Asoka – Asoka ( 1971 Sweeden Prog Rock ) Full Album

”Asoka” is one of the most sought-after Swedish heavy rock albums, and needless to say one of the most expensive as far as the original Sonet pressings go. Patrik Erixson had previously played drums for the excellent Taste of Blues but shifted to vocals when joining Take Off who soon changed their name to Asoka. So, what else is there about their only proper album, except being heavy and expensive? Frankly, not much. Yes, we get crossfiring guitars, loud organs, hard driving drumming, heavy riffing and some over-the top jamming, but if you want good songs to channel the energy, there's not much for you here. And Patrik Erixson shouldn't have left his drum stool – his singing voice is thin and out of place. That means Asoka suffers the same fate as Epizootic – a whole lot of collector wallet draining moves and gestures but very little substance. When Mellotronen reissued the album on CD in 2005, they added an album's worth of archival material as bonus tracks, including a couple of rare ones from Taste of Blues and some recorded while the band was still called Take Off. The unreleased portion was also released separately on vinyl as ”Take Off”. It doesn't do anything to better the original album. And as often the case with albums of this kind, it has mostly substandard sonics. But as we all know, money talks. Guitarist Robert Larsson and keyboard player Claes Eriksson joined Lotus as Asoka disbanded in 1973 or possibly 1974. A reincarnated Asoka has released three albums since 2007.( FROM The Swedish Prog Blog ) Psykfoni För Ekogitarr Och Poporkester (Part 1) 00:00 Ataraxia 02:20 Leave Me 05:48 Svensson Blues 09:23 1975 12:51 If You Feel 16:39 Tvivlaren 21:04 I'm Trying 25:42 Psykfoni För Ekogitarr Och Poporkester (Part 2) 31:57 Bass – Tjobbe Bengtson* Drums – Daffy Bengtson* Guitar – Robban Larsson* Piano, Organ, Violin – Claes Ericsson Steel Guitar, Recorded By – Bosse Winberg Vocals, Percussion – Patrik Erixson