Archiva Vol. 2

''Archiva'' is a two-volume collection of out-takes and previously unreleased tracks by British progressive rock band Asia. The volume two, designated as ''Archiva 2'', was released on 17 September 1996 by Resurgence.

Background

In late 1995, Asia had completed work on their sixth studio album, ''Arena''. On 1 January 1996, when the group returned from the holidays to their recording studio, Electric Palace, in London, they found that a water pipe had burst and had destroyed hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of equipment. Despite the accident, a box of old tapes with a large number of archived tracks survived. These tracks, which had failed to make the previous three albums, were quickly considered for a release.

Production

''Archiva 2'' was compiled from leftover tracks, which were recorded at various locations from 1988 to 1996. The album was mixed at Loco Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1996 by keyboard player Geoff Downes and vocalist/bassist John Payne. Chris Thorpe was responsible for the mastering. The cover artwork was designed by Rodney Matthews, who had also created the covers for ''Aqua'' and ''Arena'', and features the Asia logotype designed by Roger Dean.

Composition

"Obsession"

"Obsession" was composed by Payne and Steve Rodford in November 1991 and was recorded at Advision Studios in Brighton, England, for inclusion on ''Aqua''. However, it was left out from the album due to an abundance of tracks.

"Moon Under the Water"

"Moon Under the Water" was written by Downes and Johnny Warman in March 1988 and was one of the tracks recorded by the duo in the basement of Advision Studios in London from 1988 to 1989. It was first released on Downes' album ''Vox Humana'' (1992) with Steve Overland on lead vocals.

"Love Like the Video"

"Love Like the Video" was written by Payne and Andy Nye in March 1987 and was recorded at Nye's home studio.

"Don't Come to Me"

"Don't Come to Me" is Canadian musician Eddie Schwartz's song from his album ''Public Life'' (1984). It was covered by Asia in May 1995 for inclusion on ''Arena'', but was left over.

"The Smoke That Thunders"

Co-written by Carl Palmer, "The Smoke That Thunders" was the first track recorded in March 1995 at Electric Palace Studios in London for ''Arena''. Because of Palmer's tight schedule, he was not able to play on it, so the drums were sampled from ''Aqua'' and overdubbed in his style.

"Satellite Blues"

"Satellite Blues" was composed by Downes and Warman in September 1988 and was recorded at Advision Studios in London. Like "Moon Under the Water", it was first released on Downes' album ''Vox Humana'' with Warman on lead vocals. A version with Payne on lead vocals was done near the end of 1988.

"Showdown"

"Showdown" is a hit song, which was composed by Jeff Lynne and appeared on the U.S. edition of Electric Light Orchestra album ''On the Third Day'' (1973). It was covered by Asia in June 1995 for ''Arena'', but was dropped.

"That Season"

"That Season" is another ''Arena'' out-take. It was written by Downes and Payne in June 1995 and was recorded at Electric Palace Studios. The song was left out from the album at the last minute due to the time factor.

"Can't Tell These Walls"

"Can't Tell These Walls" was written by Payne and Nye and was recorded at Nye's home studio.

"The Higher You Climb"

"The Higher You Climb" was composed by Downes, Warman and Ben Woolfenden in July 1988 and was recorded at Advision Studios in London. It had originally Max Bacon on lead vocals.

"Right to Cry"

"Right to Cry" is another ''Arena'' out-take. It was written by Downes and Payne in May 1995 and was recorded at Electric Palace Studios. The song was shelved because the group felt it was very similar in style to several other tracks.

"Armenia"

"Armenia" was spawned as an extra track for '' The Earthquake Album'' (1990) but was never used. It was written by Downes and Payne in January 1990 and was recorded at Loco Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1996.

2005 Inside Out Music remastered edition

As a part of series of remastered and expanded editions, Inside Out Music re-released ''Archiva'' as a combined two-disc set, featuring bonus tracks. The digital remastering was completed by Peter van 't Riet. The volume two was expanded by the single edit of "Little Rich Boy" and an ethnic mix of "Turn It Around".

Track listing

Personnel

Asia :
* Geoff Downes – keyboards, drum programming (tracks 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12); producer, mixing engineer
* John Payne – lead vocals, backing vocals, bass, guitar (tracks 3–9); producer, mixing engineer

Guest musicians :
* Anthony Glynne – guitar (track 1)
* Al Pitrelli – guitar (track 1)
* Adrian Dessent – guitar (track 6)
* Elliott Randall – guitar (track 8)
* Scott Gorham – guitar (track 10)
* Nigel Glockler – drums (track 1)
* Trevor Thornton – drums (track 2)
* Carl Palmer – drums (track 5)
* Preston Hayman – drums (track 6)
* Michael Sturgis – drums (track 10)
* Andy Nye – keyboards and drum programming (tracks 3, 9)
* Luis Jardim – percussion (track 8)

Technical personnel

* Chris Thorpe – mastering engineer
* Peter van 't Riet – 2005 digital remastering
* Rodney Matthews – cover illustration
* Roger Dean – Asia logotype

References

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Asia (band) albums
1996 compilation albums
Albums produced by Geoff Downes
Albums produced by John Payne (singer)
Albums with cover art by Rodney Matthews