Champagne Jam

Champagne Jam is one of the group's strongest releases: a seamless marriage of Southern rock muscle and uptown blues dress. Standouts include the almost nouveau Confederate rocker "Large Time" and the peak bluesy pop blend of the title track. "Imaginary Lover" became a major hit for the band. Beyond the few best-of discs available, fans will definitely want to make this the first title they consider from the band's regular album catalog.

A Rock and Roll Alternative

After five albums and four years of trying, Atlanta Rhythm Section finally gets a breakthrough. This time their mixture of country and rock finally found its audience, largely due to the single "So Into You". It was only fair: ARS had perfected a sound that was lighter and more accessible than the Allman Brothers/Lynyrd Skynyrd school of Southern rock, but no less accomplished, and A Rock and Roll Alternative was the embodiment of it.

Phoenix

Like the Phoenix of the title of their 2008 album, Asia has risen from the ashes and made their first studio album with their original lineup in a quarter century. Taken from they left off on Alpha, Asia brings back the sonic sound and adds some complexity to their music-making this their best album since their debut.

Then & Now

Asia returns to the studio with Steve Lukather and other guitar players to put out a few new songs for the compilation, Then & Now. It becomes apparent Asia is becoming a revolving door of musicians. I had lost interest in them at this point.

Astra

John Wetton returns to the fold and Steve Howe leaves. Howe's replacement Mandy Meyer from Krokus brings a more of heavier approach to Asia. While it may be an attempt to revitalize a sinking band, the heavy metal meets the new wave version of prog rock fell with resounding thud...

At Budokan Tokyo, Japan 12/6/1983

Perhaps one the first bootlegs into my collection. Recorded this one off of the MTV special "Asia in Asia" with a boom box stuck in front of the tube. Although a muddied recording, I remember the show quite well. Greg Lake (King Crimson, ELP) had filled in for the departed John Wetton on the bass and vocals. The ending result wasn't too shabby due to the similarities between Wetton and Lake. At that point, Asia was starting to fall apart at the seams.

Alpha

Asia's sophomore album, Alpha. It focuses almost entirely on pop and pop-rock sounds and is almost devoid of progressive rock elements. Nothing on Alpha packs the sheer sonic force of the band's debut. Instead, much of the record is lightweight both lyrically and musically, leaning heavier on keyboard-laden ballads. Not the direction I'd wanted to see the band go, yet the album made platinum status.