Asia is a supergroup of supergroups. The original lineup of Wetton, Howe, Downes, and Palmer has roots in a zillion bands: King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Tomorrow, Yes, the Buggles, Atomic Rooster, and ELP, just to get things started. Considering later members of the band, you can even tie into bands like Megadeth. However, the credentials are more impressive than the music, although the first two albums (this one and the following year's Alpha) performed the best and still have managed to earn a place in rock history. This album qualifies as one of those "even if you don't like it you need to know it" just to be familiar with its contributions to the zeitgeist (my favorite example of this is Hotel California, which even Eagles haters grudgingly acknowledge as significant).
The other remarkable thing about Asia is that it is one of those weird groups that has multiple existing variations. You can either see the "original" Asia minus Steve Howe, who recently retired, or you can check out John Payne's Asia. Apparently Payne felt that contributing to the majority of Asia's output was worth more than being an "original" so fought to maintain his identity with Asia. While it's not unique (L.A. Guns, Barclay James Harvest, the Beach Boys, Queensrhyche and others have done this), it is an interesting testament to the power of a name and the identity of an individual artist.
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