Monday 13 August 2018

Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2018?

I closed this poll a bit early because the news site is taking a short summer break, so just 43 votes, but the results had mostly stabilised.

1. Peter Banks: Be Well, Be Safe, Be Lucky... The Anthology (w/ Kaye, Sherwood): 17 votes (40%)
2. The Sea Within: The Sea Within (w/ Anderson): 12 votes (28%)
3= John Holden: Capture Light (w/ Sherwood, O Wakeman): 6 votes (14%)
3= Moraz & Friends: Random Kingdom: 6 votes (14%)
5. Rick Wakeman: Live Portraits: 2 votes (5%)
6. Derek Smalls: Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing) (w/ R Wakeman): 0 votes (0%)

A good win for the Pete Banks anthology, which included a number of previously unreleased tracks. Definitely a recommended release and at a budget price. I am also enjoying the runner-up, The Sea Within, with Tom Brislin teaming up with Roine Stolt, Marco Minnemann and others, plus a brief guest vocal from Anderson. I actually voted for equal third placed Capture Light, John Holden's great debut album, which I've talked about previously.

I've not heard Random Kingdom, although it has had good reviews. It wasn't a great result for Rick Wakeman. Live Portraits is an oddly low-key release that hasn't received much attention, despite the big marketing push for Piano Portraits and Piano Odyssey. The Spinal Tap spin-off album from 'Derek Smalls' (actor Harry Shearer) I have heard and is pretty good for what is meant to be comedy.

All in all, while fewer releases than either half of 2017, a strong set of releases. Let's see what the rest of the year brings. My three tips for the period so far would be Harmony in Diversity's The Complete Recordings, the debut album from Kilty Town (Wakeman guests) and the Trevor Horn project, The Eighties Reimagined.

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