| The
Review |
Being a major Yes fan for almost
my whole life, and having never seen a Jon Anderson solo show,
I was very much looking forward to this DVD - a performance
originally recorded for XM Radio. I hoped that this DVD would
capture the essense of what one of Jon's intimate "Solo Work
in Progress" shows was like for those who attended. Unfortunately,
the producers had other ideas. What we get instead is part
live performance, part pre-recorded music, part XM infomercial,
and part visual experiment. As it is, you don't see too much
straight-forward footage of Jon performing his songs. Every
piece is given an elaborate visual presentation, some with
special effects, animation, staged scenes with actors, nature
photography, time-lapse video, etc. Actually, the whole directing
style seems to go overboard with abrupt jump cuts and erratic
changes of style.
On occasion the visuals are nice,
but more often they are distracting and seem to have little
to do with the songs...And even worse?...the commercial interuptions!!!!...Yes,
I had read about them in previous reviews, but I was holding
out hope that either the early reviews were exaggerating,
or that the offending adverts would be cut from the finished
product. As it is, the commercial breaks are still there,
and quite annoying! They appear between songs, and in at least
one or two instances, appear DURING songs! (check out the
DJ's voice speaking over the instrumental break of "Bring
of the Day". He says "Fine Tuning, the World's most interesting
music" - this is an overt plug for an XM show called "Fine
Tuning".) Also, with the choppy way that this show is edited,
it is nearly impossible to forward over the commericals without
also missing bits & pieces of Jon's songs. I personally find
the commercial breaks (as well as a few "infomercial"-like
segments where an unpleasent XM spokesman rants about the
"mediocrity" of other radio stations and the superiority of
XM) to be completely unacceptable, even insulting.
People tolerate commercials on
TV because the shows are presented to them free of charge.
But this is a DVD that Jon Anderson's fans are PAYING good
money for! Many folks (me included) buy/rent home video SPECIFICALLY
because they do not care to have their movies/shows/concerts
interrupted...What's next? Beer commercials during Yes albums???...Now
that I've got that off my chest, let's move on the one and
only reason to buy this DVD, Jon's music!...Almost all of
these pieces presented here (aside from a couple Yes/Jon &
Vangelis/solo classics) are previously-unreleased Anderson
songs, and only available on this DVD . As far as I'm concerned,
these new songs pretty well steal the show anyway - even if
most are on the short side. One standout is "Harmony", an
etheral/haunting piece that will appeal to fans of Jon's new
age music (I also think it would make a nice intro for a Yes
song..are you listening, Jon? : )
Other favorites include "Father
Sky"/"Standing Still"/"Bring on the Day" (a trio of folk-ish
tunes that segue into each other, and are flavored with some
subtle electronic sounds), "White Buffalo" (a folksy piece
that shows Jon's interest in Native American culture. Yes
diehards will notice snatches of "Footprints"/"My Eyes" incorperated
into the melody), and lastly, "This Is" (an upbeat spiritual
song that that would not be out of place at a interfaith service,
with its lyrical references to different World religions.)
As for the Yes tracks covered, the ones I like best are those
performed simply with acoustic guitar and Jon's voice (namely
"No Sommes Du Soleil", "And You and I", Your Move".) In this
bare form, we get an insight into what these songs probably
sounded like the day that Jon wrote them.
On the other hand, the melodies
& chord structures of "The Revealing" & "Your is No Disgrace"
are so different from their popular versions that, were it
not for the familar lyrics, they would likely be unrecognizable.
Yet another Yes song, "Show Me" (recently included on the
"Songs From Tsongas" DVD) features a pre-recorded piano part
from Rick Wakeman, and an excellent vocal from Jon. In fact,
Jon's voice is in prime form throughout the DVD, and I continue
to be blown away by what an amazing, one-of-a-kind instrument
he posesses. Now, as much has already been said in previous
reviews about the lectures & spititual content found here,
I guess I should weigh in, too...Although I myself am a Christian
(or 'follower of Jesus', as I prefer), I always try to be
respectful of other faiths. I sincerely believe that all the
major World religions have elements of truth, and can produce
good, loving, moral people. However, even I was a little taken
aback by Anderson's unconventional spirituality. At one point
Jon speaks of "extraterrestrial energy" in an unidentifiable
dialect (we see English subtitles.) At another point he talks
of his fascination with "the Golden Mean", a metaphysical
concept that Jon describes as "the gateway to all interdimentional
reality".
There are also two lengthy lectures
about the Golden Mean (neither by Jon) which can be found
among the special features. While I hate to make light of
anyone's sincere faith journey, perhaps all this exlains why
Rick Wakeman once said of Jon, "He is the only person working
to save this planet, who is not actually FROM this planet"
: ) ...In closing, I am rating this DVD at 3 stars, solely
for the talents and creativty of Mr. Anderson. But I must
subtract other stars because of the choppy/haphazzard production
style. The commercial jinglers and XM executives get zero
stars for showing so little respect to a true artist and his
fans.
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