What does it sound like?:
An oddity, this. It’s a nice little box containing two CDs of the 2009 Yes concerts in Lyon, coupled with four “new” studio tracks. This is the line up with Rick’s son Oliver Wakeman on keys and Benoit David covering for Jon Anderson plus Howe/Squire/White.
The live stuff first. The setlist is a full career review so you get “Yours is no disgrace” as well as “Owner of a lonely heart”. The band play at the level you’d expect, Oliver W is a top notch keyboard player and sounds spookily like his old man especially on piano. Steve Howe is particularly on fire, his signature guitar parts all present and correct and as ever a total virtuoso on electric and acoustic both (“Corkscrew” from his “Turbulence” solo album is a highlight for me). Annoyingly the mix leaves Chris Squire somewhat buried which is a shame as I always thought he was Yes’s secret weapon, his high neck metallic clanking driving the sound a decade before Hooky thought it was a good idea to appropriate. This sort of line up refresh stands and falls on the vocals, and it must be said Benoit David delivers on every level – you would be easily forgiven for not realising it’s not Jon Anderson though once you are aware, the absence of those Accrington Northern vowels is obvious.
The set is spoiled for me somewhat by everything being slightly too slow – I haven’t clocked the BPM but everything sounds at a slightly statelier pace than originally which may be due to elderly gents rocking out, or shall we say savouring the moment.
The “new” tracks were song writing tapes which never made it onto a finished album exhumed by Oliver Wakeman a few years later, tidied up, bits added and hey presto four new Yes tracks (well, strictly speaking one is a Wakeman/David effort but they have the same roost). What are they like? Well, they are decent songs and applying Tig’s 6 listens rule I like them, but…but…. they don’t really sound like Yes. They’re more like an 80s power ballad band – big synths, beefy riffs etc. Not at all unpleasant, but not essential to this fan. Worth a lis, shall we say.
What does it all *mean*?
Well, to me it means those classic Yes songs were well written as they still pack a punch after all this time, don’t sound dated and I still play air keyboards to them. Not a chance of youth cut through of course but I doubt they’re the intended audience forthis set. It’s an odd package with the new stuff and a re-release but not any less enjoyable for it.
Goes well with…
In this case a roaring fire and the threat of the first snow of the winter outside. Brrrrr.
Release Date:
25/10/19
Might suit people who like…
Umm, Yes, prog, classic rock.
Vincent says
I took my late son to this one when he was 13. He enjoyed it and said the singer was channelling James Brown (not quite, but Benoit David used to do a twirly dance like some variant on hippy responses to the ‘Dead). I recall thinking the tempo of Yes was wrong, and that the lighting guy was missing his cues at that show. The loss of Chris Squire, in retrospect, has been catastrophic. Even though the new bassists are very good, and Steve Howe remains terrific, the personality of the band has been compromised.
eddie g says
I love Yes but, like with most bands, I think they have their historical/classic era and- for me anyway (regardless of the quality of the music) that era ended with ‘Relayer’. Similarly… Led Zep ended with ‘Physical Graffiti’, Purple ended with ‘Made in Japan’ and King Crimson, controversially, ended after their debut…
Dives for cover.
Twang says
I’d agree apart from Purple who were brilliant up to and including “Come taste the band”.
Bargepole says
Benoit David was a decent singer, very Anderson soundalike – shame his tenure in the band was so short really. Not keen on the four new studio tracks – reminiscent of what was to come on the dire Heaven and Earth set, surely their worst album.
Vincent says
Totally, Barge. I can’t imagine what was going on there in terms of quality control. “Heaven and Earth” makes “Open Your Eyes” look like “Relayer”. I think it comes down to this: there are many conservative minds in (progressive) fandom who buy everything from an act that had a brief creative phase but thereafter hit the skids. the new members want to make their contribution to the album but lack the chops and feel needed for decent material.
Here, the new product must be called “Yes” as solo product doesn’t sell so well. Yes are now Steve Howe plus ringers (Geoff Downes is a weak keyboard player for the task, the others are facsimiles, Alan White is largely covered by a substitute). Steve Howe can still play whatever he likes, but performing as Yes means he plays theatres rather than pubs because of berks who buy “Heaven and Earth” or whatever twinkly wet nonsense Jon Anderson has produced. Steve Howe would be more satisfied musically with a different configuration of the elements, but is trapped by expedience.
Mike_H says
Steve Howe has other projects worth a listen, but Yes (or in my personal opinion No, Not Any More) is where he makes the money to finance them.
duco01 says
I’m a fan of Yes from, say … The Yes Album to Going for the One. Don’t like what I’ve heard of the later stuff.
I have 3 live Yes albums:
Yessongs
Yesshows
Keys to Ascension vol. 1
Are there any other live sets that I should get?
I was thinking of getting that 2CD “Progeny: Highlights from Seventy-Two”, but it just seemed a bit too similar to “Yessongs”…
Chrisf says
I quite like the Live At Montreaux 2003 album, which has the full classic line up.
Also have a soft spot for the Symphonic Live (2001 I think) – it’s almost classic line up (no Wakeman) along with full orchestra. It’s a bit overblown, but still enjoyable.
Vincent says
it’s Yes. What’s wrong with “overblown”?
Bargepole says
Songs From Tsongas is a good later period show with the classic lineup and has an impressive version of Mind Drive.
Progeny is a good set but as you say is very similar to Yessongs – the band are on top form though.
Bargepole says
Incidentally I see the 2003 Glastonbury set has recently been released on CD too.
Keys to Ascension vol 2 is also worth a listen and has some interesting studio material on it – really there could have been a decent studio album at the time if they’d combined it with the two long pieces on KTA1 although all were subsequently released much later almost as an afterthought as KeysStudio.
Neil Jung says
I love Yessongs and listened to Progeny. It was almost exactly the same and where different just sounded wrong. Try on Spotify. I don’t think you’ll be impressed.
Tiggerlion says
Yessongs lasts nearly 130 minutes but the six and a half minutes of Henry VIII put me off the whole thing. Go figure.
Cozzer says
On the BPM issue … this has been bugging me for about 15 years or more. They seemed to drop the tempo around 2004 (the last tour with Anderson and Wakeman IIRC). Tracks like Going For The One seemed ponderous in comparison with their heyday. Just listen to said track on Yesshows to hear what I mean.
I’ve always believed the issue to be Howe. Whereas he was lightning quick in the 1970s, he seemed to be playing ‘behind the beat’ from the mid noughties … apart from when he played solo acoustic pieces when normal service was resumed. Confused? Yes, me too! I did wonder if he had decided to adopt the full jazz lounge playing style .. but this might be the equivalent of a musical ‘tin hat’ conspiracy theory.
It is a real puzzler and if I’m honest is the main driver for me stopping seeing them. I can put up with an Anderson soundalike but I cringe when I hear them play at three quarter speed.
Twang says
Glad it’s not just me then.
Neil Jung says
It’s a general criticism that they’ve been playing too slow. I last saw them on the Magnification tour, which was fine. I see they are touring Relayer next. I can’t see them playing Gates Of Delerium at the right speed!
Colin H says
I contributed a couple of off-airs to a forthcoming Yes at the BBC box recently. I’m afraid I don’t see the appeal at all!
Mike_H says
With you there, Colin. I have The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge, but the last time I bothered playing any of them is sometime in the mists of long ago. I don’t dislike them, I’m just a bit indifferent to them.