Album: Arena
Artist: Asia
1996 Warner (Japan)
Re-release: 1998 Snapper Music SMM CD 522 (UK)

Band members:
Geoff Downes: keyboards (all)
John Payne: vocals (2-11, 13a), bass (2-8, 10, 11, 13a), solo guitar (3, 8, 10), acoustic guitar (5)
Elliott Randall: lead guitar (4-6, 10, 11, 13a), guitar (2, 7), acoustic guitar (1, 3)
Aziz Ibrahim: lead guitar (5), guitar (9), acoustic guitar (8), rhythm guitar (3-6, 8, 10, 11, 13a)
Michael Sturgis: drums (2-11, 13a)

with:
Hotei Tomoyasu: lead guitar (1)
Luis Jardim: percussion (1, 2, 4)


Produced by John Payne & Geoff Downes
Engineered by John Brough & John Payne
Cover Artwork: Rodney Matthews


Tracks:
1. Into The Arena (Downes/Payne/Randall/Tomoyasu) (3:00)
2. Arena (Payne/Downes) (5:16)
3. Heaven (Downes/Payne) (5:17)
4. Two Sides of the Moon (Payne/Downes) (5:22)
5. The Day Before the War (Payne/Downes) (9:09)
6. Never (Payne/Downes) (5:32)
7. Falling (Payne/Downes) (4:58)
8. Words (Downes/Payne) (5:19)
9. U Bring Me Down (Payne/Downes/Ibrahim) (7:07)
10. Tell Me Why (Payne/Downes) (5:14)
11. Turn It Around (Downes/Payne/Sturgis) (4:29)
12. Bella Nova (Payne/Downes) (3:13)

Extra tracks:
13a. Out of the Arena
13b. That Season (Downes/Payne) (4:51)


Comments:
Tracks 1 and 12 are instrumentals. 13a was a bonus track on the
Japanese release only. Performers and other details for 13a unknown.
13b was a bonus track on the Snapper re-release (Europe): it had
first been released on Archiva 2, but had originally been
considered for this album.

Ben Woolfenden is thanked in the liner notes. Liner notes for the
Snapper re-release include an essay by Dave Ling.

Downes and Payne had abandoned plans for the band to have a
permanent membership beyond themselves, but they were joined on
Arena by Sturgis, a veteran of Aria and subsequent touring, and
Ibrahim, who had played on the tail end of the Aria tour. New
to the band was Randall, formerly of Steely Dan.

Review: (***)
The John Payne-era Asia begin to find their feet, but some cheesy
keyboard work from Downes and cheesy composition from Downes and
Payne detract from some nice instrumental contributions from
various guests. Asia seemed torn between trying to be an '80s hair
band and a '90s neo-prog band. HP (18 Mar 01)