Asia – Archiva 1 (1996) Review | After the Flood, They Float
Kronomyth 9.0: Arachnarok and roll.
First, let me express my shock that the spider on the front cover of this album does not have wings. Second, let me express my even greater shock that an album of outtakes from the last few Asia albums sounds almost as good as the last few Asia albums. So, if you were thinking of springing for the next volume of Homebrew, you might want to redirect those funds to Asia’s pockets—Asia at this stage being Geoff Downes, Andy Payne and sometimes (Andy) Nye plus a handful of interim guitarists and drummers. According to the album notes, these tapes were discovered after their studio flooded. Asia’s misfortune is our good fortune, as it brought to light several good songs including Boys from Diamond City, A.L.O. (a clever nod to Payne’s brief tenure in what would become ELO Part II), We Fall Apart and Heart of Gold. Except for a pair of instrumentals (one featuring Steve Howe), these are finished ideas that might have just as easily found their way on the Asia album du jour. In fact, given how terrible some of the original songs were on Then & Now, I’m surprised they didn’t turn to earlier songs like “Boys from Diamond City” or Tears to round that album out. I’m not saying that Archiva 1 is a great album because it isn’t. I’m pretty sure a lot of rock bands in the 90s could have made an album this good. Asia fans, however, will enjoy the discovery, even if the band doesn’t bring their A game on every song.
The Product
A1. Heart of Gold (Geoff Downes/John Payne)
A2. Tears (Geoff Downes/Johnny Warman)
A3. Fight Against the Tide (John Payne/Andy Nye)
A4. We Fall Apart (Geoff Downes/John Payne)
A5. The Mariner’s Dream (John Payne)
A6. Boys from Diamond City (Geoff Downes/Johnny Warman)
A7. A.L.O. (John Payne/Andy Nye)
A8. Reality (Geoff Downes/John Payne)
A9. I Can’t Wait a Lifetime (John Payne/Andy Nye)
A10. Dusty Road (Geoff Downes/Max Bacon)
A11. I Believe (John Payne/Andy Nye)
A12. Ginger (Geoff Downes/John Payne/Steve Howe)
The Players
Geoff Downes (keyboards, drum programming), John Payne (vocals, bass, guitar) with Adrian Dessent (guitar on A10), Nigel Glockler (drums on A1/A2/A10), Anthony Glynne (guitar on A1), Scott Gorham (guitar on A6), Steve Howe (guitar on A12), Andy Nye (additional keyboards & drum programming on (A3/A7/A9/A11), Al Pitrelli (guitar on A1/A8), Michael Sturgis (drums on A6/A8). Produced & mixed by Geoff Downes and John Payne; engineered by Greg Jackman, Spike “Mike” Drake, Pete Craigie, Andy Reilly, Andy Nye.
The Pictures
Cover illustration by Rodney Matthews. Album design/artwork by Mixed Images, Ltd.
The Plastic
Released on compact disc on September 24, 1996 in Austria (Resurgent, LV109-4-CD) and in February 1997 in the US (Pavement, 32262-2).
