Arena (Asia album)

Last updated

Arena
Asiaarena.jpg
Studio album by
Asia
ReleasedMarch 4, 1996
Recorded1995
StudioElectric Palace, London
Genre Progressive rock
Length63:54
Label Bullet Proof
Producer
Asia chronology
Aria
(1994)		Arena
(1996)		 Archiva 1
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Arena is the sixth studio album by British rock band Asia, released in March 1996 by Bullet Proof Records. Recorded at Electric Palace Studios in London during 1995, it was produced by vocalist John Payne and keyboard player Geoff Downes. The album was a departure from Asia's usual sound, adopting a more acoustic production style with Latin and Middle Eastern influences.

Contents

Background

Asia's previous album, Aria, received little promotion due to low sales figures, leading to dwindling audience turnouts during the 1994 tour. Motivated by this, Geoff Downes and John Payne opted to take the followup in a new, bold direction to salvage things. Steve Howe was contacted to return for recording sessions, but was unable to join due to his obligations with Yes at the time. [2] John Payne, Elliot Randall, and Aziz Ibrahim each shared guitar duties on the album. Through this, a Latin-influenced sound began to emerge during jam sessions, which the band felt was the new direction they'd been looking for. A conscious effort was also made to put longer, more progressive pieces into the music, which emerged in the form of "The Day Before the War" and "U Bring Me Down". In order to meet the album's release deadline, Downes and Payne would sometimes spend 15 hours a day recording and mixing to prevent compromising the finished product. [2]

During the group's Christmas holiday break in 1995, a pipe had burst in the Electric Palace studio, destroying thousands of dollars of equipment. Upon returning in January of 1996, it was discovered that a box of tapes filled with unused material had survived among the wreckage. This led to the release of Archiva 1 and Archiva 2 later that year, the latter of which contained the song "That Season", originally meant for inclusion on Arena.

Reception

Arena received mixed to positive reviews. Music critic Phil VanHelden praised the album, stating "Asia returns true to their traditional form, with an upbeat tempo, heavy synthesizer usage, and catchy vocals. [...] Although I would not consider this as their best release to date, it is extremely close and a very well done CD." [2] Sputnikmusic praised the production and songwriting, but criticized John Payne's vocals and the album's length. [3] Gary Hill of Allmusic believed the album lacked a clear direction, while noting that it dropped the "slick and almost contrived texture" of Asia's previous work.

Track listing

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

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Into the Arena"Downes, Payne, Elliott Randall, Hotei Tomoyasu 2:59
2."Arena" 5:16
3."Heaven" 5:17
4."Two Sides of the Moon" 5:22
5."The Day Before the War" 9:09
6."Never" 5:32
7."Falling" 4:58
8."Words" 5:19
9."U Bring Me Down"Payne, Downes, Aziz Ibrahim 7:07
10."Tell Me Why" 5:14
11."Turn It Around"Downes, Payne, Michael Sturgis 4:29
12."Bella Nova" 3:11
Total length:63:54
1998 Snapper Music bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."That Season"4:51
Total length:68:46
2005 Inside Out Music remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."That Season"4:51
14."Two Sides of the Moon" (acoustic)4:48
Total length:73:34

Personnel

Asia

Additional Musicians

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart (1996)Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [4] 48
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [5] 34
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [6] 50

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asia (band)</span> English rock band

Asia are an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful lineup was its original, which consisted of four members of different progressive rock bands who had enjoyed great success in the 1970s: lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton, guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Carl Palmer. Their debut album, Asia, released in 1982, remains their best-selling album and went to number one in several countries. Billboard listed it as the top album in the U.S. in 1982. The lead single from the album, "Heat of the Moment", remains their top charting and best-known song, reaching the top 40 in over a dozen markets. It peaked at #4 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

<i>Records</i> (album) 1982 compilation album by Foreigner

Records is a compilation album by the British-American rock band Foreigner, released on November 29, 1982, to span the band's first four albums through 1981. Along with their second album, Double Vision, this release is the group's best-selling record. It has been certified 7× platinum by the RIAA.

<i>Silent Nation</i> 2004 studio album by Asia

Silent Nation is the ninth studio album by British rock band Asia, released in 2004. It was the last album with longtime vocalist and bassist John Payne, prior to the reunion of the original line-up in 2006.

<i>Give My Regards to Broad Street</i> 1984 soundtrack album / studio album by Paul McCartney

Give My Regards to Broad Street is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, "No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominated. It was also to be his final album to be released under Columbia Records, which had been his US label for over five years.

<i>Astra</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Asia

Astra is the third studio album by British rock supergroup Asia, released in November 1985 by Geffen Records. It was their last full-length studio album with co-founding vocalist and bassist John Wetton until Phoenix (2008), released after the original line-up reunited in 2006. Astra is the first of two albums from Asia—the other being Then & Now—with Swiss guitarist Mandy Meyer, who replaced Steve Howe.

<i>Aqua</i> (Asia album) 1992 studio album by Asia

Aqua is the fourth studio album by British rock supergroup Asia, released in 1992. It was the first album with longtime vocalist and bassist John Payne.

<i>Aria</i> (Asia album) 1994 studio album by Asia

Aria is the fifth studio album by British rock band Asia, released in May 1994 in the United Kingdom by Bullet Proof Records and in 1995 in the United States by Mayhem Recordings. Unlike its predecessor, which was recorded with the help of several guest musicians, Aria features a stable line-up consisting of vocalist and bassist John Payne, keyboard player Geoff Downes, guitarist Al Pitrelli and drummer Michael Sturgis.

<i>Turn Back</i> (album) 1981 album by Toto

Turn Back is the third studio album by the American rock group Toto released in 1981. Although it yielded the band's first top-ten hit in Japan and steady sales in that country, the album was a commercial disappointment elsewhere, failing to produce any charting singles and selling approximately 900,000 copies worldwide.

<i>Aura</i> (Asia album) 2001 studio album by Asia

Aura is the eighth studio album by British progressive rock band Asia. As a result of the diverse array of guest musicians, Aura had a wide mix of sounds with some songs trying to replicate Asia's earlier style, while others retained the more acoustic Latin production started by Arena five years prior.

<i>Come On Over</i> (Olivia Newton-John album) 1976 studio album by Olivia Newton-John

Come On Over is the seventh studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 29 February 1976. The album peaked at number two on the US Top Country Albums chart and number 13 on the US Billboard 200.

<i>Archiva 1</i> 1996 compilation album by Asia

Archiva is a two-volume collection of out-takes and previously unreleased tracks by British progressive rock band Asia. The volume one, designated as Archiva 1, was released on 3 September 1996 by Resurgence.

<i>Archiva 2</i> 1996 compilation album by Asia

Archiva is a two-volume collection of out-takes and previously unreleased tracks by British progressive rock band Asia. The volume two, designated as Archiva 2, was released on 17 September 1996 by Resurgence.

<i>Anthology</i> (Asia album) 1997 compilation album by Asia

Anthology is a compilation by Asia highlighting the John Payne era up to 1997. Re-recordings of John Wetton-era material were prompted by a lawsuit filed by Wetton when the original versions were used on the initial release in Japan. New versions were allowed, as well as a cover of the GTR track, "The Hunter".

<i>Phoenix</i> (Asia album) 2008 studio album by Asia

Phoenix is the tenth studio album by British rock band Asia, released in 2008. It was the first studio recording with the original line-up after the reunion in 2006.

<i>Aurora</i> (Asia EP) 1986 EP by Asia

Aurora is an extended play by British rock supergroup Asia, released on 2 April 1986 exclusively in Japan by Geffen Records.

<i>XXX</i> (Asia album) 2012 studio album by Asia

XXX is the twelfth studio album by British rock band Asia, released in 2012. It is the fifth and final studio album with the original line-up due to guitarist Steve Howe's departure the following year and vocalist/bassist John Wetton's death in 2017.

<i>Gravitas</i> (Asia album) 2014 studio album by Asia

Gravitas is the thirteenth studio album by British rock group Asia, released in 2014. It is the group's final studio album with vocalist/bassist John Wetton before his death in 2017 and the only one to feature guitarist Sam Coulson.

<i>The Mountain</i> (Dierks Bentley album) 2018 studio album by Dierks Bentley

The Mountain is the ninth studio album by American country music singer Dierks Bentley. It was released on June 8, 2018 via Capitol Records Nashville. It features the singles "Woman, Amen", "Burning Man" and "Living". The album was co-produced by Jon Randall and Ross Copperman.

<i>The Quest</i> (Yes album) 2021 studio album by Yes

The Quest is the twenty-second studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 1 October 2021 by InsideOut Music and Sony Music. It is their first studio album featuring Billy Sherwood since The Ladder (1999), replacing bassist Chris Squire following his death in 2015, and their first album without any original members. It is also their first album since Talk (1994) to be produced by only one member, namely guitarist Steve Howe, and their last studio album to be released before the death of drummer Alan White in 2022.

<i>Liberté</i> (The Doobie Brothers album) 2021 studio album by the Doobie Brothers

Liberté is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band the Doobie Brothers, released on Island Records. First released exclusively on streaming services on October 1, 2021, the album saw a CD release on October 29 of that month and an LP release in June 2022. It is their first studio album since 2014's Southbound, and their first of new material since 2010's World Gone Crazy. The band toured following the release of the album.

References

  1. ↑ Hill, Gary. Asia: Arena > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Gallant, David (1999). Asia, the heat goes on : a complete and authorised biography. Bordon: Northdown. ISBN   1-900711-11-7. OCLC   41257220.
  3. ↑ "Asia - Arena (album review ) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  5. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Asia – Arena". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.