asia worth listening to?

Heard of this band from music encyclopedias I have read, Just wandering what they are like and what their best albums are.

They are not 'heavy' in the slightest. They are a progressive rock band from the 80's. Their first three albums are very pop oriented. After that they started getting more progressive. They have an extensive catalog, so it really depends on the album. They've generally had two vocalists. John Wetton formerly of King Crimson is generally held as the fan favorite. However, I much prefer the material with vocalist John Payne.

They have had some of the best guitarists in their band including Steve Howe (Yes), Al Pitrelli (Widowmaker, Megadeth) and Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy/21 Guns).

Check out the self titled debut to start with and move through the catalogue. I am not familar with their later works.

Excellent band...excellent musicians...well worth checking out...start at the beginning...

If you're in the mood for some good old AOR style 80's music it's hard to go wrong with the debut album.

Good band to check out in the heat of the moment.

They also have cool cover art.

I had the first Asia album on cassette back in the day (when it was current; I was about 12 or 13 at the time) but haven't heard it in years. I liked it well enough back then I guess.

The first one is great but then they stalled until Aqua and with John Payne behind the mike were much less poppy.

I'm probably the only one on the board that loves Astra. I think it's a great 80's pop album. The worst part about it, IMO, is the cover art.

This is a band I've been wanting to check out for a while now myself. I heard one of their songs on sattelite radio and it really impressed me. It seemed more AOR than prog to me, but I liked it!

I might check out a greatest hits album or something.