Asia came out of nowhere in 1982 and became a multi-platinum supergroup, selling some five million units of their self-titled debut album. They soon fell from grace as guitarist Steve Howe, bassist and vocalist John Wetton and drummer Carl Palmer left and came back over the course of a few low-profile Asia recordings. Replacement members like guitarists Mandy Moore, Pat Thrall and Elliott Randall were creatively sidelined while the concept of Asia went through a startling metamorphosis. The only constant in Asia was and has always been keyboardist Geoffrey Downes and Roger Dean’s utopian album covers. In an attempt to keep the name and his own musical talents in the limelight, Downes teamed up with vocalist, bassist, and guitarist John Payne for five times under the Asia banner. Their third record together is an ambitious, star-studded effort called Aura, released in 2001.
A stellar supporting cast that includes Howe, Thrall, Randall, bassist Tony Levin, and drummers Simon Phillips and Chris Slade join Downes and Payne. If you’re expecting something like “Heat of The Moment,” this isn’t really going to tickle your ivories. Aura is a very mellow and unencumbered record. It represents a direction Downes was heading in since he began releasing new age solo albums in the mid-1980s. Payne’s voice is difficult to appreciate at first, but subsequent listenings support an appropriate fit.
Numbers like “Awake,” “Wherever You Are,” and especially the uplifting “Forgive Me” all showcase the chemistry and interaction that existed between the two principals. While over-the-top orchestrations like “Kings Of The Day” and “On The Coldest Day In Hell” tend to drag the record down, “Free” is a rhythmical exercise featuring some cliff-hanging guitar work from Howe, Thrall and Ian Crichton — all supported by Phillips’ diligent and distinctive brand of timekeeping. This is the kind of thunder that could have probably made the rest of the album a little more interesting.
Randall and Guthrie Govan (who, along with Slade, toured with Asia) settle into a more melodic guitar exchange on “You’re A Stranger.” The title track is a jazzy jaunt that hints at Randall and Downes’ brilliance as musicians denying themselves the opportunity to make more adventurous music. “Under The Gun” and “Come Make My Day,” the so-called “bonus tracks, do little to add much to the mix. Downes’ deep Hammond and an unrefined vocal delivery from Payne sustain “Hands Of Time.” Of all the songs, this one is the most progressive.
Aura didn’t really earn Asia their audience back or win them a whole new one. Downes made one more album with Payne before the original lineup of Asia reunited and carried on until 2013. At the time, Downes and Howe were back in Yes. Howe left, the remaining members brought in another guitarist for one more album, then Wetton passed away in 2017. More recently, various lineups with Downes have popped up. As of 2026, he reassembled a completely new lineup with a new album. Hard to say where Aura stands in the group’s storied history. Once a supergroup, Asia’s ongoing activities certainly doesn’t undermine their ability to perform and write the classiest of classic rock.
~ Shawn Perry
