With a legacy now spanning over 40 years, Asia, still featuring original keyboard player Geoff Downes alongside guitarist John Mitchell, bassist and vocalist Harry Whitley, and drummer Virgil Donati, has released a new rendition of ‘Only Time Will Tell’ as their latest single. The track is taken from the forthcoming Asia – Live In England, due out on 13th March through Frontiers Music Srl.
“This was the second single from the first album in the USA,” Downes reminisced. “But on this side of the Atlantic, the label chose this as the first single due to the trumpet fanfare intro and themes, which became a kind of 1980s perennial sound technique. ‘Only Time Will Tell’ has always been a favourite to play live, as each member has a distinctive part to play.”
“Revisiting the entire first Asia album brought all the great memories flooding back from 43 years ago,” Downes recalled. “In the studio with John, Steve, Carl and, of course, the great Mike Stone at the production helm. I think at the time we knew we’d made a good album but could not have predicted the enormous success that followed, that made the band a household name across the world, and particularly in America. That said, it was a result of much hard work and effort from everyone involved.”
“So, when I had the opportunity to put together the live album with the current and fantastic line-up of Asia in collaboration with Frontiers Music, it was really a no-brainer. I was reminded of what a collection of great songs and performances made up the album, with variety and musical dynamics to the fore.”
“When we recorded it again earlier this year, I was drawn to some of the less featured tracks and realised how much they played an important part in the overall album, in addition of course to the signature tracks such as ‘Heat Of The Moment’ and ‘Only Time Will Tell’,” he continued. “We did this for you, the fans, and hope you really enjoy hearing these songs in the live setting, performed in their entirety once again, and enjoy it as much as we did creating and performing it.”
Asia – Live In England was recorded live on the first of three nights at Trading Boundaries in Sussex. The album features ‘Heat Of The Moment’, ‘Only Time Will Tell’, ‘Sole Survivor’, ‘One Step Closer’, ‘Time Again’, ‘Wildest Dreams’, ‘Without You’, ‘Cutting It Fine’, ‘Here Comes The Feeling’, ‘Ride Easy’ (Bonus track), ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ (Bonus track) and ‘The Heat Goes On’ (Bonus track).
This is the first of three live releases from Trading Boundaries, each capturing a full classic album from Asia’s initial trilogy in concert, available in both audio and video formats.
