| The
Review |
Only three years on from their last
live 'oldies' live set, 'Keys To Ascension 2', and Yes is
back with yet another tired rendition of Roundabout. The sound
mixing is a definate sore point here, with the audience too
loud and the tunes often sounding dull around the edges. By
now one has heard enough live versions of Roundabout, All
Good People, And You And I and Heart Of The Sunrise(all from
the often overrated 'Classic Yes' period) to render one sick
of them for life. The performances are decent, but expected.
Yes needs to try the unexpected again. 'Perpetual Change'
is a nice addition, however, and hasn't been heard live since
their heyday. 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' finally makes its
first appearance on a live Yes album here- this version is
energetic enough. 'Cinema', on the other hand, is a bit sloppy.
Since sadly there never came to be a full live album of the
90125/Generator/Talk version of Yes, so these versions will
have to do for now. Left off of this set unfortunately is
'Hearts', which would have sounded interesting with Howe and
Sherwood handling the Trevor Rabin department. 'Hearts', guys!
Not another 'All Good People'! 'Awaken' is an improvement
over the sloppy version found on K2A2', while both 'Ritual'
and 'Time and A Word' appear in edited form- those could have
been left off in favor of 'Hearts' instead. The plus side
is that a decent helping of new music from their last album,
'The Ladder'(their best since 1994's 'Talk') is present. Although
these are performed true to the originals with little variation,
it is good that music from this incaration of Yes has been
recorded for posterity.
The best thing to have done was
release a live album of mostly Ladder material with both 'Gates..'
and 'Ritual' from this year's 'Masterworks' tour, instead
of old warhorses like Roundabout. With Billy Sherwood's departure
and Yes performing 'Masterworks'(greatest hits) tours, it
seems unlikely that the next live album will be anything but
another set of regurgitated Classic Yes favorites for the
old timers who still fondle and caress their gatefold vinyl
albums, remembering the 'good ol' days' with a tear in their
eye. Talk of a 'Tales 2' type follow-up to The Ladder ensues,
and it seems as though Yes are about to follow their past-oriented
fans down into memory lane oblivion to become another Moody
Blues. It seems the future of Yes is unfortunately their past,
but if there is anything certain, it will no doubt be perpetual
change. three and a half stars.
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