Anderson Rabin Wakeman set list - a guess

Anderson Rabin Wakeman hit the stage for the first time in 2 days. We don't know what they're going to play, but I think we can make a good stab at what will be on the set list (if not the order). We know they're playing for two hours or a bit longer, so I make the following prediction and we'll see soon how right or wrong I am!

These are largely based on comments in the most recent interviews:

• "Perpetual Change"
• "Starship Trooper"
• "Roundabout"
• "Heart of the Sunrise"
• "And You and I"
• "Awaken"
• "Make It Easy intro/Owner of a Lonely Heart" 
• "Changes" (interviews imply more from 90125 and this one was mentioned a while back)
• something else from 90125
• "Rhythm of Love"
• "The Meeting"
• "I am Waiting" (recent interviews have talked of a "couple" of songs from Talk and Anderson mentioned this one some time back)
• "Endless Dream" (the obvious choice from Talk)

Anderson interweaving for ARW

Do you remember this from Jon Anderson, talking about the Anderson Ponty Band in a 2014 interview before their first show:

You don’t want all the songs sounding the same. I put them together in sections so that they’re 15-minute works: a well-known Jean-Luc piece, a new piece, and then a well-known Yes piece. And then the other way around [...] that’s what’s very good for a musician: the journey of performance. Sometimes the audience really enjoys the journey rather than every four or five minutes us stopping [...] I want to go on a little journey [...] After “Listening,” it goes into Amharic music, which is from Ethiopia

What we finally got did not really match that vision, being a more conventional series of songs.

And do you remember Anderson's "Open", released online 2011? That quoted a number of older compositions, notably using a theme from "New Language".

OK, now listen to this fascinating new radio interview with Jon from KVOI's Daily Double: you want the 26 April show. One of the interviewers says that, prior to the broadcast, Anderson had said that a particular Yes piece might be played in the Anderson Rabin Wakeman set. I'll not mention which, because spoilers, but it doesn't matter which for what follows. You see, Anderson interjects:

No, no, no, parts of it will work with this new piece that Rick sent over that I've been working on. I'm thinking, how to work on vignettes, so, er, this track will be going along […] jump into [the afore-not-mentioned Yes piece] […] then back into the next part of this new movement. […] We have the right to go in and out of our older music, into the newer music and interweave them, and, er, just see how it works.

And then they ask him what Yes pieces he wants to play with ARW:

Definitely [another piece, name removed coz spoilers] […] and we'll do the same thing. We're going to use a vignette of the main section towards the end and then go into the original song and then that will lead us into a new song. I think that's what we're going to try and do. We're going to try and balance out, so that we're not only presenting the music in a fresh way, but also in a very creative way.

The idea for a journey using sections of music for the Anderson Ponty Band, the re-appearance of themes in "Open", and now this quote. One could also consider the way "Mind Drive" was played live by Yes in 2004. It seems to me that Anderson is circling around an idea for how to present, interweaved, old and new music together... perhaps inspired by his interest in long-form pieces (compare Invention of Knowledge) and his recent listening experiences with Sibelius and Mahler?

Will it work, and will it be what fans want? The re-use of themes in "Open" attracted some criticism and the idea did not seem to come together for the Anderson Ponty Band, but live, with Anderson Rabin Wakeman, maybe this will go down better. Some liked the 2004 split "Mind Drive", although others didn't, and CIRCA: "Chronological Journey" was very popular.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments. And, as always, all the latest ARW news on the website.

Yes vs. AWR - timelines

When people talk about the possible Anderson Wakeman Rabin album and the competition this alt-Yes offers to Fly from Here, they tend to stress how we can enjoy both and this is not a contest. And they're right. But, you know, it's much more fun to look at it as a contest! I thought it would be interesting to look at timelines.

The new Yes as we know it was announced in September 2008 (although the idea of Yes moving on without Anderson was mooted as early as June 2008 in the initial panicked reaction to Anderson's ill health). That same month, the idea of doing an album at some point is mentioned in interviews. We'll take September 2008 as the starting date.

The idea of Anderson Wakeman Rabin, or Anderson Bruford Wakeman Rabin as the initial plan was, dates back to February 2010. Wakeman, without naming names, first described the project and plans for an album that month.

But it's one thing to moot doing an album at some point. That's not the same as really starting work. Of course, musicians are of always writing and often use older ideas, so this is difficult to assess. Still, let's try to identify when we first see serious and collaborative work towards an album. For Yes, that would seem to be September 2009 when Squire, Howe and O. Wakeman gathered to exchange ideas specifically for a new album. With AWR, it would appear to be January 2011, when Anderson first says that he and Wakeman have written material for the project (whereas his 2010 interviews talk of writing in the future). So, this first step took 12 months for Yes and 11 months for AWR.

For Yes, recording sessions began in October 2010, another 13 months on. Recording finished in February 2011 (3 months more) and the album was mastered in May 2011 for a June 2011 release. Presuming that happens to plan, that's 3 months from recording finished, 6 months from recording beginning, 19 months from joint writing beginning, 31 months from the project beginning.

AWR started later. To stay one month ahead of Yes, they need to start recording by February 2012 and aim for a September 2012 release. OK then, clock ticking...

AWR, official sites and a response

I recently reported, based on information I had received and believed to be reliable, that the Anderson Wakeman Rabin project was dead in the water. However, denials soon followed, most notably from Rick Wakeman in his April GORR. I quote the key section:

Wayne has mentioned to me that he received a lot of e-mails to the site displaying their displeasure at the news that the proposed project with Trevor Rabin and Jon Anderson was not going ahead. I must admit I threw my head in my hands when he told me as it is, to the very best of my knowledge and certainly Jon's as well, total rubbish.

There are some not very nice people out there who like to stir things up, and believe it or not, we know who some of them are. They are the equivalent to people who start computer viruses and I have no time for them. I have always said that if you hear a rumour, log into this site, and if it's confirmed here, then it's true. If it isn't, then treat it as a rumour started by somebody who thinks they know something, but actually don't!

Which would appear to be directed at me and the site!

I am, to say the least, confused as to the current situation with the project. I have faith in what I've heard, that there are issues with the AWR project, but the above and another denial from close to the trio are pretty clear. So, exactly what is going on, I don't know. My apologies if I am wrong.

I hope I am wrong. I'd like to see this project go forward. Rick's presumption of malice is wrong, but not unexpected: he's expressed similar negative views about online discussion before now. But I do agree with Rick that if you want the official news, go to the official sites.

I sometimes see people online going, "Henry said it, so it must be true," which is flattering, but mistaken. I am not an official site, I will deal with rumour, and I do get things wrong. I do my best to be right and how I work means I can often scoop official sites (as with the recent news around Geoff Downes replacing Oliver Wakeman), but I am wrong-footed too (I presumed the Mexico Yes dates in May would automatically be with Downes, but it appears that O. Wakeman may still be in the band for those). So, fingers crossed that AWR will move forward, and I'll update with any further news I hear.

What will 2011 bring?

Yes's calendar for the year is becoming clear. They're currently working on the new album, with a release in the second quarter expected (German magazine Eclipsed is saying April). After finishing the album, there's time off for other projects, including Asia touring in April/May, before Yes repeat their recent pattern of a summer North American tour with another act – Styx is reported to be the partner this year. [3 Feb: YesWorld have just announced some March dates for the US, so looks like Yes are squeezing an extra leg before Asia tour.]

Touring in South America may follow, before already confirmed Europe dates in the winter. Towards the end of the year, Asia may gather for studio sessions further to their next album being released in 2012, the 30th anniversary of the band's debut album.

But the current Yes line-up aren't the only game in town. Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin are working on a band project, which Wakeman says will happen this year, although Anderson recently said it would be this or next year. So, will 2011 be like 1989 all over, with two rival bands in competition? Unlike 1989, we may even have rival albums within months of each other, and rival tours at the same time. Fandom has already been polarised by the schism in Yes and Anderson's and R. Wakeman's continued absence. Will the online arguments heat up, or will the discussions calm down when there's actual output from both sides to compare? Some are already looking to the Anderson Wakeman Rabin project as the rightful Yes, and they stack up well against Squire, White and Howe:

Anderson v. Squire: Squire has been on every album released under the Yes name, but he wasn't on ABWH. Anderson has been on every album save Drama, but as the frontman and the main composer/lyricist, that could be round 1 to AWR.

Wakeman v. White: White has been on many more Yes albums than the in-again-out-again Wakeman, and he's contributed more to the songwriting, yet Wakeman is perhaps the best-known Yes member. Round 2 to AWR as well?

Rabin v. Howe: Rabin's three and a bit albums + "Owner of a Lonely Heart" against Howe's thirteen and a bit albums + "Roundabout"? Round 3 to HSW.

The current Yes do also have another former Yesman on board with Trevor Horn producing + Roger Dean doing the art + control of the name, but then Anderson Wakeman Rabin have yet to finalise the rest of their band. For me, the possible Achilles heel for Anderson Wakeman Rabin is that the three of them were never together in Yes (barring on the Union tour), which curtails the nostalgia factor. Anderson has hinted at a set list focusing on the YesWest period, but how does Wakeman being along fit in with that? (See previous blog post.)

To complicate matters further, Anderson and Wakeman as just a duo are also touring in 2011, while Anderson and Rabin (without Wakeman) appear to have done some film score work together.

And if the current Yes and Anderson/Wakeman/Rabin isn't enough for you, there's already a third 2011 project featuring three Yesmen. This is John Wetton's forthcoming new solo album, Raised in Captivity, produced, co-written and co-performed by Billy Sherwood, with guest appearances by Geoff Downes, Tony Kaye, very brief Yes member Eddie Jobson and others, including Steve Hackett. Expect release in the first half of the year.

Speaking of Hackett, another much anticipated release for 2011 is his album with Chris Squire. Now complete, we await release details, but again first half of the year seems likely. The album is already generating a buzz among those who have heard it.

Billy Sherwood, as ever, remains busy with plenty of other projects. A new CIRCA: album is expected, and he's been progressing with his own next solo album. A duo tour with Tony Kaye of Japan for April has been announced. New US prog band Mars Hollow made something of a splash with their debut album in 2010, produced by Ronan Chris Murphy, and they return in 2011 with a second album produced by Sherwood.

Other potential highlights of the year? We're still waiting for the Trevor Horn/The Producers concept album and for Trevor Rabin's new solo album. Jon Anderson's latest, Survival and Other Stories, is expected to get general release after having been available only on the Anderson Wakeman Project 360 tour in 2010. Rick Wakeman has floated possible projects with Keith Emerson and with Jon Lord, making his a busy year.

And there's still a few more Yesmen team-ups on the cards, with Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn back writing together and intriguing reports of a David Torn/Tony Levin/Alan White project (Alan there stepping into Bill Bruford's shoes).

What are you looking forward to most this year? Leave a comment below!