Icon | ||||
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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 | ||||
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Review scores | |
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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)
See also Icon II: Rubicon (2006). The third Icon album is Icon 3 (2009). All three were reissued in 2018 by Epicon Records, a vanity label for Icon albums set up by Wetton's estate and Downes.
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 line-up was its original, which consisted of four members of different progressive rock bands that had enjoyed great success in the 1970s: lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton of King Crimson and U.K., guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, keyboardist Geoff Downes of Yes and The Buggles, and drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Their debut album, Asia, released in 1982, remains their best selling album and went to number one in several countries. 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 and peaking in the U.S. at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
Renaissance are an American, formerly 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, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work. The band created a significant following in the northeast United States in the 1970s, and that region remains their strongest fan base.
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.
William Wyman Sherwood is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist from 1997 to 2000 and as bassist since 2015, following the death of original bassist Chris Squire. He is known for working with former and current Yes members on other projects as well.
John Payne is an English musician, best known as the lead singer and bassist of Asia from 1991 to 2006, then from June 2007, with Asia featuring John Payne. He also is now in Dukes of the Orient but continues to tour with The Rock Pack and also Asia Featuring John Payne.
Eyes of a Woman is the second English-language solo album by Swedish singer and former ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog, and her eighth 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 reached #4 in both the Canadian Singles chart and on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was written by singer and bass guitarist John Wetton and keyboardist Geoff Downes.
Alpha is the second studio album by British rock band Asia, released on 26 July 1983 in the United States and on 12 August 1983 in the United Kingdom 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.
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 a singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He primarily plays guitar and has been a member of the bands It Bites, Arena, Frost*, Kino, A, The Urbane and Lonely Robot.
Geoffrey Downes is an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer 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".
Then & Now is a compilation album by British rock band Asia, released on 14 August 1990 by Geffen Records. It consists of two parts titled as Then and Now. Then comprises songs from the band's first two albums, Asia and Alpha, which featured the band's original line-up of Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, and John Wetton. Now comprises songs recorded by the band after Howe's departure.
Aurora is an extended play by British rock band 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 1989, "Days Like These".
Wetton/Downes is the first album released by former Asia bandmates John Wetton and Geoff Downes, 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.
Stu David Thomas is an Australian musician, born 1967 in Canberra, raised in Perth, and currently musically active in Melbourne.
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.