That a band records its best live album with a substitute frontman and not with its original singer, who on top of that is one of the main songwriters, sounds unlikely at first. However, if this substitute is named Greg Lake and the whole thing happened almost 40 years ago, then the shoe is on the other foot: Carl Palmer remembers the event at that time, which is now re-released opulently and well restored as "Asia In Asia", and gives an outlook on future activities of the band.
Asia Featuring John Payne are now Dukes Of The Orient. Erik Norlander, the protagonist of the new old band along with Payne, has been working with the bass player for a long time on a first album under a new banner. Musically, much has remained the same: AOR on the threshold to Melodic Prog, and everything at the highest level. And since they no longer use the expectant name Asia, listeners can get involved in this journey with the Orientexpress without being burdened.
The music of Dukes Of The Orient is not a lazy compromise. Even if it seems so at first glance, since Californian Erik Norlander loves British prog and Englishman John Payne loves the AOR sound of US-American coinage. After Geoff Downes had decided in 2006 to get back together with the original members of Asia, the rest of the Asia at that time around John Payne was quite dumbfounded.
Geoff Downes' sentences on the death of John Wetton, which do not conceal the difficult character of his friend, clearly show that the rock guild has not only lost a creative musician, but also a man with rough edges, who often did not mince his words. It is no coincidence that one of his solo albums is called "Battle Lines" (1994). When I talked to him about two years ago on the occasion of the last Asia album "Gravitas", he could hardly stop himself from commenting on the performances of the previous guitarist Steve Howe in the last Asia years after the reunion. Instead of praising the then new guitarist Sam Coulson as usual and keeping silent about his colleagues who had left, there was hardly any need for an energetic question and John started banging his head off.
QUEEN - Their 50 biggest songs
Queen emphasized throughout their career that they are essentially a hard rock band. In fact, the English kept increasing the hardness of their songs as much as they liked. And yet there is hardly a formation of its caliber that has tried its hand in so many different genres. This stylish heterogeneity is also reflected in our ranking of the 50 greatest songs of the pomp quartet.
CARLOS SANTANA - The Sound of the World
Geoff Downes would love to start working on a new Asia album right away. But he's currently hanging in the air again. His songwriting partner, singer/bassist John Wetton, has just been operated on. A tumor weighing almost a kilo was pulled out of him. So the live document "Axis XXX Live San Francisco" from the last tour with Steve Howe of the band fits well into the stuff.
eclipsed: How's John?
Geoff Downes: You have to wait and see. It is important to me as a friend that he gets fit again so that he can enjoy his life. And as his partner at Asia I hope that he will be able to work on new songs with me again in the near future. Asia without him is hard for me to imagine.
eclipsed: With your other band, yes, you don't seem to think so?
LED ZEPPELIN
Whole Lotta Phallus
It was pure sex, above all. Along with Jimmy Page's ubiquitous guitar and John Bonham's powerful drums, he seemed to be the driving force in the Led Zeppelin cosmos. Their highly potent and vibrant hardrock seemed like a permanent penis to the audience of the late sixties and early seventies.
CARLOS SANTANA
Number 4 lives!
Asia started 2006 again in the original line-up with many advance laurels. John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe. Again and again great live performances followed the three studio albums that the quartet had recorded since then. But the magic of "Asia" (1982) and "Alpha" (1983) did not reach the top personnel anymore despite several good compositions. Howe's renewed withdrawal and the enthronement of Sam Coulson in his mid-twenties have the effect of an overdue fresh cell cure.
eclipsed: Without digression: Wasn't the step from Howe to Coulson long overdue for Asia?
John Wetton: I don't want to throw dirt at Steve afterwards. It was a big thing for all of us that the Ur-Asia came together again 25 years after the foundation. It had a private, human and musical dimension. To Steve: The qualities of someone like Steve Howe don't have to be emphasized. He's one of the best in his field.
JEFF BECK/ERIC CLAPTON
Inventor of Olympus
They are among the most celebrated rock guitarists in the world. They once played in the same band, though not at the same time. After their departure from the Yardbirds, the careers of Jeff Beck (65) and Eric Clapton, who turns 65 on March 30, developed completely differently. eclipsed traces the paths of the fundamentally different (musician) characters, visited one of the rare joint concerts in London, spoke with Mr. Beck himself and interviewed numerous fellow musicians about their eternal rivals.
JOE BONAMASSA
"I'm not a blues snob, I'm a rocker!"
THE ROLLING STONES
AT THE MOVIES
From the beginning the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world was famous for its unique charisma. No wonder that the long career of the Rolling Stones is the best documented in rock history. The Stones at the movies - a retrospective of sometimes even great cinema...
eclipsed
shopping list THE ROLLING STONES
Over 20 studio albums, at least as many heat compilations, nine official live productions - if you put together a Rolling Stones shopping list, you can easily stumble..
PORTISHEAD
The English Patient
