Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Asia
Label: Snapper Records
Release: 1996
Runtime: 49:19
Rating: 3.5/5
During the years with singer/bassist John Payne, Asia pulled off plenty of ‘cheerful’, you could even say totally unexpected moves, which luckily always delighted most of their loyal followers. One of the more colorful episodes of their career hit them in January 1996, when they returned to the studio and found that a water pipe had frozen and burst, drowning thousands of pounds’ worth of equipment. Among other things, that incident meant their next studio album didn’t come out until five years later. Despite the tragedy, though, a bunch of previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1987 and 1995 survived the flood. These rare recordings, which Payne and his partner in crime, cult keyboardist Geoff Downes (ex-The Buggles, Yes), would probably have forgotten about if the aforementioned studio disaster hadn’t happened, found their way onto the compilation releases »Archiva 1« and »Archiva 2«, which both came out later in 1996. For the reissue in 2005, they were also put out as the double album »Archiva 1 & 2«.
Some of the compositions on »Archiva 1« were created by Payne, with the help of various collaborators, even before he became a member of Asia. All of them nicely radiate the spirit of the times they were written in and show where Asia stood musically when these tracks were born. A couple of them also feature two former, original Asia members, the legendary Yes guitarist Steve Howe and the no less legendary ELP drummer Carl Palmer. Besides the two of them, prestigious guests on individual tracks include the legendary Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham, longtime Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler, longtime MSG keyboardist Andy Nye, and the cult guitar virtuosos Elliot Randall and Al Pitrelli (ex-Alice Cooper, Savatage, Megadeth).
»Heart Of Gold« was written in mid-June 1991, right around the time John Payne joined Asia. In fact, after »Lay Down Your Arms« it was the second song Payne and Downes wrote together. Because of the limited running time of the record, this solid piece of work, with its rousing chorus and gorgeous synth arrangements, didn’t make it onto the album »Aqua« (1992). The next track, the classic AOR power ballad »Tears«, which Downes wrote with Johnny Warman, dates from 1988. Enriched with superb vocal harmonies and heavily influenced by the legendary Swedish pop sensation ABBA, it was written while Downes was part of a never-realized project called Rain, which also involved singer Max Bacon (ex-Nightwing, GTR).
»Fight Against The Tide« dates from 1991 and was originally meant for the album »Aqua«. Payne wrote this one with Andy Nye under the obvious influence of the legendary bands Queen and ELO, since the many symphonic arrangements and pompous vocal harmonies strongly recall the legacy of both. »We Fall Apart« from 1995 was supposed to come out on the album »Arena«, which its slightly more experimental nature already hints at, but in the end the band members decided otherwise. The short instrumental »The Mariner’s Dream« was created during the recording of the album »Aria«, when Payne stayed up all night working on it so he could surprise the rest of the band with a new instrumental at breakfast the next morning.
»Boys From Diamond City«, which goes back to 1988, was another fruit of the short-lived collaboration between Downes and Warman. Interestingly, before its official release on »Archiva 1«, no fewer than three different singers took turns on lead vocals in the early versions. Before Payne, Max Bacon and original singer/bassist John Wetton both took a crack at the lead. The track was originally meant for a never-realized Asia lineup that was supposed to feature, besides Downes and Wetton, Scott Gorham and the »Aqua« drummer Mike Sturgis. »A.L.O.« started out under the title »Quest For The Key« and was originally conceived for a project called ELO Part II, made up of some former ELO members Payne worked with only briefly. The abbreviation »A.L.O.« is a joke and stands for Asiatic Light Orchestra, while the demo version of the song was created around the time of the album »Aria«. Stylistically, it sounds a lot like some of the ELO stuff. The upbeat »Reality«, another fine achievement from the winning Downes-Payne partnership, was also written during the making of that same album in mid-1993.
The excellent ballad »I Can’t Wait A Lifetime« was originally intended for »Aqua« and later for »Aria«, but it had to wait until 1996 for its official release. »Dusty Road«, another interesting piece with roots in the time Downes worked with Max Bacon, features splendid keyboard arrangements that give it a romantic, exotic flavor in its atmosphere. »I Believe« is a rousing anthem with a heavy emphasis on Hammond organ, dedicated to The Who singer Roger Daltrey, with whom Payne worked on some of Roger’s solo albums, such as »Under A Raging Moon«. The main Hammond motif deliberately sounds a lot like the one from The Who classic »Baba O’Reily«. The short instrumental »Ginger« was dedicated by Downes and Payne to former Asia guitarist Steve Howe, who also contributed acoustic guitar variations, since in its original form this piece was supposed to come out as the title track of the »Arena« album. Howe, true to his old habits, was late again with the finished recordings, so the two Asia chieftains rather used Elliot Randall’s guitar contribution on the final version.
»Archiva 1« is the first chapter in a fascinating mosaic of ‘forgotten’ songs that were ‘secretly’ created in the middle of Asia’s Payne era, and it’s a real stroke of luck that, flood in the studio or not, they finally saw the light of day, because fans of the band would otherwise have been robbed of a lot of great music. Of course, this collection of songs isn’t complete without the album »Archiva 2«, so picking up the aforementioned double reissue »Archiva 1 & 2« from 2005 is strongly recommended.
Lineup
Geoff Downes – keyboards, drum programming
John Payne – vocals, bass guitar, guitar
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS:
Andrian Dessent – guitar (track 10)
Nigel Glockner – drums (tracks 1, 2 and 10)
Anthony Glynne – guitar (track 1)
Scott Gorham – guitar (track 6)
Steve Howe – guitar (track 12)
Andy Nye – keyboards and drum programming (tracks 3, 7, 9 and 11)
Al Pitrelli – guitar (tracks 1 and 8)
Michael Sturgis – drums (tracks 6 and 8)
Hotei Tomayasu – guitar (track 1)
Production
Geoff Downes and John Payne
Track list
1. Heart Of Gold (4:46)
2. Tears (4:58)
3. Fight Against The Tide (5:30)
4. We Fall Apart (4:57)
5. The Mariner’s Dream (1:27)
6. Boys From Diamond City (5:43)
7. A.L.O. (3:40)
8. Reality (4:29)
9. I Can’t Wait A Lifetime (3:34)
10. Dusty Road (4:30)
11. I Believe (3:42)
12. Ginger (2:03)
