Omega (Asia album)

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Omega
Studio album by Asia
Released 23 April 2010
Recorded October 2009 – February 2010 at Liscombe Park Studios in UK
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock
Length 56:38 [note 1]
Label Frontiers
Producer Mike Paxman
Asia chronology

Phoenix
(2008)		 Omega
(2010)		 XXX
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Lords of Metal 92/100[2]

Omega is the twelfth studio album by British progressive rock band Asia, released in Europe on 23 April 2010 by Frontiers Records.[3] It is the second to feature all four original members (Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton) after the reunion in 2006.

"Finger on the Trigger" was previously recorded by Wetton and Downes's side band Icon on their second studio album.

Title meaning and cover artwork

John Wetton explained the album title: "The title 'Omega', as any fan of the band will tell you, is 'very Asia' (as is the album, by the way). It no more means 'final' than 'Alpha' means 'the first' (which it wasn't). It's a great sounding/looking word, and a bookend to 'Alpha'. In many ways, musically and conceptually, the two albums share commonality".[3]

As with many of Asia releases, the cover artwork was created by Roger Dean. The white tiger on the front cover indicates that 2010 is the Year of the Tiger in the chinese calendar.[3]

Critical reception

Bret Adams of Allmusic, in a three-and-a-half-star review, concluded that "Phoenix has better songs overall than Omega – probably due to the initial excitement and creative surge spawned by the reunion – but Omega satisfies, and longtime fans will enjoy it", and called the album "Asia being Asia".[1]

Omega was named as the seventh-best album of 2010 by Classic Rock Presents... Prog magazine.[4]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Finger on the Trigger"  Wetton / Downes 04:30
2. "Through My Veins"  Howe / Wetton 05:08
3. "Holy War"  Wetton / Downes 05:59
4. "Ever Yours"  Wetton / Downes 04:04
5. "Listen, Children"  Wetton / Downes 05:56
6. "End of the World"  Wetton / Downes 05:39
7. "Light the Way"  Howe / Wetton 05:09
8. "Emily" (Digipak 1st pressing bonus track)Wetton / Downes 05:12
9. "I'm Still the Same"  Wetton / Downes 04:43
10. "There Was a Time"  Wetton / Downes 05:58
11. "Drop a Stone" (Japan bonus track)Wetton / Downes / Howe / Palmer 05:08
12. "I Believe"  Wetton / Downes 04:42
13. "Don't Wanna Lose You Now"  Wetton / Downes 04:45
  • All songs published by Willow Songs except "Light the Way", "Through My Veins" (Bug Music/Willow Songs) and "Drop a Stone" (Willow Songs/Bug Music/Music Sales).

Credits

Asia

Production

  • Produced by Mike Paxman
  • Recorded by Steve Rispin in October 2009 – February 2010 at Liscombe Park Studios in UK
  • Mixed by Mark "Tufty" Evans at Wispington Studios, UK
  • Mastered by Secondwave
  • Cover, logo and inside painting by Roger Dean
  • Computer work and cover design: Martyn Dean

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak position
French Albums (SNEP)[5] 158
German Albums (Media Control)[6] 56
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 29
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 55
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 135

Notes

  1. ↑ The length is indicated for the regular 11-tracks edition (without tracks "Emily" and "Drop a Stone").

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Adams, Bret. "Omega review". Allmusic. 
  2. ↑ Winston Arntz. "Omega review". Lords of Metal ezine. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Omega's page on the Frontiers Records official website". Frontiers Records. 
  4. ↑ Classic Rock Presents... Prog (13). January 2011. 
  5. ↑ "lescharts.com – Asia – Omega". SNEP. 
  6. ↑ "charts.de – Asia – Omega". Media Control. 
  7. ↑ "oricon.co.jp – Asia – Omega". Oricon. 
  8. ↑ "swedishcharts.com – Asia – Omega". Sverigetopplistan. 
  9. ↑ "hitparade.ch – Asia – Omega". Schweizer Hitparade. 
  10. ↑ "Asia chart positions in the UK". Official Charts Company. 

External links

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