Part 3 of our survey covering albums featuring 3+ Yesmen together outside Yes covers 2000 through to the present day. There were 52 votes in all:
1. Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood: Conspiracy (w/ White) - 28 (54%)
2. CIRCA: 2007 (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White) - 13 (25%)
3. Return to the Dark Side of the Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (w/ Sherwood, Bruford, Kaye, Banks, Howe, Wakeman, White, Downes) - 3 (6%)
4= Pigs & Pyramids—An All Star Lineup Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd (w/ Sherwood, Squire, Kaye, White) - 2 (4%)
4= CIRCA: Live (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White) - 2 (4%)
4= John Wetton: Raised in Captivity (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Downes) - 2 (4%)
7. Abbey Road: A Tribute to The Beatles (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White, Downes) - 1 (2%)
8= Back Against the Wall (w/ Sherwood, Howe, Wakeman, White, Downes, Squire, Kaye) - 0
8= From Here to Infinity (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Howe, Wakeman, White) - 0
8= Led Box: The Ultimate Tribute to Led Zeppelin (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Wakeman, White, Downes) - 0
... and there was one 'other' vote for an ineligible album. So, a clear win for Conspiracy, with the debut CIRCA: album second. (The second Conspiracy album and multiple further CIRCA: releases only featured 2 Yesmen each and so didn't make this poll.)
The final will feature the first and second placed albums from the three semi-finals. That means:
Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water (w/ Bruford, Moraz): 1st in the 1970s poll
Rick Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII (w/ Squire, Bruford, Howe, White): 2nd equal in the 1970s poll
Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record (w/ Squire, White): 2nd equal in the 1970s poll
Symphonic Music of Yes (w/ Anderson, Bruford, Howe): 1st in the 1980/90s poll
The Buggles' Adventures in Modern Recording (w/ Horn, Downes, Squire): 2nd in the 1980/90s poll
Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood's Conspiracy (w/ White): 1st in the 2000s+ poll
CIRCA: 2007 (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White): 2nd in the 2000s+ poll
Seven albums: Squire is on five, White is on four, Bruford is on three, Howe, Wakeman and Sherwood are on two apiece. I don't know whether that says something about the popularity of those Yesmen (presumably so in Squire's case) or just about how often they collaborate!
We'll have the final poll shortly, which will then lead us up to the release in August of two more multi-Yesmen albums, The Prog Collective and Songs of the Century: An All-Star Tribute to Supertramp, both led by Sherwood and with guests including Squire, Wakeman, Downes, Banks and Kaye.
Showing posts with label CIRCA:. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CIRCA:. Show all posts
Monday, 2 July 2012
Thursday, 13 October 2011
The Big Poll: What was the best studio album of the last 12 months featuring multiple Yes men?
I wasn't certain whether to run this poll. This is a Yes fan site, so you would kinda expect a Yes album to easily defeat non-Yes albums. Why bother having the vote? But what exactly is and is not a Yes album remains contentious for some, with Fly from Here sporting only 60% (Howe/Squire/White) of what we call the classic line-up and The Living Tree, of course, featuring the other 40% (Anderson/Wakeman). So perhaps we should expect 60% of the vote for Fly from Here and 40% for The Living Tree?
But if I was going to have a poll of Fly from Here vs. The Living Tree, it seemed unfair to overlook other "spin-offs" involving multiple Yesmen, so, with a one year time frame, that adds CIRCA: (Kaye/Sherwood). And the final wildcard, released (most places) about the same time as Fly from Here and on the same label, is John Wetton's Raised in Captivity, which Wetton made in close collaboration with Sherwood and which features guest appearnaces from Kaye again and from Geoff Downes.
So, four albums, one labelled Yes, but three infused with the Yes spirit, and all four featuring multiple Yesmen: that seems like a fair poll on a Yes fan site. There seems no a priori reason why the album that says Yes on the cover would necessarily win against this competition.
The poll was clearly popular with a total of170 187 votes. [Edit: The poll stayed up longer than intended, so I give the final results below.] And the result?
Yes: Fly from Here -- 163 (87%)
Anderson & Wakeman: The Living Tree -- 18 (10%)
CIRCA: And So On -- 4 (2%)
John Wetton: Raised in Captivity -- 2 (1%)
That appears like a comprehensive victory for Fly from Here. Some do prefer The Living Tree, but they're in a quite small minority. CIRCA: and Raised in Captivity avoid the embarrassment of getting zero votes, but this result doesn't suggest they've made much impact on Yes fans.
The Living Tree won the poll of best Yes-related album of the second half of 2010, and albums by Anderson and Wakeman have done well in those polls, so it's not that The Living Tree is unloved (or that Anderson/Wakeman fans have deserted the website), but Fly from Here does appear to have bested it.
With The Living Tree In Concert Part One due next month and the Anderson/Wakeman/Rabin project still on the horizon, we'll see how they do against other big Yes-related projects (like Levin Torn White, Squackett, Rabin's Jackaranda, Howe's Time and a new Mystery album) in future polls.
But if I was going to have a poll of Fly from Here vs. The Living Tree, it seemed unfair to overlook other "spin-offs" involving multiple Yesmen, so, with a one year time frame, that adds CIRCA: (Kaye/Sherwood). And the final wildcard, released (most places) about the same time as Fly from Here and on the same label, is John Wetton's Raised in Captivity, which Wetton made in close collaboration with Sherwood and which features guest appearnaces from Kaye again and from Geoff Downes.
So, four albums, one labelled Yes, but three infused with the Yes spirit, and all four featuring multiple Yesmen: that seems like a fair poll on a Yes fan site. There seems no a priori reason why the album that says Yes on the cover would necessarily win against this competition.
The poll was clearly popular with a total of
Yes: Fly from Here -- 163 (87%)
Anderson & Wakeman: The Living Tree -- 18 (10%)
CIRCA: And So On -- 4 (2%)
John Wetton: Raised in Captivity -- 2 (1%)
That appears like a comprehensive victory for Fly from Here. Some do prefer The Living Tree, but they're in a quite small minority. CIRCA: and Raised in Captivity avoid the embarrassment of getting zero votes, but this result doesn't suggest they've made much impact on Yes fans.
The Living Tree won the poll of best Yes-related album of the second half of 2010, and albums by Anderson and Wakeman have done well in those polls, so it's not that The Living Tree is unloved (or that Anderson/Wakeman fans have deserted the website), but Fly from Here does appear to have bested it.
With The Living Tree In Concert Part One due next month and the Anderson/Wakeman/Rabin project still on the horizon, we'll see how they do against other big Yes-related projects (like Levin Torn White, Squackett, Rabin's Jackaranda, Howe's Time and a new Mystery album) in future polls.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Yesmen together outside Yes
Apparently, on last Saturday’s Rick’s Place (Rick Wakeman’s radio show on Planet Rock), Rick announced that he is working on an album with Trevor Rabin and two, as yet unnamed, other ex-Yesmen. Cue furious speculation at Yesfans.com about what this might be and the identity of the two others. Billy Sherwood posted a non-committal message that would seem to imply he wasn’t involved. If I had to guess, I’d say the other two will be Jon Anderson and Tony Levin (whether you consider him an ex-Yesman or not), but we know so little, it could be almost anyone.
Perhaps more important than who the other two Yesmen might be is the question of what this project is going to be. Is this basically a solo album with guest appearances, or is this a full-blown collaboration? What many want is a rival Yes, a second ABWH. Given Rabin and Wakeman both seem averse to large-scale touring and given both appear to remain committed to their many other works, I get the impression that we’re not looking at the genesis of a rival Yes band.
So, presuming reports are accurate and this project comes to fruition, what might four Yesmen working together sound like? The Yesmen have often worked with each other outside the band: e.g. Asia, The Buggles, CIRCA:, Moraz/Bruford, White, Turbulence, 1984 and so on. Three Yesmen working together is less common, but there are still a fair few examples: Ramshackled, Fish Out of Water, Adventures in Modern Recording, Conspiracy, In the U.K., Criminal Record, All to Bring You Morning, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Esquire, Jabberwocky and more.
But four or more Yesmen on an album, we’re down to a fairly short list. I can think of 13.
1. ABWH (1989) – of course! I almost didn’t include it here as I just think of it as a Yes album
2. The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Rick Wakeman, 1973) – Wakeman, Squire, Howe and Bruford together on “Catherine of Aragon” plus White on other tracks
3. Beginnings (Steve Howe, 1975) – Howe, White and Moraz together on three tracks, plus Bruford on others
4. The Steve Howe Album (Steve Howe, 1979) – Howe, Bruford and Moraz on “All’s a Chord” plus White on other tracks
5. The Classical Connection II (Rick Wakeman, 1992) – includes a Six Wives era recording called “Farandol” with Squire, Howe and Bruford
6. Tales from Yesterday (various artists, 1995) – Howe, Sherwood, Banks and Moraz appear, but all on separate tracks
7. Pigs & Pyramids—An All Star Lineup Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd (various artists co-organised by Sherwood, 2002) – Sherwood, Squire and White together on “Comfortably Numb” plus Kaye and Levin on other tracks
8. Back Against the Wall (various artists organised by Sherwood, 2005) – recycles “Comfortably Numb” and Kaye’s track from Pigs & Pyramids, plus new appearances from Sherwood, Levin, White, Wakeman, Howe and Downes, but mostly apart (“Hey You” unites Sherwood, Downes and White)
9. Return to the Dark Side of the Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (various artists organised by Sherwood, 2006) –Kaye, White, Wakeman, Howe, Bruford, Banks, Downes and Levin all guest but often separately: “Speak to Me” unites Kaye and White with Sherwood producing; “The Great Gig in the Sky” unites Sherwood, Howe and Wakeman; “Money” unites Sherwood, Bruford and Levin (seemingly recorded entirely separately); “Eclipse” unites Kaye and Banks with Sherwood producing
10. CIRCA: 2007 (2007) – Sherwood, Kaye, White and writing contributions from Rabin
11. From Here to Infinity (Jim Ladd’s Headsets, 2007) – includes a cover of “Starship Trooper” organised by Sherwood with him, Kaye, Wakeman, White and Howe all performing
12. Led Box: The Ultimate Tribute to Led Zeppelin (various artists co-organised by Sherwood, 2008) – Sherwood, White and Kaye are all on “All of My Love”, with Wakeman and Downes appearing on other tracks
13. Abbey Road: A Tribute to The Beatles (various artists co-organised by Sherwood, 2009) – with Sherwood/White/Kaye on “Get Back” and Sherwood/White/Downes on “Let It Be”
Most of these don’t actually have the four Yesmen playing together and there’s no guarantee that this new Wakeman/Rabin project won’t be the same, with just scattered guest appearances. When do we actually get four Yesmen together on the same track? Apart from ABWH, there’s “Catherine of Aragon”, “Farandol”, “Lost Symphony”, “Beginnings”, “Will o’ the Wisp”, “All’s a Chord” and “Starship Trooper” (2007 cover), plus CIRCA:’s “Don’t Let Go” and “Look Inside” if including Rabin’s writing contribution.
I like all those albums (some more than others) as I like most of the albums with three Yesmen, but there’s clearly a huge variation between them. With some, additional Yesmen make guest appearances that amount to little more than curios. Others are good, but just completely different from Yes. And then sometimes, there is something of the Yes magic and an almost-Yes piece emerges. That list of 9 individual pieces with 4+ Yesmen would make a pretty good lost Yes album.
In terms of who’s most collaborative, across the 13 albums listed, White is on 10 (confirming his reputation as being easy to work with), Howe 9, Sherwood 8, Wakeman & Kaye 7 each, Bruford 6, Squire & Downes 4 each, Moraz & Levin 3 each, Banks 2, and Anderson & Rabin 1 each.
Perhaps more important than who the other two Yesmen might be is the question of what this project is going to be. Is this basically a solo album with guest appearances, or is this a full-blown collaboration? What many want is a rival Yes, a second ABWH. Given Rabin and Wakeman both seem averse to large-scale touring and given both appear to remain committed to their many other works, I get the impression that we’re not looking at the genesis of a rival Yes band.
So, presuming reports are accurate and this project comes to fruition, what might four Yesmen working together sound like? The Yesmen have often worked with each other outside the band: e.g. Asia, The Buggles, CIRCA:, Moraz/Bruford, White, Turbulence, 1984 and so on. Three Yesmen working together is less common, but there are still a fair few examples: Ramshackled, Fish Out of Water, Adventures in Modern Recording, Conspiracy, In the U.K., Criminal Record, All to Bring You Morning, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Esquire, Jabberwocky and more.
But four or more Yesmen on an album, we’re down to a fairly short list. I can think of 13.
1. ABWH (1989) – of course! I almost didn’t include it here as I just think of it as a Yes album
2. The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Rick Wakeman, 1973) – Wakeman, Squire, Howe and Bruford together on “Catherine of Aragon” plus White on other tracks
3. Beginnings (Steve Howe, 1975) – Howe, White and Moraz together on three tracks, plus Bruford on others
4. The Steve Howe Album (Steve Howe, 1979) – Howe, Bruford and Moraz on “All’s a Chord” plus White on other tracks
5. The Classical Connection II (Rick Wakeman, 1992) – includes a Six Wives era recording called “Farandol” with Squire, Howe and Bruford
6. Tales from Yesterday (various artists, 1995) – Howe, Sherwood, Banks and Moraz appear, but all on separate tracks
7. Pigs & Pyramids—An All Star Lineup Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd (various artists co-organised by Sherwood, 2002) – Sherwood, Squire and White together on “Comfortably Numb” plus Kaye and Levin on other tracks
8. Back Against the Wall (various artists organised by Sherwood, 2005) – recycles “Comfortably Numb” and Kaye’s track from Pigs & Pyramids, plus new appearances from Sherwood, Levin, White, Wakeman, Howe and Downes, but mostly apart (“Hey You” unites Sherwood, Downes and White)
9. Return to the Dark Side of the Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (various artists organised by Sherwood, 2006) –Kaye, White, Wakeman, Howe, Bruford, Banks, Downes and Levin all guest but often separately: “Speak to Me” unites Kaye and White with Sherwood producing; “The Great Gig in the Sky” unites Sherwood, Howe and Wakeman; “Money” unites Sherwood, Bruford and Levin (seemingly recorded entirely separately); “Eclipse” unites Kaye and Banks with Sherwood producing
10. CIRCA: 2007 (2007) – Sherwood, Kaye, White and writing contributions from Rabin
11. From Here to Infinity (Jim Ladd’s Headsets, 2007) – includes a cover of “Starship Trooper” organised by Sherwood with him, Kaye, Wakeman, White and Howe all performing
12. Led Box: The Ultimate Tribute to Led Zeppelin (various artists co-organised by Sherwood, 2008) – Sherwood, White and Kaye are all on “All of My Love”, with Wakeman and Downes appearing on other tracks
13. Abbey Road: A Tribute to The Beatles (various artists co-organised by Sherwood, 2009) – with Sherwood/White/Kaye on “Get Back” and Sherwood/White/Downes on “Let It Be”
Most of these don’t actually have the four Yesmen playing together and there’s no guarantee that this new Wakeman/Rabin project won’t be the same, with just scattered guest appearances. When do we actually get four Yesmen together on the same track? Apart from ABWH, there’s “Catherine of Aragon”, “Farandol”, “Lost Symphony”, “Beginnings”, “Will o’ the Wisp”, “All’s a Chord” and “Starship Trooper” (2007 cover), plus CIRCA:’s “Don’t Let Go” and “Look Inside” if including Rabin’s writing contribution.
I like all those albums (some more than others) as I like most of the albums with three Yesmen, but there’s clearly a huge variation between them. With some, additional Yesmen make guest appearances that amount to little more than curios. Others are good, but just completely different from Yes. And then sometimes, there is something of the Yes magic and an almost-Yes piece emerges. That list of 9 individual pieces with 4+ Yesmen would make a pretty good lost Yes album.
In terms of who’s most collaborative, across the 13 albums listed, White is on 10 (confirming his reputation as being easy to work with), Howe 9, Sherwood 8, Wakeman & Kaye 7 each, Bruford 6, Squire & Downes 4 each, Moraz & Levin 3 each, Banks 2, and Anderson & Rabin 1 each.
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