Asia (Asia album)

Asia is the self-titled debut studio album by English rock band Asia, released in 1982. According to both Billboard and Cash Box, it was the #1 album in the United States for the year 1982.^[1] It contains their biggest hit "Heat of the Moment", which reached #4 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[2]

Artwork

Asia's logo and cover artwork were created by Roger Dean, known for his work with Yes (of which guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Geoff Downes had previously been members) and Uriah Heep (of which bassist/vocalist John Wetton had previously been a member) which depicts a leviathan gazing into a crystal orb.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Robert Christgau	C−^[4]

Since its release, Asia has received highly mixed reception, largely due to a more commercial and pop-oriented sound as opposed to progressive rock, given the past of the group's members. Robert Christgau blasted the album, and particularly its lyrics. He stated that it had been a rare occasion that "a big new group is bad enough to sink your teeth into any more" and called the album "pompous – schlock in the grand manner".^[4] On the other side, in a Billboard review, it was favourably noted that "the caliber of the [band's] playing is superb and the music sounds fresh and perfect fare for AOR".^[5] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Tom Demalon awarded Asia four-and-a-half out of five, saying that "there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style".^[3]

Commercial performance

Upon its release in March 1982, Asia reached #1 in the US and spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard album chart.^[2] Asia was certified 4x-platinum in the US by the RIAA on 10 February 1995.^[6]

In the band's native UK, Asia did not perform as well as in the US, peaking only at #11 and spent a total of 38 weeks in the UK Albums Chart.^[7] The record received a gold status in Britain on 18 October 1982.^[8] "Heat of the Moment" climbed to No. 46.^[7]

Asia's total worldwide sales are estimated at over ten million copies.^[9]

2010 Audio Fidelity remastered edition

In 2010, Audio Fidelity released a 24 Karat Gold CD (AFZ 068) remaster of the album, mastered by Kevin Gray.^[9]

Track listing

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

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heat of the Moment"		3:50
2.	"Only Time Will Tell"		4:44
3.	"Sole Survivor"		4:48
4.	"One Step Closer"	Wetton, Steve Howe	4:16
5.	"Time Again"	Downes, Howe, Carl Palmer, Wetton	4:45

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Wildest Dreams"		5:10
7.	"Without You"	Wetton, Howe	5:04
8.	"Cutting It Fine"	Wetton, Downes, Howe	5:35
9.	"Here Comes the Feeling"	Wetton, Howe	5:42
Total length:			44:22

Personnel

Asia

John Wetton – lead vocal, bass guitar
Geoff Downes – keyboards, vocals
Steve Howe – guitars, vocals
Carl Palmer – drums, percussion

Technical personnel

Mike Stone – producer, engineer
George Marino-mastering
Kevin Gray – 2010 Audio Fidelity remastering
Roger Dean – cover design
Brian Griffin – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[10]	13
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[11]	1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)^[12]	10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[13]	6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[14]	17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[15]	4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[16]	27
UK Albums (OCC)^[17]	11
US Billboard 200^[18]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)^[19]	35
US Billboard 200^[20]	1

All-time chart

Chart	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[21]	95

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[22]	3× Platinum	300,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[23]	Gold	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[24]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^{^}
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

References

↑ "The Billboard 200 – Year-end albums – 1982". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009.
1 2 "Asia chart positions in the US". Billboard.
1 2 Demalon, Tom. Asia: Asia > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Review: Asia". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Top Album Picks: Asia – Asia". Billboard. Vol. 94 no. 12. 27 March 1982. p. 98. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ "RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program searchable database". RIAA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007.
1 2 "Asia chart positions in the UK". The Official Charts Company.
↑ "BPI's certified awards search". BPI.
1 2 "Asia::Asia". Audio Fidelity. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
↑ "Austriancharts.at – Asia – Asia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6528." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Asia – Asia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Asia – Asia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Charts.org.nz – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Asia – Asia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Asia – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Asia.
↑ Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Albums". Chart File, Volume 2. London: Virgin Books. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
↑ "Top Pop Albums". Billboard. Vol. 94 no. 51. 25 December 1982. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "Canadian album certifications – Asia – Asia". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ "British album certifications – Asia – Asia". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 October 2016. Enter Asia in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
↑ "American album certifications – Asia – Asia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 October 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

The official Asia web site

Preceded by Chariots of Fire by Vangelis Tug of War by Paul McCartney	*US Billboard* 200 number-one album** 15–22 May 1982 19 June – 31 July 1982	Succeeded by Tug of War by Paul McCartney Mirage by Fleetwood Mac

Asia
Geoff Downes Carl Palmer Sam Coulson Billy Sherwood John Wetton Steve Howe Greg Lake Mandy Meyer John Young Pat Thrall John Payne Al Pitrelli Vinny Burns Aziz Ibrahim Mike Sturgis Elliott Randall Ian Crichton Chris Slade Guthrie Govan Jay Schellen
Studio albums	Asia Alpha Astra Then & Now Aqua Aria Arena Rare Aura Silent Nation Phoenix Omega XXX Gravitas
Live albums	Fantasia: Live in Tokyo
EPs	Aurora
Compilations	Then & Now Archiva Vol. 1 Archiva Vol. 2 Anthology The Very Best of Asia: Heat of the Moment
Singles	"Heat of the Moment" "Only Time Will Tell" "Sole Survivor" "Don't Cry"
Related articles	Discography Asia Featuring John Payne GPS Qango
Book:Asia\|Book

Billboard Year-End number one albums
1956–1975	1956: Calypso – Harry Belafonte 1957: Music from My Fair Lady – Original Cast 1958: Music from My Fair Lady – Original Cast 1959: The Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini 1960: Music from The Sound of Music – Original Cast 1961: Camelot – Original Cast 1962: West Side Story – Soundtrack 1963: West Side Story – Soundtrack 1964: Music from Hello, Dolly! – Original Cast 1965: Music from Mary Poppins – Soundtrack 1966: Whipped Cream & Other Delights – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass 1967: More of the Monkees – The Monkees 1968: Are You Experienced – The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1969: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly 1970: Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel 1971: Jesus Christ Superstar – Soundtrack 1972: Harvest – Neil Young 1973: The World Is a Ghetto – War 1974: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John 1975: Greatest Hits – Elton John
1976–2000	1976: Frampton Comes Alive! – Peter Frampton 1977: Rumours – Fleetwood Mac 1978: Saturday Night Fever – Soundtrack 1979: 52nd Street – Billy Joel 1980: The Wall – Pink Floyd 1981: Hi Infidelity – REO Speedwagon 1982: Asia – Asia 1983: Thriller – Michael Jackson 1984: Thriller – Michael Jackson 1985: Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen 1986: Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston 1987: Slippery When Wet – Bon Jovi 1988: Faith – George Michael 1989: Don't Be Cruel – Bobby Brown 1990: Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 – Janet Jackson 1991: Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey 1992: Ropin' the Wind – Garth Brooks 1993: The Bodyguard – Soundtrack 1994: The Sign – Ace of Base 1995: Cracked Rear View – Hootie & the Blowfish 1996: Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette 1997: Spice – Spice Girls 1998: Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture – James Horner 1999: Millennium – Backstreet Boys 2000: No Strings Attached – NSYNC
2001–present	2001: 1 – The Beatles 2002: The Eminem Show – Eminem 2003: Get Rich or Die Tryin' – 50 Cent 2004: Confessions – Usher 2005: The Massacre – 50 Cent 2006: Some Hearts – Carrie Underwood 2007: Daughtry – Daughtry 2008: As I Am – Alicia Keys 2009: Fearless – Taylor Swift 2010: I Dreamed a Dream – Susan Boyle 2011: 21 – Adele 2012: 21 – Adele 2013: The 20/20 Experience – Justin Timberlake 2014: Frozen – Soundtrack 2015: 1989 – Taylor Swift 2016: 25 – Adele

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