What does 2025 hold for Yes fans?

I believe 7 Yesmen have releases or live dates announced for 2025: Jon Anderson (Band Geeks live album and tour), Bill Bruford (Pete RothTrio shows), Rick Wakeman (solo shows), Geoff Downes (Asia live), Trevor Horn (onefestival appearance announced), Billy Sherwood (on Dave Kerzner’s Genesistribute album), and Jon Davison (at John Lodge live shows).

Although without announced dates, there are various other projects expected in 2025. How confident we can be of these actually happening varies, but I think we can have strong expectations for: a new Yes album and tour, a new Downes Braide Association album, and a new Rick Wakeman solo piano album.

More up in the air, but possible, is plenty more. There are three albums with Billy Sherwood that look like good bets for 2025: exo-X-xeno’s (also with Patrick Moraz); a new CIRCA: album (also with Tony Kaye and Jay Schellen); and an album with Dave Kerzner and Fernando Perdomo. There is a whole suite of Jon Anderson projects that might appear, with various follow-up albums (Anderson Stolt 2; 1000 Hands: Chapter 2; and a second studio album with the Band Geeks) and maybe the eventual realisation of some very long-running projects, Zamran (dating back at least to 2000) and Chagall (from 1980!). Other projects we could see include a new Asia album and more touring; maybe another Trevor Horn album; and various projects with Oliver Wakeman (maybe a tour, but more probably a release).

Can we put any firmer timelines or expectations on some of those? We know Yes have been working on a new album for a while and it is now expected in 2025. Can we narrow down that window? Probably not! An announcement early in the new year wouldn’t surprise me. There is a report that DBA are looking at a summer release for their next album. Management and everybody else will want some space (months) between releasing the new DBA and Yes albums, I’d guess. If DBA think a summer release is viable, that would fit with a Yes album coming in spring and an announcement in the new year.

On the other hand, the Yes Music Podcast in December said Paul K Joyce is "currently working on the next Yes album". If we interpret that literally, that means recording sessions haven’t finished, but are nearing the end. There were two orchestral recording sessions for Mirror to the Sky, held on 29 April and 11 May 2022. The album’s first single came 10 March 2023, with album release in May 2023. If Joyce was doing recording sessions in December 2024, that implies a release deep into the second half of 2025. If DBA think the summer is clear, does that mean a winter Yes release?

I don’t know. Yes run a tight ship and there are few leaks. If I had to bet, I’d guess spring, but time will tell if that’s wishful thinking.

Do we have any idea what the album might be like? It’s the same team as on Mirror to the Sky, including Joyce and I presume Schwartz. The band rushed straight from The Quest into Mirror to the Sky, leading to the shortest gap between two Yes albums since the odd circumstances of Keys to Ascension 2 and Open Your Eyes. But album number three in this series has taken longer. That’s partly to do with touring returning to normal levels after COVID-19. Does that mean something obviously a continuation of the previous two albums, or has more time meant more evolution? Howe has talked of writing six songs in late 2019 that were then all used over The Quest and Mirror to the Sky. With that body of work used up, does that imply something different for the new album?

Another Yes tour is almost inevitable. There have been rumours of a US tour in the first half of 2025. It may depend on when the album comes out.

We also have that new DBA album to look forward to. Before then, we’ve had a scattering of Asia dates already announced across two continents. I presume we will see more substantial touring; new singer/bassist Harry Whitley has talked about a West Coast US tour. Whitley has also said that the new line-up will be working on a new album, although his comments suggest they have not started writing yet, so that implies a release is going to be late 2025 or, more likely, into 2026.

Anderson has announced the release of a live album with the Geeks, Live – Perpetual Change, out in March 2025, and an associated US tour leg. They are clearly eager to make it over to Europe, but we’ve not seen any dates yet. While Anderson had initially spoken of not doing another album with the Geeks, the positive artistic and commercial reaction to True seems to have changed his mind and he has started on a second studio album with them. That might be out before the end of 2025 if they get their skates on, although again I expect 2026 is more likely. But Anderson also has multiple other projects in play. Before True’s success took over his plans, he had seemed more focused on Zamran, hoping to release a Chapter One in 2025, and staging “Chagall” as a musical. Work has been continuing off and on towards a second Anderson/Stolt album and Anderson has mooted a 2025 release for that too. 1000 Hands: Chapter Two appears close to completion. It’s an extraordinary flowering of creativity to have so many projects lined up. The albums all seem plausible for 2025, although the finances of stage musicals are much harder to arrange.

Most obviously missing from this list is Trevor Rabin. He had talked of another solo album to follow Rio and possible touring, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything.

All the above does presume a certain degree of geopolitical stability. In recent years, COVID-19 was world-changing, while the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacted some eastern European touring plans (although of course the effects on the music industry were minor compared to the wider tragedies of both). Hopefully 2025 won’t bring anything similar, but if Donald Trump actually went through with a US invasion of Panama or Greenland, that would probably mean no UK-based bands visiting the US, while his tariff proposals and any retaliation by other countries could also hit touring plans.

2023 in review: Yes, solo projects and more

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: workload, nostalgia, commercial success, and quality.

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.

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.

WORKLOAD

For workload or productivity, I'm considering live shows and releases.

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 Celestial Songs this year, but recording was completed in April 2022, with the release delayed. Likewise, Rabin released Rio, but he had been working on that for some years. He did very little work on it in 2023. Others (e.g., 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!

NOSTALGIA

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. 

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

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.

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.

QUALITY

This is, of course, wholly subjective, but I'm going to give you my opinions. You may have your own, of course. 

OK, everyone clear what we're doing? Then let's start. 

WORKLOAD, approximately from least to most

Patrick Moraz: 1 show, no material released. Moraz played a solo show at ProgStock 2023.

Oliver Wakeman: 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 Evergreen 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.

Jon Anderson: 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 1000 Hands: Chapter Two 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.

Rick Wakeman: ~28 shows, 3 songs released. I'm counting A Gallery of the Imagination 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 Meddle Reimagined, 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.

Jay Schellen: 27 shows, 1 album released. Schellen played 26 dates on Yes's tour (excluding the two cancelled shows) and played on Yes's Mirror to the Sky. He also appeared at the John Wetton tribute show.

Trevor Rabin: no shows, ~2 albums and 1 additional song released. Rabin released Rio this year. There was also National Treasure: Edge of History (Original Series Soundtrack) 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, e.g. Rabin doing almost everything on Rio, versus Schellen just drumming on Mirror to the Sky.

Billy Sherwood: 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' Stones from the Garden, two standalone tracks with Cameron Carpenter, and 1 track on Laughing Stock's Songs for the Future.

Steve Howe: 26 dates, 2 albums released (plus a remix album). As well as his work in Yes, Howe also released Motif, Volume 2. While I'm not including archival releases, Howe did also lead on the Tomorrow release, Permanent Dream, that involved substantial remixing.

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 Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn) with father-in-law John Lodge. He also guested on 1 track of Anyone's Miracles in the Nothingness. So, over twice as many live dates as anyone else yet in our list. You can see why he wrote "Circles of Time" now.

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 Echoes – Ancient & Modern and there was also the 45Gb+ Jupiter production collection from Spitfire Audio.

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 Mirror to the Sky, he had another Downes Braide Association album in Celestial Songs, and he produced The Cold Blooded Hearts' The Cold Light of Day, on which he also performed on all but 3 tracks. He also did a song with Aaron Emerson and 1 track on Meddle Reimagined. 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.

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.

Tony Levin played 22 dates with Peter Gabriel and performed on his new album i/o. 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 MEMEmusic 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.

NOSTALGIA, approximately from most to least

Patrick Moraz: very nostalgic. I haven't seen a full set list for his one show, but it seems to have been familiar material.

Trevor Horn: very nostalgic. His live work was all old material. His album consists of covers.

Jon Anderson: 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.

Rick Wakeman: 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.

Jon Davison: fairly nostalgic. On the anti-nostalgia side, he's got Mirror to the Sky 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.

Steve Howe: fairly nostalgic. Yes released a new album, but on most nights only played 1 song from it. Motif, Volume 2 includes 4 new pieces, but the rest of it is re-interpreting older songs, while the Tomorrow release was all remixing old songs.

Jay Schellen: middling. Live Yes (nostalgic) versus new Yes album (anti-nostalgic).

Billy Sherwood: fairly anti-nostalgic. Same as Schellen, except with a few more recorded tracks of new material.

Oliver Wakeman: 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.

Geoff Downes: fairly anti-nostalgic. While his live sets were nostalgic, being involved in three albums of new material puts him high on this list.

Trevor Rabin: very anti-nostalgic. Almost everything Rabin did this year was new material.

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS, approximately from least to most

Based on what chart data I could find, I think the albums go in a decreasing order of sales as follows: Mirror to the Sky > Echoes – Ancient & Modern > Rio > A Gallery of the Imagination > Celestial Songs, and then maybe Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn and Permanent Dream, 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…

Moraz, O Wakeman: nothing of note.

Jon Anderson: 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.

Rick Wakeman: I think Wakeman was playing to smaller audiences than Anderson or Yes in the US. Gallery 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.

Trevor Rabin: Rio 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.

Trevor Horn: 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. Echoes 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.

Billy Sherwood & Jay Schellen: Both Sherwood's and Schellen's notable sales were just from Yes. Mirror to the Sky 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. 

Jon Davison: As well as his work in Yes, Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn made #42 on Italian iTunes.

Steve Howe: As well as Yes, Tomorrow's Permanent Dream 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.

Geoff Downes: As well as Yes, Celestial Songs 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.

Among not quite Yes alumni, Tony Levin stands out. Peter Gabriel's i/o 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' Hackney Diamonds, 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.

QUALITY

Of the various projects mentioned above, my favourite was Mirror to the Sky. 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 Echoes – Ancient & Modern. I'd put Rio 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, Echoes or Rio, I would choose Echoes.

I am enjoying Celestial Songs: it's not clicked with me in the same way as Halcyon Hymns, but it's still a good one, so I'll put it fourth. Those are my standouts. Of the rest, National Treasure: Edge of History is not bad for a score album. The Cold Light of Day is a surprisingly good rock album, certainly the best album by a football player I've listened to. I like Motif, Volume 2, it does exactly what you would expect, no more, no less. I'll go with Cold Light fifth, Motif 2 sixth and National Treasure seventh.

In terms of the various guest appearances, Miracles in the Nothingness, Songs for the Future etc., nothing really jumped out at me, not that I have heard everything. Maybe "One of These Days" with Downes on Meddle Reimagined is the best of the lot.

I thought A Gallery of the Imagination was terrible, but if I'm counting it as a 2022 album, I can't blame Wakeman for it here! Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn was unimpressive.

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.

Put that all together and I think my personal ranking would be: Anderson (best live work), Horn (me = fanboy), Howe (for leading on Mirror to the Sky and Motif 2 is solid), Rabin (great work in Rio 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.)

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.

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.

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, 1000 Hands: Chapter Two, Zamran (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.

Looking ahead to 2023

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 Relayer 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.

Meanwhile, Jon Anderson also has a new album and tour due in 2023. Producer Michael Franklin was planning to finish recording for 1000 Hands: Chapter Two 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.

Also due is the new Downes Braide Association album, Celestial Songs. 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.

There’s a pattern here. Yes will have a new album, but the tour will focus on an old one, Relayer (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 Asia (1982) and possibly Alpha (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, A Gallery of the Imagination, 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.

In just the last few days, we’ve had news about Trevor Rabin’s new solo album, expected some time in 2023 and entitled Rio. He’s talked of a rock album with vocals, so something more in the style of Can’t Look Away than Jacaranda. In terms of former band members releasing solo albums, we also have Oliver Wakeman saying Anam Cara is due this year.

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.

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.

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 Planetary Overload Part 2: Hope. Steve Howe will probably give us Homebrew 8.

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.

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.

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?

What are you looking forward to in 2023?

What releases have you been looking forward to?

In the run up to the news of Yes's new album, The Quest, 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 Invention of Knowledge 2 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.

Which new album are you most looking forward to?

1. The new Yes album (Howe, Davison, Downes, White, Sherwood): 73% (112 votes)

2. Trevor Rabin's next solo album: 10% (16 votes)

3. Anderson/Stolt 2: 9% (14 votes)

4. Jon Anderson's 1000 Hands: Chapter Two: 4% (6 votes)

5. The new Rick Wakeman and English Rock Ensemble album: 3% (5 votes)

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.

It appears from this poll that The Quest 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 Chapter Two or Invention of Knowledge 2? 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 Sunlight... albeit followed by the sudden withdrawal of that release (story here)!

Bottom of the list, Wakeman's next album isn't attracting much attention, although The Red Planet got good reviews and fan reaction.

Does the color of the sun turn crimson white? Jon Anderson’s Sunlight

What was that all about? We’re still putting the pieces together, but it appears late in June, a Jon Anderson solo album called Sunlight 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 Yesfans.com, through Facebook groups and I got something up on my news site pronto.

As of one day later, the album is not to be found anywhere. So what do we know?

Sunlight 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, 1000 Hands: Chapter One or Invention of Knowledge.

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.

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”.

Steve Howe did a couple of albums like this in the eighties and nineties: Guitar Player and Guitar Plus. 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 etc. 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.

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 Requiem for the Americas: Songs from the Lost World, released 1989. Anderson then brought in Elias to produce the second ABWH album, which mutated into Union. Union 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 read Elias’s side of the story here). 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.

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.

In a February 2021 interview with SOAL Night Live, 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 Juice B Crypts 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.""

A couple of Anderson/Elias collaborations did pop up on YouTube: "Born Again" in 2018 (a version of a 2013 piece by Elias without Anderson) and "The Given Love" in 2020, a 9:46 track with a title matching one from M Sherwood.

Is there any connection between those older sessions and Sunlight? (I am presuming Sunlight was recorded recently, but maybe it wasn't?) The material on Sunlight doesn’t obviously match, but Elias and Haun are involved. We don’t know much about the material on Sunlight, 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.

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 (1000 Hands: Chapter Two? Opus?).

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 Sunlight 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.

Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2019?

58 votes are in and the results were:

1. Jon Anderson: 1000 Hands: Chapter One (w/ Howe, Squire, White): 26 votes, 45%
2. Trevor Horn: Reimagines the Eighties: 11 votes, 19%
3. King Crimson: Live in Newcastle, December 8, 1972 (w/ Bruford): 10 votes, 17%
4. Billy Sherwood: Citizen In the Next Life: 8 votes, 14%
5. In Continuum: Acceleration Theory Part One: AlienA (w/ Davison, writing by Anderson): 2 votes, 3%
6. Trevor Horn: Reimagines the Eighties Instrumentals: 1 vote, 2%
7= Kilty Town: Kilty Town (w/ Wakeman): 0 votes, 0%
7= Deckchair Poets: A Bit of Pottery (w/ Downes): 0 votes, 0%
7= United Progressive Fraternity: Planetary Overload Part 1: Loss (w/ Davison): 0 votes, 0%

I am not surprised that 1000 Hands, Jon Anderson's mix of '90s and recent sessions, won, and with nearly half of the votes. It's a great album and Yes fans have been thrilled to hear Chris Squire and Alan White playing, but mostly by the reunion of Anderson and Howe on the final track, with hopes that this might presage a reunion. (I don't think it will!)

Second, by just one vote, is Reimagines the Eighties, the most high profile release of the period, making #11 in the UK album chart.

There are, at least to my ears, some gems at the bottom end of the chart too. The In Continuum album is the latest project from Dave Kerzner, and his best yet. "Scavengers" is the stand-out track for me. Kilty Town, which had a small release back at the beginning of the year, is worth tracking down: world folk from Nic Cacciapo and friends, including Rick Wakeman guesting on two pieces.

Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of 1988?

Another bumper year for Yes-related releases, with Steve Howe in particular busy while not in a major band project of his own. But the prize goes instead to Jon Anderson:

1. Jon Anderson: In the City of Angels, 27 votes (35%)
2. Billy Currie with Steve Howe: Transportation, 9 votes (12%)
3= Kazumi Watanabe: The Spice of Life Too (w/ Bruford), 7 votes (9%)
3= Animal Logic: Animal Logic (w/ Howe), 7 votes (9%)
5. Steve Howe/Paul Sutin: Seraphim, 5 votes (6%)
6= Pet Shop Boys: Introspective (w/ Horn), 4 votes (5%)
6= various artists: Guitar Speak (w/ Howe), 4 votes (5%)
6= Toto: The Seventh One (w/ Anderson), 4 votes (5%)
9= Rick Wakeman: Time Machine, 3 votes (4%)
9= The Moody Blues: Sur la Mer (w/ Moraz), 3 votes (4%)
9= various artists: Night of the Guitar Live! (w/ Howe), 3 votes (4%)
12= Act: Laughter, Tears and Rage (w/ Horn), 1 vote (1%)
12= Gary Wright: Who I Am (w/ White), 1 vote (1%)

There were no votes for Rick Wakeman's A Suite of Gods,The Mint Juleps' Power of Six (produced by Horn), Andy Leek's Say Something (with a bit of session work from Howe) or Plain Clothes Soundtrack (an obscure early Billy Sherwood appearance).

Out of 78 votes in total, all of Howe's appearances together get 28 votes to 31 votes for Anderson's two, but In the City of Angels is the clear winner here. I've always liked it, but it is an attempt by Anderson at a mainstream pop sound. I voted for Introspective, a classic Horn production.

Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of 1982?

Lots of good music in 1982, the first complete year officially without a Yes being active since the band formed:

1. Asia: Asia (w/ Downes, Howe) 50 votes (53%)
2. Jon Anderson: Animation 18 votes (19%)
3. King Crimson: Beat (w/ Bruford) 9 votes (10%)
4. Genesis: Three Sides Live (w/ Bruford) 7 votes (7%)
5. Kate Bush: The Dreaming (w/ Downes) 5 votes (5%)
6= ABC: The Lexicon of Love (w/ Horn) 2 votes (2%)
6= The Dregs: Industry Standard (w/ Howe) 2 votes (2%)
8. Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Somewhere in Afrika (w/ Rabin) 1 vote (1%)

There were no votes for Demis Roussos' Demis (w/ Anderson), The Roches' Keep on Doing (w/ Bruford, Kiki Dee's Perfect Timing (w/ Moraz), Rick Wakeman's Rock 'n' Roll Prophet or Dollar's The Dollar Album (w/ Horn).

Your winner was clear in Asia. A respectable second for Animation, a much-loved solo album from Jon that suffered an ignominious CD re-release saga.

Poll: Best Yes-related album of 1981

Yes officially announced they had broken up at the beginning of 1981, but former and future members were busy with other projects. 68 of you voted in this hard-fought vote to pick the best:

1. King Crimson: Discipline (w/ Bruford): 30 votes (44)%
2. Jon & Vangelis: The Friends of Mr Cairo (w/ Anderson): 24 votes (35%)
3= The Buggles: Adventures in Modern Recording (w/ Horn, Downes, Squire): 7 votes (10%)
3= The Moody Blues: Long Distance Voyager (w/ Moraz): 7 votes (10%)

There were no votes for Rick Wakeman's two albums, 1984 (also with Anderson) and The Burning, nor for Trevor Rabin's Wolf, Badfinger's Say No More (with Kaye) or the obscure Fundamental Frolics (with a live Jon Anderson solo band track). I'll take the lack of votes for the other albums to be a testament to the strength of both Discipline and Mr Cairo.

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.

Poll: Best Yes-related album of 1980

92 of you voted on the question of the best Yes-related album of 1980:

1. Jon Anderson: Song of Seven, 41 votes (45%)
2. Jon & Vangelis: Short Stories, 21 votes (23%)
3. Bruford: Gradually Going Tornado, 16 votes (18%)
4. Trevor Rabin: Face to Face, 7 votes (8%)
5. Patrick Moraz: Coexistence, 3 votes (3%)
6= Vangelis: See You Later (w/ Anderson), 1 vote (1%)
6= Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Chance (w/ Rabin), 1 vote (1%)
6= Wild Horses: Wild Horses (w/ Rabin), 1 votes (1%)


There was one other vote, for Drama, which personally I'd agree is better than all those, but I intended the poll to just be about Yes-related albums and not actual Yes albums, so I've excluded that in calculating percentages.

Overall, a resounding win for Jon Anderson's two albums of the year, an impressive burst of activity for someone who was still in Yes at the beginning of the year.

Poll: Best Yes-related album of 1976

The best Yes-related album of 1975 poll was a foregone conclusion, won by Fish Out of Water with a 62% lead over its nearest rival. The 1976 poll is a similar story, with an even greater, 69% lead. Out of 69 votes:

1. Jon Anderson: Olias of Sunhillow: 56 votes (81%)
2. Patrick Moraz: The Story of i: 8 votes (12%)
3. Rick Wakeman: No Earthly Connection: 4 votes (6%)

There was 1 vote for Fish Out of Water, but that was released the previous year. And no votes for any of Alan White's much underrated Ramshackled (w/ Anderson, Howe), Absolute Elsewhere's obscure In Search of Ancient Gods (w/ Bruford), Pavlov's Dog's At the Sound of the Bell (also w/ Bruford) or any of the hard-to-find albums with Trevor Rabin, i.e. Mike Makhalemele & Winston Mankunku Ngozi's The Lion and the Bull, You and Me's Come With Me or Margaret Singana's Where is the Love.

2014 polls: bad news for Heaven & Earth, but better news for other Yes releases

The results for two big fan-voted polls of progressive rock in 2014 are now in, and there's a fair amount of Yes-related interest. First the bad news: in the DPRP Annual Poll (374 responses), Heaven & Earth won Biggest Disappointment, by a large margin over Pink Floyd's The Endless River. Prog magazine's Readers' Poll has a similar category, Non-Event of the Year, with Heaven & Earth 4th (behind No High Voltage Festival; the Sum of the Parts Genesis documentary; and Kate Bush only playing London).

Other categories had better news for the band. Yes were 1st (Relayer) and 6th (The Yes Album) in Prog's Reissue of the Year category, and 8th in the magazine's Multimedia of the Year for Like It Is (won by Transatlantic's KaLIVEoscope). Likewise, Like It Is was 7th in DPRP's Best DVD section (again won by KaLIVEoscope).

Prog's Event of the Year was won by Kate Bush's live shows, but Rick Wakeman (who writes a regular column for the magazine) came 3rd for his Journey to the Centre of the Earth 40th anniversary tour, while King Crimson's return was 4th and Cruise to the Edge, 6th. DPRP's Prog Happening of the Year category was won by the return of Pink Floyd, with King Crimson's return now 2nd and prog cruises in general, 3rd. (Wakeman's Journey shows received only 2 votes with DPRP, making them 17th equal.)

DPRP has a separate Best Concerts category. King Crimson came 5th equal for their 13 Sep 2014 show, although in a large field, 3 votes was all you needed for 5th equal. The category was won by Transatlantic's 14 Mar 2014 show in Amsterdam; with the "D" in DPRP being Dutch, the Amsterdam shows tend to do well.

The two polls differed somewhat on individual players. Wakeman topped the keyboardist category for Prog, but he only got a single vote in the DPRP poll, where Geoff Downes came 7th equal. Wakeman was also 3rd in Prog's Man of the Year category, which was won by Steven Wilson. Steve Howe made 7th in Prog's guitar list, but also only got a single vote with DPRP. (Steve Rothery won both best guitarist votes.) Similarly, Tony Levin came 3rd in Prog's bassist poll (won by Nick Beggs), but had a single vote with DPRP (won by Pete Trewavas).

Not much happening in the best vocalist categories. Jon Davison's 2 votes for his performance on Heaven & Earth got him 22nd equal with DPRP (won by Peter Nicholls). He also got 1 vote for his performance on Glass Hammer's Ode to Echo, but there were no votes for any other Yes vocalists. (Prog only gave top tens, but there were no Yes men in Prog's male vocalist category, won by Joe Payne, while their female section was won by Lee Douglas.) Alan White and Dylan Howe both got 1 vote for DPRP's Best Drummer (won by Mike Portnoy). (Again no-one in Prog's top ten, also won by Portnoy.)

Prog's Album of the Year was Opeth's Pale Communion (3rd with DPRP), with the only Yes-related entry being Dave Kerzner's New World, on which Billy Sherwood guests, coming in 10th. Kerzner was also 4th in the Tip for 2015 section with Prog, won by iamthemorning, and 3rd Best Newcomer with DPRP, won by Synaesthesia.

DPRP's Best Album was IQ's The Road of Bones (3rd with Prog), with the highest Yes-related entry being United Progressive Fraternity's Fall in Love with the World 14th, on which Jon Anderson guests, with New World coming next at 24. Ode to Echo (with Jon Davison) was 42nd and Heaven & Earth was 50th.

DPRP also has a Best Tracks category, won by IQ's "The Road of Bones". The top Yes-related entry here was "Subway Walls" at 35th equal. The only others in the top 100 were "Believe Again" and Glass Hammer's "The Garden of Hedon" (if Davison appears on that track) tied at 89.

Finally, Heaven & Earth managed 8th equal for Best Artwork at DPRP.

Anderson: app or album?

Jon Anderson is a visionary. You can't be a Yes fan and dismiss Anderson's central role as an ideas man in the band. So if Anderson has some seemingly crazy idea for how to do things, I think it's worth stopping and thinking about what he's proposing.

Much of what Anderson has been proposing recently has been a move away from albums. This goes back to when he was last in Yes. After disappointing sales for Magnification, Anderson talked of leaving the album format and presenting new music in other forms. Back then, he talked of doing that live and then in DVDs, as he did with his own music and the "Tour of the Universe" DVD.

But in recent years, he's focused on new media. There were ideas for a Zamran video game. And now, Anderson talks about releasing new music in an app that allows you to explore a virtual world.

So, it's an idea. Hard to know exactly what it would mean until we see and hear it. But I'm unconvinced so far. I'm a fan of the music and what technology has done is made it easier and more convenient to hear music. Making the music only available through an app goes against that trend. It makes it harder to access the music, constraining how you can hear it. However, I wondered what you all think, and so I ran a poll on the Where Are They Now? site, asking, "Jon Anderson has discussed various ways of releasing new music. Which would you prefer he do..."

(Physical) album releases: 88 (77%)
Individual pieces of music released digitally: 11 (10%)
New material included in live DVDs: 6 (5%)
Release regular new music as part of an app where you interact with a virtual world: 5 (4%)
Other: 4 (4%)

(The 'others' included one suggestion for high resolution digital releases, and three comments about the music rather than the format.)

As I suspected, us fans are a conservative bunch when it comes to formats. Three quarters want old fashioned album releases (as would be my preference too). The app idea got a mere 4% support. Maybe we'd all be wowed by whatever app Anderson can come up with, but it doesn't look like a strong marketing position to start by annoying 95% of your consumers. Do an app, but stick the material on a CD while you're at it, please...?

Jon Anderson & Miro Žbirka at Sadler's Wells (8 Aug 2012)

Jon Anderson's set (55 minutes):

orchestral intro

“Starship Trooper” (abbreviated, ~7 mins)

“I’ll Find My Way Home”

“Earth & Peace”

“Long Distance Runaround” (abbreviated)

“Nous Sommes du Soleil” (with orchestral intro)

“Race to the End”/“Match of the Day” theme excerpt (orchestra only)

“Music is God”

“Change We Must”

“And You and I” (abbreviated, ~6 mins)

“State of Independence”

joint encore with Žbirka: “All You Need is Love”

I arrived at Sadler’s Wells to find the foyer full of beautiful, young people – my first clue that this wasn’t a typical prog concert! You see, this event was a double bill: Slovak singer Miro Žbirka for an hour, then Jon Anderson for just under, and a joint encore. The venue (capacity 1560) was about 60% full. All the Yes fans had the same story: we logged on pretty much as soon as tickets went on sale to find most of the stalls already sold – some sort of mass booking by the Slovaks – and that’s pretty much how the ticket availability remained with further tickets going slowly. [10 Aug: Apparently, this was a block booking to supply free tickets to the Slovaks as part of the Olympics.]

While disappointing that the show had sold poorly – lack of promotion? high ticket prices? – this meant all of us in the second circle (good seat, £45) got upgraded. I ended up with a great seat, front row of the first circle.

First on, then, was Miroslav Žbirka, who first came to fame in successful Czechoslovak band Modus in the 1970s. But I only know that because I just looked it up; he was an unknown quantity to me. Sixties-tinged pop, he sang well, a nice stage presence. And, excepting a cover of “Hey Jude”, he sang in Slovak and most of his song introductions was in Slovak too. I’m sure he’s a lovely man – and the Slovak fans, as I indicated, are a more attractive lot than us ageing Yes fans! Judging by who laughed when Žbirka said something funny, maybe 2/3 of the audience were there for him. But the concert made no sense with little stylistic similarity between the two singers. The other 1/3 of us, here for Anderson, sat bored and restless for an hour. And the Žbirka fans were, it seems, as uninterested by Anderson as we were by Žbirka. I saw a fair few trickle out early in Anderson’s set.

Žbirka was backed by Cappella Istropolitana (the Bratislava Chamber Orchestra), conducted by Adrian Kokoš: 11 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 1 double bass, 6 brass, 4 woodwind and 1 keyboard player. For some numbers, he had additional support from a rock band (two guitarists, bassist, drummer). Finally, his set (60 minutes) ends and he introduces Anderson, talking about getting The Yes Album as a young man. Cappella Istropolitana also backed Anderson, but he had a different supporting band led by Peter Machajdík (keys, backing vocals). A few years back, Anderson guested on a great piece entitled "Sadness of Flowing" on Machajdík's album, Namah. (You can read my interview with Machajdík about the collaboration with Anderson here.) And Machajdík previously headed a band who played with Anderson in Slovakia in 2009. Joining Machajdík were a guitarist (plus backing vocals; possibly Juraj Burian?), a backing vocalist (plus additional percussion) and a drummer.

The last time I saw Anderson live was at the end of the last UK Anderson Wakeman tour, about two years ago, and his voice was a disaster. Thankfully, his voice tonight was fantastic (and I’m told he sounded even better in the soundcheck). This was the best I’ve heard him since 2008, very nearly back to his pre-morbid state. He perhaps opted out of holding some of the higher notes as long as he once did, but that was barely noticeable. This was the voice we love: precise, powerful, warm. A joy to hear.

On the other hand, the musical context around that glorious voice was hit and miss. I felt the orchestra could have been tighter. The guitarist was weak in places. “Starship Trooper” made for a poor opener: it didn’t seem to translate well to the orchestral context and lacked energy. “I'll Find My Way Home” was better, but the orchestra seemed superfluous. However, the show improved: newer piece “Earth & Peace” was reminiscent of The Living Tree, but had a role for the orchestra too. "Long Distance Runaround" and particularly "Nous Sommes du Soleil" really lifted the set, although both were rather short.

Anderson talked about the beauty of Bratislava, the Slovak capital. He had had four days rehearsing with the orchestra. He was often flustered between songs, but in a good-natured way. He forgot the song order, had lyrics on a music stand for a couple of pieces, had to be reminded of the names of his backing band and the conductor. But he had a good rapport with the audience – least, those of us who knew who he was! Anderson's personal guests in the front row – I think Damion was there, and Jade was also around – led the applause. But having a big chunk of the audience there for Žbirka rather sucked the energy out of the crowd response for Anderson.

Žbirka had played his classic hits. OK, I have no idea if Žbirka had or had not played his greatest hits, but the audience reaction suggested he did. The Žbirka fans had sung along in places, and we’d all sung along to “Hey Jude”. Anderson tried to get us to sing along to “Music is God”. No. Everyone knows “Hey Jude”. Only hardcore Anderson fans have heard “Music is God”. That didn’t work. And Anderson introduced “Music is God” saying he wanted to get an orchestra to play a reggae song, pointing out the absurdity, but his point was rather proven by how poorly the orchestra fit the song!

But mostly the set list worked. The strongest pieces were the later Vangelis-composed numbers, where the orchestra had a clear role behind Anderson's soaring vocals: “Change We Must” a particular highlight. “And You and I” was orchestrated well, ending nicely with Anderson accompanied by a single violin, if again rather on the short side.

The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” was a joint encore, with Žbirka and his supporting band joining Anderson, his supporting band and the orchestra. A good choice of song, everyone fitting together, making a lovely finale.

For a concert just over two hours long, we had maybe 30 or 40 minutes of great music with Anderson, although it was a delight whenever Anderson was singing. In all, this concert feels like a metaphor for Anderson’s career. That voice is back. He’s got new material – both “Earth & Peace” and “Music is God” are growing on me – but he needs to find the right context to work in. The match-up with Žbirka made no sense and the set list choices didn't always fit with an orchestra, but when it worked – with songs like “Nous Sommes du Soleil”, “Change We Must”, “And You and I”, “State of Independence” and “All You Need is Love” – this was well worth it.

[13 Aug edit] Anderson's supporting band were: Juraj Burian (guitars, backing vocals), Peter Machajdík (keys, backing vocals), Igor "Ajdži" Sabo (drums, percussion), Andrea Zimanyiová (vocals, hand percussion)

DPRP Poll 2011

The popular Dutch Progressive Rock Page website hold an annual poll; 581 voted in the latest. After a strong performance in the Prog poll, Yes have done well again. Fly from Here is 4th in Best Album, behind Steven Wilson's Grace for Drowning, Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn of Events and Opeth's Heritage. Steve Hackett's Beyond the Shrouded Horizon (on which Chris Squire guests) came 8th.

Blackfield's Welcome to My DNA, with a track produced by Trevor Horn, was 16th. Cor Cordium, the latest album from Glass Hammer, with Jon Davison on vocals, was 17th. The next appearance by a Yes man is Mars Hollow's The World in Front of Me, produced by Billy Sherwood, at 57th, with nothing else Yes-related in the top 100.

DPRP have a category for Best Individual Track. "Fly from Here" came 4th after Dream Theater's "Breaking All Illusions", Steven Wilson's "Raider II" and Pendragon's "This Green and Pleasant Land". "Fly from Here Pt. 2 - Sad Night at the Airfield" then, on its own, came 23rd. Steve Hackett's "Turn This Island Earth", co-credited to Steve Howe and with Squire on bass, was 38th equal. No other Yes connections in the top 50. Amalgamating over multiple tracks, Yes was the 5th best performing in this category; with Steve Wilson top.

Fly from Here also won Best Artwork, with Cor Cordium 6th and Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, 13th. "Union Live" was 7th Best DVD; Rush's "Time Machine - Live in Cleveland 2011" won. For these categories and everything below, I'm listing anything Yes-related in the top 20, and there was nothing Yes-related in the top 20 Best Concerts. Levin Torn White were 9th equal in the Best Newcomer category.

Mirroring what happened in the Prog poll, Yes and the release of Fly from Here won both Best Happening and Biggest Disappointment. Also in the Biggest Disappointment category were Welcome to My DNA at 4th, and, in 11th equal, Anderson and/or R. Wakeman not rejoining Yes, and poor live performances by Yes.

In terms of individual performances (which had to be based on material released in 2011), Dream Theater were the clear winners, with John Petrucci Favourite Guitarist, Jordan Rudess Favourite Keyboard Player and Mike Mangini Favourite Drummer. Howe was 5th Favourite Guitarist, with Hackett 2nd. Downes was 10th equal for Favourite Keyboard Player, but not a single vote for Rick Wakeman! Alan White was equal 14th for Favourite Drummer.

As in the Prog poll, Benoît David beat Jon Anderson in the Favourite Vocalist category: David was 5th, new Yes vocalist Jon Davison was 14th equal, while Anderson was just 41st equal. Steven Wilson won. Chris Squire was 2nd for Favourite Bass Player, behind Karmakanic's Jones Reingold. Tony Levin was 12th equal in the category for his work on Levin Torn White, and then 17th equal for his work on A Scarcity of Miracles (by Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins).

Digital delights: Jon Anderson's "Open"; Tony Kaye's "End of Innocence"

Lots of excitement in online Yes fandom around yesterday's release of a 21 minute epic by Jon Anderson, "Open", available to buy on Amazon.com etc. I've not heard either yet, but, actually, I'm more excited by the new 46 minute epic "End of Innocence" by Tony Kaye that he's put up for free on YouTube:



Edit: I've had a first listen through of "End of Innocence". It's a largely instrumental work, with a short vocal part by Daniela Torchia (Tony's wife). It sounds as if it's all done by Kaye on synths, but he's often imitating an orchestra. Overall, I think it's a good piece of music and will, once again, demonstrate how underappreciated Kaye is by many fans!

It is an overtly political piece, supporting a model of US military intervention overseas as something that brings democracy and freedom to people around the world, and linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda. Personally, I would question aspects of that as a political position, but that doesn't stop me enjoying "End of Innocence" as a piece of music. It's less forthright in its politics than, say, Conspiracy's "The Unknown", another musical response to 9/11.

Edit 2: I've now also heard "Open". First impressions... Thumbs up from me. A step up from Survival & Other Stories or The Living Tree; this is Anderson's best work of the last few years. It's partly orchestral, the composition harks back to Anderson's late 1970s work like on Olias or Tormato. However, his vocals are still fragile. It's easy to recognise this as a post-2008 performance. The lyrics are less noteworthy, typical of his recent work.

Poll: Best Yes-related album of the first half of 2011

74 votes in total for our latest poll.

1. Jon Anderson: Survival & Other Stories - 46 (62%)
2. Asia: Live at the London Forum (w/ Howe, Downes) - 9 (12%)
3= Blackfield: Welcome to My DNA (w/ Horn) - 6 (8%)
3= Trevor Rabin: I am Number Four - 6 (8%)
5= Mars Hollow: World in Front of Me (w/ Sherwood) - 3 (4%)
5= any of various King Crimson archival releases (w/ Bruford) - 3 (4%)
7. Jonathan Elias: Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero (w/ Anderson) - 1 (1%)
8= David Mark Pearce: StrangeAng3ls (w/ O. Wakeman) - 0
8= dB-Infusion: Muso & Proud (w/ Banks) - 0
8= Ant-Bee: Electronic Church Muzik (w/ Banks) - 0

I nearly didn't include Survival & Other Stories in this poll as it first had a limited release last year (and, indeed, came second in the poll for the second half of 2010). This general release through Gonzo was trailed as having additional tracks and being remixed, but in the end, seems to have been identical to the prior version. Still, with nearly 2/3 of the total vote, it comprehensively trounced the alternatives.

A distant second place was another of Asia's beat-the-boot-like live releases. I was at the show in question, notable because the shows before and after had to be cancelled because Howe had a back problem, not that you can tell from the great performance.

I'd like to say that some of the lower scoring albums here are very good and well worth getting. I discussed Muso & Proud and Electronic Church Muzik in a recent blog post. Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero is another strong release from Jonathan Elias, which I think successfully charts a midway between the more accessible and political American River and the more ethereal first The Prayer Cycle album. The album I voted for, however, was Mars Hollow's The World in Front of Me, produced by Billy Sherwood, a great new prog album that recalls the likes of Yes and ELP, but very much has its own style too.

Poll: Best Yes-related album of the second half of 2010

There were 118 votes in our poll for the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2010, a busy period with long-awaited projects like the Anderson/Wakeman album and the release of Mr. Mister's Pull, and significant new projects like Yoso and the first of Jon Anderson's Internet collaborations.

1. Anderson/Wakeman: The Living Tree: 37 (31%)    
2. Jon Anderson: Survival & Other Stories: 23 (19%)    
3. Asia: The Omega Tour Live (w/ Howe, Downes): 18 (15%)
4. Yoso: Elements (w/ Sherwood, Kaye): 14 (12%)
5= Geoff Downes: Electronica: 4 (3%)
5= Strawbs: Live at the BBC Volume One In Session (w/ R. Wakeman): 4 (3%)
5= David Bowie: Station to Station [special edition] (w/ Kaye): 4 (3%)
5= The Sorceror's Apprentice OST (w/ Rabin): 4 (3%)
5= Mr. Mister: Pull (w/ Rabin): 4 (3%)
10. King Crimson: any of several archival live releases (w/ Bruford): 3 (3%)
11. Strawbs: 40th Anniversary Celebrations Vol. 2 Rick Wakeman & Dave Cousins (w/ R. Wakeman): 2 (2%)

There were no votes for Robbie Williams' In And Out Of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990 - 2010 (w/ Horn) and one invalid vote.

No doubt about the winner this time. The Living Tree has divided fandom: a recent thread on Yesfans.com got so heated that two people, ironically a current and a former collaborator of Jon Anderson's, got banned after criticising the album. However, it clearly works for some. In a strong second is Anderson's Survival & Other Stories, an impressive performance given the album has only had a limited release to date (on sale on Anderson Wakeman Project 360 dates). Which means that Anderson's albums attracted 50% of all the votes, a clear indication of his enduring popularity whether in or out of the band.

The other big project of the period was Yoso, an attempt to break a bigger market by combining the core of CIRCA: with the vocals of former Toto frontman Bobby Kimball. However, the poor showing here echoes some bad reviews and the band has already been dissolved. Nonetheless, a new CIRCA: line-up has emerged with more members in common with Yoso than the previous CIRCA: line-up, and CIRCA: have now been taking on by Yoso's former management, 2 Plus Entertainment.

New Jon Anderson interviews

There's a couple of new Jon Anderson interviews accompanying his short solo tour. The MusicStreetJournal one has this fantastic quote that may, or may not, explain many a pet cat's behaviour in the garden: "Flowers – we give flowers as a gift – for love, for remembrance, for harmony. And flowers have three components: They smell, like a perfume, they color, and they also make sound. But, you know we’re not cats, so we can’t hear it. But, they do make a sound. And it’s been pretty well proven on many levels…."

What's particularly interesting about that interview and a local US newspaper one is that Anderson's attitude to Yes continuing without him appears to have mellowed from a few months back. Whereas previously he was saying he was fit and ready to re-join the band, now he talks about not being capable of doing the sort of big tours Yes are doing: "Those guys [Howe/Squire/White] like to be on the road, they're like journeymen. I'm not like that. My body would never be able to do what they do. I can't do four or five shows a week, or all this hotel travelling. My body just wouldn't take it." And he appears more accepting of this: "I had to let the past go. I had to just let go of the band. Let go of that energy that I’ve been working with for many, many years. Now I’m working on a new sort of energy".

Anderson also makes a couple of tangential comments about his final period with Yes and writing music: "About four years ago I just put in an ad on my website: "Musicians Wanted" because I wasn't getting much feedback from my close people, which was the band. So I thought, "hey I'll just reach out to people who want to work with me." And then, talking about large-scale pieces: "They're exciting to do, because they are like climbing mountains. And I used to drag the band up the mountain half the time, and sometimes a couple would stay with me all the way. And of late it just became "Well, if you want to do that, Jon, you're going to have to do it by yourself.""