Now Spinning Music Magazine - Artist Interviews and Music Reviews · Phil Aston

Geoff Downes: Asia Reignited, Yes “Fragile” Revisited, and Keeping the Fire Burning

·33 min·2 clips

Downes calls Drama a milestone that moved Yes from the 1970s into the 1980s.

1. Now Spinning Music Magazine talks with Geoff Downes about Asia, Yes, Fragile, and John Wetton releases. 2. Phil Aston interviews Geoff Downes, who is a guest because of his roles in Yes, Asia, and Icon. 3. The episode asks why Downes is still touring, recording, and revisiting classic material at the same time. 4. Downes has just returned from Japan with Asia and says the band was invited back for next year. 5. He connects the Japan run to a tribute for John Wetton and says that response pushed him toward a revived Asia project. 6. He says Harry was discovered a couple of years ago and can deliver the Asia songs in a strong way. 7. Downes also talks about the upcoming UK Yes dates built around Fragile played in its entirety. 8. He calls Fragile an iconic album and notes that it was the first Yes album with Rick Wakeman. 9. He places Fragile inside the early 1970s Yes sequence that led to Close to the Edge and Tales from Topographic. 10. He says he was studying Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock at music college when he moved from jazz rock back into Yes. 11. Downes describes joining Yes after being part of the Buggles and says MTV bookended that era with its first and last video. 12. He says Drama moved Yes from the 1970s into the 1980s and gave the band a more contemporary sound. 13. He points to Machine Messiah as a very different Yes track because it replaced rustic imagery with pylons and technology. 14. He says the backlash around his arrival was understandable because two fifths of the classic lineup had been replaced. 15. Downes says he was effectively the fourth keyboard player, so he took less of the criticism than Trevor Horn. 16. He says Asia in Asia involved a huge Japanese fan base, a same-setlist challenge, and satellite time that was expensive and limited. 17. He explains that Live in England came from the John Wetton tribute and required three nights at Trading Boundaries plus 35 tracks. 18. Downes says some Asia songs on that release had never been played live before and that the audience response was warm. 19. The interview is conversational and detailed, with Phil Aston drawing out career history, album choices, and tour logistics. 20. Listeners who follow Yes, Asia, or 1970s-to-1980s prog history will get the most from this discussion.

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