Aura (Asia album)

Aura began recording in 1999 at Loco Studios located in the village of Llanhennock in Monmouthshire, Wales. The group had gotten reduced to the duo of singer-songwriter John Payne and musician Geoff Downes by this time, and they were determined to create a new sort of supergroup around Aura by bringing in multiple guest artists to collaborate with them. Examples include Tony Levin, Elliott Randall, and Chris Slade. Original member Steve Howe even featured on the songs "The Last Time" and "Free". It was produced by the band itself alongside Simon Hanhart, an audio engineer who had previously produced work by groups such as Babylon A.D., Saxon, and Whitecross. A stable line-up would eventually be established from this, with guitarist Guthrie Govan and drummer Chris Slade becoming mainstays until 2006. The lyrics for "Awake" were adapted from "The Rubaiyat" of Omar Khayyam. The lyrics for "The Longest Night" were inspired by Wilfred Owen's poem of 1918. "Ready to Go Home" was written by Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman of 10cc and appeared on Mirror Mirror (1995). Geoff Downes had mixed feelings about the album's production. He stated "It was good to start with, but I think because of the duration of the album - at the end of it we felt it had gone in a slightly different direction than we wanted it to. In hindsight, sometimes these things happen." The cover artwork was designed by Roger Dean, who had collaborated with Asia since their inception. ==Release==

Aura was originally meant to be released in August 2000, but scheduling conflicts with Recognition Records pushed it back to January 31, 2001, initially available in Japan before coming to the UK on February 12. == Reception ==

Although the sound of Aura can be described as radio-friendly, it did not perform well on the charts and is one of the group's lowest-selling studio albums. This may have been partly due to Recognition Records, which went bankrupt within a year after the album was released. Critically, Aura received generally positive reviews. Dave Ling wrote in his review for Classic Rock magazine: "Among the standouts is Ready to Go Home, a beautifully restrained track written by Andrew Gold and 10cc's Graham Gouldman. But consistency is the album's key, and Awake, You're the Stranger, The Last Time, and the yearning The Longest Night are all songs from the very top drawer. Musically, Downes and Payne have chosen their contributors well. They seem to have an intuitive awareness of which players would fit certain songs." ==Track listing==

Asia • John Payne – lead vocals, bass, guitar • Geoff Downes – keyboards Additional musicians • Neil Lockwood – backing vocals • Gary Liederman – bass "Awake" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Michael Sturgis – drums • Luis Jardim – percussion • David Grant's Gospel Choir – choir "Wherever You Are" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Chris Slade – drums "Ready to Go Home" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Tony Levin – bass • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums • Luis Jardim – percussion • David Grant's Gospel Choir – choir "The Last Time" • Steve Howe – guitars • Ian Crichton – guitars • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums • Luis Jardim – percussion "Forgive Me" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Michael Sturgis – drums • Luis Jardim – percussion "Kings of the Day" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Simon Phillips – drums • Luis Jardim – percussion "On the Coldest Day in Hell" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Michael Sturgis – drums "Free" • Steve Howe – guitars • Ian Crichton – guitars • Pat Thrall – guitars • Simon Phillips – drums '''"You're the Stranger"''' • Elliott Randall – guitars • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Michael Sturgis – drums • Luis Jardim – percussion "The Longest Night" • Guthrie Govan – guitars • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums "Aura" • Elliott Randall – guitars • Michael Sturgis – drums • Luís Jardim – percussion "Under the Gun" • Ian Crichton – guitars • Chris Slade – drums "Come Make My Day" • Ian Crichton – guitars • Chris Slade – drums "Hands of Time" • Ian Crichton – guitars • Chris Slade – drums Technical personnel • Simon Hanhart – producer, engineer, mixing engineer • Ray Staff – mastering engineer (at Whitfield Studios, London) • Roger Dean – painting, lettering • Martyn Dean – booklet design ==References==