Odd grab bag of Asia/Wetton...
Prog Nerd | Southern California | 01/14/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Upon hearing about this 2-CD collection, I expected it to be a compilation of tunes from all over Asia and John Wetton's careers. Instead, it is only two previously available albums, repackaged and resold. Disc 1 is Asia's Live In Moscow, recorded on the Then & Now tour in 1990, and Disc 2 is John Wetton's solo release Arkangel from 1997.
However, there is some nice surprises in this. Firstly, the Asia disc includes "Wildest Dreams", which is from the "grey cover" version of Live In Moscow (it was replaced by the studio track "Kari-Anne" for the "red cover" release) which I didn't have.
On the Wetton disc, you're treated to two bonus tracks which were not on certain editions of Arkangel. These are "Magazines" and a live rendition of "Woman". As for the performances themselves...one could go into more detail by reviewing the proper albums, but I'll just say that Asia with Wetton was better in the studio than live (on most songs), and Carl Palmer's drums could have been mixed much better. As for Wetton's Arkangel, it's excellent; emotional and confessional.
The booklet is pretty nice, with some archival Asia photos and quotes about the band from various sources. The cover is pretty and comes in a faux-leather slipcase, and each CD is gold. Also, where I purchased the set it was only $12.99, which is excellent for a double-CD set.
A collection like this would be good for King Crimson, UK or Roxy Music fans that want to sample some different avenues of John Wetton's career in the 90's."
Great for collectors but be warned
John Sposato | Syracuse, NY, USA | 01/31/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This combines Asia's 'Live in Moscow' with John Wetton's third solo album proper 'Arkangel'. I had another copy of the live album already, which i sold. I didn't have downloading capacity yet, so I bought this for the solo album as well; also because I like imports. A couple tracks from each album has been removed, which I don't think was necessary, even though I had to get the original editions so I could have the missing tracks. Also, Steve Howe is pictured in the booklet, even though he doesn't play a note on either disc. You get what you pay for. This is more for completists. Otherwise, it's better like your kid's toys when they're "each sold separately"!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1