind his keyboards and is currently the only musician left from the original lineup. That the band still performs with a new lineup is a fact, but they had not released anything until now. Until recently. Not a new studio album, but a live album with an accompanying DVD and Blu-ray. Titled Live In England. This review is about accompanying DVD and Blu-ray. The CD review you can read here (see review). First let me tell you a bit about this new release before we go deeper into the video footage. This new live release was recorded during the first of three special evenings at Trading Boundaries in Sussex, England, April 2025. This is a small theatre with a capacity of up to 250 people where they have an option to drink and eat something next to watching the bands perform on stage. Live In England is just the first of three live releases in the Trading Boundaries concert series. Featuring classic albums from Asia's early years. The first three studio albums received a live performance in this concert hall on a rather small stage. Their most successful albums in the band's history were played in front of a live audience. Starting with the eponymous album released in 1982. Similar releases will follow, in which Alpha (1983) and Astra (1985) take center stage. As for the new lineup. Nowadays Geoff Downes is accompanied by drummer Virgil Donati (Planet X, Steve Vai), guitarist John Mitchell (Arena, Lonely Planet, Frost*), and the amazing newcomer Harry Whitley on bass and lead vocals. During the performance you can hear that the band is in top form, with strong vocal performances and technical proficiency, guaranteeing plenty of energy and a healthy dose of nostalgia. That they are at the top of their game is not so strange if you know that at this point, they had already been playing together for nearly a year and had successfully completed a US tour, among other things. That's why the band are performing their iconic 1982 debut album Asia in its entirety in a perfect way. The track order on Live In England is the same as on the original album and that's a good thing if I may say so. But of course, that evening it didn't stop at just playing strong live renditions of the studio versions of the complete debut album. With the addition of the extra tracks, the playing time consequently rose to more than an hour and ten minutes. People could enjoy Daylight (Aurora), The Heat Goes On (Alpha), Ride Easy (which was once the B-side of Heat Of The Moment) and the Buggles hit Video Killed The Radio Star. Maybe the later seems to be a strange choice. But in the past the band already also played songs from bands in which their members were in before. And the Buggles hit is, if you like it or not, Downes biggest musical accomplishment in selling records next to the band's debut album biggest hit Heat Of The Moment which he co-wrote. It has to be said that John Mitchell (he played with Icon and the John Wetton band in the past) plays Howe's parts with verve but also with the necessary respect, and also handles the second vocal part in a great way. Just listen to Only Time Will Tell and you will agree with me. The Australian jazz/rock drummer and Carl Palmer look-a-like, Virgil Donati (he played with UK) demonstrates that he has mastered this genre effortlessly as well. Just listen to his short drum solo during Wildest Dreams and you do know what I mean. On this live recording Harry Whitley can be heard for the first time as the lead singer and bassist. Resulting in a fresh yet faithful interpretation of the material originally sung by John Wetton. The thirty-year-old Welsh-born musician was discovered by Downes as a YouTuber and played during the John Wetton tribute concert a couple of years ago. His voice is somewhat higher than Wetton's low characteristic baritone, yet it fits perfectly to the songs performed on stage. As for his bass parts I can also be very positive. Even more if you know he is more of a keyboard player originally and learned to play the bass for this tour. But also Geoff Downes really shines here. This time not with many keyboard stands upon which many synthesizers are stacked. No, he is doing it a bit simpler now. Perhaps because the musical execution demands less from the less complex material compared to that of Yes, in which he also plays the keys. This time around with only two MacBooks laptops connected to his two keyboards. He is without any doubt the driving force behind the band and also provides backing vocals. The highlight of his playing during this concert might be the symphonic second movement of Cutting It Fine. Here he played like a classical piano player. Also the great organ solo during Heat Of The Moment is very enjoyable! Mentioning highlights of this performance isn't very easy because each song is very well played and sounds great. It is easy to say that this fresh incarnation of Asia brings both reverence for the classics and new energy to the stage. With crowd favourites like Heat Of The Moment, Only Time Will Tell, and Sole Survivor there is nothing to complain about. Also the lesser-known songs such as Daylight and Ride Easy are a must to hear. Even the Buggles hit Video Killed The Radio Star is rather enjoyable and even more to watch and it's fun to see how the audience sings-a-long with it as much as all the well known Asia tunes. AS for the filming and audio sound there isn't much to complain either. There is a 5.1 surround sound to choose but honestly they did not use any effects to make it sound even better. But that's okay for me! The camera work is fine and gives you many nice close ups of the musicians on stage. Even Donati can be seen very well even if he is hidden at the back of the small stage. The use of splitscreens makes it also possible to see more musicians at the same time and that's really cool. As for the lighting this is not really spectacular but the blue light works perfectly. So as whole product maybe a little bit sober, but at least you don't go every couple of seconds to a different musician as you sometimes see on other concert videos! Next to the concert footage there is a half hour interview to enjoy with the musicians and Roger Dean. He talks about the Asia logo and album designs. Also about the museum of his work at this venue. The musicians talk about the tour, John Wetton, new material, favourite song of the set and the 35 songs they had to learn for the tour. Furthermore inbetween the interviews you can see footage of the fotoshoot for the live album. All in all rather entertaining interviews. I guess that everybody who has seen and hear this live document will agree with me that Live In England is a must-have for fans who want to relive the band's early days. They can do this with a band that sounds energetic and is doing a fitting tribute to John Wetton and their earlier mentioned iconic debut album. An album which has no weak spots at all and the music on it still holds up well after more than forty years. This is just how you want to hear your favourite band which is playing melodic prog-rock for over an hour in a relaxed, intimate setting. All of this with an excellent professional recording. Already looking forward to the other two live releases of Alpha and Astra performed live at the Trading Boundaries!!! ***+ Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
