| The
Review |
The latest YES DVD was recorded
on their 35th anniversary tour and is a full show's worth
of classic Yes tunes live. Yes has recently been preoccupied
with the DVD medium and had been flooding the market with
DVDs since the decade began, the other discs being a stellar
YES SYMPHONIC, the nostalgia-toting YESSPEAK and the weaker
YES ACOUSTIC. This one is more of the same but probably one
of the more enjoyable ones, capturing the most durable of
the 70's lineups in all their professional and melodic rocking
glory.***
As Yes hasn't really done anything
but endless reunion tours since the return of their most beloved
keyboardist Rick Wakeman, one may be inclined to dismiss this
disc as more of the same or even lose track of how many DVDs
they have now. But although they haven't released a new album
since 2001's 'MAGNIFICATION', they are still pretty musically
alive on this disc. As for 'more of the same' set, they at
least shake up the set list a little this time. And although
they seem to dwell in the hallowed halls of the memory of
their 70's heyday, they do a bit more with which old tracks
they dropped and which ones they ressurrected. A nostalgia
show, yes, but still severely entertaining.***
The standards are obligatory, I
suppose. ALL GOOD PEOPLE, AND YOU AND I, and STARSHIP TROOPER
are omnipresent as expected. However, ROUNDABOUT and OWNER
OF A LONELY HEART have been thankfully bumped to the acoustic
set, giving a fresh slant on those two road weary tracks.
Some unexpected moments up the enjoyment factor considerably:
two Peter Banks era tracks resurface- SWEET DREAMS and a shocker
EVERY LITTLE THING from the usually untouched first album.
There is MIND DRIVE from the 90's, though I would have prefered
ENDLESS DREAM, a superior YES epic from the 90's. Odd how
MIND DRIVE is played as a part 1 & 2, sandwiching two more
deep cuts: SOUTH SIDE OF THE SKY, which with Alan White's
drumming makes it sound like it could have been on RELAYER
than on FRAGILE, and the beautiful and angelic TURN OF THE
CENTURY, one of the defining moments of progressive rock of
the 70's era. Another oddity is THE MEETING, a Wakeman/Anderson
duet which was on the 1989 ABWH album. Hey, if they can play
that, why not something from DRAMA? Just askin'. But it's
good not to hear some of the same tracks from other DVDs like
SIBERIAN KHATRU, CLAP and HEART OF THE SUNRISE in favor of
other gems.***
The acoustic set is a good chance
to hear a more intimate, 'club'-styled YES which doesn't get
much a chance to be heard too often. Of these, WONDEROUS STORIES
gets a good nod, and Steve Howe's solo SECOND INITIAL is refreshing
instead of CLAP. As for epics, YES usually use one of their
side-long epic songs as a showcase piece. No CLOSE TO THE
EDGE or AWAKEN this time. That spot goes to a powerful RITUAL
instead, with Chris Squire in full bass guitar glory. The
only track that doesn't really work here is RHYTHM OF LOVE,
an 80's gem which sounds forced and weak here. Wakeman's synths
make it sound corny and cheesy, and Howe's heart is clearly
not in it. Trevor Rabin always helped take the 70's material
into a new dimension during his 1983-94 tenure, a shame that
Yes has lost a little of the ability to bring the 80's material
to life in return.***
As for extras, not too much. No
band interviews this time, though there is a Roger Dean interview.
Great sound and picture on this 2-disc set, a fine viewing
if you don't mind how old these guys are starting to appear.
Nothing groundbreaking, just a solid 2+ hours of good ol'
YES tunes. Bring on the next YES DVD, hopfully a rereleased
9012LIVE.
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