Asia: Fantasia Live in Tokyo on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Performance
I have to admit upfront that reviewing this Asia BD is one of the few times that I was musically stumped. I don't mean to brag, but being a lifelong music fanatic and having a vast collection of titles from across all genres, it is rare that I come across any artists that I do not know much about. The band itself was formed in the early-1980's out of the remnants of other 1970's Progressive Rock and New Wave bands, such as Yes, King Crimson, and The Buggles, right as MTV was launching.
The concert captured here reunites the original lineup and celebrates the 25th anniversary of the band's eponymous debut album. That debut album would go on to sit in the Number 1 spot on the Billboard Album Chart for 9 weeks, 7 of those consecutively, and was the most successful debut album of all time. Asia was, in essence, the first supergroup of the 1980's, with their roots in the Prog-Rock era, but looking forward to the Hair Metal bands that would come to dominate the 80's airwaves.
Of course, I knew of Asia, and I figured that once I put on the disc that I was bound to hear some songs that I was familiar with, but just didn't know it was Asia. Sure enough, there were songs that were familiar to my ears, surprisingly, however, most of the numbers that caught my ears were songs from the members' other gigs. Steve Howe's "Roundabout," from his Yes days, John Wetton's "In the Court of the Crimson King" from (what else?) King Crimson and, of course, Geoffrey Downes' "Video Killed the Radio Star," from his days in The Buggles, which also had the honor of being the first video to ever be played on MTV were among the familiar tunes the band burned up in Tokyo.
Closing out the set was the one Asia song I actually recognized, "Heat of the Moment" -- and a rousing finale it was, getting the fans off their feet, the band finished up with energy and panache.
The Picture
Originally captured in high definition,
Fantasia Live in Tokyo on Blu-ray Disc comes in a fine 1080i/60 AVC/MPEG-4 encoding that is detailed with strong, natural flesh tones and no hints of macroblocking when those stage lights starts flashing. The band's stark stage set with its solid black background is reproduced perfectly here, with deep, inky and stable black levels, whilst video noise is minimal.
The Sound
Fantasia Live in Tokyo suffers from such flawed audio reproduction one wonders how it could be released in such a manner. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) lossless option is so horrendously unbalanced that the keyboards are disproportionately emphasized, drowning out just about everything else in the mix. Midrange frequencies are tweaked, causing everything to sound boxy, and muddy; separation is indistinct, vocals are drowned out and low frequencies are nearly nonexistent.
The LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit) mix restores some equilibrium (and sanity) to the sound, bringing the keyboards and vocals back into balance, mixing the drums more distinctly and allowing for a subtle increase in low frequency extension, but there are still problems with instrumental separation.
There is also a Dolby Digital 5.1 option available.
The Extras
The sole extra offered herein comes in the form of a rather lengthy featurette that includes in-depth interviews with each member of the band. It is in high definition and a lot of information can be gleaned here, so it is not to be missed by any fans of this supergroup.
Final Thoughts
Kicking off the 1980's with a grand debut album, this supergroup of well-known musicians from the 70's briefly ruled the charts, then quickly fizzled, but their music has endured with a lasting legacy and following. This Blu-ray captures these skilled veterans in Tokyo ripping through songs from all facets of their careers. Its excellent picture quality is, sadly, saddled with horrendous sound. Because of this, I can only recommend this as a rental to anyone but the most ardent fans of these rockers.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Performers: Asia
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit), Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
- Studio: Eagle Rock Ent
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: March 31, 2009
- List Price: $24.98
- Extras:
