Union Live is here

The long-awaited and much-delayed "Union Live" boxset is now out, and I have a copy in front of me now. Much to my surprise, Rob Ayling of Gonzo/Voiceprint kindly sent me a copy. I say much to my surprise because I've frequently been rude about the quality of Voiceprint releases before now!

The Union tour was an iconic one for fans generally (and my first time seeing Yes). The surprise was that a live release did not straight away. However, one did emerge, albeit one only available in Japan, first on LaserDisc (if you remember those) and then on DVD. This was taken from the final North American date (8 Aug 1991) on the Union tour, and the sixth to last date of the whole tour: the Shoreline Ampitheater in Mountain View, California. However, the bad news, apart from the release only coming out in Japan, was that this wasn't a full show (only about two thirds of the set) and far from being their best performance.

Nevertheless, the Japanese release was much sought after and Internet ordering thankfully made it reasonably accessible if you knew where to look. I've had a copy for many years and I know many other Yes fans have too. Still, one can understand why there were long plans mooted for a more general re-release of the recording.

Meanwhile, there were two other video recordings going around in trading circles, both full sets of better shows. The 9 May Denver show was professionally shot, rumoured to be at Rabin's behest, although the bootleg version is some way from being pristine recording quality. Then there's a video of the opening tour date (9 April, Pensacola, Florida) shot from the audience.

Gonzo have now re-released the Mountain View material, and if you've got the Japanese release, this is exactly the same. This limited edition 2DVD/2CD boxset has a 1 hour 58 minute DVD with that material, with the two CDs containing the same again in audio-only form. Release details are unclear, but it appears that a single DVD release and a 2CD release will follow at some point.

But it's the second bonus DVD where all the interest lies. Gonzo have included both the Denver and Pensacola shows. I don't know what attempts were made to get master tapes or to clean up the source material, or how the versions here compare with the versions circulating in trading circles. But what we get, as the Gonzo ordering website makes very clear, are very much bootleg-quality. It would be difficult to release these two shows on their own, so Gonzo have sensibly combined the Mountain View show with these two bootlegs as bonuses.

So, what does bootleg-quality mean? Well, both are watchable. Denver (2 hours 43 minutes) is like a second-generation copy of an off-air VHS, if you can imagine that. It was professionally filmed, although the video editing isn't always great – perhaps suggesting not many cameras were involved. The sound is OK: there are occasional glitches, but the main problem is a mix with very little bass. The amateur camera work on the Pensacola show (3 hours) makes it look very different, shaking all the time as it does, yet actually the audio quality is a bit better than for Denver. Both Denver and Pensacola are also 'in the round' compared to the normal stage arrangement of Mountain View.

The bonus DVD also has a selection of audio tracks. There are three Mountain View songs omitted from the video, but here as 5.1 mixes: "And You and I", "Shock to the System" and "Lift Me Up". Then there are also stereo soundboard recordings of "And You and I" and "Shock to the System" (from 29 Jun 1991 London) and the drum duet and "Changes" (from 24 Jul 1991 Burgettstown, US). These are some real gems and make you wonder if all of these shows exist in audio form.

The boxset also includes a reproduction of the tour programme, which is nice but, having been shrunk in size, fairly eye-straining to read. You also get a replica stage pass and stage crew sticker, which sort of rattle around and you'll spend forever worrying you're going to lose them!

The multiple shows mostly had the same set, but there are some differences, as the table below tries to summarise.

Track	Mountain View (video) - DVD 1	Mountain View (audio) - CD tracks, or audio on DVD 2	Pensacola - DVD 2	Denver - DVD 2	additional DVD 2 audio tracks
Intro: Firebird Suite	1	1/1	1	1a
Yours is No Disgrace	2	1/2	2	1b
Rhythm of Love	3	1/3	3	2
City of Love	-	-	4	-
Heart of the Sunrise	4	1/4	5	4
Howe solo (usually Clap/Mood for a Day)	5	1/5	6 ("Leaves of Green"), 7 ("Concerto in D/Clap")	5
Make It Easy/Owner of a Lonely Heart	6	1/6	8	6
And You and I	-	bonus DVD	9	7	29 Jun 1991
Drum Duet	-	-	10	8	24 Jul 1991
Hold On	-	-	11	9
Shock to the System		bonus DVD	12	3	29 Jun 1991
I've Seen All Good People	7	1/7	-	10
Solly's Beard	8	2/1	13	12
Saving My Heart	9	2/2	-	-
Changes	-	-	14	11 (inc. Kaye solo)	24 Jul 1991
Take the Water to the Mountain	-	-	15	-
Soon	-	-	16	-
Long Distance Runaround	-	-	17	13
Whitefish	10a	2/3a	18	14a
Amazing Grace	10b	2/3b	19	14b
Lift Me Up	-	bonus DVD	20	15
Wakeman solo	11	2/4	21	16
Awaken	12	2/5	22	17
Roundabout	13	2/6	23	18
Starship Trooper	-	-	24	-