Asia - Recollections: A Tribute To British Prog (Feat. John Payne) (2014)

John Payne, longtime lead singer of Asia Featuring John Payne, announces his new covers album, Recollections, A Tribute to British Prog, due out April 15th onCardoTunes. ‘Recollections’ sees the group reignite classic British progressive rock songs with a fresh fire and imbue each track with its own distinct stamp.

“We are very excited about this new release from the very talented Asia Featuring John Payne. These timeless classic tracks all have new life, and we believe old and new fans alike will embrace them,” says Richard Schwartz of CardoTunes.

Recollections, comes on the heels of John’s recent involvement in the Las Vegas hit show, “Raiding the Rock Vault”, which he created, wrote, and directed with Grammy Award-winning producer, David Kerschenbaum(Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Bryan Adams, Supertramp, Cat Stevens). John also serves as the musical director and producer, in addition to being a performer in the show. “Raiding the Rock Vault” is The Story of Classic Rock, which includes performances of classic anthems from the 1960’s to 1980’s performed by former members of some of the greatest rock bands in history, including: Howard Leese (Heart), Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake), Robin McAuley (MSG, Survivor), John Payne (Asia), PaulShortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot), Jay Schellen (Bad Finger, Asia), Andrew Freeman (Lynch Mob, The Offspring), and Michael T. Ross (Lita Ford).

Starting out as a Payne solo project, one by one, his band mates contributed. They tackled classics from the likes of King Crimson, Yes, Alan Parsons Project, Jethro Tull, Camel, Barclay James Harvest, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Moody Blues and UK. “I realized that my solo project included every member of the band,” says Payne. “I even played the majority of the keyboards, but it seemed logical in the end to be an Asia Featuring John Payne record.”

“This band has always been about talented and inventive players,”continues Payne. “The focus is on great musicianship with songs that have real hooks, and that’s why it was such a refreshing challenge. We’d add slight twists so we could do our own thing without ruining the originals. We wanted to show that respect.”

Alan Parsons appreciated the new version of “Eye in the Sky” so much he even lent a hand. “After we recorded it, I sent it to him,” recalls Payne. “I called him, and he told me to get to a keyboard immediately because he the loved the song. He was like, ‘There’s a harmony I always wanted to put in the song that I’d love for you to do in the chorus.’ He played me the melody over the phone, and I dropped in the harmony. It was a great moment to get the original artist’s input.”

“I’d love for people to realize what a deep heritage there is in classic rock and progressive rock coming from the UK,” Payne concludes. “It’s influenced guys from my era so much. Hopefully, a younger generation will go back and revisit those songs because of this. This is the culmination of many years of work, and a nod to my influences. I hope everyone enjoys our versions of these ‘Best of British’ gems.”