tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875517042676168392024-03-05T05:02:37.784-08:00BlogdegezouA blog about Yes and prog rock in general; an accompaniment to the Where Are They Now? websiteHenry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-81069122204305544782023-12-18T06:02:00.000-08:002024-01-28T11:05:44.155-08:002023 in review: Yes, solo projects and more<p>I wanted to look back on 2023, a surprisingly busy year for Yes, its current and past members. But I wanted to do something different, so I thought to review the Yes members/alumni on four dimensions: <i>workload</i>, <i>nostalgia</i>, <i>commercial success</i>, and <i>quality</i>.</p><p>Some rules first. I'm just looking at new releases. I'm not considering archival releases here. I'm only considering active Yes members and alumni. Bruford has retired from musical performance. He did play on one song at the John Wetton tribute show, but that's all, so I'm not covering him. Tony Kaye is semi-retired. He is reportedly working on a new Circa album, but he's released nothing this year and done no live shows, so I’ve omitted him. Igor Khoroshev, last we knew, remains active doing sessions, but I’ve not seen anything from him this year, so he’s also excluded.</p><p>This is just looking at 2023, a snapshot. A musician may surprise us with their 2024 output, or be resting on their laurels after a successful 2022.</p><p><br /></p><p>WORKLOAD</p><p>For workload or productivity, I'm considering live shows and releases.</p><p>Album releases in a year aren’t the best indicator of productivity in a year given the lead times to release. For example, Downes released <b>Celestial Songs</b> this year, but recording was completed in April 2022, with the release delayed. Likewise, Rabin released <b>Rio</b>, but he had been working on that for some years. He did very little work on it in 2023. Others (<i>e.g.</i>, Oliver Wakeman, Jon Anderson) have been working on recordings this year that won't be out until later. Nonetheless, releases are the easiest thing to count, so that's what I've counted!</p><p><br /></p><p>NOSTALGIA</p><p>A recurrent discussion around older acts is the tension between playing the old songs and making new music. Thus, I suggest a nostalgia quotient. This is based on two factors. Firstly, did live set lists focus on old songs or new material. Secondly, did the artist release new material, or at least new versions of old material, or nothing at all. </p><p><br /></p><p>COMMERCIAL SUCCESS</p><p>We sometimes pay little attention to commercial success. It can even be seen as shameful, a distraction from true art! And if you like an album or show, why does it matter how many other people do? Except it does matter. At least, if not enough other people like something, there won't be another album or tour.</p><p>I would like to consider album and ticket sales, but those are rarely available. We don't get data on album sales, but we can look at chart statistics, if the album charted. Likewise, we don't see ticket sales data, but we can at least track the size of venues booked.</p><p><br /></p><p>QUALITY</p><p>This is, of course, wholly subjective, but I'm going to give you my opinions. You may have your own, of course. </p><p>OK, everyone clear what we're doing? Then let's start. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><i>WORKLOAD</i></b>, approximately from least to most</p><p><i>Patrick Moraz</i>: 1 show, no material released. Moraz played a solo show at ProgStock 2023.</p><p><i>Oliver Wakeman</i>: 1 show, 3 songs released. Oliver organised and played at the Other Coronation Concert with his dad Rick. He appears on 2 tracks of Carrie Martin's <b>Evergreen</b> and the "Lost in the Wild Wood" single by Rodney Matthews and Friends. I don't think this reflects a lack of work ethic on Oliver's part. He has recorded a new album, out in the new year, and I expect his live schedule reflects a lack of opportunity! He is not as well established a musician as others on this list. I suspect he would have been happy to play dozens of shows this year, but he’s not getting those kinds of offers.</p><p><i>Jon Anderson</i>: 24 shows, 2 songs released. Anderson had two tours this year, a US leg with the Band Geeks (12 dates) and a European tour with the Paul Green Rock Academy (11 dates). There was also the Chagall student show, making 24 dates in total, but three different set lists. He had no album releases, but he did share some songs on social media. I think there were two new in the year: "We Are We Are" and "Realization Morning Temple". It appears he has been working on new recordings, on <b>1000 Hands: Chapter Two</b> earlier in the year and an album with the Geeks later in the year, but I'm not counting chickens that haven't hatched yet.</p><p><i>Rick Wakeman</i>: ~28 shows, 3 songs released. I'm counting <b>A Gallery of the Imagination</b> as a late 2022 release as it was available on a limited scale in 2022, albeit general release only came this year. In terms of 2023 releases, he's just got a few guest appearances: one track each with Ann-Margret, on <b>Meddle Reimagined</b>, and with the Fusion Syndicate. In terms of live work, he played two nights with the English Rock Ensemble (with different sets). He had one-off shows in April, May, July and November, and two in December, and appeared at the John Wetton tribute show. He had a US solo tour with 17 dates + a cruise appearance.</p><p><i>Jay Schellen</i>: 27 shows, 1 album released. Schellen played 26 dates on Yes's tour (excluding the two cancelled shows) and played on Yes's <b>Mirror to the Sky</b>. He also appeared at the John Wetton tribute show.</p><p><i>Trevor Rabin</i>: no shows, ~2 albums and 1 additional song released. Rabin released <b>Rio</b> this year. There was also <b>National Treasure: Edge of History (Original Series Soundtrack)</b> released back in January. That contains 30 tracks: 15 are credited to Rabin and 1 to Rabin and Paul Linford. He also did the theme tune for "Digman" and some string arrangements for a Joe Bonamassa live show in August. You can debate how to weight releases versus live shows in this list. Rabin is top 3 in releases for the year, but at the bottom for live work. One can also account for musician's roles in a project, <i>e.g.</i> Rabin doing almost everything on <b>Rio</b>, versus Schellen just drumming on <b>Mirror to the Sky</b>.</p><p><i>Billy Sherwood</i>: 27 shows, 1 album and an additional 6 songs released. Sherwood's tally tracks Schellen's but with the addition of some guest appearances: 3 tracks on Kurt Michaels' <b>Stones from the Garden</b>, two standalone tracks with Cameron Carpenter, and 1 track on Laughing Stock's <b>Songs for the Future</b>.</p><p><i>Steve Howe</i>: 26 dates, 2 albums released (plus a remix album). As well as his work in Yes, Howe also released <b>Motif, Volume 2</b>. While I'm not including archival releases, Howe did also lead on the Tomorrow release, <b>Permanent Dream</b>, that involved substantial remixing.</p><p>Jon Davison: ~61 shows, 1 album and an additional 3 songs released. As well as work with Yes, Davison also toured (33 dates + cruise) and recorded (2 tracks on <b>Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn</b>) with father-in-law John Lodge. He also guested on 1 track of Anyone's <b>Miracles in the Nothingness</b>. So, over twice as many live dates as anyone else yet in our list. You can see why he wrote "Circles of Time" now.</p><p>Trevor Horn: ~68 shows, 1 album and a production collection of sounds released. [EDIT: In a Jan 2024 interview, Horn says he did 80 shows in 2023.] Surprisingly, the busiest live player among the Yes members is Trevor Horn, the guy who gave up live performance after being in Yes. He did 28 North American dates as The Buggles opening for Seal and then playing with Seal as musical director and bassist. That was followed by 13 European dates with Seal, but no Buggles. There were also 39 dates with Dire Straits Legacy scattered over the year, which I think were all with Horn, but I'm not 100% certain of that, as the line-up can vary from show to show. (Horn is not on 2024 DSL live shows.) Horn also had a live TV appearance in Sep in Italy. He released <b>Echoes – Ancient & Modern</b> and there was also the 45Gb+ Jupiter production collection from Spitfire Audio.</p><p>Geoff Downes: 27 shows, 3 albums + 2 additional songs released. Downes played with Yes and co-organised the John Wetton tribute show. He was on <b>Mirror to the Sky</b>, he had another Downes Braide Association album in <b>Celestial Songs</b>, and he produced The Cold Blooded Hearts' <b>The Cold Light of Day</b>, on which he also performed on all but 3 tracks. He also did a song with Aaron Emerson and 1 track on <b>Meddle Reimagined</b>. So he didn't play as many live shows as Davison or Horn, but given 3 album releases in a year, I am declaring him the busiest Yes member of the year.</p><p>In terms of do-we-count-them-as-former-members, a note also for Tom Brislin, who played 52 shows with Kansas this year, although he wasn’t on any releases.</p><p>Tony Levin played 22 dates with Peter Gabriel and performed on his new album <b>i/o</b>. He has 5 Levin Brothers shows in Dec. He had 23 dates with Stick Men over the year and they also released a new live album. He was on 1 track of <b>MEMEmusic</b> by Unquiet Music Ltd. There appears to have been session work with various others (Tina Arena, Tania Doko, Marco Machera), but I've not checked the details. So, that's 50 dates and 2+ albums.</p><p><b><i>NOSTALGIA</i></b>, approximately from most to least</p><p><i>Patrick Moraz</i>: very nostalgic. I haven't seen a full set list for his one show, but it seems to have been familiar material.</p><p><i>Trevor Horn</i>: very nostalgic. His live work was all old material. His album consists of covers.</p><p><i>Jon Anderson</i>: very nostalgic. His live sets consisted purely of old material, although a few of the Rock Academy arrangements were newer. The Chagall show was a premiere, albeit all of the material dates back a varying number of years.</p><p><i>Rick Wakeman</i>: very nostalgic. His live work mostly consisted of old material, although the US tour included one piece from A Gallery of the Imagination. 2/3 of his recorded work were covers, but he co-wrote a new piece, "IO", for The Fusion Syndicate.</p><p><i>Jon Davison</i>: fairly nostalgic. On the anti-nostalgia side, he's got <b>Mirror to the Sky</b> and a song with Anyone, but the live Yes sets were mostly old material, and his 2023 work with John Lodge, live and studio, was all old material, although there may be new Lodge material coming.</p><p><i>Steve Howe</i>: fairly nostalgic. Yes released a new album, but on most nights only played 1 song from it. <b>Motif, Volume 2</b> includes 4 new pieces, but the rest of it is re-interpreting older songs, while the Tomorrow release was all remixing old songs.</p><p><i>Jay Schellen</i>: middling. Live Yes (nostalgic) versus new Yes album (anti-nostalgic).</p><p><i>Billy Sherwood</i>: fairly anti-nostalgic. Same as Schellen, except with a few more recorded tracks of new material.</p><p><i>Oliver Wakeman</i>: fairly anti-nostalgic. I haven't seen a full set list for his one show, but I believe it was mostly familiar material. However, he has also been on releases of new material.</p><p><i>Geoff Downes</i>: fairly anti-nostalgic. While his live sets were nostalgic, being involved in three albums of new material puts him high on this list.</p><p><i>Trevor Rabin</i>: very anti-nostalgic. Almost everything Rabin did this year was new material.</p><p><b><i>COMMERCIAL SUCCESS</i></b>, approximately from least to most</p><p>Based on what chart data I could find, I think the albums go in a decreasing order of sales as follows: <b>Mirror to the Sky</b> > <b>Echoes – Ancient & Modern</b> > <b>Rio</b> > <b>A Gallery of the Imagination</b> > <b>Celestial Songs</b>, and then maybe <b>Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn</b> and <b>Permanent Dream</b>, with others not troubling any charts. In terms of touring, I think Horn's tours with Seal and DSL probably constitute the most ticket sales when combined, then Yes and John Lodge are maybe about equal, followed by Anderson, and then R Wakeman. So, overall, my ranking of commercial success, from lowest to highest, would be…</p><p><i>Moraz</i>, <i>O Wakeman</i>: nothing of note.</p><p><i>Jon Anderson</i>: Both tours were relatively short, which affects total ticket sales. Venues with the Geeks were of moderate size. Those with the kids seemed to have been bigger. But no releases for sale limits his commercial success.</p><p><i>Rick Wakeman</i>: I think Wakeman was playing to smaller audiences than Anderson or Yes in the US. <b>Gallery</b> didn't make the main UK album chart when it received its general release in 2023, but it was #11 on the UK Progressive albums chart, #18 on the indie chart, #37 on the physical albums chart, #39 on the album sales chart, and #97 on the paid download chart. It made #35 on the UK iTunes chart.</p><p><i>Trevor Rabin</i>: <b>Rio</b> made #52 in Switzerland and #90 in Germany. It didn't make the main chart in the UK, but was #7 on the UK Progressive albums chart, #19 on the physical albums chart, #16 on the album sales chart, #52 on the paid download chart, and #5 on the rock & metal chart. It was also on various iTunes charts: US #24, UK #30, Australia #51, Germany #52, Canada #53.</p><p><i>Trevor Horn</i>: Horn was the musical director for a significant tour by Seal, with good audience sizes in Europe and North America. Dire Straits Legacy also play surprisingly big venues. Horn also got an Italian TV appearance. <b>Echoes</b> made #81 in UK. It also made #47 in Germany and #68 in Austria. It was also on various iTunes charts: Brazil #3, Italy #8, UK & Germany #11, Australia #12, US #85. In addition, "Relax" made #81 and "Steppin' Out" #65 on Spanish iTunes, while "Slave to the Rhythm" made #51 in Italy and #63 in Germany.</p><p><i>Billy Sherwood & Jay Schellen</i>: Both Sherwood's and Schellen's notable sales were just from Yes. <b>Mirror to the Sky</b> charted around the world: Switzerland #9, Germany #12, Japan #24, UK #30, Hungary #31, Portugal #35, Austria #53, Wallonia (Belgium) #55, Italy #61, Poland #62, Netherlands #84, Flanders (Belgium) #93, France and Spain #99. It did not make the main US chart, but was #4 in rock & metal and #22 in sales. It was also on various iTunes charts: Spain #3, Brazil #7, UK #10, Canada #13, US #17, Germany #18, Italy #19, Australia #23, France #36. Yes played to good audience sizes in the US. </p><p><i>Jon Davison</i>: As well as his work in Yes, <b>Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn</b> made #42 on Italian iTunes.</p><p><i>Steve Howe</i>: As well as Yes, Tomorrow's <b>Permanent Dream</b> made #16 in the UK independent album breakers chart (albums of the week by an artist who has not yet reached the Top 40). It was also at #55 on French iTunes.</p><p><i>Geoff Downes</i>: As well as Yes, <b>Celestial Songs</b> made #27 on the UK indie chart, #60 on the physical albums chart, #63 on the album sales chart, and #7 on the rock & metal chart. It did not chart on iTunes.</p><p>Among not quite Yes alumni, Tony Levin stands out. Peter Gabriel's <b>i/o</b> went #1 in the UK and #99 in the US. It was also top ten in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Switzerland. The tour, meanwhile, was in very large venues. You would think that would win, but, no, former ABWH keyboardist Matt Clifford was the runaway success of the year as he played on The Rolling Stones' <b>Hackney Diamonds</b>, which made #1 in the UK, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. It made #3 in the US. It has gone Gold in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Austria. It was the best-selling album of the year in Germany.</p><p><b><i>QUALITY</i></b></p><p>Of the various projects mentioned above, my favourite was <b>Mirror to the Sky</b>. Was it the best album? Was it consistently good? Maybe not, but it's the album that has stayed with me the most. My next favourite project, as I am always a Trevor Horn fanboy, was <b>Echoes – Ancient & Modern</b>. I'd put <b>Rio</b> third: I think it is a really strong album, possibly in some sense better than the previous two. Horn is 'cheating' because his album is built around a bunch of pre-existing great songs, whereas Rabin wrote his material. But if you asked me which album I'd rather listen to right now, <b>Echoes</b> or <b>Rio</b>, I would choose <b>Echoes</b>.</p><p>I am enjoying <b>Celestial Songs</b>: it's not clicked with me in the same way as <b>Halcyon Hymns</b>, but it's still a good one, so I'll put it fourth. Those are my standouts. Of the rest, <b>National Treasure: Edge of History</b> is not bad for a score album. <b>The Cold Light of Day</b> is a surprisingly good rock album, certainly the best album by a football player I've listened to. I like <b>Motif, Volume 2</b>, it does exactly what you would expect, no more, no less. I'll go with <b>Cold Light</b> fifth, <b>Motif 2</b> sixth and <b>National Treasure</b> seventh.</p><p>In terms of the various guest appearances, <b>Miracles in the Nothingness</b>, <b>Songs for the Future</b> <i>etc.</i>, nothing really jumped out at me, not that I have heard everything. Maybe "One of These Days" with Downes on <b>Meddle Reimagined</b> is the best of the lot.</p><p>I thought <b>A Gallery of the Imagination</b> was terrible, but if I'm counting it as a 2022 album, I can't blame Wakeman for it here! <b>Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn</b> was unimpressive.</p><p>In terms of live work, I loved the Jon Anderson + Paul Green Rock Academy show I saw. I was in the wrong country for the Geeks tour, but the recordings I heard were great. Likewise, Yes were playing the wrong continent for me this year, but I enjoyed the boot I heard and loved them last year. I saw the Seal show in the UK and had a great night, and I enjoyed listening to recordings of The Buggles set from the US. I also loved the stream for the John Wetton tribute show.</p><p>Put that all together and I think my personal ranking would be: Anderson (best live work), Horn (me = fanboy), Howe (for leading on <b>Mirror to the Sky</b> and <b>Motif 2</b> is solid), Rabin (great work in <b>Rio</b> and not bad score output), Downes (3 albums and they are all good), Schellen, Sherwood, Davison, R Wakeman. (Insufficient data for Moraz and O Wakeman.)</p><p>In all, a great year for Yes-related music. I'm loving this late flowering of Trevor Horn's career. I hope he can get back to new music and not just nostalgia, but it appears he is constrained by record label interest and they want the nostalgia. Jon Anderson's recorded output was disappointing, hopefully 2024 will rectify that, but he has been performing fantastically. I am full of praise for Trevor Rabin's 2023. My highlight is a very enjoyable Yes album, but Downes and Howe deserve praise for so much work beyond that as well.</p><p>Rick Wakeman works hard, but it's been a while since he's done much of interest to me. Patrick Moraz does little and it's been a while since he's done much of interest to me. I hope we hear more from Oliver Wakeman and from Khoroshev in 2024.</p><p>Possible highlights for 2024? It is both exciting and somewhat worrying that Anderson has several projects that could be released next year: an album with the Geeks, <b>1000 Hands: Chapter Two</b>, <b>Zamran</b> (or part one, at least). Maybe a bit more focus on finishing projects wouldn't go amiss? I look forward to seeing Yes live. I wonder how work on a new album is getting on? A new Circa album could be interesting. Might we get the new John Lodge project with Davison and Downes? Could the hinted-at Dave Kerzner/Jon Davison project come to fruition? Horn is touring with his band, but also, it appears, with a reunited Producers. Horn has said he's got another solo album recorded. Braide says another DBA album is already written.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-842178638802979592023-12-12T05:22:00.000-08:002023-12-12T05:22:19.999-08:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related release of the second half of 2022? Final<p>Voting in the final round for best Yes-related release of the second half of 2022 was way down, with just 29 votes (ignoring a test vote). I don't know why voting was so low. Was it fatigue over a four part vote, the decline of Twitter meaning people didn't see the vote, the new polling widget? Anyway, the final results were:</p><p>1. Rick Wakeman: <b>A Gallery of the Imagination</b> - 31% (9 votes)</p><p>2. Virgil & Steve Howe: <b>Lunar Mist</b> - 28% (8 votes)</p><p>3. Bill Bruford's Earthworks: <b>Live at the Schauburg Bremen 1987</b> - 24% (7 votes)</p><p>4. Carly Rae Jepsen: <b>The Loneliest Time</b> (<i>w</i>/ Rabin) - 10% (3 votes)</p><p>5. Prog Collective: <b>Seeking Peace</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood, Downes, Davison, Moraz) - 7% (2 votes)</p><p>6. Seal: <b>Seal</b> Dolby Atmos mix (<i>w</i>/ Horn) - 0% (0 votes)</p><p>So, a very close result between the top three, but congratulations to Rick Wakeman for winning.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-55497198159649850542023-11-07T12:33:00.004-08:002023-11-07T12:33:38.759-08:00Immersive world premiere of The Yes Album<p>To promote the new <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnyesm.htm#rers" target="_blank">super deluxe edition of <b>The Yes Album</b></a>, a small audience - whoever saw the social media announcement and answered quickest! - were treated to the world premiere of the immersive mix at <a href="https://www.l-acoustics.com/" target="_blank">L-Acoustics</a> in Highgate, London (very close to where I went to school). There was a 6pm and an 8pm "performance" and I was lucky enough to get into the 6pm.</p><p>The venue is a lovely demonstration studio for L-Acoustics, who do speakers for venues and high end clients. They had earlier done one of the listening events for Steven Wilson's <b>The Harmony Codex</b> here. They welcomed us with a nice selection of complimentary beverages. The listening room is equipped with 18 speakers in the walls, 12 in the ceiling and (playing the same channel) 24 subwoofers. There was seating for, I estimate, a bit over 30. Also present were some people from Yes management and YesWorld, Jerry Ewing and others from <i>Prog</i> magazine, and a special guest in the form of Bill Bruford. Steven Wilson had been meant to be there, but a last minute problem kept him away. (We saw Nick Beggs on the way out, there for the 8pm slot.)</p><p>We were plunged into darkness for the playthrough of the album, start to finish. Afterwards, Wilson had been to interview Bruford, but instead the lady from L-Acoustics chaired and Bruford took questions from the audience.</p><p>Bruford was delightful. He talked about enjoying listening to the album, but he wasn't certain whether that was the music, or the memory of its creation, or the memory of its performance. He talked about recording the album, but stressed how long ago it was and that his memories were vague in places.</p><p>He talked of recording on 16 tracks, of which Howe got seven, when he only got three! He talked of still being very new to the recording process, and of how the recording seemed to take so long, although he wasn't certain whether his memory of the time taken was of this album, or the one after, or the one after. They were aware that the recording was costing significant money. He described how the first two albums had flopped, so <b>The Yes Album</b> was both a new start and a last chance. Thus the presentation of <b>The Yes Album</b>, as if it were a debut. He said he had to record the drum parts first, as was the drummer's situation then, not knowing, having to guess, what would be recorded on top of that drum part later.</p><p>I asked a question about the very simple drum part on "Your Move", compared to what he plays on the rest of the album. He said he couldn't remember the decision making behind that, but he was glad he had chosen to do that as it left space for Colin Goldring's (four) recorder parts. He said they had initially tried a Mellotron and how in another band, they probably would have left it there, but Jon Anderson was always pushing and so instead they got a real person. </p><p>Bruford also talked of Keith Emerson recording downstairs, so there is a bit of Emerson's Moog used on one song. (I think he said it was on "Perpetual Change".) He talked about Kaye not speaking up and fighting his corner as Wakeman later would, and so his role in the music was more in the background.</p><p>In terms of promoting the new release, with its Atmos and 5.1 mixes, I don't know how useful an event like this is. Unless you have a room with 54 speakers in it, I presume the album is not going to sound the same at home! It definitely sounded fantastic for us. If we can presume that you get a reasonable approximation with a home set-up, then, yes, I can recommend the immersive mix. The instruments, the different tracks, are super clear. What the immersive mix brings is separation. That meant I was hearing details I had never heard before.</p><p>At the same time, the separation can also make the music sound less connected. For example, in "Yours is No Disgrace", Kaye's organ was to the side, which felt wrong to my ears, like it wasn't part of the music in the same way. Bruford commented similarly. He felt the drums sounded distanced from the rest of the performance, whereas he prefers a live jazz recording where you can hear the drums tight in with the other instruments.</p><p>As Bruford also commented, the mix would sometimes shoot the different guitar parts around the room. In places, I felt that gave an "impossible" effect. It makes you conscious that this can't be a live performance, because Howe can't be in two places at once. But one can always quibble over mixing choices. Overall, it's amazing how good a recording from 1970 can sound and I applaud Wilson's work. If you don't have a surround sound set-up, I'm not certain the boxset has enough new to justify the price tag, but there is a cheaper digital version that will be available.</p><p><br /></p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-9348233241846605722023-05-29T01:29:00.006-07:002023-05-29T01:29:55.503-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related release of the second half of 2022? Round three<p>There were 20 Yes-related albums released in the second half of 2022, so instead of a single poll, we're going through them in three rounds, with the top 2 from each round going through to the final. The final round covered everything remaining after the first two rounds. 33 of you voted, but because of a logistical problem, only the first 25 votes recorded! So the (partial) results were:</p><p>1. Bill Bruford's Earthworks: <b>Live at the Schauburg Bremen 1987</b> - 9 votes (36%)</p><p>2. Seal: <b>Seal</b> Dolby Atmos mix (<i>w</i>/ Horn) - 7 votes (28%)</p><p>3. Dave Kerzner: <b>The Traveler Singles</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood, Davison) - 5 votes (20%)</p><p>4= various artists: <b>Synthesizer Classics</b> (<i>w</i>/ Downes, Wakeman R, Moraz) - 2 votes (8%)</p><p>4= Flash: <b>Live in the USA</b> (<i>w</i>/ Banks) - 2 votes (8%)</p><p>6= Fernando Perdomo: <b>Frost Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</b> (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman R, Downes) - 0 votes (0%)</p><p>6= Munroe's Thunder: <b>The Black Watch</b> (<i>w</i>/ O Wakeman) - 0 votes (0%)</p><p>That means <b>Live at the Schauburg Bremen 1987</b> and the Dolby Atmos mix of <b>Seal</b> join Rick Wakeman's <b>A Gallery of the Imagination</b>, Carly Rae Jepsen's <b>The Loneliest Time</b>, Prog Collective's <b>Seeking Peace</b> and Virgil & Steve Howe's <b>Lunar Mist</b> in the final, which will be held once I work out the problem with recording votes!</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-70345765936610909592023-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:002023-05-06T12:05:25.470-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related release of the second half of 2022? Round two<p>There were 20 Yes-related albums released in the second half of 2022, so instead of a single poll, we're going through them in three rounds, with the top 2 from each round going through to the final. Round 2 covered releases by or with Steve Howe, Billy Sherwood or Jon Davison. We had 59 votes, as follows:</p><p>1. Prog Collective: <b>Seeking Peace</b> (w/ Sherwood, Downes, Davison, Moraz) - 23 votes (39%)</p><p>2. Virgil & Steve Howe: <b>Lunar Mist</b> - 12 votes (20%)</p><p>3. Arc of Life: <b>Don't Look Down</b> (w/ Sherwood, Davison) - 8 votes (14%)</p><p>4. Glass Hammer: <b>At the Gate</b> (w/ Davison) - 6 votes (10%)</p><p>5= David Paich: <b>Forgotten Toys</b> (w/ Sherwood) - 4 votes (7%)</p><p>5= Dave Kerzner: <b>The Traveler</b> (w/ Sherwood, Davison) - 4 votes (7%)</p><p>7. Life on Mars: <b>Shadows in a Jar</b> (w/ Sherwood) - 2 votes (3%)</p><p>A clear win, then, for <b>Seeking Peace</b>, which out-polled the more high profile Arc of Life sophomore release. It's joined by <b>Lunar Mist</b>, Steve's collaboration with his late son. I voted for <b>Forgotten Toys</b>, a wonderful debut EP from Toto's David Paich, but I nearly voted for Dave "Squids" Kerzner's <b>The Traveler</b>. However, I can see most of you don't agree with me!</p><p>On to Round 3, which are all the remaining releases (including an alternative version of <b>The Traveler</b> as it seemed sensible to put it in a different roud). You can vote on the <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm">news website front page</a>.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-48408326138724556812023-04-30T06:42:00.007-07:002023-04-30T10:55:56.643-07:00First thoughts on Mirror to the Sky<p>InsideOut kindly sent me the new Yes album. It’s a strong release. While recognisably the same band (almost)
as on <b>The Quest</b>, <b>Mirror to the Sky</b> is a big step up. We have better
drums, better vocals, better tempo, and no tracks you want to skip. The band
sound more integrated; the long songs are more coherent. It’s an album I keep
returning to with much pleasure.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is a new incarnation of Yes. While it harks back to prior Yes
output in places, they are doing their own thing. On one side, we have the
propulsive Sherwood/Schellen rhythm section, on the other we have Howe’s steel
guitar entwining with Joyce’s string arrangements. At the centre is Jon
Davison, who is becoming more assured as a writer and arranger. We have big,
twangy guitar sounds, frequently evoking the American West. We have lyrical
themes about our connections with the stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1d2228; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It’s
not a perfect album. I’d like to hear some more classic riffs and melodies from
Howe; there’s a tendency towards simple ascending or descending motifs. Davison
occasionally skirts cliché in the lyrics. Downes is r</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">ather absent, spending much of the album in the
background.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">I’m never certain what Yes fans want. Maybe we all
want different things? But I think most fans wanted this: more rock, more oomph,
more epic. Now, let’s go through the songs one by one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CUT FROM THE STARS / ALL CONNECTED<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You’ve all heard the two ‘singles’. I wrote about <a href="https://bondegezou.blogspot.com/2023/03/cut-from-stars-first-listen.html">“Cut from theStars” here</a> and <a href="https://bondegezou.blogspot.com/2023/04/all-connected-second-single.html">“All Connected” here</a>. I first heard the album as a whole before
“Cut from the Stars” was released and it took me the longest to get into. I
still feel it has a certain angular feel to it, but that works.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1d2228; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
two singles to date have prompted a few comparisons with Arc of Life. I think Sherwood
and Schellen are shining in the Yes environment. I can hear similarities to Arc
of Life, but there are multiple Sherwood-led albums since <b>The Quest</b> (via
the Prog Collective and Arc of Life) and they all pale compared with the work
he’s doing here. And while the singles have foregrounded Sherwood’s writing, it
is Howe who is still the main composer on the album.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">LUMINOSITY<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is an album that ebbs and flows, within songs and across
songs. Compared to the tracks before and after, “Luminosity” begins in a statelier
fashion. The opening with guitar, orchestra and drums, keeps things slow,
before we move into a jauntier section. The main theme is then introduced
instrumentally, before Davison sings mostly unaccompanied. It’s a strong vocal
line, with a Celtic folk feel. Wasn’t Davison living in Ireland for a period? The
lyrics return to the stellar theme: “Like the stars, we are luminous”. We also reference
extraterrestrial life, a common Yes theme (compare “Arriving UFO”). Sherwood’s backing vocals are strong again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This was one of the first two pieces the band worked on, before <b>The
Quest</b> was even released, and in some ways it sounds most like the material
on <b>The Quest</b> (compare “Dare to Know” maybe). Both this and “All
Connected” contrast Davison/Sherwood with Howe/Joyce/orchestra, with Schellen’s
drums providing the important linking element. Howe’s playing is slow and
heartfelt, Joyce’s arrangements add colour and variation, leading to an
uplifting conclusion. “Luminosity” also stands out as the first time Downes
comes to the fore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“All Connected” and “Luminosity” are rather alike. I wonder
whether moving one of the pieces to elsewhere in the running order would work
better?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">LIVING OUT THEIR DREAM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is the odd one out, which isn’t a criticism. I think its
oddity fits well into the flow of the album, a break from the bigger pieces. At
first, it’s quite a confusing listen. Structurally, it’s a straightforward tune,
with a nice, plaintive Howe solo towards the end. It sounds almost like a
Rolling Stones pastiche, with a hint of Americana. The vocals are much lower,
with Howe and Davison in close harmony producing a “third voice”. It’s the
lyrics that stand out. They are almost absurdist, shades of Zorbonauts, who Downes
plays with. Davison has said the song is a critique of modern weddings, but I
feel it goes further, lamenting the divisions of society caused by social
media. There’s a line that reminds me of t.A.T.u.’s “Craving”. And then into a
deliberately downbeat – musically and lyrically – ending. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I don’t think this is simply the short rocker on the album. I
suggest the music is deliberately a pastiche to match the lyrics. It’s akin to
“Money” or maybe “Countryside”. Possibly, the song needs just slightly more
energy to pull off its message?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MIRROR TO THE SKY<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is the title track, the centrepiece of the album, the one
garnering most attention in reviews. It’s a statement piece and it works. All
the ingredients come together. We start with a big, phat riff from Howe,
evoking the wide open skies of the American West. Other instruments come in, including
some tasty piano from Downes. Then the drums kick things up a notch. Howe brings
a dirty sound on the electric guitar. Sherwood gets to state the bass part
unaccompanied. The music builds into a groove, Howe wailing away. The whole
thing builds to an early climax less than three minutes in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then we’re stripped right back to an acoustic guitar motif, and
Howe sings one of two key vocal motifs, “Dreams of a sky without fire”. Davison
then takes over as vocalist. He sings of the “currents of chance”, somewhat
obvious lyrics, but nicely accompanied by an orchestral part depicting the
“leaves in a storm”. The energy builds back up and we repeat the vocal line:
we’re rocking, but we’ve also got the horns in the orchestra adding colour.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Around four and a half minutes, we get the second key motif, “you
are my mirror to the sky”, introduced instrumentally on electric guitar first,
then Davison sings. We repeat this motif with variation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A bit after five minutes, we get what I hear as the centre of the
song as we contrast our two lines: “You are my mirror to the sky / Still I
dream of a sky without fire”. It’s anthemic, evocative, beautiful, aided by a
certain mystery as to what it all means! Davison’s “mirror to the sky” seems to
be romantic in intent, the words coming from something his new wife said, more
personal than much of the lyrical content that has come before. But Howe wrote
the “dreams of a sky without fire” line and there’s a certain narrative tension
between this and “mirror to the sky”. Do we want some fire in the sky; why are
we dreaming of its absence?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The orchestra comes more to the fore, and we’re in another steel
guitar and orchestra section, something of a recurring pattern for the album.
We get slow but emotional playing from Howe against fast, lively
orchestrations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We move into one of Davison’s lyrical islands and a sudden flurry
of words when before they were used sparsely. Davison sings of metaphysical
mysteries, before we re-visit the opening guitar part, Howe building the
tension. Another vocal highlight as Davison sings, “We are star fire”, tying us
back to “Luminosity” and “Cut from the Stars”. It’s a great moment, yet the
line only occurs once. The song deliberately holds back on these moments of
emotion when the vocals break in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We go back to that stripped down acoustic guitar part to introduce
the slow movement, guitar and orchestra. The song is in a contemplative mood,
bringing us back down carefully. The acoustic guitar motif again heralds a final
change, with the orchestra taking over for a recapitulation of the main themes,
with swells of strings and rhythmic horns. The band re-join for an energetic
coda.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CIRCLES OF TIME<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is the comedown song after the epic, a chill out room for the
ears. A pretty song, lyrically it’s another “Roundabout”, a song about missing
one’s lover while on tour. It’s a ballad, but with subtle backing from strings,
extra guitar parts and moments when Davison double tracks himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">BONUS DISC<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When I first heard the album, I thought the bonus disc was fine,
but very bonus track-y, a bit disposable. With <b>The Quest</b> and <b>Heaven
& Earth</b>, there were a few songs that people felt belonged on a Steve
Howe solo album rather than a Yes album (“It was All We Knew”, “Damaged World”).
With <b>Mirror to the Sky</b>, had Yes gathered all those songs and put them on
the bonus disc?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">However, over the weeks, I’ve found myself listening to the bonus
tracks as much as the rest of the album, more than some of the main disc. I’m
not saying “One Second is Enough” or “Magic Potion” are going to go down in
history as classic Yes songs, but they’re fun, they’re very listenable.
“Unknown Place” is very good for much of its runtime. I don’t think now that
they are disposable. I think this is just another side of the current Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">UNKNOWN PLACE<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The obvious comparison for “Unknown Place” is “Mirror to the Sky”.
It feels like a spare: in case you lost “Mirror to the Sky” down the back of
the sofa, you could substitute in “Unknown Place”, with similar sounds and
grand design. There’s a lot to like about it. I love the introduction, the playing,
and a luscious ending highlighting Downes’ organ playing, his standout moment
on the album. But the basic song at the centre of it just doesn’t do much for
me; we lack the anthemic lines of “Mirror to the Sky”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The opening twangy guitar part brings us back to the American
West, while vocals evoke Native American rituals, and then we’re into the main
part of the song. Over the album as a whole, Howe is less prominent as a
vocalist than he was on <b>The Quest</b>, but a middle section here uses Howe the
singer more. The piece turns more instrumental and we then have two significant
sections, both with Downes to the fore. The second leaves the American West for
a baroque and Gothic horror feel led by Downes, while Howe is doing Bach-like
guitar exercises, making for a great ending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ONE SECOND IS ENOUGH<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A simpler song. A nice intro from Downes leads into the main part,
which bounces along. Howe’s message is about the fleeting nature of happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The chorus vaguely reminds me of “I’ve Got a Theory” from the
Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical “Once More with Feeling”, which was written by
Joss Whedon, who is a Yes fan, so maybe his writing was influenced by Howe and whatever
my brain is picking up on all makes sense?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A nice Howe solo at the end and into a clock ticking as the
ending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MAGIC POTION<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Love is a magic potion”, Howe tells us. We have similar lyrical
themes to <b>The Quest</b>’s “Music to My Ears”. It’s all fine, if a bit
forgettable. But it’s all worth it for a delightful, groovy bass line, written
by Howe, played by Sherwood, and which Downes doubles on a couple of bars. Just
extract that, I could listen to that on a loop all day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To summarise, </span>“Mirror to the Sky” is the best track,
where the pieces all come together to make a substantial piece of music that
can stand in the Yes canon. “Cut from the Stars” is a good single, a
concise statement of what Yes can be. I enjoy listening to “Luminosity”, “All Connected” and “Unknown Place”: they’re close to
capturing the Yes magic, but maybe they’re not quite there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Living Out Their Dream</span>” and “Circles of Time” are songs to themselves, doing something specific on their own terms. “One
Second is Enough” and “Magic Potion” are cute, simpler songs – very
listenable.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It flows well as
an album, the lyrical themes draw the experience together. It’s an album to be
savoured, headphones on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The band are already working on a third album in quick succession.
If they can keep up the momentum, who knows what they can achieve?<o:p></o:p></span></p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-89242509601701014792023-04-26T00:13:00.002-07:002023-04-27T01:47:15.109-07:00All Connected - a second single<p>The second single from <b>Mirror to the Sky</b> is now out (depending on what time zone you are in). The second track on the album, it was the choice we expected. It's a long track for a "single" at 9:03. Jon Davison said in a recent interview that they considered releasing a single edit, but Thomas Waber at InsideOut felt the song should come out in its full form. "All Connected" is the first of the longer pieces on the album, and the first of two co-written by Davison, Howe and Sherwood (a writing contribution we never got on <b>The Quest</b>). So, what is the song like?</p><p>The opening perhaps does not inspire: a simple ascending motif. We could have done with a more interesting riff here to keep the energy up. But the song warms up around 78 seconds with some tasty Sherwood backing vocals and then into a great, bouncy melody performed by Davison. I presume this core song element is by Davison. It's almost like a little indie pop tune, something you would expect from Belle and Sebastian. The lyrics, "How can we break down walls", reflect similar themes to "Walls" on <b>Talk</b>, which of course none of the current band played on<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (ignoring rumours of Sherwood's participation on the album)</span>, but are perhaps not very original. However, we get into the next section and "karma chromatic" is a good line. (Echoes of Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon"?)</p><p>We then get some Davison/Sherwood vocal interplay around the "all connected" motif, which seems to be Sherwood's composition, before the song shifts into a new section around 3:35, I'm guessing maybe by Howe, although with a nice Sherwood bass part. There's another vocal section, it's a song full of ideas, before we return to the "all connected" theme. There's some nice instrumental variation on the themes. Howe, Sherwood, Davison and Schellen are all in synch creatively. We return to the "How can we break down walls" vocal theme and the following "karma chromatic" part, and then again to Howe's slide guitar as a coda. It's a good song that takes us on a journey, although it's not always clear it knows the way.</p><p>The lyrics are Apollonian, relating to universal humanist themes, perhaps particularly ideas we've heard from Sherwood before. Davison has talked about Sherwood's original lyrics focusing on the literal, technological sense of being "all connected", which he expanded to cover a more metaphysical take. The word "collective" jumped out at me, a word also appearing in "Cut from the Stars". While nowhere near to being a concept album, there is a certain continuity of lyrical themes across <b>Mirror to the Sky</b>.</p><div>In all, "All Connected" represents a more united and ambitious band than we sometimes heard on <b>The Quest</b>, full of ideas and good playing, but perhaps not quite there yet in terms of hitting everything fans want from a longer Yes piece. (But wait for the rest of the album!)</div>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-29752578347100312502023-04-16T06:43:00.005-07:002023-04-16T06:47:47.114-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related release of the second half of 2022? Round one<p>There were 20 Yes-related albums released in the second half of 2022, so instead of a single poll, we're going through them in three rounds, with the top 2 from each round going through to the final. Round 1 covered releases by or with Rick Wakeman or Trevor Rabin (but excluding releases also involving other Yes men).</p><p>We had 28 votes. I could have let the poll run for longer, but the result was clear!</p><p>1. Rick Wakeman: <b>A Gallery of the Imagination</b> - 13 votes, 46%</p><p>2. Carly Rae Jepsen: <b>The Loneliest Time</b> (w/ Rabin) - 11 votes, 39%</p><p>3. Rick Wakeman: <b>The Missing Hammersmith Recording 1985</b> - 2 votes, 7%</p><p>4= Rick Wakeman and Valentina Blanca: <b>Live from Elche</b> - 1 vote, 4%</p><p>4= Rick Wakeman: <b>Unreleased Demos Volume 1</b> (w/ Rabin) - 1 vote, 4%</p><p>6. Rick Wakeman: <b>Rehearsals and Demos</b> (w/ Rabin) - 0 votes, 0%</p><p>On to Round 2, which are releases by or with Howe, Davison and Sherwood. You can vote on the news website <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm">front page</a>.</p><p><br /></p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-54938699187321013442023-03-26T10:57:00.005-07:002023-03-26T10:57:57.744-07:00What was the best Yes-related album of 1992?<p> What was the best Yes-related album of 1992? I asked, you answered, 227 of you. Thanks everyone for voting.</p><p>1. Asia: <b>Aqua</b> (w/ Howe, Downes): 135 votes (59%)</p><p>2. King Crimson: <b>The Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974)</b> (w/ Bruford): 30 votes (13%)</p><p>3. Kitaro: <b>Dream</b> (w/ Anderson): 22 votes (10%)</p><p>4. Rick Wakeman: <b>The Classical Connection II</b> (w/ Bruford, Howe, Squire): 20 votes (9%)</p><p>5. Mike Oldfield: <b>Tubular Bells II</b> (w/ Horn): 10 votes (4%)</p><p>6. Geoff Downes: <b>Vox Humana</b>: 7 votes (3%)</p><p>7. Regulators: <b>The Regulators</b> (w/ Sherwood): 1 vote (0%)</p><p>8. Betsy Cook: <b>The Girl Who Ate Herself</b> (w/ Horn): 0 votes (0%)</p><p>There were 2 ineligible other votes.</p><p>A big win for <b>Aqua</b>, which took me by surprise. The first John Payne album and also Steve Howe's return to Asia featured a somewhat different style to the Wetton era. A second place for the first big King Crimson box set to feature Bruford. I didn't vote for it either, but <b>The Girl Who Are Herself</b> is worth checking out.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-28590895538829399092023-03-09T08:42:00.002-08:002023-03-11T03:21:54.232-08:00Cut from the Stars - a first listen<p>Yes introduce their new album, Mirror to the Sky, with “Cut
from the Stars”, a paean to the night sky and how it can ground us. The song is released 10 March 2023, but as it's already 10 March somewhere in the world...</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After orchestral strings start us off (shades of the intro
to “Rhythm of Love” on <b>Big Generator</b>), we go into a driving bass line
that I feel Chris Squire would approve of, and then into an energetic chorus.
<strike>“International dark star” – is that a reference to the International Space
Station?</strike> [Edit: I misheard Davison's vocals. The lyrics have this as "International dark sky park". A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-sky_preserve" target="_blank">dark sky park</a> is an area with reduced light pollution to facilitate views of the night sky.]<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most of the instruments drop out and the tempo slows so that
the vocals can take centre stage for the first verse. “When I’m in need of some
perspective / I find my place in the jewelled collective / Daylight glare
blinding me / Only after dark may I clearly see”, which I think is some of
Davison’s best work. Notice the subtle arrangements going on with the backing
vocals. The vocal section continues, with the anthemic line “We have
transmission after dark” standing out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then around 2:50, Howe comes in with a solo for contrast,
Sherwood’s bass burbling along underneath. The middle 8 has some more nice
Davison/Sherwood vocal interplay. The song builds towards a vocal climax, and
we could just finish around 4:30, but there’s an instrumental coda akin to the
“Interaction” section of “The Ice Bridge” with trading solos from Howe and
Downes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The lyrics match the album cover, and possible lyrical
themes may return in “Luminosity” and “Mirror to the Sky”. Yes’s lyrics when
Jon Anderson was in the band often focused on the Sun. Here, we switch to the
stars (although of course the stars are just distant suns). Yes have referenced
stars before, notably in the cover of <b>Tales from Topographic Oceans</b>, and
Anderson references the Pleiades constellation in his recent work.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Cut from the Stars” is a song led by Sherwood’s bass and
Davison’s vocals. (Dare I say, this is what Arc of Life should be sounding
like, but doesn’t?) It’s a somewhat more modern sounding song than <b>The Quest</b>’s
opener and one not blighted by the mix up over who wrote it!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In all, a rousing and focused introduction to the new Yes
album. One can hear why it was chosen as an album opener and single. Of course,
everyone is wondering what comes next, particular with the longer songs, up to
nearly 14 minutes for the title track.<o:p></o:p></p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-51683819112124483222023-01-08T03:51:00.002-08:002023-01-08T03:51:37.773-08:002022 in review and the Prog Readers’ Poll<p>Obviously, overshadowing everything, 2022 is the year that Alan White died. We will all remember him and the streamed Seattle tribute concert was a lovely memorial.</p><p>2022 marked a return to touring after the pandemic, with live shows by Yes, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, and the Trevor Horn Band, as well as the Jazz Sabbath tour with Adam Wakeman and Dylan Howe, and Dave Kerzner's All Star Prog Band with Sherwood. 2022 was perhaps a quieter year for Yes-related releases. But we did get albums from the Prog Collective and Arc of Life, from Rick Wakeman, and from Virgil & Steve Howe, plus some notable guest appearances including Sherwood and Davison on Dave Kerzner's <b>The Traveler</b>, both also on Lobate Scarp's <b>You Have It All</b>, and Wakeman and Downes on Fernando Perdomo's <b>Frost</b> soundtrack. There was the usual array of Cleopatra tribute records and Zorbonauts releases. I think there are two guest appearances that I feel deserved a bit more attention: David Paich's <b>Forgotten Toys</b>, which has a song with the late Michael Sherwood and a brief appearance by Billy; and Clint Bahr's <b>Puzzlebox</b>, including a piece posthumously incorporating a Pete Banks solo.</p><p>I think it can be interesting to try to step outside of our Yes fan perspective and consider how the broader world sees the music we love. In terms of audience reach, the most successful Yes-related music of 2022 must be Carly Rae Jepsen's album <b>The Loneliest Time</b>, which made the top 20 in the UK, Canada & US. Trevor Rabin plays guitar on the track "Talking to Yourself" (#91 on the UK iTunes chart by itself), presumably invited in by his son, who co-wrote/produced it. Or maybe it's Rabin's music for the Disney+ show <i>National Treasure: Edge of History</i>?</p><p>Yes-related music rarely challenges for the big awards, but Brad Mehldau's <b>Jacob's Ladder</b>, including a re-interpretation of "Starship Trooper", has been nominated in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category for the 2023 Grammys. (This is slightly confusing as it is not entirely instrumental, with significant vocals in places.)</p><p>One interesting measure of success is Prog magazines Readers' Poll, which Yes members have done well in before. The results for 2022 are perhaps disappointing.</p><p>In the Band, Male Vocalist, Guitarist, Album and Drummer categories, nothing Yes related. (Apart from Yes remixer Steve Wilson, who did very well, with Porcupine Tree winning Best Band and 2nd in Best Album, while Wilson is 8th in Best Male Vocalist.) Lobate Scarp were 9th in Best Unsigned Band. Adam Wakeman came 7th in Best Keyboardist.</p><p>Best Bassist has Tony Levin at #2 and Lee Pomeroy at #8. In the Best Reissue category, Bruford does well, with King Crimson's <b>Discipline</b>/<b>Beat</b>/<b>Three of a Perfect Pair</b> coming 8th and his compilation <b>Making a Song and Dance</b> at #9.</p><p>Cruise to the Edge came 5th in Best Event, but this was the first cruise without Yes themselves and Billy Sherwood was the only Yes member performing. Cropredy, at which the Trevor Horn Band headlined one night, was 7th.</p><p>So, no Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe or Geoff Downes. No specific mention of Billy Sherwood or Jon Davison, although perhaps they can take a little credit for helping Lobate Scarp to 9th best Unsigned Band. The long-retired Bill Bruford is the only Yes member who comes out of that seeming relevant. Congrats to the do-we-count-them-as-alumni Levin and Pomeroy. Compare someone like Steve Hackett, of the same generation as Yes, who has often collaborated with Yes members: he won best Guitarist and best Event (for his <b>Foxtrot</b> at 50 tour).</p><p>I wonder whether the Poll has a UK bias. The magazine is available outside the UK, but I think the readership is mainly British. Maybe the more US-based acts (Sherwood, Kerzner, Perdomo, Glass Hammer) suffer accordingly.</p><p>Will the 2023 Readers' Poll look different? Between probable Yes, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Trevor Rabin, and DBA albums, hopefully so.</p><div><br /></div>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-13982192743813813562022-12-30T10:25:00.001-08:002023-02-01T02:35:40.326-08:00Looking ahead to 2023<p>Steve Howe likes to run a tight ship with Yes: no leaks. But
enough has come out to say we expect a new Yes album in 2023, with Howe,
Downes, Sherwood and Davison, with White maybe having recorded drum parts before he
passed away, with Joyce and the FAMES orchestra back. Rumour has it out in the
first half of the year. Presumably they will want it out before or not too long
after touring begins on 7 May 2023. This will be the long-awaited,
many-times-delayed <b>Relayer</b> tour. European dates from Portugal through to
the UK have been announced and the tour is then expected to move to North
America and maybe Japan.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, Jon Anderson also has a new album and tour due in
2023. Producer Michael Franklin was planning to finish recording for <b>1000
Hands: Chapter Two</b> in December 2022; they’re aiming for an April 2023
release in time for Jon’s US tour with the Band Geeks in April/May 2023 playing
Yes classics. Album guests are expected to include Rick Wakeman and Trevor
Rabin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also due is the new Downes Braide Association album, <b>Celestial
Songs</b>. This was finished back in April 2022; a release date of March 2023 is
rumoured. Downes also leads Asia, who had a tour planned in late 2022 with Carl
Palmer, Billy Sherwood and Marc Bonilla. This was to be with the Alan Parsons
Project, but Parsons has had health problems, causing delays. What happens next
is unclear, but it appears Asia are keen to tour some time in 2023.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s a pattern here. Yes will have a new album, but the
tour will focus on an old one, <b>Relayer</b> (1974). Anderson will have a new
solo album, but tour focusing on old Yes songs. Promo hasn’t mentioned anything
from later than 1977. Downes has a new album with Chris Braide, but plans to
tour with Asia, focusing on <b>Asia</b> (1982) and possibly <b>Alpha</b>
(1983). That’s the world we live in. Ageing rock musicians make more money
touring the old songs than they do from recording new ones. Yes will probably
play a song or two from their new album and Anderson might include something
new, but audiences want the classic tunes. Rick Wakeman’s new album, <b>A
Gallery of the Imagination</b>, has already been on sale on his Christmas tour
dates; it receives a full release in 2023. But, likewise, his sets focus on the
1970s.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In just the last few days, we’ve had news about Trevor Rabin’s
new solo album, expected some time in 2023 and entitled <b>Rio</b>. He’s talked
of a rock album with vocals, so something more in the style of <b>Can’t Look
Away</b> than <b>Jacaranda</b>. In terms of former band members releasing solo
albums, we also have Oliver Wakeman saying <b>Anam Cara</b> is due this year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I expect those to be the big events of the year. Most of
those are expected earlier rather than later in the year; we will have to wait
and see what late 2023 brings. I’m sure there will be plenty more Yes-related
releases, but what is less clear.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trevor Horn has a body of material, strange covers done in
collaboration with musicians from Tori Amos to Toyah Willcox, from Rick Astley
to Robert Fripp, but it is unclear if he has a record deal or a release date.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Billy Sherwood is always busy. I’m sure we’ll get plenty
from him. Both he and ARW’s Lee Pomeroy may be on Dave Kerzner and Fernando
Perdomo’s multi-disc Genesis tribute. Jon Davison may be guesting on United
Progressive Fraternity’s <b>Planetary Overload Part 2: Hope</b>. Steve Howe
will probably give us <b>Homebrew 8</b>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Schellen has mentioned a possible archival Badfinger release
with him and Kaye. Michael Franklin has mentioned a possible archival live
Patrick Moraz release. There may be a Jazz Sabbath live release from the 2022
tour, with Adam Wakeman and Dylan Howe in the line-up, plus dad Rick guesting.
We should get more archival releases from Rick Wakeman’s Caped Crusader
Collector Club.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cleopatra Records will undoubtedly have some all-star
tribute with a couple of Yes members. There should be one or more Zorbonauts
releases with Downes. Downes has also produced an album by Gareth Ainsworth and
The Cold Blooded Hearts that might be out in 2023.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the less certain but possible category, we could have a
third In Continuum studio album with Davison. Maybe a John Lodge project with
Davison and Downes? Maybe the Rick Wakeman/Tim Rice/Alfie Boe project?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What are you looking forward to in 2023?<o:p></o:p></p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-62957610357111902012022-08-08T06:58:00.000-07:002022-08-08T06:58:22.714-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related release of the first half of 2022?<p> I asked you what was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2022 and 104 of you answered. Thanks, all! The result was not close.</p><p>1. Asia: <b>Asia in Asia: Live at the Budokan Arena, 1983</b> (<i>w</i>/ Downes, Howe) - 87 votes (84%)</p><p>2. Oliver Wakeman: <b>Collaborations</b> (<i>w</i>/ Howe) - 14 votes (13%)</p><p>3. Prog Collective: <b>Songs We were Taught</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood, Downes, Davison, Moraz) - 2 votes (2%)</p><p>4. Lobate Scarp: <b>You Have It All</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood, Davison) - 1 vote (1%)</p><p>There were no votes for Clint Bahr's <b>Puzzlebox</b> (using a posthumous Banks guitar part), Clannad's <b>In a Lifetime (The Immersive Collection)</b> (with Horn) or Deckchair Poets' <b>Be My Pillow</b> (with Downes). I also erred and missed out including Zebras Don't Smoke's <b>Inflatable Noise</b> (with Downes), although I doubt it would have fared much better than the Deckchair Poets release by the same team. I also chose not to include the second Caped Crusader Collector Club release, <b>The Silly Programme</b>, as it was comedy rather than music. I again don't imagine it would've troubled the rankings.</p><p>There were not a lot of Yes-related releases in this period. Still, I had expected a bit more competition to the Asia release. But, no, Asia's second line-up swept all before it.</p><p>Voters came from 10 countries: most of you voting were in the US, with the UK in second place. Also represented were Germany, Canada, Spain, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-30088532641406132612022-02-26T11:15:00.002-08:002022-02-26T11:15:41.487-08:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related release of the second half of 2021?<p>I asked you what was the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2021? (As with all in this series of polls, I'm excluding actual Yes releases, so no <b>The Quest</b>.) 60 of you voted, and the results were...<br /></p><p></p><p>1. Steve Howe: <b>Homebrew 7</b>, 35% (21 votes)</p><p>2. various artists: <b>Animals Reimagined – A Tribute to Pink Floyd</b> (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman R, Moraz, Sherwood, Davison), 28% (17 votes)</p><p>3. John Lodge: <b>The Royal Affair and After</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison), 17% (10 votes)</p><p>4. George Harrison: <b>All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition</b> (<i>w</i>/ White), 12% (7 votes)</p><p>5= David Minasian: <b>Random Dreams: The Very Best of David Minasian Vol. 1</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood), 2% (1 vote)</p><p>5= Etta James: <b>The Montreux Years</b> (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman R), 2% (1 vote)</p><p>5= Jake Shimabukuro: <b>Jake & Friends</b> (<i>w</i>/ Anderson), 2% (1 vote)</p><p>5= Robby Steinhardt: <b>Not in Kansas Anymore</b> (<i>w</i>/ Moraz), 2% (1 vote)</p><p>5= Rick Wakeman: <b>She - Music from the Original Soundtrack and More</b>, 2% (1 vote)</p><p>There were no votes for Anyone's <b>In Humanity</b> (with Davison) or the multi-artist release <b>myndstream Collection, Vol. 1</b> (with R Wakeman).</p><p>A good win for Howe's <b>Homebrew 7</b>, the first <b>Homebrew</b> release to be (mostly) material not otherwise released, rather than the usual alternative and early versions.
But a good second place for <b>Animals Reimagined</b>, the latest of many Pink Floyd tribute albums from Cleopatra Records. Maybe the slightly new approach is working for them? I thought the prior release, <b>Still Wish You were Here</b>, was better, but it only came 4th with 5% of the votes in its poll. Maybe <b>Animals Reimagined</b> faced weaker competition?</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-63870440004261409272022-01-16T11:35:00.004-08:002022-01-16T11:35:52.074-08:00Poll: Best track on The Quest<p> I left this poll up a while and you voted in numbers, 288 of you. And the results were...</p><p>1. "The Ice Bridge" - 23%, 66 votes</p><p>2. "Sister Sleeping Soul" - 21%, 60 votes</p><p>3. "A Living Island" - 11%, 32 votes</p><p>4. "Leave Well Alone" - 10%, 29 votes</p><p>5. "Dare to Know" - 9%, 26 votes</p><p>6. "The Western Edge" - 8%, 22 votes</p><p>7. "Minus the Man" - 6%, 17 votes</p><p>8. "Music to My Ears" - 4%, 12 votes</p><p>9= "Damaged World" - 3%, 9 votes</p><p>9= "Mystery Tour" - 3%, 9 votes</p><p>11. "Future Memories" - 2%, 6 votes</p><p>It seems it was InsideOut who picked "The Ice Bridge" as the first single, so good choice there, but also InsideOut who put "Sister Sleeping Soul" on the second disc, a sort of relegation, yet it came second on this poll. That said, the other "bonus disc" tracks are down at the end.</p><p>Poor "Future Memories" - it doesn't deserve to be bottom! I can't remember now, but I think voted for "Leave Well Alone", unless I went for "Dare to Know"... They work as the core of the album for me.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-5455835389788071332021-09-30T06:12:00.004-07:002021-09-30T06:12:54.965-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2021?<p>I asked you what was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2021. There were 115 votes, which were as follows:</p><p>1. Downes Braide Association: <b>Halcyon Hymns</b> - 44% (50 votes)</p><p>2. Arc of Life: <b>Arc of Life</b> (w/ Davison, Sherwood) - 20% (23 votes)</p><p>? Mike Tiano: <b>Creétisvan</b> (w/ Sherwood) - 15% (17 votes)</p><p>3. Jon Anderson: <b>Sunlight</b> - 6% (7 votes)</p><p>4. <b>A Tribute to Pink Floyd – Still Wish You Were Here</b> (w/ Downes, R Wakeman, Moraz) - 5% (6 votes)</p><p>5. Rick Wakeman: <b>Return to the Centre of the Earth</b> deluxe box set - 4% (5 votes)</p><p>6. Nolan & Wakeman: <b>Tales by Gaslight</b> (w/ O Wakeman, R Wakeman, previously released material w/ Banks) - 3% (4 votes)</p><p>7. Fear Factory: <b>Aggression Continuum</b> (w/ Khoroshev) - 2% (2 votes)</p><p>8. Beth Patterson: <b>Singles</b> (w/ Sherwood) - 1% (1 vote)</p><p>There were no votes for Deckchair Poets' <b>The Crop Circlers' Guide to Abstract Expressionism</b> (w/ Downes), Badfinger's <b>No Matter What</b><b> – </b><b>Revisiting the Hits</b> (w/ R Wakeman) or John Holden & Friends' charity album <b>Together Apart</b> (w/ O Wakeman). All 17 votes for <b>Creétisvan</b> came in a clump in the last 2 days of the poll and mostly from just two IP addresses, so I don't think that represents an organic expression of feeling.</p><p>A clear win for <b>Halcyon Hymns</b> with over double the votes of the second place <b>Arc of Life</b>. <b>Sunlight</b> does well considering it was rapidly withdrawn from release!</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-39804641267294500872021-08-29T03:41:00.002-07:002021-08-29T03:47:49.830-07:00First thoughts on The Quest<p> InsideOut kindly sent me a copy of the new Yes album, <b>The Quest</b>. I presume, reader, you've heard "The Ice Bridge" and, to let you know where I am coming from, I enjoy it. I don't want to give away spoilers to the rest of the album. It's an album where it's nice to go in cold. Tracks like "Dare to Know" and "Leave Well Alone" have twists and turns that are worth hearing without knowing where they are going, while "Mystery Tour" is worth encountering fresh for the lyrics. But should curiosity overcome you...</p><p>This is proper headphones in a darkened room music; it's not going down the gym music. The first half is strong. Tracks 1-5 make for a good Yes album that can stand up to comparison with other Yes releases of the last 30 years. I'm sure opinions will be divided, because they always are, but these are interesting compositions, full of 'Yessy' arrangements, including lovely use of orchestra. The core of the album for me are the two big Howe compositions, "Dare to Know" and "Leave Well Alone", that combine dynamic arrangements, harmony vocals and esoteric lyrics in an effective way. At 6-8 minutes, they are not long by Yes standards, but they still take you on a journey. They feel like only Yes could have recorded them. The decision to add orchestra has paid off, adding an extra dimension.</p><p>Interleaved with those two are the Sherwood/Davison co-writes. Sherwood's songwriting is familiar from his solo albums and many other projects, and we've been introduced to the pair's writing in Arc of Life. "Minus the Man" and "The Western Edge" are recognisably from the same pen, yet benefit from Howe's production and the performance of the whole band and orchestra. I like the chaos of "The Western Edge", but it is the second shortest song on the album and I wished it had space (that's a joke you'll get when you hear the album) to go somewhere more.</p><p>I am guessing the latter half of the album will be more controversial. I enjoy "Future Memories" and "A Living Island", but they show a more romantic and lyrical side to Davison's writing. I loved "It was All We Knew" on <b>Heaven & Earth</b>, but many people said, while they enjoyed the song, it didn't belong on a Yes album. I can see the same complaints may arise here (not that I agree). "A Living Island" is interesting as a disc closer, travelling to unexpected places as it goes on, a bit yacht rock, a bit Queen, with a waving-lighters-in-the-air-at-the-end-of-a-gig vibe.</p><p>The bonus disc is just that. This is b-side material, nice to have as extras. "Damaged World", with a Howe lead vocal, is the strongest. "Mystery Tour", the weakest.</p><p>People felt <b>Heaven & Earth</b> was compartmentalised, Davison working with each other member, but the band not coming together to make an "Into the Storm". With the band divided by a pandemic, there's a worry of the same again. And it does still feel compartmentalised to a degree. This is the Howe song, this is the Sherwood song, this is the Davison song. There isn't a "Homeworld" here. But you do hear a band supporting each other. Sherwood's bass elevates "Leave Well Alone", while Howe's guitar lifts "The Western Edge". Downes and White do a nice intro for "Music to My Ears". "Future Memories" is Davison's but wouldn't be the same without Howe's input.</p><p>Overall, <b>The Quest</b> doesn't sound a lot like any prior Yes album while also being the sort of thing only Yes would do. It's a sincere album: this is who they are. They're not trying to have a hit single, or doing an 18 minute epic because the label wants one. A Yes without Squire <i>or</i> Anderson was always going to be a difficult sell. It won't heal divisions in Yes fandom (nothing could). The single LP version of the album, the first six tracks, might make for a stronger experience. But it is an album I am enjoying, and an album that finds new things to say after a 50+ year career.</p><div><br /></div>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-18230634938194133052021-08-03T10:00:00.003-07:002021-08-03T10:00:24.384-07:00What releases have you been looking forward to?<p>In the run up to the news of Yes's new album, <b><a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnyesm.htm#nexta">The Quest</a></b>, I read an online discussion where some people were saying they were looking forward more to certain other projects than to Yes's new album. It makes sense to me that some would: if you're more a fan of Jon Anderson, then you are going to be more excited about a project like <b>Invention of Knowledge 2</b> than a new album from the Steve Howe-led Yes. But I wanted to get a feel for how many people where excited about what forthcoming projects, so I ran this poll, and 153 of you voted.</p><p>Which new album are you most looking forward to?</p><p>1. The new Yes album (Howe, Davison, Downes, White, Sherwood): 73% (112 votes)</p><p>2. Trevor Rabin's next solo album: 10% (16 votes)</p><p>3. Anderson/Stolt 2: 9% (14 votes)</p><p>4. Jon Anderson's <b>1000 Hands: Chapter Two</b>: 4% (6 votes)</p><p>5. The new Rick Wakeman and English Rock Ensemble album: 3% (5 votes)</p><p>Since the poll began, we finally got the announcement around the new Yes album, plus "The Ice Bridge" as a single, so that makes the new Yes album rather more concrete than some of these projects. However, the results didn't seem to change much after the announcement.</p><p>It appears from this poll that <b>The Quest</b> is the main focus for readers of the site. Anderson gets the second most votes across his two different projects, with Rabin close behind. Also since the poll began, we've had an interview where Anderson (not for the first time) says he isn't going to do an album releases any more, so maybe we shouldn't expect <b>Chapter Two</b> or <b>Invention of Knowledge 2</b>? Anderson's plans often go back and forth: I expect he will have new music out in some form. Indeed, also since the poll began, we got the surprise release of <b>Sunlight</b>... albeit followed by the sudden withdrawal of that release (<a href="http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/2021/07/does-color-of-sun-turn-crimson-white.html">story here</a>)!</p><p>Bottom of the list, Wakeman's next album isn't attracting much attention, although <b>The Red Planet</b> got good reviews and fan reaction.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-34567729499748142142021-07-16T10:38:00.003-07:002021-07-16T23:53:25.103-07:00Does the color of the sun turn crimson white? Jon Anderson’s SunlightWhat was that all about? We’re still putting the pieces together, but it appears late in June, a Jon Anderson solo album called <b>Sunlight</b> appeared on streaming and digital sites worldwide, including Spotify, Amazon (at least US, UK and Japan), Qobuz and YouTube. No press release, no fanfare, it just appeared. On 15 July, Spotify recommended the album to Yes fan Keith Hoisington. Excited, he alerted the Yes fan community to this surprise. News spread fast, to <a href="http://www.yesfans.com/showthread.php?88111-New-Jon-Anderson-album-called-SUNLIGHT">Yesfans.com</a>, through Facebook groups and I got something up on <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnja.htm#sunlight">my news site</a> pronto.<div><br /></div><div>As of one day later, the album is not to be found anywhere. So what do we know?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sunlight</b> was not a regular solo album. It’s only about 32 minutes long with its 14 tracks around 2 minutes each. Only the title track exceeds 3 minutes. These are relatively simple pieces, but Anderson’s voice rings true and there are some nice melodies, good playing. It’s not out of place among Anderson’s latter day solo catalogue, but it’s not as proggy or complex in its playing as, say, <b>1000 Hands: Chapter One</b> or <b>Invention of Knowledge</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div>But what is it? Why did it appear, and disappear? Jon Anderson posted to Facebook, "'SUNLIGHT' is not a solo album...FYI....it's music I made with a close friend for the Universal music library ...production music created for movies, advertising and other avenues...not a solo album..." This was apparent at release. It was the Universal Production Music website that had most details, and additional alternate versions of the tracks.</div><div><br /></div><div>What is production music? Sometimes, a musician may be commissioned to do music for a film or TV, as Trevor Rabin does a lot. But with Sunlight and similar, music is written without any particular visuals in mind, but is then made available to be easily used in a production, with licensing arrangements all worked out. So you can search on the Universal Production Music website for different styles and moods of music. You’ve some film of a wooded glade: pop on the site and search under “Nature”.</div><div><br /></div><div>Steve Howe did a couple of albums like this in the eighties and nineties: <a href="http://relayer35.com/Yescography/guitarpl.htm"><b>Guitar Player</b></a> and <b><a href="http://relayer35.com/Yescography/GuitarPlus.htm">Guitar Plus</a></b>. Back then, these were very difficult to get hold of outside the industry. But, today, it appears Universal just dump copies of these sorts of release on Spotify, Amazon <i>etc.</i> as well as making them available as production music – because, I guess, why not? It’s a bit of extra income. That appears to have been the problem: the extra visibility wasn’t wanted.</div><div><br /></div><div>But where does the music come from? Who is Anderson’s "close friend"? That would appear to be Jonathan Elias. Anderson first worked with Elias when he guested on Elias’s <b>Requiem for the Americas: Songs from the Lost World</b>, released 1989. Anderson then brought in Elias to produce the second ABWH album, which mutated into <b>Union</b>. <b>Union</b> was not a happy experience, with Anderson and Elias bringing in multiple session musicians to replace the actual band members, including Jimmy Haun on guitar. Members like Rick Wakeman, as well as many fans, were unhappy (you can <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/iv/jeinterview.htm">read Elias’s side of the story here</a>). However, Anderson and Elias have stayed friends and continued to work together. Elias has a company doing music for adverts, TV and film, including often employing Haun. Haun is an old friend of Billy Sherwood and his brother Michael, and currently a member of Arc of Life.</div><div><br /></div><div>In recent years, Elias helped with Anderson’s 2011 digital release "Open". Around then, the two began a more substantial collaboration. Late 2012 and into 2013 saw sessions with Elias, Anderson, Haun and M Sherwood (who sadly passed away in 2019). The material was described as a mix of Anderson/Elias compositions and Anderson/Haun compositions. In January 2014, M Sherwood described what they had been working on: "here are some working titles to chew on.... The Given Love, The Remembering Gate, Children Yet To Come, Songs of Solomon and some nine minute orchestral thing which I think was called The Given Love part 2...They were all sounding so good. Also some Anderson collabs with Mr. Haun were taking place". However, the whole project had stalled by then.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re5XNM0G9ao">February 2021 interview with SOAL Night Live</a>, Haun picked up the story: "It’s so fucking great. The music is so good." He described how Anderson said the material got "a little too proggy for him [...] He was getting into something different at that point [...] He loved this band Battles [...] He was like, "Can we do something like Battles?" [...] Jon didn’t want to go down that road [progressive rock] again." (Anderson went on to guest on Battles’ 2019 <b>Juice B Crypts</b> album.) Haun continued, "I have these recordings and [...] God, I would love to, one day, be able to show people this stuff [...] Jon was very much a part of everything, and he was loving it, loving it, loving it. And then all of a sudden, it was like he changed his mind. And he wanted to do reggae and stuff. [...] But the music is there. So, I dunno, maybe one day he’ll be like "Let’s just do it.""</div><div><br /></div><div>A couple of Anderson/Elias collaborations did pop up on YouTube: "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elYT_UJ2itE ">Born Again</a>" in 2018 (a version of a 2013 piece by Elias without Anderson) and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FkGXw4dBEs">The Given Love</a>" in 2020, a 9:46 track with a title matching one from M Sherwood.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is there any connection between those older sessions and <b>Sunlight</b>? (I am presuming <b>Sunlight</b> was recorded recently, but maybe it wasn't?) The material on <b>Sunlight</b> doesn’t obviously match, but Elias and Haun are involved. We don’t know much about the material on <b>Sunlight</b>, but we have writing credits and the album has 4 pieces co-written with Elias and 3 co-written with Haun. Three of the other people involve (Zach Golden, David Ashok Ramani, Mike Fraumeni) all have past connections to Elias. This looks like an Elias project.</div><div><br /></div><div>So why we can’t listen to it? My guess is Anderson and/or his people had it pulled. Either he didn’t realise that it would be available for general sale, or he didn’t realise it would attract attention, but it appears someone panicked and was concerned that this would damage Anderson’s reputation or distract from his actual next solo album, whatever that might be (<b><a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnja.htm#1000">1000 Hands: Chapter Two</a></b>? <b><a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnja.htm#opus">Opus</a></b>?).</div><div><br /></div><div>While withdrawing the album from general release does solve that problem, we now have a situation where hardcore fans know something exists but they can’t get it, unless they were lucky enough to see the news about <b>Sunlight</b> quickly and buy a download. Of course, digital copies are now being sent round fan circles, as the album acquires a mythical status. It’s a shame a way wasn’t found to leave the album available, but to manage expectations around it.</div>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-54357580966264269962021-06-24T03:02:00.000-07:002021-06-24T03:02:37.413-07:00What was the best Yes-related album of 1991?<p>Another historical poll, this time of the best Yes-related album of 1991. <b>Union</b> had been released, the 8-piece band went on tour, but what else were the band members doing that year... and was their music outside the band any good? 78 of you voted and the results were:</p><p>1. Steve Howe: <b>Turbulence</b> (w/ Bruford): 37%, 29 votes</p><p>2. Queen: <b>Innuendo</b> (w/ Howe): 22%, 17 votes</p><p>3. Jon & Vangelis: <b>Page of Life</b> (w/ Anderson): 14%, 11 votes</p><p>4. Bill Bruford's Earthworks: <b>All Heaven Broke Loose</b>: 12%, 9 votes</p><p>5. Seal: <b>Seal</b> (w/ Horn, Rabin): 4%, 3 votes</p><p>6= Rick Wakeman: <b>2000 A.D. Into the Future</b>: 3%, 2 votes</p><p>6= Asia: <b>Live Mockba 09-X1-90</b> (w/ Downes): 3%, 2 votes</p><p>7= Rick Wakeman: <b>The Classical Connection</b>: 1%, 1 vote</p><p>7= The Moody Blues: <b>Keys of the Kingdom</b> (w/ Moraz): 1%, 1 vote</p><p>7= Marc Almond: <b>Tenement Symphony</b> (w/ Horn): 1%, 1 vote</p><p>There were 2 votes for 'other', but not specified as to what. There were no votes for Terry Reid's <b>The Driver</b> (w/ Horn, White) or for several Rick Wakeman albums (<b>African Bach</b>, <b>Soft Sword</b>, <b>Aspirant Sunshadows</b>, <b>Aspirant Sunset</b>, <b>The Private Collection</b>). Wakeman released a lot of albums that year...</p><p>A clear win, then, for <b>Turbulence</b>. Howe had recorded the album some years before, but it had got indefinitely delayed, which is why Howe brought some of the ideas in the album to ABWH for what eventually became <b>Union</b>. Then, unexpectedly, <b>Turbulence</b> re-appeared, putting Howe in the unexpected position of having two albums with common compositions in the same year.</p><p>Howe also nabs second place for his guest appearance on the title track of Queen's <b>Innuendo</b>, their last release while Freddie Mercury was alive. The album was huge in most of the world (if less so in the US), going Platinum in the UK, Germany, France, Spain <i>etc.</i> Indeed, I think the track "Innuendo" is the most widely heard thing Howe has ever played on. It was later included on Queen's <b>Greatest Hits II</b>, an album that has gone <i>13 times</i> Platinum in the UK, 8 times Platinum in Australia, 5 times Platinum in Spain, Diamond in France, and so on.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-75733115167630166972021-06-21T04:02:00.004-07:002021-06-24T11:11:10.025-07:00Mythbusting around the new Yes album<p> There's been a flurry of reports about a new Yes album. It appears this has been completed and we're looking at a release later this year. However, very little about it has been confirmed. In this vacuum of announcements, various rumours and misunderstandings have spread. I wanted to tackle some of these in this post. If there are any others that need combating or just where you are unsure what's going on, let me know in the comments!</p><p>The latest news I have <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnyesm.htm#nexta">about the new album is here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>We haven’t heard any music from the album yet<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">There is a video on YouTube and widely shared on Facebook
with pictures from the Yes sessions over a piece of music. This is just an unofficial video done by a fan. The music played is <b>not</b>
from the new Yes album. It’s "Love Is", the title track of Howe’s 2020 solo
album. That album did also have input from Jon Davison and engineer/mixer Curtis
Schwartz, who have worked on the new Yes album, which is I presume why it was
chosen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The photos, however, <b>are</b> from sessions for the new
Yes album, as posted by Schwartz on his Facebook page.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Eddie Offord is not involved</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Someone posted a rumour online, with no source given, claiming
Eddie Offord was producing the album and that it included an 18 minute track.
Sherwood has explicitly denied the report of Offord being involved. I take it
we can also dismiss the 18 minute track claim. Alan White has said there are no
epics (although he didn’t say what he counts as an epic) and that most of the
tracks are 5-8 minutes long.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>The album will probably be out by Thanksgiving</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There was a report that the album would be out by
Thanksgiving. This appears reliable. Sherwood has since said release would be
around September/October, consistent with that. However, there has not been any
official announcement.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Curtis Schwartz may be producing the album</b><o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Some people are talking about Curtis Schwartz as the
producer of the album. He <i>may</i> be, but we <i>don’t know</i>! Schwartz has
definitely been involved in recording sessions with Howe, Davison and Downes.
He’s also been involved in mixing the album. Whether he will be credited as the
producer or co-producer, we don’t yet know. It’s a reasonable guess.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Alan White is on drums</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Some people have wondered whether White is playing on all of the album, or if the band's primary touring drummer, Jay Schellen, has contributed. White has played all the drums on the album and has also contributed to the writing.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-25843805971991767412021-05-14T05:52:00.001-07:002021-05-14T05:52:09.088-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2020?<p>Thanks to the 61 of you who voted in our latest poll, on the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2020. The result was very boring!</p><p style="text-align: left;">1. Steve Howe: <b>Love is</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison): 84%, 51 votes</p><p style="text-align: left;">2= Blackfield: <b>For the Music</b> (<i>w</i>/ Horn): 3%, 2 votes</p><p style="text-align: left;">2= John Lennon: <b>Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes</b> (<i>w</i>/ White): 3%, 2 votes</p><p style="text-align: left;">2= Days Between Stations: <b>Giants</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood): 3%, 2 votes</p><p>5= Prog Collective: <b>Worlds on Hold</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison, Sherwood, Downes, Moraz): 2 %, 1 vote</p><p>5= The McBroom Sisters: <b>Black Floyd</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood): 2 %, 1 vote</p><p>5= In Continuum: <b>Acceleration Theory Special Edition Parts One & Two</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison, writing by Anderson): 2 %, 1 vote</p><p>5= Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy & Randy George: <b>Cov3r to Cov3r</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison): 2 %, 1 vote</p><p>There was 1 unspecified vote for 'Other'. There were, thus, no votes for Marcelo Paganini's <b>Identity Crisis</b>, Kurt Michaels' <b>Stones from the Garden</b>, The Rome Pro(G)ject's <b>IV - Beaten Paths Different Ways</b> or David Minasian's <b>The Sound of Dreams</b>, all with Billy Sherwood. Nor for Zebras Don't Smoke's <b>Don't Mention the Swedes</b>, nor Zorbonauts' <b>The Unobserved Beaver</b>, both with Geoff Downes. Nor Carrie Martin's <b>Entity</b> (<i>w</i>/ O Wakeman), nor Anyone's <b>On the Ending Earth...</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison).</p><p>So, a massive win for <b>Love is</b>, Steve Howe's latest solo album, with Jon Davison supplying bass and backing vocals on some tracks, and Dylan Howe drumming throughout.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-33815375527575318022020-12-12T03:46:00.006-08:002020-12-12T03:46:59.672-08:00Arc of Life make it real<p>We first heard about <a href="http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnyesm.htm#arc">Arc of Life</a> back in summer 2019, but details were sparse and it was just in December 2020 that we discovered the full line-up: Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, Jay Schellen, Jimmy Haun and Dave Kerzner. So, three members of the current live Yes band, someone who played on a Yes album, and a prominent figure in the modern prog scene who recently did a Yes tribute album.</p><p>To a degree, the news acted as an excuse for the usual arguments in present day Yes fandom to be recycled, but there was a good amount of interest in the new band. People couldn't help but talk about Arc of Life as a possible precursor of a next generation Yes, as with <a href="https://yessolidmentalgrace.com/2020/12/04/a-next-generation-yes/">Simon Barrow’s piece</a>.</p><p>Then the debut single, "You Make It Real", came out.</p><p>I've rarely seen the enthusiasm for a project drain away so fast. Sounding (and looking) like a forgotten pop song from 1990, even many of those who were looking forward to the new band seemed taken aback. iTunes samples for the full album suggest something more 'proggy', perhaps akin to CIRCA:, so I don't want to judge the album by the single. But someone chose to lead with that song.</p><p>There are two (separable but intertwined) issues here. The style of the song, and whether it's a good song within that style. The latter is subjective, so I want to start with the former: the style and its fit with the marketing of the new band.</p><p>When Yes-adjacent musicians go out and say they are deliberately making an album in a '70s prog style – as with Rick Wakeman's <b>The Red Planet</b>, CIRCA:'s own <b>Valley of the Windmill</b>, or Kansas's <b>The Absence of Presence</b> – it tends to go down well with the fans. Deviate from that style (as perhaps with Steve Howe's <b>Love Is</b>) and you get a muted reaction.</p><p>I'm not saying musicians should stay in their lane for fear of fan rejection. <b>Levin Torn White</b> is getting a re-release on vinyl and there's an album that surprised people with its style very successfully. Nor do I have anything against pop: I love pop (Dua Lipa's <b>Future Nostalgia</b> would be my pick of the year). The point I want to make is about marketing. Arc of Life must have realised that people will see them through the prism of Yes. They have definitely been marketed that way by Frontiers: Yes are explicitly mentioned 7 times in the video's blurb, including saying "that YES would be a clear point of influence". Promo talks of a "progressive rock philosophy, to craft creative, challenging, and ear-pleasing music that pushes boundaries" and a "grandiose and epic approach to music". So, if people are going to see you in those terms, if you are presented in those terms, wouldn't it make sense to pick a lead single that plays to that angle? Or, if nothing on the album does, to make sure the marketing feeds the message that this is a project in which the band members are doing something different from what you might expect. </p><p>Kerzner online has pushed back on expectations of something Yes-like. He said on Facebook: "It's Billy and Jon's new tunes with a new line up. [...] I arrived late in the game after the songs were already written. If someone came to me and said "Dave what would you do IF you were wanting to make a sort of next-generation Yes album" that would be different. That was never mentioned whatsoever. These are just my pals from the latest Yes line up who asked me to join their side project band". Musicians should follow their muses: if <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erato">Erato</a> whispered in Sherwood and Davison's ears the words to "You Make It Real", I'm not saying they shouldn't record such a song. But maybe don't release that as your lead single while your label declares that "YES is clearly the main point of comparison".</p><p>Just before the release of the debut Arc of Life single, we had the single for the new Downes Braide Association album, "Love Among the Ruins". Here is a Yes member with a successful side project with a different sound to Yes. DBA offer something much closer to mainstream pop than Yes normally do, and do so successfully. But then Chris Braide is a massively successful songwriter/producer in modern pop music. I ran a quick Twitter poll of "Love Among the Ruins" <i>versus</i> "You Make It Real": DBA are ahead 11:2. We're into subjective territory here. Any song, some people will like it, some won't. I'm not a fan of "You Make It Real", although most of the iTunes samples for the album sound more interesting.</p><p>So, what were you expecting from Arc of Life? What did you think of "You Make It Real"? Are you looking forward to the album, <b>Arc of Life</b>, or indeed to the new DBA release, <b>Halcyon Hymns</b>?</p><div><br /></div>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-21847807973551440242020-09-22T10:58:00.004-07:002020-09-22T10:58:39.628-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2020?<p>I hope everyone is having an OK pandemic. Perhaps buying some new music soothed your soul? I asked you all what was the best new Yes-related album of Jan-Jun 2020. 82 of you answered:</p><p>1. Rick Wakeman, <b>The Red Planet</b>: 37 votes (45%)</p><p>2. various artists: <b>A Tribute to Keith Emerson & Greg Lake</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood, Downes, Davison, Moraz): 20 votes (24%)</p><p>3. David Cross & Peter Banks: <b>Crossover</b> (<i>w</i>/ Downes, Sherwood, Kaye, O Wakeman): 18 votes (22%)</p><p>4. Trevor Rabin: <b>Can't Look Away - Deluxe</b>: 4 votes (5%)</p><p>5= John Holden: <b>Rise & Fall</b> (<i>w</i>/ Sherwood, O Wakeman): 1 vote (1%)</p><p>5= The Warriors: <b>The Lost Demos</b> (<i>w</i>/ Anderson): 1 vote (1%)</p><p><br /></p><p>There was 1 vote for 'other', but the album wasn't specified. There were no votes for <b>Lawrence: After Arabia - Original Movie Soundtrack</b> (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman R), Clannad's <b>In a Lifetime</b> (<i>w</i>/ Horn), Light Freedom Revival's <b>True Love Dreamwishes</b> (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman O), the "Yendor" audiobook (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman O), or Trevor Rabin's <b>Lost Soundtracks Vol 1 – Jack Frost</b> or <b>Lost Soundtracks Vol 2 – Film Music</b>.</p><p>The winner was not a surprise. <b>The Red Planet</b> has been getting rave reviews and is a significant release for Wakeman (senior). Most of the Yes-related albums in the first half of this year were finished before the pandemic began, but <b>The Red Planet</b> was finished after lockdown started and had a delayed release because of the difficulties. We'll see whether there's a crop of albums made entirely during lockdown over the next few months.</p><p>A commendable second place for another Cleopatra Records tribute album. That's better than most of these albums do. I think ELP's music adapts well to this format, as with the great <b>Encores, Legends and Paradox: A Tribute to ELP</b>, because it's music with lots of room for solos and personal touches to come through. Third was <b>Crossover</b>, my choice and probably the last significant Peter Banks release there'll ever be. In all, albums featuring Billy Sherwood collectively got 39 votes, two above <b>The Red Planet</b>.</p><p>My polling widget is now giving me results on a regional breakdown. US voters preferred <b>A Tribute to Keith Emerson & Greg Lake</b>, then <b>Crossover</b>, before <b>The Red Planet</b>, although maybe that's partly about copies of <b>The Red Planet</b> taking long to get over to the US? UK voters chose <b>The Red Planet</b>, only putting <b>A Tribute to Keith Emerson & Greg Lake</b> third equal. German votes also went for <b>The Red Planet</b>, while French voters picked <b>Can't Look Away</b>! There were also votes from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Japan and New Zealand.</p>Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987551704267616839.post-23617380671638161172020-05-29T11:54:00.000-07:002020-05-29T11:54:21.374-07:00Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2019?After an inexcusably long process - we started before most people had heard of a coronavirus! - we finally have the answer to what you thought was the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2019. Out of 75 votes, you said...<br />
<br />
1. Downes Braide Association: <b>Live in England</b>, 28 votes (37%)<br />
2. Steve Howe Trio: <b>New Frontier</b> (<i>w</i>/ writing by Bruford), 25 votes (33%)<br />
3. Refugee: <b>Refugee</b> [re-release] (<i>w</i>/ Moraz), 12 votes (16%)<br />
4. Rodney Matthews and Jeff Scheetz with Oliver Wakeman: <b>Trinity</b> (<i>w</i>/ Wakeman R), 6 votes (8%)<br />
5. In Continuum: <b>Acceleration Theory Part Two: Annihilation</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison, writing by Anderson), 4 votes (5%)<br />
6. Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders: <b>Get the Money</b> (<i>w</i>/ Davison), 0 votes (0%)<br />
<br />
So, a close result in the end, but victory for the Downes Braide Association's first live album, just ahead of my choice, the Steve Howe Trio album. The winners for the first half of the year were Jon Anderson's <b>1000 Hands: Chapter One</b> and Trevor Horn's <b>Reimagines the Eighties</b>, so combined I think that shows 2019 was a great year for Yes-related releases with representation from most of the band's best known members.Henry Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369300313889533829noreply@blogger.com0