ASIA – Asia – Live in England

RELEASE YEAR: 2026
BAND URL: https://originalasia.com/

Legendary prog rockers Asia returned to the stage last year with a reconfigured line-up featuring original keyboardist Geoff Downes, world-class guitarist John Mitchell, bass player extraordinaire Harry Whitley, and the fabulous drummer that is Virgil Donati. At the renowned venue known as Trading Boundaries in April 2025, the quartet performed the classic self-titled opus from 1982 in its entirety and threw in a couple of bonus tracks for good measure, and luckily for those of us who were unable to attend said event, the show was captured for posterity, hence this upcoming release appropriately titled Asia – Live in England.

One of many remarkable aspects of this vibrant and muscular-sounding output is that it highlights and showcases just how well-crafted and exciting the lesser-known compositions from the self-titled LP truly are. More than anything though, this new constellation of the group appears incredibly enthusiastic throughout and wholeheartedly committed to delivering the songs with the power, the aplomb, and not least the emotional pull that the original studio versions contained. Truth be told, I actually prefer these sparkling and crisp-sounding 2025 live tracks to the slightly dated production values that permeated the source material from 1982. The renditions of “Soul Survivor,” “Time Again,” “Wildest Dreams,” and especially “Ride Easy” are incredible and are genuinely heartwarming, perfectly dramatic, and tinged with a subtle dose of bittersweet and irresistable melancholy yet they are ultimately quite uplifting and spirited. The depth of the songs is emphasized by the brilliant musicianship, and the essence of what Asia were and what they represented is very much intact on this live disc.

For those of you who prefer the poppier, catchier, and more condensed version of prog rock in terms of length, scope, and complexity, this appealing gem is exactly what you need as its atmosphere is amazing and it makes you feel that you really wanted to be there. These chaps actually have a couple of more live albums in the pipeline already, which will be very interesting to hear and undoubtedly something to look forward to.