Icon | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 August 2005 | |||
Recorded | Aubitt Studios, Southampton, UK | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 57:05 | |||
Label | Frontiers UMe Digital (US online only) | |||
Producer | John Wetton & Geoffrey Downes | |||
Wetton/Downes chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Classic Rock | [2] |
Icon is a studio album recorded and released by Asia band members John Wetton and Geoffrey Downes in 2005. It is the first in the Icon series (though they previously released the album Wetton Downes in 2002, a collection of demos from the 1980s).
Icon was followed by the albums Icon II: Rubicon in 2006 and Icon 3 in 2009. All three were reissued in 2018 by Epicon Records, a vanity label for Icon albums set up by Wetton's estate and Downes.
[Nb: Track 1 is listed as 2 separate songs]
An Icon EP was also released (on Frontiers Records), featuring selected tracks from the album, with some being remixes with orchestrations by Mike Stobbie (indicated by * below)
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.
Asia is the debut studio album by English rock supergroup Asia, released in 1982. According to both Billboard and Cashbox, it was the #1 album in the United States for the year 1982. It contains their biggest hit "Heat of the Moment", which reached #4 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies.
U.K. were a British progressive rock supergroup originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band was founded by bass guitarist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford, formerly the rhythm section of King Crimson. The band was rounded out by violinist/keyboardist Eddie Jobson, and guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Bruford and Holdsworth left in 1978, and Bruford was replaced by drummer Terry Bozzio. Jobson, Wetton and Bozzio reformed U.K. for a world tour in 2012.
John Kenneth Wetton was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left handed, he was known as a dexterous right handed bass player and had a booming baritone voice. He joined the band Family in 1971 for a short time before joining King Crimson in 1972. After the breakup of King Crimson at the end of 1974, Wetton was in progressive rock and hard rock bands including Roxy Music (1974–1975), Uriah Heep (1975–1976), U.K. (1977–1980), and Wishbone Ash (1980–1981).
Eyes of a Woman is the second English-language solo studio album by Swedish singer and former ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog, and her eighth studio album overall. It was released in March 1985.
"Heat of the Moment" is the first single released by English progressive rock supergroup Asia from their 1982 eponymous debut album. It was written by singer and bass guitarist John Wetton and keyboardist Geoff Downes. It was named by Lee Zimmerman of Paste as Asia's signature song.
Alpha is the second studio album by British rock supergroup Asia, released on 12 August 1983 by Geffen Records. It was recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, and Manta Sound in Toronto from February to May 1983. Alpha adopted a notably more polished sound with radio-friendly elements and less emphasis on progressive rock sections. Like its multi-platinum predecessor, the album was produced by Mike Stone. It was also the last album to feature the band's original line-up for twenty-five years until Phoenix, which was released in 2008.
The Tokyo Tapes is a live and studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in April 1998 by Camino Records. It documents two concerts performed by a supergroup line-up of Hackett, John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald and Julian Colbeck, in Tokyo, Japan in December 1996. The album includes two studio tracks recorded by Hackett. In 2001, a DVD of the concerts was released, with the same title.
Annie Haslam is an English vocalist, songwriter and painter. She is best known as the lead singer of progressive rock band Renaissance since 1971, and for her long and diverse solo singing career. She has a five-octave vocal range. From 2002, Haslam has developed a parallel career as a visual artist, producing paintings on canvas, painted musical instruments and giclées.
Qango were a short-lived progressive rock band, a spin-off from Asia. In 1999, an attempt was made at a partial reunion of the progressive rock supergroup Asia involving John Wetton, Carl Palmer (drums) and Geoff Downes (keys), with Dave Kilminster to be on guitar. However, Downes withdrew from plans, choosing to stick with John Payne in their Asia line-up. Wetton and Palmer instead formed Qango with Kilminster and John Young on keys. The band's live set was based on songs by Asia and Palmer's former band Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
John Mitchell is an Irish musician and record producer. He primarily plays guitar and has been a member of the bands It Bites, Arena, Frost*, Kino, A, The Urbane and Asia, as well as pursuing a solo career with the Lonely Robot project.
Geoffrey Downes is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group the Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup 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".
Aurora is an extended play by British rock supergroup Asia, released on 2 April 1986 exclusively in Japan by Geffen Records.
The Very Best of Asia: Heat of the Moment (1982–1990) is a greatest hits compilation album by the British band Asia, released in 2000. Covering the 1982–1990 period, it features songs from the band's first three albums, Asia, Alpha and Astra, plus three rare single B-sides, which had also been included on the Japan-exclusive EP Aurora in 1986, and one song from the Then & Now half compilation/half studio album released in 1990, "Days Like These".
Wetton/Downes is the first album released by Asia member Geoff Downes and former Asia member John Wetton, and is a precursor to their Icon series. It is essentially a collection of demo tracks, mostly recorded during Asia's hiatus in the late 1980s through the time of their brief reformation in 1990. In September 2017, Downes announced the re-release of this title, with remastered sound and additional tracks, as Icon Zero on Epicon Records.
Grandine il vento is the 13th studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, first released in 2013 and re-released as Symphony of Light in 2014. It was financed through a Kickstarter campaign.
Let Me Entertain You is a studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in May 2016 by the independent label Boomlover.