The
official Yes Facebook account announced
on 6 Feb 2012:
YES Recruit New
Singer
Prog rock band YES were forced to cancel the last 3
shows of their European Tour in December due to the
illness of lead vocalist Benoit David who has still not
recovered. To avoid disappointing their fans on the
forthcoming Australasian leg of their world tour, they
have found a replacement singer.
Jon Davison will join YES as lead vocalist for the
upcoming dates which begin in New Zealand, Australia,
Japan, Indonesia, and Hawaii. YES really appreciate Jon
Davison joining them for this leg of the tour and are
sure this arrangement will satisfy all YES fans
The first official word on Davison was a similar announcement
from the Japanese promoter earlier that day. Glass
Hammer band mate Steve Babb then said on ProgressiveEars.com
that, "our Jon Davison will be joining Yes for a few shows -
can't say more at present." On 7 Feb, Downes described
Davison joining in a post to Yesfans.com as "the addition of
a most worthy musician to the fold".
David quit the band in January. The band collectively
decided on Davison as his replacement; he was initially
suggested by Yes tour manager Paul Silveira and also
recommended by Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters),
a long-time friend of Davison's. An 8
Feb interview with Squire by Noise11, who are
supporting the Australian tour dates, has this:
“Jon Davison is
coming in because of Benoit’s departure. I always hope
that when there is a member change in the band that it
will be a permanent thing. Only time will tell really”,
[...] Squire told Noise11.com this morning. [...]
Benoit [...] has been suffering from respiratory failure
this year and could not continue on for the Australia
tour in April. However, his departure is permanent.
“Yes, he has officially left Yes,” Chris says.
[...]
“People have left to go off to do various projects [...]
over the years,” Chris says. “Some like Jon Anderson and
Rick Wakeman have left and come back. [...] It’s always
been a fairly flexible in and out door for some members
of the band. At the last count, including Jon Davison,
he is the 18th member of the band. It has never been
personal problems. It’s just things that happen at
certain times”.
Chris says he is still friends with Jon Anderson and in
regular communication. “We email each other. We have a
cordial relationship,” he says. “He is out there at the
moment doing some solo shows. He is a lot healthier now
than he was a few years ago when he was suffering from
his breathing problems. He is getting back into it. I
have never closed the door on working with Jon again. He
has left the band before and come back and left it again
and come back. It is an unusual situation. We will work
together in the future but right now we are promoting
the Fly From Here album [...]”
"Yeah, um, Benoit has had to step aside", Squire
confirms and yet another awkward chuckle. This time he
does sound a bit embarrassed. "So we have Jon [Davison] joining
us for the tour - and he's very good. He'll do justice to both
Benoit and Anderson".
I wish to sincerely thank you
for all your support these past years since I’ve been a member
of Glass Hammer. [...] In light of the news revealed yesterday
about my singing for Yes on their upcoming tour, I felt it
important to communicate with all of you that though I'm
grateful and excited for this amazing opportunity, it will not
jeopardize my involvement with Glass Hammer in any way. I plan
to steadfastly and enthusiastically continue with Steve [Babb],
Fred [Schendel], and Alan [Shikoh] and I’m looking forward to
tracking in May for the new album. Thanks again! :::Jon:::
Prog magazine (Mar 2012
issue) talked to David in early Feb. He talks about the Nov/Dec
2011 Yes tour, the last three dates of which were cancelled: "I
wasn't feeling well [...] by the time we got to Scandinavia I got
a cold that everyone in the crew and the band had had. I've sung
with colds, but this time it was really hard, my hearing was
affected." He had an ear infection and acute laryngitis. The
article describes how the band sought to accommodate David's
problems, reducing the stage volume and using extra sound shields
around the drums. However, a Stockholm doctor ordered him to stop
singing. David continues: "We left on very good terms[.] After a
month [...] I saw a few specialists and they strongly suggested I
don't commit to touring for a while", so David explained to the
band that he could not commit to the planned Apr dates. "At first
everybody was a bit surprised thinking there was enough time for
me to get back in shape, but since the issue was unsure, I
suggested somebody take over [...] They said, well fine if you
can't do it and you're okay with it, we'll look around. It's not
like they asked me to step aside at all." David goes on to praise
Davison and says, "I'm happy, the pressure's off for me. I can
take however long I need to get back to my own self." David
appears uncertain at this point as to a possible future return,
saying, "I think the door is open. We had good chemistry; we'd
made a good album. The band didn't want to change it and I didn't
want to go, but things being what they are..." However, the
article then describes the 8 Feb Squire interview, as above, and
David's subsequent press release on 17 Feb, as below. But the
article ends with these words from David:
The guys [in Yes] aren't getting any younger. They've
waited years at a time for their singers to get better or finish
other projects, and I don't think they can spare that time any
more. They're in great shape, and playing well, and it felt
terrible to be the one to stop Yes from moving forward. Can you
imagine if they waited for a year and [...] I still wasn't
better? If I can't sing those songs then what's my relevance in
that band? Not knowing how long it's going to take me to get
better, I feel much better there's somebody doing the shows and
taking the music to the fans.
As you all know, the final
three shows of last year's European tour were cancelled due to
my ill health. On my return to Canada, I was advised to cease
touring, for the foreseeable future, in order to avoid further
damage to my voice. Following this extremely disappointing
diagnosis, I had no alternative but to inform my fellow band
members that I was unable to confirm my availability for, at
least, the forthcoming concerts in New Zealand, Australia and
Japan.
Although there was no alternative, I did so with a heavy heart
as I felt that I was letting everyone down [...] The band
members were all very understanding and asked if I would mind
being replaced for the April shows - I immediately agreed that
this would be the best way forward and gave them my blessing. I
was then pleased to learn that Jon Davison would be my
replacement as he is an accomplished musician with a fine voice.
I subsequently learnt, from a band member's interview, that I
had officially left Yes and that my departure was permanent.
[...] everyone should know that I will be eternally grateful for
the opportunity I was given and very proud to have contributed
to more than 200 concerts and to the 'Fly From Here' and 'In The
Present Live From Lyon' albums. I would also like to express my
appreciation for the support I was given by each member of the
band, the fantastic crew, the management and everyone else
involved during my time as vocalist in the band. Finally, to the
fans who have applauded my efforts and to those I have had the
pleasure of meeting - many thanks, my best wishes and please
continue with your support of one of the world's greatest bands
- YES.
Although I need to take it easy for a while, I fully intend to
continue with my music career. In late summer of 2011, I added
vocals to Mystery's forthcoming album 'The World Is A Game'
[...]
So I guess I will, hopefully, see you somewhere down the road…
Curious and surprised why so many people here are quite
happily led to believe the content of this press release to be
unquestionably 100% gospel. My understanding of circumstances
surrounding BD's departure, are somewhat contrary to those that
have been suggested, particularly the reference regarding
Chris's interview. Hence logically, one looks for a motive. GD
He later said (19 Feb):
Some folks getting very worked up over my earlier comment.
There's no point trying to analyse this too deeply. All I was
simply saying, was that the version of events presented, was a
different interpretation to those I had personally been told.
That's all. No further comment on this. Now let's move on. GD
David's bandmate in Mystery, Michel St-Père, said in a
Feb 2012 interview that David's vocals were not yet recovered (he
recorded all his vocals for Mystery's new album before Yes's
European tour):
Mais pour l'album de Mystery, toutes les pistes vocales de
Benoit avaient été enregistrées avant sont
départ pour la tournée européenne et comme
tous ses enregistrements étaient impeccables, il n'a pas
eu à réenregistrer aucun segment et il a pu
prendre tout son temps pour récupérer depuis son
départ de Yes.
In the wake of David's departure, it was reported that an
attempt was made to reach out to Jon Anderson,
but that Anderson would not talk and no discussion with him took
place (see, for example, here
and here
on Yesfans.com). In response to earlier, erroneous, online reports
that he had been asked to re-join, Anderson released a statement
on 8 Feb, from which I quote:
In response to recent rumors
circulating about [...] Anderson being asked to re-join YES -
these rumors are unfounded and false. Jon Anderson is busy with
his solo career; he is currently on tour performing solo [...]
as well as recording new music. Jon also had this response to
recent quotes in the news by Chris Squire that he is in regular
communication with Jon: "I haven't spoken with Chris in four
years, and the only e-mail I have received from him in the last
3 years was him asking for free tickets to my show in Mesa, AZ
last week - very sad, but true."
In fact, in interviews in Jun/Jul 2009, Anderson said he had talked
to Squire the preceding month, so less than 3 years ago: see below. A
28
Feb 2012 interviewwith
the Dallas Observer had
this exchange:
Interviewer: Because
of your health issues, Yes decided to tour with a replacement
vocalist. Can a band still call itself Yes and not have Jon
Anderson singing?
Anderson: No, it's never going to be the
same band. And they've just announced this week that they had to
get yet another singer after the guy who replaced me became ill.
I've told them that since I am healthy again that I would to get
back with them. I told them that I wanted to create new music,
but they don't want to do that. They just want to go on the road
and make money. They don't care for the integrity of the band. I
feel they have let a lot of fans down. They're just in it for
the money.
(Note, the article appears to
miss a word, presumably something like "like", in the phrase "I
would to get back with them.") This quote raises questions of when
Anderson told the band that he is healthy and able to return. Rock
News Desk commented on the interview, but have now published a correction
here. I quote:
Apology: On March 7, 2012, Rock News Desk incorrectly
reported that Jon Anderson had recently offered to rejoin Yes
but had been refused.
Mr Anderson’s representatives have explained: “Unfortunately
there was a misquote in the Dallas Observer about Jon Anderson
asking to rejoin Yes recently. This is completely wrong. The
quote was about when Jon just recovered from his illness in
2007, and asked the band then if he could rejoin; they said no
as they had Benoit David. When the band sacked Benoit David
recently they never asked Jon to rejoin the band and he
definitely did not ask them if he could rejoin. He is doing his
solo career right now and has no plans in the immediate future
to rejoin Yes.”
Unfortunately, this clarification only muddies the water. The
reference to 2007 makes no sense: David didn't start working with
Yes until late 2008, and Anderson's most notable health problems
were also in that year. He hadn't significantly recovered from
those until about mid-2009. (It is also questionable whether it is
accurate to say Yes "sacked Benoit David".)
Ya know all this
speculation....I haven't actually got a firkin clue what's going
on to be honest. I mean that. People are asking me all these
divers questions about Jon A, & Jon D & Ben D. WTF do I
know? I'm last in the loop here. For instance, I honestly didn't
know JA was approached (if indeed he was, which I doubt - this
was put forward by someone 'not in the know' so I sincerely
doubt it's veracity). All of that aside, I can say that I am
thoroughly looking forward to working with Jon Davison and the
rest of the guys on the forthcoming tour [...] I felt bad for
Benoit, because he put a lot into the band over the last 3
years, and for whatever the reasons, it wasn't to be for him
this time round. But hey, onwards and upwards eh? I've no doubt
this band will last forever regardless of personnel. And me?
Just happy to be along for the ride as usual, earning a crust,
and as long as it lasts, then I'll be off on something else -
gardening, golf or politics - whatever! So enjoy it all for the
moment and for what it is. And big thanks to the fans out there
for all your notes of support.
The band are touring the western Pacific, Europe and the US (touring details below). Howe and
Downes then focus on Asia instead in the last quarter of the year.
Another Yes album may then follow. Squire said in a Mar
2012 interview: "It would be good to do another one
[album], sooner rather than later this time, we're all getting
on of course." Backstage at Yes's 1 Apr show in NZ, Squire said
he was looking forward to working with Davison on new material
for a next album. Probably David's last interview
while in Yes was published 29 Jan 2012. In it, he described the
band's then future plans:
Now we
are all at home and taking it easy [after the European tour] -
we'll get back together in the fall Down Under and in the East
and for sure; as well as talking about music that was written
but didn't make it on Fly From Here[.] I know Downes and
Howe will be spending time with Asia [...] so hopefully we will
be have enough time to put new material together. Everybody
seems to be very alive - all of this songwriting and album, all
of this action has been great, and I think everybody wants to
keep that going.
Squire does expect that Yes "is gonna stick with this lineup for
a while" and says there's even talk of a follow-up album. "If an
album becomes successful, of course everyone is very favorably
disposed to want to talk about doing another one," he says. "I
hope that does happen because I enjoy working with Trevor a lot,
and it's really a fulfilling experience."
right now, having just finished
the album and the fact that we’re all pleased with it and the
reviews from outside all seem to be very positive, we’re at
least going to spend the next year or two going around the world
and promoting and playing live.
Meanwhile, Downes and Howe's bandmate in Asia, John Wetton,
described the situation as "Geoff does consider Asia to be the
mothership, not Yes"—see the full
quote on the Asia page. In a Jul
2011 interview, when Downes was asked about whether the
current line-up will stay together beyond the current touring and
possible future albums, he said:
I sincerely hope so. I think
the way to look at it is [...] Fly From Here [...] has gone quite a long way
toward re-building the band in the fans' eyes, and showing them
that we're ready to accept new challenges and take on new
directions.
[...] I think Benoit, this being his first album with the band,
I think that has cemented him in the position of lead vocalist,
and I can't imagine that anyone at this stage would want to
change that.
But Yes does go through changes. That's just the way it is. I
think that Yes' music [...] goes through different chapters, and
that involves different people. I don't think it's a case of,
any year is better than any other. They can all co-exist quite
comfortably.
In an Aug
2011 interview, Downes said, "I think already we're talking
about maybe, maybe going in, y'know, at some stage, and writing some
stuff, and preparing another album along the way." He continued, "It
probably won't be [2012] because [...] [of Asia's] busy schedule
[for their 30th anniversary] [...] But, I think, y'know, there's
still… there's always the possibility of another Yes album fairly...
after that." Later in the interview, he said, "It's kinda bizarre
that both me and Steve are involved in [Asia] and also involved in
Yes, but I think [...] the two things can live side by side quite
amicably. I don't think there's any kind of clash of conflict,
anything like that." And in a Sep
2011 interview, asked whether we can "expect more new music
from Yes in the future", Downes replied:
I think so, yeah. I think the
Fly From Here album is the start of a new chapter. It’s the
first album Benoit has been the vocalist on. I feel Yes is still
very much an active band, and I think we look forward to doing
more stuff in the future.
In an Oct
2011 interview, discussing Horn's production of Fly from Here, White alluded to
future possibilities:
It seems like Trevor Horn has
the key to what Yes should be sounding like currently. [...]
it's a good stepping stone. It's a kinda modern sound of Yes
that can be embellished on on the next album and the one after
that possibly.
A Jan
2012 interview by Billboard with Squire has
this: "Squire says he hopes to get another Yes studio album in
motion sooner rather than later, "with the same group and Trevor
Horn[.]" An unconfirmed rumour around the beginning of 2012 had Yes
planning to record their next album for release spring/summer 2013,
with Horn possibly to produce again but the band also considering
other producers. The rumour, as laid out by Rabin105 on Yesfans.com,
is that Frontiers were pushing for a new Yes album in 2012, but
Yes's management have agreed on 2013 instead. In a Jan
2012 interview, asked about a new album, Howe was more
cautious, saying:
It's not really on the
horizon, no [...] I would say, well, we won't be thinking about
it this year at all because, partly because we're still working
on that album [Fly from Here]
in a promotional sense and then certainly Asia are going to pick
up September onwards [...] That's, in other words, the last
quarter of the year: September, October, November, Asia will be
kind of active. [...] but we like doing these new albums, it's
been good for Asia, it's been good for Yes to do a new album.
And in an interview
published Mar 2012, but
seemingly done earlier (before David's departure), probably
around Jan, Squire was asked about the band's line-up going
forwards:
whenever there’s a change in personnel [...] I think,
“Okay, this is probably the last change that will happen!,” but
of course, I’ve been wrong about that 17 different times.
[laughs] [...] I’m hoping very much so, without saying “This is
it forever,” which is hard to do [...] that the same group of
people, including Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, of course, will
be able to make a follow-up to Fly From Here [...] One of the things about
the making of that album is that everyone seemed to enjoy
themselves, and it went very well. [...] that was a very
rewarding thing to have in a studio environment which can be
taxing, and usually when you get to the end of an album, there’s
always somebody who’s not as keen on it as somebody else. [...]
[But] we all ended up liking the album. And Steve Howe even
mentioned on the last day of mixing, that “I think we just made
an album that we all like.” So let’s hope we can do that again.
The interviewer then asks him
about a next album:
2012 is going to be a year of still promoting Fly From Here. By the time
you get to all the different corners of the world, and the end
of this year starts to roll around, we’ll have been pretty busy
promoting the album, but ask me again at the end of this year!
[laughs]
In another Oct
2011 interview, Howe summarised the last few years for Yes:
Yes struggled a bit in '08
when we had a massive tour planned and Jon was cancelling
everything, and we were really concerned about his health. [...]
that was going to make it four years of no Yes.
So, we said, "No we've got to move on" we got singer Benoit and
since then we've had an uphill climb, getting the band
re-established [...] It's like the usual Yes story, it's not
that different, it's a case of "Yes, did that again." These are
the things that [are] a part and parcel of our lives, and we
don't know why. But, it's more of an orchestra than a main
members band, people come and go, sometimes at their own whim,
but sometimes because their hand gets forced, or the band has an
idea that isn't particularly one person's idea, but there's a
feeling in the group that the group needs to move on.
On tour
Yes are touring to promote Fly from
Here. They are touring
the Pacific region in Apr 2012, beginning with the band's
first ever visit to New Zealand on 1 Apr at Vector Arena, Auckland
(capacity 12,000; one fan
present estimated an attendance of 2500-3000, while this review
gave a figure of 4000), followed by 4
Australian dates 5-13 Apr, including
headlining on the 9 Apr 2012 at the Byron Bay
Bluesfest festival(90 minute set; Downes tweeted the audience was over 30,000),
plus dates in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. YesFANZ are organising
accompanying events. (There is
a 2CD Bluesfest compilation release including the studio version
of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes.) Yes will then play 4 Japanese dates (Tokyo and
Osaka) 17-21 Apr,
promoted by UDO Artists. They then play Jakarta, Indonesia
(their first visit to that country) on 24 Apr. 2 final dates in
Hawaii (27 & 29 Apr) finish the tour leg. The non-festival
dates are without support. Will Alexander (works with
Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, worked with Keith Emerson)
remains the keyboard tech.
On the opening night (1 Apr)
in Auckland, NZ, the band had a 3 hour slot, including a 20 min.
intermission. Set: [SPOILERS—highlight to read]intro
music: "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", "Yours is No Disgrace", "Tempus Fugit", "I've Seen All
Good People", "Life on a Film Set", Howe solo ("Solitaire",
"Clap"),
"And You and I", intermission, "Fly from Here" (whole
suite), "Wonderous Stories", "Into
the Storm", "Heart of the Sunrise", "Owner of a Lonely Heart",
"Starship Trooper", "Roundabout". The 5 Apr and 11 Apr sets were the
same as Auckland, save for Howe varying the second solo piece he plays ("Second
Initial" and "Australia" respectively). They played a shorter set at the Byron
Bay Bluesfest: "Yours is
No Disgrace", "Tempus Fugit", "I've Seen All Good People",
"Clap", "Fly from Here: Overture/Part 1 - We Can Fly", "Into the
Storm" (although the band's planned set list for the evening has
"Wonderous Stories" here instead), "Heart of the Sunrise",
"Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Starship Trooper", "Roundabout". It was announced on 6 Feb that Jon Davison will be on lead
vocals for these dates, replacing Benoît David: see above for details. The band, with Davison, began rehearsals in Los
Angeles, CA. We know from his Twitter account that Downes flew
there on 20 Mar. They then continued rehearsals in Auckland, NZ,
with photos from the rehearsals posted on their Facebook page
on 26 Mar. Davison said in one
article that he had had only 5 rehearsals in total. A report
from rehearsals says the band tried [SPOILERS—highlight
to read] "Hour of Need".
After line-up change was announced, Squire confirmed that the set
list would be "pretty much the same" as late 2011 European dates.
Before the line-up change was announced, in the Jan
2012 interview with Billboard, Squire said:
probably by the time we get
to the U.S. we may even add a couple more of the songs [from Fly from Here]. It's been a
long time since we've been out there playing new material, and
we have really enjoyed that. Of course we still enjoy playing
the Yes standards as well, but it's great to have a bit of a
challenge and pull off new material.
The band return to the US in Jul/Aug. In the Jan
2012 interview, Howe said:
we're going to be back in the
summer [in North America] […] we may team up with another act.
We might be doing some Euro festivals earlier, but we'll see,
because London's going to be jammed up with the Olympics, so I
don't think people will be trying to get in to do shows.
Two Italian shows were being
advertised (11 Jul, Brescia and 15 Jul, Piazzola sul Brenta), but
are not going ahead.
Downes said in early Apr:
Sorry to inform you folks out in Europe but the date being
advertised in Italy is NOT happening as far as I know. [...]
There are no scheduled dates prior to the start of the US tour
which begins the 2nd week of July that I know of, & on this
bogus Italian date we're supposed to be playing in New Jersey!!!
The US tour in Jul/Aug is with Procol Harum in support. YesWorld are
listing 7 dates so far, some already on sale, with more
to be announced. Full details are expected soon, but Downes
has said the current plan is for the tour to run from 13 Jul
(Atlantic City, NJ) to 19 Aug (Arizona), that "I'm seeing a
high proportion of close coastal-lying towns, and not that
much inland!", and that there are no Canadian dates. Procol
Harum's website is listing some additional dates as well.
On 25 Mar, Downes said on Yesfans.com about the summer tour:
Personally think it's a great bill [...] have a listen to
Salty Dog, Homburg, Pandora's Box, Shine On Brightly, Broken
Barricades, Procol's 9th and many others....I could go on. Make
no mistake, they are an extremely good band. One other point -
read their lyrics - some of the best prog-rock poetry you'll
ever find. [...] PS Jon Davison is a terrific singer and a
smashing bloke too. You'll like him.
there will almost certainly be a Yes US summer tour as I
understand it. Most possibly, on a bill with another well-known
British Prog band was the last I heard. Will stretch between
June-July-August and be in 2 parts.
Yes played North American and European dates in 2011. The European tour in Nov/Dec
2011 was 26 dates (3 more planned dates were cancelled). They
played Portugal (1 show), Spain (2), UK (8), France (1), Belgium
(1), the Netherlands (1), Switzerland (1), Italy (2), Austria (1),
Germany (5), Denmark (1), Norway (1) and Sweden (1). However, their
final shows—Finland (11 Dec), Estonia (12 Dec), Russia (15
Dec)—were cancelled, to quote the announcement,
"due to illness. Benoit David [...] has been hit by an extreme case
of laryngitis together with an ear infection and high fever and was
advised by doctors not to speak, sing or travel until the infection
is under control. The band are bitterly disappointed and are really
sorry that they have to let their fans down." In Dec 2011, in a
thread on Yesfans.com about the cancellations, Downes said:
there’s been a lot of
activity surrounding this subject, so I thought it worthwhile
setting the record straight from my own perspective.
Yes, of course we had a sick vocalist. That was pretty damn
obvious from the 3 Scandinavian shows. It was the doctor’s &
Benoit’s call that he was unable to complete the last 3 shows.
It simply wasn’t getting any better. I think the right decision
was made.
However, some of the yealots have used this opportunity to try
to whip up some anti-feelings towards the current lineup. This
really is a cheap shot. [...] I do take exception to the volume
of abuse and sheer nastiness leveled at our lead vocalist by
some of the ‘so-called’ fans over here. Some of it is really
quite unpleasant and personal.
But anyways, let’s deal with facts…It is not uncommon for
artists to cancel dates, particularly as a result of strain or
illness to a vocalist. U2, Adele, Duran Duran, George Michael
and many others have all cancelled dates this year [2011] on
these grounds. It has nothing to do with band internal problems,
‘low ticket sales’, or any such thing as some of the misguided
fools have surmised. The voice is a delicate instrument. You
don’t just go into a music store and buy another one, like you
can do with any other instrument. No, the voice is a unique part
of a person’s physiology and hence is potentially an extremely
unpredictable entity, based on the general health and demeanour
of that person or the strain and stress he or she is subjected
to. Over the course of a tour this can manifest itself in a
number of ways. It can also transcend into the psychological
world – the vocalist knows he/she has problems physically and
the safety valve stops them going for the notes. But as in any
medical condition, no case is identical.
The band did not have a support act. Will Alexander was back as keys
tech. The standard set was about two and a quarter hours long, with
no intermission. The set list varied from night to night. On the
opening night (3 Nov), the set was 2.5 hours long: intro music: "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra",
"Yours is No Disgrace", "Tempus Fugit", "I've Seen All Good People",
"Life on a Film Set", "And You and I", Howe solo ("Solitaire", "In
The Course Of The Day"), "Fly from Here" (whole suite),
"Wonderous Stories", "Into the Storm", "Heart of the Sunrise",
"Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Machine Messiah", "Starship Trooper";
encore: "Roundabout".
David said during this show that they were playing all the songs
they had rehearsed. Subsequent sets have had a rotating set of songs
omitted and re-included from this list. For example, on their second
night (4 Nov), they omitted "Machine Messiah" and "Life on a Film Set";
on the third show (5 Nov), "Into the Storm" and "Heart of the Sunrise" were
dropped instead, and "Machine Messiah" was played before
"Owner...". On 8, 11, 13 & 24 Nov, "Owner..." and
"Machine Messiah" were the ones omitted.
On 9, 12 & 25 Nov, "Owner..." and "Heart of the Sunrise"
were omitted.Howe's second
solohas varied from night,
with pieces played including "Trambone",
"Clap", "To be Over", "Ram", "Cactus Boogie" and "Second
Initial". At the 15 Nov show,
the venue stipulated an intermission and Howe's solo was moved to
after "Fly from Here". The 17 Nov show also had an intermission at
the venue's request and a longer run time of 2.75 hours (including
interval): they played all the rehearsed songs except "Owner..." and with "Heart of the
Sunrise" moved to after Howe's solo
and immediately before the interval. The 19 Nov show also saw an
extended set, with only "Machine Messiah"
omitted from the full list. In a 5
Oct interview, Howe said:
I've been working to death
today on the Yes show, we have a tour starting on the 2nd of
November, which is in six weeks. I just rehearse on a
Steinberger, because it's so easy to play in an armchair.
Downes tweeted on 27 Oct: "Off to Portugal tomorrow for rehearsals
for the Yes Euro Tour." Trevor Horn,
John Wetton (Asia, ex-King Crimson,
UK, worked with Billy Sherwood) and Hans Zimmer (ex-The
Buggles, "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Kung Fu Panda")
attended the 17 Nov London show. JJ Jeczalik (worked on 90125, ex-Art of Noise)
attended the 11 Nov Birmingham show. Billboard has reported
attendances for the UK shows: Cambridge (8 Nov) sold 1,509 tickets,
grossing $71,991; Sheffield (9 Nov) sold 1,625 tickets, grossing
$84,529; Birmingham (11 Nov) sold out, with 1,880 tickets, grossing
$101,409; Glasgow (12 Nov) sold 1,820 tickets, grossing $93,994;
Manchester (13 Nov) sold 1,905 tickets, grossing $103,343; Brighton
(15 Nov) sold 1,538 tickets, grossing $79,291; Bristol (16 Nov) sold
out, with 1,720 tickets, grossing $89,801; London (17 Nov) sold out,
with 3,200 tickets, grossing $174,922. Dresden (29 Nov) was
reportedly close to sold out. The 7 Dec Oslo audience was estimated
at ~1300.
In an Oct 2011
interview, Howe was asked about playing solo or Asia material
in Yes:
like Asia did when we first
reformed, doing kind of career music from different bands. It
does fit in quite well, but they [Yes] don't want to do that yet
because we're playing our material. But certainly I'll be
playing 'Solitaire' [...] and maybe another solo. It drives me
near the edge if I don't play one.
The only tour I've done in the last five years without doing a
solo guitar spot was this last one with Styx, and that was only
because we were up against the wall with time. Even Benoit was
saying, "please do your solo Steve", and there's also the fact
it gives people a rest. I need to play solo work in Asia or Yes,
because fundamentally it keeps that part of me alive.
Touring for the album started with a joint North American
tour with Styx covering 23
dates in Jul/Aug. Styx closed 11 of the shows, Yes the rest. Most
dates had support from Shane Alexander.
4 Aug in San Diego, CA was Yes without Styx or Alexander (Scott West
opened); 3 Aug in Mountain View, CA featured Yes and Styx, but also
Kansas and with the Greg Kihn Band opening. The opening 4 Jul show
saw both bands at the Let Freedom
Rock Fest 2011 in NJ. Mike Clarke was Downes' keyboard tech
for the tour. Downes blogged about the
tour here. The 4 Jul show sold 6,551 tickets,
grossing $148,166; the 5 Jul show sold 3,027 tickets, grossing
$130,280; the 7 Jul show sold 2,400 tickets, grossing $120,871; the
8 Jul show sold 1,961 tickets, grossing $102,223; the 9 Jul show
sold 2,702 tickets, grossing $129,856; 11 Jul show sold 3,943
tickets, grossing $179,672; the 12 Jul show sold 4,092 tickets,
grossing $168,064; the 14 Jul show sold 3,597 tickets, grossing
$164,606; 15 Jul show sold 1,703 tickets, grossing $69,002; the 16
Jul show sold 2,706 tickets, grossing $137,450; the 18 Jul show sold
3,462 tickets, grossing $137,073; the 19 Jul show sold 3,382
tickets, grossing $112,228; the 22 Jul show sold 1,846 tickets,
grossing $90,778; the 24 Jul show sold 5,461 tickets, grossing
$123,180; the 26 Jul show sold 4,514 tickets, grossing $267,163; the
29 Jul show sold 4,161 tickets, grossing $266,855; the 30 Jul show
sold 3,089 tickets, grossing $182,499. The 2 Aug show sold 5,207
tickets, grossing $248,465; the 3 Aug show sold 6,934 tickets,
grossing $226,075. Tom Brislin
attended one Jul show. Others attending shows on the tour included
the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins, Mars
Hollow's Kerry Chicoine, and Robert Berry (ex-GTR,
ex-3).
The 4 & 5 Jul sets were: intro music—recording of "Fly from
Here - Overture", "Tempus Fugit", "Yours is No Disgrace", "Heart
of the Sunrise", "I've Seen All Good People", "Fly From Here Pt I
- We Can Fly", "And You & I", "Owner of a Lonely Heart",
"Roundabout" (abbreviated version); encore:
"Starship Trooper". On 4 Jul, Alexander played a 20 min. set, then
Styx played for 90 min., then Yes played for 90 min. A shorter set
was played on a few shows. At the 4 Aug show without Styx, the
band played a longer set (117 mins): "Tempus Fugit", "Yours is No
Disgrace", "Heart of the Sunrise", "I've Seen All Good People",
"Fly From Here Pt I - We Can Fly", "And You and I", Howe solo
("Intersection Blues"), "Into the Storm", "Machine Messiah",
"Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Starship Trooper", "Roundabout" (full-length version).
In a Mar 2011 interview, Howe is asked
about playing certain songs so often. He replies:
“Roundabout”, “All Good
People”, they are going to be tough ones to not play and I don’t
know that I have a problem with playing those. I love the
beginning of “Roundabout” […] But if we ever sounded tired and we couldn’t play
it, well, then, yeah, I think we’d ought to stop. But what Yes
have been doing over the past couple of years is re-establishing
the absolute rigidity of
the arrangements that exist in Yes because I personally object
to two ex-Yes members, going out, playing a Yes song, particularly “Turn of the
Century” and not adhering, one,
to the melody, two, to
the chord sequence, three,
to the bass, y’know. To the bass, chord sequence… so important.
Anybody who goes out and sings those songs with the wrong words,
the wrong chords, the wrong bass part, the wrong harmony, I
don’t want to play with them. I… I can’t play with them. Because I adore Yes music. I adore
all the music that I’ve been part of, and whether it’s Tomorrow
playing “My White Bicycle”, I want to play that the same […] Because
when Bob Dylan started doing songs different: I stopped going to
concerts. I don’t want to hear “I Want You” in a different way
[…] [references The Rolling Stones also changing songs live] I
am so irritated by
people messing around with their
music or our music
and playing it with disrespect. Y’know, because if you just scat
some part of “Yours is No Disgrace” or “Turn of the Century”,
you’re not my friend. I don’t want to hear from you. Get out of
my life. The rigidity of
the structures of Yes are what hold it together. […] That’s what
we’re about now. We’re very sure that our fans are similar to
us. In other words, the perfectionism that Yes were capable of
creating has to be reproduced. There’s no point in trashing that
and expecting, hey, we’ve got two thousand Yes fans and they’re
going to hear us play, what, “The Revealing Science of God” all in five minutes, we’ve
got it all down to five minutes, not twenty minutes, and we’ve
changed all the chords, changed all the words, and taken off the
beginning, y’know, personally, I’d say, leave it alone.
In a Feb
2011
interview, Howe said, "Yes is a touring band. It's fundamental
to our existence."
Buy the digital single "We Can Fly (Radio Edit)" from Amazon
(US):
When
22 Jun (Japan physical release), 1 Jul (Europe; Australia;
digital release in Japan), 12 Jul (US/Canada), 5 Aug
(Brazil). UK and Irish retailers generally listed 4
Jul. French release in practice occured in Jun.
Produced by Trevor Horn
Engineered & mixed by Tim Weidner
except (10) engineered by Curtis Schwartz/Steve Howe
Mastered by John Davis
Sleeve design: Roger Dean
Management: Trudy Green, Danielle Friedman
What
side
A:
1. "Fly From Here - Overture" [Horn/Downes] (1:53)
2. "Fly From Here Pt I - We Can Fly"
[Horn/Downes/Squire] (6:00)
3. "Fly From Here Pt II - Sad Night at the Airfield"
[Horn/Downes] (6:41)
4. "Fly From Here Pt III - Madman at the Screens"
[Horn/Downes] (5:16)
5. "Fly From Here Pt IV - Bumpy Ride" [Howe] (2:15)
6. "Fly From Here Pt V - We Can Fly Reprise"
[Horn/Downes/Squire] (1:44)
side B:
7. "The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be" [Squire/Johnson/Sessler]
(5:07)
8. "Life on a Film Set" [Horn/Downes] (5:01)
9. "Hour of Need" [Howe] (3:07)
10. "Solitaire" [Howe] (3:30)
11. "Into the Storm"
[Squire/Wakeman/Howe/Horn/David/White] (6:54)
Japanese CD bonus track:
12. "Hour of Need (full-length version)" (6:46)
"Fly from Here" is based on the 1980 Buggles/Yes song "We
Can Fly from Here" and further parts by The Buggles in c. 1981. "Life on a
Film Set" is a version of "Riding a Tide", a c. 1981 Buggles demo.
"Solitaire" is an acoustic solo piece by Howe.
Buy
the digital single "We Can Fly (Radio Edit)" from Amazon
(UK):
Where
Main recording sessions Oct/Nov
2010 & Jan/Feb 2011 at Sarm West Coast, Los Angeles.
Mixing and additional vocals recording Apr 2011 at Sarm
West, London
(10) recorded at Langley Studios, Devon &
Schwartz Studios, Sussex
How
Frontiers Records in Europe/US;
Avalon in Japan
Variants
CD (FR CD 520);
limited edition CD + DVD Digipak (FR CDVD 520);
LP (FR LP 520;
seems to now be sold
out); box set with CD, DVD, LP, T-shirt (L size),
poster and lithograph of cover art (FR BS 520)
DVD content (Japan, Europe): making-of documentary (18:30
duration). The Japanese release has non-optional Japanese
subtitles.
The band's new album, Fly from
Here, was recorded in Los Angeles, CA, produced by Trevor Horn,
using ProTools. My review
of the album is on the blog. Apart from Howe's solo piece, the
album was engineered and mixed by Tim Weidner, who produced Magnification. The album is now
out worldwide. The Japanese release has a bonus track of a longer
version of "Hour of Need": this consists of about 53 seconds of
additional instrumental music before and 2:51 after the regular
version of the track, which seems in part to have been inspired by Joaquín
Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez". It is only available in
Japan, on the CD and digitally. (Some non-Japanese retailers claimed
there was a second bonus track, but they were wrong.)
"We Can Fly" was released as a digital-only single and there is an
accompanying music video, directed by Ken Horn (Trevor's
brother; worked on Heartbeat,
The Royal, Emmerdale, Brookside). The band
do not appear in the video, although Trevor Horn does briefly.
The band has signed a worldwide record deal with Frontiers
Records, who have Asia and Yoso in their
stable. There are four release formats: a regular CD; an LP (vinyl);
a limited edition CD plus bonus making-of DVD; and a limited edition
box set with CD, LP, DVD, T-shirt and artwork. Online samples are in
preparation at YesWorld; and review copies have gone out. A
digital-only single, an edit of "Fly From Here Pt I - We Can Fly",
is out in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and presumably
elsewhere. An electronic press
kit for the album is available. The video content comes from
the making-of documentary.
Dylan Howe (Steve's son)
tweeted about the album (17 Jun): "Just heard the new Trevor Horn
produced Yes album 'We Can Fly From Here' - sounds really good, bit
like 'Drama' part 2 - excellent". This Jun 2011
interview had Jon Anderson's perspective on the idea of Yes
doing the album without him:
It’s not my idea of Yes.
It’ll probably be pretty good, but... If I’m involved in it, my
idea of Yes is my understanding of what Yes truly is.
[...]
if you’re looking for Yes music it’s only natural that I should
be helping to create it, BUT.....you know, they’re gonna do what
they wanna do. Chris and Steve and Alan - they got their idea of
what they want to do, they’re working with Trevor Horn and, you
know, we’ll see what they come up with. It’ll be their idea of
Yes, which is not mine.
[...]
They’re all very talented people.
However, having heard the album, Anderson had this to say to Rolling Stone: "I wasn't really
convinced[.] The new singer is singing good, but it sounded a bit
dated to me. Also, the production wasn't as good as I expected.
They've got a great producer with Trevor Horn, so what the hell are
you doing?" A Jul
2011 interview with Squire had his response to that:
For his part, Squire said he
is “civil” with Anderson, and he understands the roots of the
criticism.
“Obviously, he's probably not that happy,” Squire said. “He's
not in the band anymore, but in actual fact, he had a problem
where he couldn't actually, physically do Yes. For a lead
singer, it's a taxing thing. I hope he wishes us well, really.
“I hear at times that he doesn't, but there you go,” he said.
In another Jul
2011 interview, again asked about Anderson's comments, Squire
said:
Well I don't know- obviously
it's the first album we've done without him, since he left, and
I think the production is very good myself. So, it sounds
as though he is a little bit bitter is all I can say, but I
really wish that he would wish us luck. We're doing the best we
can.
And in the Jan 2012 Billboardinterview:
"I know he said he didn't care for the album, but he wasn't
involved. Nobody expected he'd get the same enjoyment out of it that
we are."
Fly from Here sold 2,328 copies
in Japan in its first week, and an additional 1,214 in its second
there. It sold 5,242 copies in its first week in the UK. It
reportedly sold ~10,000 copies in the US in its first week (compare first week US sales for Open Your Eyes of 12,516). By around the
end of November 2011, about 5 months after its release, Fly from Here had sold 72,000
copies worldwide, including 32,000 in the US. A report at the
beginning of Feb 2012, so about 7 months after release, said the
figure was just short of 100,000. (For comparison, Keys to Ascension had sold about 55,000 copies in
the US in its first 13 months. By late Nov 1999, Keys to
Ascension had sold
about 63,000 copies in the US; Keys to Ascension 2 48,000; Open Your Eyes 40,000; The Ladder, after about 2 months, 42,000; and
Talk, 298,000. In the UK, Magnification sold 829 copies on the day of its
release, about 10,000 copies after 5 months, climbing to about
14,000 after 1 year. The Ladder sold about 20,000 in the UK.) Downes said in
early Mar 2012 that Fly from Here has sold more copies than Magnification.
Official
national chart positions
1st week
2nd week
3rd week
4th week
USA
36
97
182
out of top 200
Japan
56
86
out of top 100
out of top 100
Germany
16
42
out of top 50
out of top 50
UK
30
91
out of top 100
out of top 100
France
147
134
out of top 200
out of top 200
Italy
49
55
out of top 100
out of top 100
Netherlands
43
77
73
92
Czech Rep.
46
33
33
out of top 50
Switzerland
39
58
95
out of top 100
Sweden
31
47
out of top 60
55
Norway
24
out of top 40
out of top 40
out of top 40
This is the band's best
chart performance for a new album since Talk or earlier in the US, UK, Germany, France, the
Netherlands and elsewhere. Indeed, the band's second week chart
position in the US is better than any album's first week position
since Talk, and this is the
first Yes album to stay 3 weeks in the US top 100 since Talk. (In the US, Talk made #33 and was in the
charts for 8 weeks.) Fly from Here also peaked at #9 in the US Rock Chart, #7 in the US
Independent Chart and #4 in the Tastemaker Chart.
While O. Wakeman played keys on the 2010 sessions, Geoff
Downes then became involved. He had already liaised with Horn
over the plan to record "We Can Fly from Here" in 2010, but his
initial recording contributions where when he was in LA in Jan and
early Feb 2011. In an Aug 2011 interview,
Downes described how he was coming to LA for other work and came to
the Yes sessions to play on just "We Can Fly" and another
Horn/Downes track (presumably "Sad Night at the Airfield"), given
his history with them, but that, as sessions proceeded, he was asked
to do the whole album. Downes was back in LA for approximately 16-23
Feb for further work with Yes. He tweeted on 23 Feb, "This last week has been flat out working
in the studio - hope the results will be there for all to see
later this year [2011]." O. Wakeman did
not attend any of the 2011 sessions. While Downes is the main
keyboardist on the album, some of Wakeman's contributions have been
used and he is credited with co-writing one song. Downes blogged in
Jul 2011 that, "I probably played about 95% of the keys parts on the
whole album." And in a Jul
2011 interview, he had this description of joining the band:
It started off just before
Christmas [2010], actually. I think [producer] Trevor [Horn] had
agreed with the guys that he was going to do one of the tracks
on the forthcoming album, which was actually a song that he and
I had written back around the Drama era.
So we both thought, 'Okay, that's nice, they're going to do one
of our tracks,' and Trevor was quite keen that I come along and
do some of the keyboard parts on it. So it really built from
there. We had some more material that we put forward, and they
wanted to do it, and it was sort of a gradual progression. Then
they asked me to play on the whole album, so that was it. I was
hooked in, as it were.
Thus, the first batch of Yes's recording sessions were 3 Oct-12 Nov
2010, during which they recorded or partially recorded "Into the
Storm", "The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be" and "Hour of Need". On
his website, Howe
describes this initial period thus: "October crawled as we got
started, into a steady pace. Then, once "Fly from Here Part 1" had
been recorded with Trevor [Horn], we tried out further songs with
Tim [Weidner], including "Into The Storm", "The Man You Always
Wanted Me To Be" & "Hour Of Need", making it 6 weeks." They then
played a short South American tour before a period apart, and a
return to the studio in Jan 2011. Sessions continued through Feb
(somewhat longer than originally planned). While the band were on
tour in Mar, Downes continued working on keyboard parts back in the
UK. This continued in Apr, which also saw some more vocal overdubs
recorded in Los Angeles. Final work on album—Jardim's percussion,
final guitar overdubs, mixing and mastering—came in Apr in London.
In a Jun
2011 interview, asked when the album was recorded, Squire
said:
We started in October,
November, and we had a break over the holiday period and
reconvened in mid-January till the end of February. We finished
the recording, most of it except for vocals, which we finished
in London in April.
The fullest description of how the album was made came in a Jul 2011 blog by Downes.
He describes how, when and where the album was recorded. He
discusses how in Oct/Nov 2010, Horn "was only really going to record
the one song and maybe over-see the rest of the material".
YesWorld's biography of the band describes how, "Working full-time
with Horn involved scrapping some previous work they’d done in the
studio by themselves." This appears to be a reference to studio
demos from earlier in 2010 or possibly some of the Oct/Nov sessions
with Weidner engineering but Horn not yet fully engaged. However, by
Dec 2010, Horn "called [Downes] and said that he was thinking of
doing another couple of tracks, or even the entire album". It was
also at this point that "there was talk of recording FFH Pt2 which
existed as a Buggles demo from the post Drama period when we were
both influenced heavily by our spell in the Yes" and Horn "was
wondering, considering it was our material, if I would be interested
on playing on some it." By late Jan:
a 3rd part had been put
forward for FFH which again was a rough idea of me and Trevor’s
from the post-Drama period. Steve then threw in his ‘Bumpy
Ride’, and the idea of the FFH ‘suite’ was born. It changed
considerably over the course of the rehearsals as you can
imagine, and arrangement changes were being made by the day. It
would alternate from ‘Shall we make it a continuous piece?’ or
‘Let’s keep all the songs separate’. This dilemma continued
virtually right up to the final mix of the album.
[...] by the time we hit the recording studio the following
week, we were playing the basis for the 3-part suite. Around
this time, we were toying with another 4th part. In effect the
song just kept getting expanded and extended
Squire: I think [Fly from Here] stands up, is
all I can say. It’s always difficult to say, “Is it better than
that album or as not as good as that album?” but [...] when we
finished it, we thought, “We’ve made an album that’s worthy of
being called Yes album.” And it does have a good feeling about
it, so we were satisfied [...]
Interviewer: Obviously
parts of the title track date all the way back to The Buggles
[...] could you take me on the journey of how Yes approached
that track and developed it [...]
Squire: Well,
originally, I suppose it did come from a Buggles creation—I
don’t know if they took it anywhere or if it was actually
released, or whether it was just released on some demo thing on
Youtube. I don’t know much about the history, but I do know that
when I first heard it and we expanded it into the first
six-minute version, where I worked on expanding [the] writing
with Trevor and Geoff, lyrically as well as section-wise, I
became a writer on that version as well, so when I went to see
Trevor in 2009 to see if he wanted to work with Yes again as a
producer, and he seemed favorable to it, we started talking,
“Oh, you remember that track ‘Fly From Here?’ Maybe we should
properly record that!” Because it had really only been a Yes
demo for Drama, and it
had never gotten made back then, even though we did do a live
version [...] But we didn’t just want to do that again. We said,
“Let’s expanding it even more and try to turn it into a classic
longform Yes piece of music and try to put a good Yes stamp on
it.[”] And then we went back into
other things. I said, “Trevor, did you have other things that
hadn’t gotten used around the time that you’d originally written
that?” So “Sad Night at the Airfield” kind of comes from an idea
Trevor had back then, but there were modern ideas that we had as
well, that we came up with [...] in the studio, “Bumpy Ride”
being one of them, along with various sections. So although its
roots are in the past from when it was originally written in
basic form, a lot of how it ended up was present day.
[...] “Into the Storm” was very much a brand new thing based on
a riff that I’d written while I was messing around with Alan
White in a demo studio when we were just coming up with ideas
[...] I came up with this riff, and Alan and I put down a bass
and drum track, and later, we added another section, which I
believe Oliver Wakeman contributed to, and yet another section
of that came from just jamming in the studio. And then I wrote
the melody for it, and then we all sat down and collaborated on
the lyric. So that is a very collaborative song [...] of course
Steve had a couple songs; “Hour of Need” was a song he’d written
pretty much lyrically and melody-wise [...] “The Man You’d
Always Wanted Me to Be” was a song that I’d written lyrically
and melody-wise and chord-wise—the whole thing, really.
A song entitled "Corner of the World", probably by Howe, was also being developed after
Downes joined, but was not used on the final album. In a Jun 2011 interview,
White said of the suite: "We actually recorded all the pieces of
music separately but then it all became one kind of suite". And Downes'
Jul 2011 interview has this exchange:
Interviewer: Are the different movements [of
"Fly from Here"] [...] parts that you wrote specifically for
this record, or are they recycled parts from that era that just
never got recorded or performed live?
Downes: There's a
couple of things that we had then that we threw in the pot as
well, and there's a couple that are completely new. I think that
once we decided we were going to make it into more than just the
standard song, and it was going to develop into something
bigger, we started to build ideas around it. The whole thing
just kind of kept morphing daily into something else.
It changed its shape quite a few times, but generally speaking
what we ended up with was the way we envisioned it.
In a Nov
2011 interview, White said: "It was Trevor Horn's idea to make
it more of a concept and develop the track into a suite."
Howe, on his site, describes how work continued:
Mid January saw us return to
rehearse some new songs by Trevor & Geoff, then record them.
Plans changed but progress was being made. Gradually the
machinery got going with some sense of urgency, once more, when
we got our heads down in February to help reinvent what we had
recorded.
Just as the final mixing in London was taking place (and not a
moment too soon), did I present a guitar solo entitled
"Solitaire". The inclusion of solos was an open door, I
delivered. I had written & recorded it myself, then worked
with Curtis to finalize it.
Downes goes on to describe work in Feb 2011:
There was also another track
then in the equation. “Life on a Film Set”, which had
considerable relevance to the other stuff me & Trevor had
put forward for the album. More importantly, the guys liked the
song and recorded the backing track and got this up to the same
kind of level as the other tunes just before they headed off on
tour.
He finishes by saying, "Funnily enough, Chris has since told me,
that it is the 1st time on any Yes album that everyone in the band
actually likes it!"
Shortly before
recording final overdubs for the album, David was interviewed by Progression magazine, saying,
"At the end of the day we recorded so many tracks that we could do
almost two albums. So the tracks are there, we just need to see what
Trevor puts on the final disc." (It is unclear whether David means
"tracks" in the sense of songs, or in the sense of multiple takes of
the same basic material.) In a
Jan
2012 interview, he said about the writing of the album:
Of course I was there along with the whole process, and did
some co-writing on the 'Into the Storm' song [...] All of the
other songs were co-written by the rest of the band and were
developed, 'Into the Storm' was a jam that we turned into a
song, which started out as a bass riff that Chris was doing
while playing around with his equipment. Everything else were
songs that were composed by one another as everybody chipped in
with a little work with their own ideas.
And on Horn's role:
Trevor put everybody into this project, he coordinated the
people and took the best out of everybody by being the center
person - in the end, he gets t[he] final decision. Everybody has
opinions and he listens to everything and then he decides - he
might be a little bit from the outside but he is still in the
family. He really put the band together and everybody trusted
him and his decision
In the Jun interview with White, he discusses the writing of "Into
the Storm": "it was more of a collaboration of everything. Chris
came up with the lyric and I came up with the drum pattern and I
wrote the odd time section in there with Oliver...and those kind of
things." In an Oct
2011 interview, White spoke at length about making the album:
We started thinking about
producers [...] Trevor Horn's name kept coming up. [...] He knew
we were interested in using him. [...]
He came and he said he'd [...] do
one track and see how it goes. [...]
He came up with the idea of reconstructing a song ["We Can Fly
from Here"] [...] it was more like
a Buggles song that Yes interpreted. [...]
We always liked the song [...] so
we thought we'd delve into the song again, we started rehearsing
and then ideas came up, we started elongating the song, and
Trevor started making it more into a story. So, Yes were then
going back [...] to doing albums
with a little bit more of a concept nature [...]
and that's what we ended up doing with this.
There's one track [...] [in] the
suite, it's called "Bumpy Ride". So it was a bumpy ride for a
while, making all of the kinda different tracks to see how they
fit together and the storyline would start flowing. And then [...]
everybody seemed to get it all at once and Trevor Horn was
masterminding the whole thing anyway and you could see him every
day just thinking about how we knit these pieces together and
make it into more of a concept type, storyline kinda piece that
has a meaning throughout four or five numbers. [...]
It seemed to start working itself out. And then all of a sudden
[...] everybody got it. We had
these pieces of music that all fit together. We had "Fly from
Here". Then Steve had a song that he was really interested in
doing, and so did Chris, that they'd been presenting that was
part of the same thing but separate. And then we had another
song that we were rehearsing...
actually we were all in Phoenix for about 10 days, just messing
around every day. So we had some tapes of different things that
we'd done down there. And that's where "Into the Storm" came
from. It was a co-operation between everybody, just basically
jamming, but the jamming turned into a really good song on the
album.
Talking about the process of recording, White went on:
Trevor Horn's really [...] a
melody/chord man. [...] he knows
my drumming from way back. He knows how I kinda approach songs
and how I play [...] So, he'll
present me with the chords and [...]
I'll go [...] maybe we can
embellish on that a little bit [...]
You only play what is necessary for the song. The song is
usually the most important thing. [...]
You've got to have that melody [...]
You play what is necessary to make that melody work more.
[...] 90% of the time he just lets
me do what I want to do, and he just tells me when it’s not
working
[...] [re: "Fly from Here"] The
song is built around a lick that's in 5, but the drums are
playing in 4. It would sound too neat probably if it was all in
5, including the drummer.
[...]
"Fly from Here" [...] we actually
rehearsed the song quite a bit. We went into the studio,
everybody knew the basic structure. You go into the studio. [...]
You get one really good take, especially [...]
see if we get a good drum take. [...]
Everybody will play the song to make sure we get a good drum
take and then everybody will go back and re-do their parts and
get everything tight with the drums
Roger Dean did the cover. On 25 Apr, he said on his Facebook page:
I'm hoping to finish the
cover for the Yes 'Fly From Here' album today. [...] The
painting is a very interesting idea for me, it's one of a pair I
started in 1970, neither of which have been published. I'm
finishing them in the style of my current paintings but the
colour and texture I've kept from the 1970's original.
In the aforementioned blog post, Downes said:
Roger Dean had also come down
to see us [...] with his ideas for the sleeve. To be honest, the
band response was rather tepid to his initial ideas. At that
time, the only flying thing on the sleeve was the much smaller
‘blue bird’, so it just looked like a load of greenery to us. We
made suggestions, Roger took it all on board (and came back
weeks later with a great concept and a massively improved
artwork – to our eyes anyway).
And in his interview, White said: "Roger came to the studio in
London and showed us all what kind of stuff he'd been working on and
we all pretty much liked it and made a couple of amendments. I
particularly like the logo, made out of the snake there."
And on 3 May, he
said: "I've taken advantage of two double, back to back bank
holidays to paint and draw. In that time I've finished the new Yes
cover and a very elaborate and intricate Yes logo." Dean has now
uploaded the full art to his
Facebook page, with some slightly different art also on the official
Yes Facebook page. The album art layout is by Frontiers'
Giulio Cataldo (Grimalkin).
Frequent Horn collaborator Luís Jardim (worked
with Asia, ABC, Seal, Grace Jones, Paul
McCartney, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Björk, Robbie
Williams, Elton John, worked on Ídolos)
supplies percussion. "The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be" began as a
demo in the 2006/7 writing sessions for an abortive Chris Squire
solo project (see under Squire for details):
the song is co-composed by Gerard Johnson (The Electric Opera/Funky Monkey, St Etienne, ex-The Syn, ex-Peter Banks),
while the lyrics were co-written by Simon
Sessler (works with Chris Kimsey; worked with IQ, Terry
Reid, Francis Dunnery). Johnson's piano playing on the
piece was kept for the Yes version.
The album takes its title from a new version of "We Can Fly from
Here" (although Squire was joking the album is called Odyssey Dawn, after The Daily Show joked "Odyssey
Dawn" sounds like a Yes album title). Horn and Downes first
approached Yes in 1980 to offer them this song, and Yes recorded a
studio version (the nearest to complete version clocks in at 6:24),
but the song did not make it to Drama.
It was played on the accompanying tour (with a live version
available on The Word is Live;
6:46), during which Horn indicated the song would be on the
follow-up to Drama, that of
course never came. The Buggles subsequently demo'd a two part
version; this can be heard as two bonus tracks on the recent
re-release of Adventures in Modern Recording
(Part I: 5:09; Part II: 4:02). However, on Fly from Here, the piece has now
been expanded to be over 20 minutes long: parts I and II correspond
to the parts I and II on Adventures
in Modern Recording and part III also stems from another
Buggles demo from the same time (which has not been released). In
Sep 2010, Horn said he was going to record "We Can Fly from Here"
with Yes in early Oct. A 2010 report suggested Horn would be doing
lead vocals on the song, but this has not happened. Meanwhile, "Life
on a Film Set" is also taken from a Buggles demo called "Riding a
Tide" (4:50), which was also a bonus track on the re-release of Adventures in Modern Recording.
In a May
2011 interview, White said this about the title track:
"It is nothing like the
version that you heard before. The theme and the song is still
there, but it is twenty-two minutes long." When asked
about what it was like working with Horn again, White said, "Trevor
is like a madscientist. He is a perfectionist and
has been spending an awful lot of time with it. I have heard
the project jump up a couple of notches, and it is sounding
amazing."
Trevor[ Horn]'s a busy man,
so we didn't think he was going to be able to be involved with
'Fly From Here.' He was originally supposed to just do one
track, but then he loved that one so much that it soon developed
into him producing the entire album. There's just something
about working with Trevor that puts us at ease. We know we can
trust him with things. We've known him for so long.
[...]
I think this new album is a great combination of the symphonic,
progressive side of our sound and some of that pop stuff [on 90125]. The title track is
something like 20-minutes long. It's one of those types of songs
that people have come to associate with Yes. You know – the kind
of song that has a story to it with all of these different parts
to it, like chapters. But then there's also some shorter, more
straight-forward songs on the album as well
The idea behind it because we
haven’t released an album for the last 10 years so we had a
whole bunch of material that we wanted to use to record a Yes
album, but we’ve been touring [...] a lot so we finally found
time to start thinking about recording and when Trevor Horn came
back and had ideas about how we should do “Fly From Here,” which
is a song done in the ’80s, but was never really recorded
properly. I think it was more of a pop song back then and it
changed into more of a concert song and we took that as kind of
a fulcrum of the album basically and stemmed it from there.
[...] Horn was just supposed to do that song and he decided to
do the whole album [...]
I’ve got a feeling this album stacks up really well against the
other albums because it feels like it’s a very current album and
it’s more a 2011 kind of vision of Trevor Horn and what the band
should sound like.
A Mar
2011 article (seemingly sourced from a press release) quotes
Horn and Squire:
"Chris and I were talking one
evening about the song 'Fly From Here' that we never recorded,"
explains Horn. "I said I was prepared to spend two weeks with
Yes recording that song. When I arrived in America to record it,
I was taken prisoner by the band and only allowed my freedom
again in return for producing the whole album. It was an offer I
couldn't refuse!"
[...] "The new album represents the best of Yes from the '70s
and the '80s with a current twist," said Squire.
“He [Horn] and I wanted to
become involved in doing the newest album together, and so we
had this idea to reintroduce a couple of ideas we hadn’t used
back in 1980,” Squire said. “But we changed them a lot,
obviously, from how they were then to bring them into the
current genre of making a record.”
Most of the music on “Fly
from Here” is newly written
A friendly get-together
between old bandmates is what led to the return of [...] Trevor
Horn and Geoff Downes [...]
[...] Squire [...] [said] that he and Horn [...] had a sit-down
last year [2010] to talk about an album Squire had recorded with
[...] Steve Hackett. Over the course of the conversation, Squire
recalls, he and Horn "started talking about whether we thought
we might work together again on something." The conversation
turned to "We Can Fly From [H]ere," [...]
"Trevor said, 'Oh, yeah, we never did do a studio version. Maybe
we should get together and do that,' " Squire says. "That was
the idea, really to do one song." The piece grew into a
six-part, 23-minute epic [...] After that, Squire says, "we
realized how much we enjoyed working together and expanded into
Trevor doing the whole album."
And in another Jun
2011 interview, Squire said, "A lot of the music that's part
of that ["Fly from Here"] suite now is actually new music or music
that's never been put together before." Squire was also asked about
the possibility of Horn singing on the album. He replied:
Trevor actually is singing
backup, so his voice is on there. But all the lead vocals are by
Benoit, and honestly, I don’t think Trevor was really ever
interested in becoming the singer again.
Horn produces and sings
backup on Fly from Here. “Trevor’s got a beautiful singing
voice,” David says, “and at one point, I said, ‘Why do you need
me around?’ He said, ‘No, you sing way better than me, and
you’re the man.’ ”
[...] “I said to Trevor, ‘Don’t you think this should sound a
little bit more like the usual Yes?’ Meaning the same type of
vocals, and so forth, and he said, ‘I disagree. This needs
to sound exactly what the band is today.’ This is what we did,
and I’m very proud of the result.”
In a Jun 2011 radio interview, asked about Horn's input into
writing and arranging the album, Squire said, "We all just opened
our minds to being part of a group that was all inclusive and we all
put our talents into it." He was also asked whether there was any
thought given to Horn singing lead vocals, to which he replied, "Not
really." And asked whether there was any discussion about bringing
Anderson in to sing on the album: "Nobody had that discussion."
th[e] team of Yes and Trevor
[Horn] has a certain expectation. [...] the Drama era, obviously, gives
him a lot of credibility. [...] Some of [the album] is written by Trevor, so he’s
had quite a serious... large involvement in the album. [...]
one of the[ songs] is a very long
piece of music. It’s equal to the "Close to the Edge", Topographic, "Gates of
Delirium" sort of scale of
music that we haven’t done a great deal of in the last 20 years,
I guess. [...]
It’s going to be a very vibrant album, it’s going to be very
fresh [...] in some ways, the last three albums didn’t make me
very happy. [...] we think we’re got a really neat, stylish,
clever album that is a little bit less expected. It's going to be hard to say
if anybody quite expects us to come out with this album.
We’re really ready to mix it [...] [Horn] has tremendous
awareness of the value of the musicianship in Yes, the
songwriting style that has to come up to match that, and also
[...] the production, [...] Yes was always on that leading edge
of that technology and when Trevor got involved, it emphasised
that.
[...] When the long pieces started [in the 1970s] [...] they
used to pull pieces out of [as single releases, e.g. "Total Mass Retain"],
and I dare say that the same thing will happen on [...] our new
album, is that they will take the big piece and they will try to
run with a couple of the short segments from it. I got no real
problem with that because we won’t have destroyed the
masterwork, if you like, y'know. It will still exist, but you
will be able to hear segments from it. I think that’s quite fun.
[...] I think one of the worst things that ever happened in Yes
is when certain people in the band and certain people
engineering and helping started to think if somebody would say
this song is a single
[...] that somehow the magic would happen and we would have a
hit record. And time and time again, I saw people completely
lose the heart and soul by trashing a song. Usually this song
that was chosen... er... I can give you an example: “Finally” on
Magnification [sic], for instance, or […]
other songs were chosen on albums. And usually it would just be
destroyed. Because of
the quest for commercialism, the mistaken quest for commercialism, these songs
would get trashed out. In other words, people would edit them,
they would play rubbishy things on them [...] I don’t want to
cheapen Yes. I don’t want to even say sorry for the 20 minute
pieces [...] The hell with it. [...] We were uncompromising [in
the 1970s]. [...] The way Yes gets success is through quality,
and not necessarily commercialism. “Owner of a Lonely Heart” is
a commercial song,
there’s no doubt about it, and it’s just like on the borderline.
You could say, although it did Yes a great enhancement by
getting loads of people to listen to it, it also did a lot of
damage because [...] the label want[ed] more and more songs like
that [...] Basically, Yes became a kind of trashy pop band, for a moment. I think it’s
a great album, 90125, I
didn’t play on it [...] but there again it had this ‘sold out’
kind of thing, but it worked, it had a big hit record [...] I’d
like to steer away from commercialism. And sure, we could have a
number one single, but I don’t want it to be a compromise, y’know, I don’t
want it to be a piece of bubblegum that guys of [...] 40, 50 and
60 years old are actually playing into the hands of
commercialism. I don't want to do that.
In an Oct 2011
interview, Howe was asked "how easy was putting the album
together". His reply:
I wouldn't use the word easy,
nothing is easy. [...] it changed direction a few times. Hence
Oliver not completing it, and yet starting it. A bit reminiscent
of 'Going for the One' actually there, where we started it with
Patrick and finished it with Rick.
[...] those changes, the involvement of Trevor [Horn] who
originally had a partial involvement, and ended up being totally
involved. But these things changed, we[']re grown men we should
be able to deal with it, and we did. There were a few bits of
rough riding, but a lot of it was creative and constructive, and
to put an album out, when we haven't done one for 10 or 20 years
that hasn't got the quality that this album has, not only in the
production, but in the determination to get the songs to sit and
have a storyline. It's a pretty good album
He was also asked how long the album took to make:
Primarily three months with
the whole band throwing their weight in and then periods after
that when it was just a keyboard session for a week, or mixing
for a week which we got a little bit involved in as the end of
March came along. It was intense
And then about the album's LP style with two sides:
A lot of things happen and
you don't really realise. In a way you work with someone like
Trevor then things are not discussed as much as you might think.
They're just put into effect. We didn't always say that we
weren't going to make a sixty minute album, but it came about
like that. A lot of my albums are sixty minutes, but he was
happy to make it around fifty [...] the 'Fly From Here' suite
you could almost see that as side one. Then you get a shoter
selection of songs, that aren't scre[am]ing for attention but
they're all quality songs. That does give it more of an album
feel, than the whole sixty minute CD
In a Nov 2011 interview in Record
Collector, Horn said this about his writing contributions
to the album:
There were some we wrote
after coming off the road with Yes on our Drama tour. Geoff [Downes]
and I wrote a few things then and that's where they've come
from. They were all part of something, three that we wrote about
isolation and they fitted together. We did demos and when we
went back to them I changed a lot of the lyrics because they
were jive lyrics. But I kept a few things I really liked and the
album came together quite easily. I wouldn't have done it if it
was going so. [...] Yes's music is pretty challenging, so the
players don't deteriorate as they get older in the same way that
they do in rock bands where it's just crude. They play
really well now. Steve's better than ever
He [Trevor Horn] is a great
songwriter[.] The writing process was pretty much driven by him,
(Squire) and (Howe), with the other guys making contributions.
In mid-May 2011 on the Asia tour, Howe and
Downes spoke to fans about the album, describing it as a mix of Close to the Edge and 90125. They also said that there
were a few songs that were left off the album (one might speculate
whether these where songs developed in late 2010 with O. Wakeman).
Howe said that they had just submitted the album to the record
company.
In one of the Mar
2011 interviews (possibly conducted a bit earlier), Squire
said:
we’ve also been working with
Geoff Downes on keyboards, who was in Yes in 1980 as well. So
there’s going to be some of his influence on the album. Trevor
Horn is producing the album. In a way the new Yes album is going
to be an interesting combination of Drama revisited. Having completed the tracks,
I’m extremely happy with it, and I think most people will be
surprised with the direction we’re going in because it does
embody some values of the ’70s—there’s one piece that is over 20
minutes long and others that are of very substantial length.
Interviewer: Since this tour interrupts
recording progress, does the time away offer perspective that
will affect what happens next?
Howe: [...] There are two schools of thought.
In one, you start making an album, and then you never stop until
you completely finish it. The opposite of that is you do tracks,
and then you come back to them. [...] So, you’re always thinking
fresh. You’re not thinking, “God, I’ve been on this record for
three months. I just want to stop hearing it!”
This is how we made our earlier
records, and it may prove to be a much better way. [...]
Close to the Edge, Fragile
and The Yes Album were made as we lived and toured,
and stopped and started. I think, most probably, they were
better because of it. They benefitted from renewing that fresh
approach.
[...]
I would say that it [the new
album] has turned into a good team record. I really hope that we
all like it as much as we think we do at the moment. The
collective enjoyment is very important.
It might be a little bit closer
to Drama than we actually thought before. That might
be due to the fact that Trevor cares a lot about the music. He’s
a great writer, and has written some songs with us. [...] I
don’t think [the album]’s very predictable. I think people are
going to go, “Ouch! Ooh!,” in surprise. I don’t think they’re
going to go, “Oh, God, it’s another Yes record.”
[laughs]
[...]
[After praising The Libertines
and the first Babyshambles album] I still need to have rock
energy in music. Not in the same way, but I hope with the new
Yes album that we’ve carried that rock message. Forget the
poncing around with all the arty-farty music. Yes is
fundamentally a rock band.
It is something we're going
to be really proud of, something we'll like very much. It's
produced by Trevor Horn, so it has a definite sound and
stylistic approach which I think Yes fans will enjoy, and we'll
benefit from, because we attempted some records over the last 15
years, and I wouldn't say they're on my hot list very often!
This will have very solid material and collaborations, and also
solo opportunities.
In a Feb
2011
interview, asked whether the album recording process is like Magnification or earlier albums
Howe said:
I pray it’s not like Magnification, because, although those albums
turned out to be good, they were good after a great deal of
difficulty. [chuckles]
[...] I wouldn’t say this album is like either [Magnification or the 1970s
albums]. I don’t want
to make albums like the last Yes albums. They were tense, they
were difficult, they were problematic, they went over budget.
They did everything that was wrong. They didn’t sound bad in the
end, but they were a bit like crawling over cut glass to make a
record, y’know. [chuckles]
They weren’t easy. [...]
I would be fantasising to say it [the new album] has been as
dreamy as the seventies, but it’s good fun and we’re working
well together. And it’s nice to be working with Trevor Horn.
He’s an interesting guy that we’ve got a special kind of
connection with, and, y’know, that means there’s a depth to it.
This isn’t a transient, just passing-by sort of contact. It’s a
kind of depthful contact where Trevor understands the group in
ways that even we don’t, because he’s kind of morphed the
seventies and eighties as far as Yes is concerned. But I mean
he’s very much a now person, he’s about ‘what have you got, what
can we do, what have I got, what can I add’, so it’s really like
a building process, like a huge construction job
He is later asked about what guitars he is using on the album, and
replies:
the 1964 175 Gibson comes in
for all the crucial, most important things, mainly improvising
[…] There’s one track […] the steel guitar comes out, the Fender
[…] I’m using my little junior, my Fender Telecaster,
Stratocaster […] I use the [Line 6] Variax […] I have about 25
guitars here.
Asked about songwriting
with new members in the band, Squire said in an interview
from around Feb 2011:
We try to get everyone
involved in the songwriting, whoever they are. I have tried to
make it a collaborative effort because I think the best music
comes out that way. When two or more heads are put together then
it tends to lead to more interesting music. I think that has
pretty much always been the Yes princip[le]
Asked about his involvement in the creative process for the new
album, for example writing lyrics, David said in a Mar 2011
interview:
Le processus créatif
est tout à fait du travail de groupe où tout le
monde a son mot à dire et son grain de sel à
ajouter, moi y compris. Mais comme je suis plus un
interprète qu’un compositeur, je me contente de
suggérer certaines modifications ou des ajustements et
quelques textes. [My
translation: The creative process is quite
group-oriented where everyone has a say and gets to add their
two cents, myself included. But as I'm more an interpreter than
a songwriter, I just suggest some changes or adjustments and a
few words.]
More on the history of Fly from Here
In an interview
published Jan 2011, but seemingly done before Oct 2010, Howe
said, "We've prepared about six or seven titles in demo form." In an
early Sep
interview, White said, "I'm busy writing stuff for Yes."
Following a 5 Apr 2010 show in Mexico, the band remained together at
a house in Arizona until at least 21 Apr (when Howe was to leave to
tour with Asia) to work on new material at Desert Rock Studios. A 13 Apr
post to the TalkBass forums describes Squire's bass set-up for
the sessions. One friend to the Squires described the writing
sessions as "long" and "productive". Reports from Chris and Scotland
Squire describe the new material developing further during
rehearsals and soundchecks for the band's touring. In a Nov 2011 interview,
Squire said:
Interviewer: What was the writing like?
Squire: We got together
in Phoenix around April 2010 and brought in ideas of songs we
had. We hammered out a few things and made demos. Probably about
half of what we did ended up on the album. Then I got together
with Trevor Horn to ask if he’d be interested in producing the
album. We started talking about the track “We Can Fly,” [...] We
started adding other ideas, embellished the track [...] We added
other bits of music that Trevor and Geoff Downes had written.
Interviewer:
Do you write on bass?
Squire: When
I write on bass it’s probably more likely to be riffs. When I’m
writing actual songs it’s more often on the keyboard or an
acoustic guitar.
In the late Apr 2010 interview with Aymeric
Leroy, Howe talked about this and earlier writing sessions:
Leroy: The writing for Yes that you told me
about... It's going to be mostly collaborative? With you and
Oliver [Wakeman] and Chris [Squire]...?
Howe: Yes. There'll be
some songs from each of us, as well as some collaborative songs.
And we think that we'll be able to release it next year [2011].
[...] I don't really want to say a lot about it, because... it
will take a little while. [...] As usual Yes isn't quite as
simple and streamlined as Asia. But Asia's had a good run at
getting ready and working itself. We've been back together for
four years... Yes has just got back together in '08, so it's
only two years, really. So I think we've done very well in those
two years, to do some of the things we've done, and now get
ready for a record.
Howe has made this comparison with Asia before. A Dec
2009 article covers the topic of a new album by quoting
Howe:
We've got to build ourselves.
We've got to pace ourselves like Asia did with 'Phoenix' [...]
[Asia] kind of had an almost 18-month [touring] run at things,
so when we started making a record everything was on solid
ground. ... I think that's how I'd like to approach it with Yes
as well, to have a little bit more time to do a little bit more
[live] work and playing and then divert to recordings.
The band considered playing new material on their 2010 North
American summer tour: see details
above. In the Apr 2010 interview, Howe said, "[After the Asia
tour] I have three weeks off in September. And then there's some
undisclosed, unannounced... not touring", which would seem to refer
to writing sessions with Squire and O. Wakeman. In the Feb 2010
issue of Classic Rock Presents...
Prog, Roger Dean says he has "just been asked to do the
covers for new studio albums by Yes and Asia."
In a 14
Jan 2010 interview, Squire described how "Steve [Howe] and
myself got together with Oliver Wakeman" in "September/October-ish".
They exchanged "CDs of potential new album ideas". He went on to say
that "I'll be working on those [...] this month [Jan 2010]", that
the band will "discuss them some more" in Feb while on tour, and be
"working on an album" in Feb/Mar 2010. On Howe's website, talking
about the album, he described these early sessions thus: "In March
2010, Oliver, Chris & I meet in Devon to exchange ideas before
we spent 2 weeks in Phoenix trying out a few of these songs, getting
something rough down of each, on Oliver's laptop!" In another Jan
2010 US radio interview, Squire described how, in Sep/Oct 2009, he,
Howe and Wakeman "started to prepare ideas" and "made up CDs of
ideas for a new album". He went on to say, "We're working on sorting
them out right now." In an interview for Planet Rock recorded around
Oct 2009 (but broadcast Dec), Squire described how he, Howe and
Wakeman had played a couple of songs of his and of Howe's, ran
through some ideas and recorded the session on to CD which they then
took away to work on. Squire also said that David does not currently
write but that he is encouraging him to do so, and that White also
has some ideas for the album. In the Apr 2010 interview, Leroy asked
Howe about writing long suites; Howe replied:
it's not easy, actually. I
think there's a lot of conceptualisation in it. And Jon and I
used to do that together - and I think it's... I won't mind if I
never do another twenty minute piece again, because in a way
I'll only say more about the ones we did. [...] but you know,
it's one of those things we could... One could say, "How
unfashionable could it be? Yes comes out with a 20-minute piece
- oh no, spare me, help!!" (laughs).
It would be great, but it takes a lot... a lot of writing time.
And you know, I have my own studio, I write a bit with Oliver
[Wakeman], and Chris came down, we did some writing with Yes
recently [seemingly referring to the late 2009 sessions]... but
not a lot of it's shaping up [to become suite-type songs]. I
think it was Jon and I's collaboration that almost invented that
for Yes.
Touring in 2008 featured one new song, "Aliens are Only Us from the
Future" (see above). This song was
demo'd by Chris Squire in 2007 with Paul Stacey and Gerard Johnson
(both ex-The Syn) for his ongoing solo project, and was then further
developed with Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis, ex-GTR)
for their collaboration. In an early Nov
interview, Squire explained:
One thing I definitely wanted
to do on this tour just from the point of view of progress – I
wanted to do this one new song, which is one of the songs that
I’ve been working on with Steve Hackett. The version that
I do with Yes on stage is a very different version that features
Oliver Wakeman on keyboards.
In a Nov 2008 interview, Oliver said he had been involved in
developing "Aliens...". While initially performed by Squire, David
and O. Wakeman live, over the course of the first leg, White
developed a drum part for it. The piece was dropped from the Yes
set in summer 2009. On the band's subsequent winter European leg,
Squire said the "Aliens..." had been retired from the Yes
repertoire after it was decided the song was for the collaboration
with Hackett.
In an Oct
2008 article, Squire had said that he and Howe had written
some "completely brand new things" for the tour, but in a later
radio interview, Squire said they would be playing live a new song
by him and that, "I would like us to do some new music for next
year [2009]." In his NftE
interview, Oliver Wakeman alludes to new material, saying:
I know people would like to
think that Yes music is going to keep going and still create new
stuff, and I know it's difficult for people to put out new
albums these days, but I know for having spoken to Chris and
work with Steve and things, these guys they write such good
music, and they've got so much more music in them. It would just
be great to be a part of them creating new stuff that hopefully
will surprise a few people.
Yes with Anderson were working on material in 2008. In an interview
with Michael Smerconish in May 2008, Anderson said that, "there's
a couple of new songs we've been recording." He went on to
explain: "There's going to be about four new songs altogether on the show." While
details were unclear, some reports suggested new material was
planned both to be played on the tour and for studio recording.
Anderson in Mar and May 2008, and White in Apr indicated that new
material might be played on the tour that was subsequently
cancelled. This new material seems to have been driven by
Anderson. In a Jun 2009, Polish radio interview, Anderson says of
two new songs he is playing live, that he had wanted to do them
with Yes in 2008. He doesn't identify the songs in the interview,
but these seem to be "Never Ever" and "Music is God". Also offered was a piece written
specifically for the 2008 tour entitled "Many" that Anderson
later worked on with Tom Curiano. Another song reported to have
been offered to Yes in this period became "Sacred Balance" (a.k.a. "Love and Understanding"). In a Jan 2012
interview by Anil Prasad with Howe had this exchange:
Prasad: Jon
Anderson said he was working on new long-form music for Yes in
2008 that the band didn’t take an interest in. What can you tell
me about those songs?
Howe: I don’t know
professionally what is right to say here. What Jon did was
drip-feed us a few songs and we basically turned him down and
said “No, we don’t want to do those.” Then there was another
time for another song and we said “No, no, no.” He then
presented one other song and we said “No, no, not that one
either.” We didn’t find a song we leapt on that made us feel we
must rush around and suddenly record. We didn’t hear anything we
thought had enough material to make us start moving. When you
listen to a Yes album, you expected grounded, developed,
thought-about lyrics. That’s how we look at it. We found the
lyrical content of these songs to be rather ad-libbed. I don’t
want to deride Jon, because this is his music. I don’t want you
to think I am saying it was bad music. All I’m saying is we
didn’t pick up on any of the songs or notice that there was a
trilogy of songs coming at us that was part of some epic. We
definitely didn’t see them like that. We saw them as demos of
songs that were very loose and we didn’t know where they were
going. It’s not dissimilar to when we were preparing Drama [...]
Jon [...] played us his songs and we said “We can’t relate to
that.” So, this is another version of that
A May
2008 article reported, "Anderson says the [band] are
preparing four new songs of the "opus" variety -- lengthy,
multi-movement compositions along the lines of "Close to the Edge"
and "Tales From Topographic Oceans."" It quoted Anderson: "They're
very, very different. It'll be interesting when we perform them,
because we know that we want to try and perform them in a unique
fashion." However, he goes on to suggest that recording an album
had yet to be decided upon: "Putting together an album really
isn't logical anymore. Putting together a large piece of music or
something that is really a jump in a musical direction takes a lot
of commitment from everybody.... But maybe during the tour we will
discuss making some new music." In a later May interview (see above), Anderson talked of
playing "a couple of new songs we've been recording", and then
went on to say, "There's going to be about four new songs altogether on
the show." In a Mar
2010 interview, Anderson talks about writing 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."" A Mar
2008
article described Anderson as, among various solo projects,
also "writing songs for an upcoming Yes album and tour." In two
Mar 2008 articles, Anderson said the set would include some new
music. In the NftE
interview, Mike Tiano asked Anderson about new music. He replied,
"I've been writing new music for the band, and I'm working with
Trevor [Rabin] on a couple of songs." (Anderson and Rabin have
been writing together since early 2006—see
below.) In a Jun 2008 interview, after the Yes tour was
cancelled, Anderson said the band were continuing to work on 3-5
songs via the Internet,
in collaboration with producer Jack Douglas (worked with
John Lennon, Aerosmith, The Who, The New York Dolls),
for a new album—see details above.
Jon [...] was hoping to record
a new album with Yes around four years ago [...]
"They wanted to go into a studio in London or LA, and I said
before we do that why don't we connect, send each other music
ideas and that's one way of creating music. They just wouldn't
do it," he told Nicky [Horne]. "On reflection it's as though
they were happy to do it their way and they weren't willing to
be as adventurous as we were in the 70s or the 80s. When I
worked with the guys they were so excited to try anything new.
"At that time I was really reaching out to the guys from Yes to
write some songs via the internet. But they weren't that
interested["]
White also talked about new material in 2008, but in more
cautious terms. At RoSFest in early May 2008, he said there were
"thoughts floating around" for new music, although in another
report, White was said to have confirmed that there are two new
pieces that the band wanted to include in a live recording of the
tour. In a Jan
2008
interview, asked about new recordings, White said, "We're
looking towards recording some material to go with the tour and
all that kind of stuff". In his Apr 2008 interview, White said,
"we're thinking about new material. Jon's got a couple ideas and
things are being passed around, but nothing concrete yet. I guess
we are working on some—some—new material to go with the tour." A Dec
2007 report quoted White as saying he will be spending some
pre-rehearsal/writing time with Anderson in Jan 2008 and that
Anderson has put together five new pieces in outline form that may
be played live in 2008 and may form the basis for a new album.
However, a report from Dave Ling (see 2 Apr entry) on a
conversation with Wakeman had him saying the band then had no new
material to promote.
Thanks again for all the support that has been made for
Oliver either through direct emails to the website, via
Facebook and MySpace, forums or the web in general.
Oliver has been very touched by the support shown for him
through this unsettling period.
"Fly From Here," [...] was
also supposed to include [...] Oliver [...] but Squire says that
Horn had other ideas.
"Trevor really thought that the album would benefit from working
with Geoff again," Squire notes, "which I wasn't immediately
sure about because we were getting on very well with Oliver, and
Oliver didn't really do anything wrong. But eventually Trevor
did persuade me we'd make a better album with Geoff, and we do
enjoy working with Geoff. (Wakeman) has taken it very well, and
you know the way Yes is -- he could wind up being back in the
band again in a couple of years."
That said, Squire does expect that Yes "is gonna stick with this
lineup for a while" and says there's even talk of a follow-up
album.
In the Jul 2011 Classic Rock
Presents... Prog, Squire says that he had wanted Downes for
the aborted summer 2008 tour, but he implies Anderson opposed the
idea. In another Jul
2011 interview, Squire was asked if he could "reformulate Yes
with any musicians, who would you choose for the line-up?" His
reply:
[chuckles] Well- I'm just
going to say the current line-up is working for me just fine at
the moment. I hope that we can spend the next couple of years
touring around the world, with the Fly From Here album and then
we'll put our heads together and come up with another new album
with the same team- I really hope that happens.
Squire was also asked about the possibility of reuniting with
Anderson in the future.
Will there be a possibility?
I've never closed the door to the idea, but obviously, not at
the moment. Our focus is on this line-up, and to go and promote
the new album. And by the time that we go around the world-
that's going to take a couple of years, so that's what we'll be
doing... Then, as I said, I think we'd like to make another new
album then. I'm never going to close the door to the idea of
working with anyone who's been in Yes if they wanted to come
back. But not right now.
In the Jan 2012 Billboardinterview,
Squire said that he has "never ruled out the idea of working
with Jon again... but right now the task at hand is promoting
'Fly From Here,' and it definitely will be for this year."An 8
Feb 2012 interview with Squire on Davison replacing
David also had this:
Chris says he is still friends with Jon Anderson and in
regular communication. “We email each other. We have a cordial
relationship,” he says. “He is out there at the moment doing
some solo shows. He is a lot healthier now than he was a few
years ago when he was suffering from his breathing problems. He
is getting back into it. I have never closed the door on working
with Jon again. He has left the band before and come back and
left it again and come back. It is an unusual situation. We will
work together in the future but right now we are promoting the
Fly From Here album [...]”
In the wake of David's
departure, it was reported that some sort of attempt was made to
reach out to Anderson, but that he would not talk
and no discussion with him took place (see, for example, here
and here
on Yesfans.com). In
response to earlier, erroneous, online reports that he had been
asked to re-join, Anderson released a statement
on 8 Feb, from which I quote:
In response to recent rumors circulating about [...]
Anderson being asked to re-join YES - these rumors are unfounded
and false. Jon Anderson is busy with his solo career; he is
currently on tour performing solo [...] as well as recording new
music. Jon also had this response to recent quotes in the news
by Chris Squire that he is in regular communication with Jon: "I
haven't spoken with Chris in four years, and the only e-mail I
have received from him in the last 3 years was him asking for
free tickets to my show in Mesa, AZ last week - very sad, but
true."
In a Mar
2012 interview, Squire was asked if he would give Anderson
his old job back. The reply:
Well, we're still friends. We still keep in touch - and if
he was able to perform with us again then that is something we
could look at, sure
Anderson [...] left [Yes] in 1980. "I left the band a
couple of times because it all became about money and hit
records. If you try to do it that way, then you're nothing if
you don't have a hit."
He returned in 1983 for the massively successful "90125" [...]
but left again five years later. "Our main goal was to be
adventurous. I guess I had to leave every 10 years because it
had lost that energy."
By the 1990s [...] members [were] coming and going with
predictable regularity. Anderson and company toured regularly,
but the album sales were stunted, and the live audiences were
shrinking down to the hard core. "This constant touring does
your head in and wrecks your health."
Moreover, Anderson felt the band was well below peak form.
"After so many weeks on the road, the band starts to wear down,
and there is nothing you can do about it. People just get worn
out and stop listening to each other. The audience often doesn't
see it, but we do."
After the close of the group's 35th anniversary tour, Anderson
was in a bad way. Though he had given up smoking more than 20
years ago, he was coughing almost constantly.
"There were some great shows on that tour, but it was just
getting too difficult."
"Can we do shorter tours? Can we do a semiacoustic album?" he
remembers asking the rest of the band [...] "I thought if we
could ease back and create better events, the music would be
better." The band seemed unwilling.
Anderson's health problems got worse: acute respiratory failure,
a blocked bile duct requiring several surgeries, diverticulitis.
"I nearly died three times in a year."
[...] Anderson was left with little recourse. He couldn't block
the group from touring without him, so he gave his blessing. "I
got sick. People get sick," Anderson said. "I wanted to rejoin,
and they didn't want to do that. But that's life, isn't it."
A frequent meditator, Anderson has spent many hours mulling over
what went down. "At least once a week, I wish everything was the
way everybody wants it, especially the fans. They're upset. And
it wasn't my fault, so I can't take the blame."
His contact with the band has been almost nil. "I haven't seen
Steve Howe in seven years."
[...]
"I'm not in a rock band anymore. I've been in that world, and it
was wonderful, but I don't want to be there anymore. Life is a
constantly changing thing."
As for the possibility of rejoining Yes, Anderson is
hopeful, albeit with managed expectations. “We’ll see what
happens in the future. I’d never say no, if it happens
with good will and honesty and Rick’s there, I’d love to do
it. I bumped into a good friend who says he’d love to
produce it. And I said ‘Well, good luck!’ We’ll all
keep our fingers crossed.”
“A couple years back he
[Anderson] did have some problems with his voice and problems
with his breathing. It became a little obvious that he was
reticent to want to commit to do any large-scale touring,”
Squire said. “The rigors of going on the road as a lead singer,
it’s a very difficult job. So, at the moment, we’re
concentrating on this lineup.”
[...]
[“]Benoit has certainly grown
into the job very well. He manages to pretty much pull off most
of what Jon does, if not all,” Squire said. “Jon Anderson is a
great singer and still is a great singer and obviously very
difficult to replace, but the fans seem to have embraced Benoit
[...]”
Another Jul
2011 interview had Squire giving this explanation of how
Anderson was replaced:
Squire says the group moved on
without Anderson after the vocalist developed serious
respiratory problems.
"We took some time off in between 2005 and 2007 for Jon to get
treatment for that condition," Squire says. "Then in 2008 we
agreed to go on tour and Jon was up for it. But just before the
tour started he got very sick and we had to cancel the tour. At
that point we had to make a decision to bring somebody else
aboard in order to carry on working. It's as simple as that,
really."
My standard answer [...] is
that there’s no door closed on the possibility of that [Anderson
re-joining] happening. Um, but you have to remember that,
y’know, Jon did go through some quite severe respiratory
problems, and I think he’s doing pretty well now. But, erm, the
rigours of being able to do a large tour with Jon are probably
gonna be a bit more than he’s capable of. But, y’know, we’ve
always talked about doing some selected shows
In a 28 Jun 2011 radio interview, asked again about the
possibility of Anderson returning, Squire protested the question,
saying the band's focus "for the next couple of years" was touring
in support of Fly from Here,
but that after then, they could think about working with Anderson
again. In another Jun
2011
interview, Squire said:
I’ve never closed the door on
the possibility of working with Jon again. He has left and
rejoined the band on a couple of previous occasions. It could
happen again. But right now, having just finished the album and
the fact that we’re all pleased with it and the reviews from
outside all seem to be very positive, we’re at least going to
spend the next year or two going around the world and promoting
and playing live. [...] Ask me again that question in a year’s
time and I might have a different answer.
"Those [the Anderson/Wakeman
shows] were all fairly lightweight, acoustic kind of shows,"
Squire says. "Singing for Yes is a very taxing position and I
don't know Jon's abilities to do a heavy rock & roll tour."
[...] Squire insists that there is no bad blood between Anderson
and the rest of Yes. "We exchange Christmas cards," he says.
"I'd be happy to work with him in the future. I'm proud of the
fact that we started this thing together. If there's a way in
the future that we could work together, and it's something
that's comfortable for him and everyone else involved, I'm
certainly open to looking at it."
In a different Mar
2011 interview, Howe said: "It's got a lot to do with
commitment. We didn't want Jon to leave, and we didn't want Rick
to leave, but basically, they didn't want to be part of the
party." He then continues:
[David and O. Wakeman] They’ve
brought [the Yes] sound. It’s quite a similar tone, and that’s
helped us maintain a familiar sound[.] You shut your eyes, and
you think it’s Jon and that’s never happened before.
We didn’t go out with a sloppy show with a singer who couldn’t
deliver. I think the audiences have been impressed by Benoit
and, thankfully, have accepted him.
“We always exchange Christmas
cards,” Squire began with a hearty laugh, “but I haven’t spoken
to him recently. I don’t have any problem with communicating
with him, I believe he’s doing very well and is a lot more
recovered from his respiratory problems he was having, so that’s
good news.
“It wouldn’t be out of the question that we would do something
with him again in the future, but we’ve got to get at least
another year and promote this new album before we turn to any
special guesting from Jon — but it’s not impossible to happen.”
An interview
with Squire from around Feb 2011 has the following:
When asked how Yes keep things
fresh [...] Squire chuckles and says bluntly, “[We] change the
other guys in the band.” [...] Squire is matter of fact about
the circumstances that led to Anderson being replaced as well as
the number of fans who are upset about the change. “I find that
to be the minority of people at the moment, as far as I am
concerned. Obviously, there are going to be people who will miss
him or whatever but life must go on. Believe you me, if Jon was
up and his health was good, then it would be a different
situation, but that is not the situation. We decided at one
point to go one with Benoit. Otherwise the band would have just
slipped into obscurity.”
[...] “We were very lucky to
find someone [in David] who can basically do the job. He pretty
much has all of the ideas surrounding the job as well,”
Some 2009 reports had Anderson (and maybe R. Wakeman) returning
to the band at some point in 2010, but this did not happen.
Anderson has said that he told Howe/Squire/White that he was ready
to return to the band in 2009, but they told him they would stick
with David. Squire was interviewed in Oct 2009 on Planet Rock
radio (UK):
The thing is, with Jon,
and... I'm pretty sure we have his blessings doing this now,
although there were a few ructions, I think, when the changeover
happened. But, um... Jon has not been well with respiratory
problems for the last few years. And it caused Yes not to be
able to work for 2 or 3 years.
Eventually we said to Jon,
y'know... we've been trying to plan tours, and then he said
yes and then it was off again. And then we were going to do a
big tour [in summer 2008] [...] Just prior to going into
rehearsals, Jon had a real problem [...] After that happened,
we said, well, y'know, maybe we just need to get, at that
point, a stand-in for him, so we can carry on.
I don't think he is going to
be able to do large-scale rock and roll touring again.
Squire: As far as I know, Jon's cool with what
we're doing now. And, er, y'know, we just really had to go out
there and fulfill the desire from a lot of Yes fans who wanted
to get their Yes fix [...] And Jon, unfortunately, just wasn't,
er, physically, er, able to do that, at that point, so we made
the decision to go ahead with Benoit.
Interviewer: [...] [You said
at the time that] he wasn't a replacement for Jon [...]
Yeah. Of course, you can't ever really replace Jon, y'know. He's
got a very unique voice. Fortunately, we found someone who's got
a unique voice quite like Jon's! [laughs]
[...] So, what about Oliver?
[...]
As you know, his Dad has a whole other career as a, y'know, TV
presenter, a Countdown guest, an after-dinner speaker [laughs] I
mean, so it's not always easy to schedule touring with Rick as
he has a pretty full calendar. But... so, he's off doing his
solo interests. So, one day, maybe we'll get back together and
do some shows, but not at the moment.
In an early
Jun 2010 article, Squire was asked if Anderson would ever
perform with Yes again. His reply:
I have not closed the door on
that as an idea, working with Jon or even doing the odd show
with him, but he is not really, as far as I can tell, able to do
full-scale Yes touring (at this time).
In the Oct 2010 Classic Rock
Presents... Prog, asked whether he could foresee another
Union tour in the future, Squire said: "It's not something that's
impossible, so yes. I'm always open to ideas and, after that 1991
tour, we discussed doing something similar on a few occasions." The
magazine then asks whether he would work again with Anderson; his
reply: "It's not impossible in some form, but we're concentrating on
the new five-piece line-up and album project at the moment, of
course." Asked about Anderson and R. Wakeman returning in a Nov
2010 article, Howe says:
I can’t answer that
categorically but I would say my guess would be no because Rick
and he both take a different stance about what they want to do,
what they feel they can do, the kind of touring they can do and
the kind of relationship that it needs… It’s not easy being in a
band, you need to compromise, and if you’re not prepared to
compromise, don’t be in a band.
A 24
Jun
2010 interview (published Jul) reads: "Squire said Anderson's
health has improved, and he still does the occasional acoustic show,
but he's no longer up to the rigors of a full-time band." In a Jul
2010 interview, when asked if the new album will include
Anderson, Howe said:
It won’t include Jon
Anderson. Benoit David is our new vocalist [...] Basically, it
works, it’s practical, it’s friendly. It’s very constructive and
it’s working. We can’t keep going thinking we’re going to go
back to something. Back is old. Back is problem. Back is
baggage. Forward is adventurous and revealing. We say to people
that this is the Yes that’s working. This is the working Yes.
You can have all the other lineups you like in your mind, but
this is the line up that actually goes out and does the work.
We’re the perpetuation, the continuation, and the saga of Yes.
In a Feb
2010 interview, asked about Anderson's apparent complaints
about Yes working without him, Squire responded: "I don't really
know about that [...] We have the same manager. It's not like he was
out of the loop." Another Feb
2010 interview contains this exchange with White:
Interviewer: [...] With Benoit David now an
official member, where does Jon Anderson stand with the band?
White: Jon is doing a
one-man show these days. Benoit David is doing an excellent job
- he sounds almost like Jon and looks slightly like Jon, as
well. Oliver Wakeman, who is Rick Wakeman's son, is the same
thing - he looks just like him and plays just like him. If you
close your eyes, the band is virtually the same.
Interviewer:
Jon made some negative public comments when the
band first went out on tour with Benoit. Has there been a need
to smooth over any ruffled feathers?
White: I
don't know if I'm out of place saying this, but it seems like
Jon just likes doing his solo shows. These long arduous tours do
take a lot out of you. We just carry on. Who knows about the
future? It's hard to say right now.
Most people who come to see
us have a real favorable opinion of Benoit [...] I have heard
nothing but positive feedback. Of course, I occasionally look on
Yes fan Web sites, and there is the person who says that the
world will never be the same without Jon [...] singing with Yes,
but it's more the odd person than the majority.
Obviously, Jon has a great voice [...] but the logistics have
turned out that if they want to see Yes at all they're going to
have to see Yes with Benoit because he's doing the job at the
moment that quite frankly Jon can't do because of his
respiratory problems [...] I'm sure one day he's going to
recover from that and then I'm sure there's a certain point in
time when we'll do something with Jon again, but I don't think
he'll ever be physically where we can do the hard grind of a
long-term touring schedule. But I'm sure we'll find something to
do.
In an Oct
2009 article in Norwegian, Squire is asked about the
possibility of Anderson's return. He says: "If there is anything
that I've learned in all these years, it is that one should never
say never, and that anything is possible." [Original Norwegian: "Er
det noe jeg har lært i disse årene, så er det at
man aldri skal si aldri, og at alt er mulig."] He continues: "I'm
certain that the opportunity will come in the next few years. Maybe
we could do a few shows, but hardly any large tour for him
[Anderson]." ["Jeg er sikker på at muligheten vil by seg i
fremtiden. Kanskje vi kunne gjort noen konserter, men neppe noen
stor turné for ham [Anderson]." (Thanks to Knut A.
Ramsrud for translating.) A Nov
2009 article in Italian quotes White:
Since 1972 I have never left
my position[.] Chris and I have always pledged to continue the
band. Regardless of who was in the group in its various
incarnations, and in spite of all the changes we faced, we both
have tried to keep alive the spirit and image of the band in
time preserving intact our musical project. The fact is that we
like to play this music, that's all.
[Dal 1972 non ho mai lasciato il mio posto[.] e con Chris mi
sono sempre impegnato a portare avanti la band.
Indipendentemente da chi fosse nel gruppo nelle sue diverse
incarnazioni, e a dispetto di tutti i cambiamenti che abbiamo
affrontato, noi due abbiamo cercato di tenere vivi lo spirito e
l’immagine della band conservando intatto nel tempo il
nostro progetto musicale. Il fatto è che ci piace suonare
questa musica, tutto qui.]
In an Oct
2009 article in Czech, Howe is asked about what he would say
to fans who had expressed dissatisfaction online with Anderson's
absence. He replies (thanks to Vojtech Toman for translating):
First, that it is either this
Yes or no Yes this time. Second, that it was Jon who didn't want
to tour with us, and not just because of health problems. It was
a very, very difficult situation indeed when he was not
interested in touring with us for three years. If we waited for
him and he wouldn't be able to decide whether to tour or not, we
wouldn't be playing at all. Gambling with the careers of all of
us in this way - and in fact, the whole group - was something we
didn't want.
It was his decision and Benoit stood in for him, I think, very
well. Jon is an exceptional person, he writes great lyrics, but
time goes on and waits for no-one.
[Tak zaprvé, že buď budou koncertovat tito Yes, nebo
žádní. Za druhé, že to byl Jon, kdo s
námi nechtěl jezdit na turné, a nebylo to pouze ze
zdravotních důvodů. Byla to skutečně velmi, velmi
obtížná situace, když s námi nechtěl tři
roky jezdit. Kdybychom na něj čekali a on se pořád
rozhoupával, jestli vyrazit na turné nebo ne, tak
bychom nehráli vůbec. Takto si zahrávat s
kariérou nás všech jednotlivě – a vlastně i
celé skupiny – jsme nechtěli.
[Bylo to jeho rozhodnutí a Benoit ho myslím velmi
dobře zastoupil. Jon je výjimečný člověk,
píše vynikající texty, ale čas jde
dál a na nikoho nečeká.]
In the Apr 2010 interview with Aymeric
Leroy, discussing his past experiences, Howe said:
'05 was a disaster,
disorganisation, and whether we were going to tour with Yes or
was I going to tour with this or... And not a lot happened - I
was very unhappy. So then my enthusiasm came back when I started
playing with Asia again
Really what happened in the
'90s and the 2000s is that the music we made at that time ...
was difficult, to be honest. It is difficult, because people had
a hard time accepting the roles of others, and there were
conflicts over the type of music we could do.
[...]
Keys to Ascension was the beginning of the return of the 1970s
formation, but we did the whole project and never went on tour.
And that is why Billy [Sherwood] and Igor Khoroshev appeared
because people needed new vitality to help us. [...] Open Your
Eyes really was a nightmare. And The Ladder was a similar
nightmare, and Magnification was a nightmare too.
[...]
They were nightmares for me personally, because I had no hope
that this will again be like in the '70s. I never thought or
expected it to be the same, but the type of problems we had
making those records was motivated by the story of the '80s and
'90s [...] "Owner of a Lonely Heart", which is basically a pop
song by Yes, and what that left was a scar that could not be
removed. The group was desperate for a hit, and I was not. I did
not care about having a hit [...] I want Yes to write
symphonies, orchestrally, in a large format, and not be worried
about radio play, about a cliche pop song like "Open Your Eyes".
Those songs were so far beneath Yes's talents of Yes. Yes's
talent is not in writing hit singles, we are not that sort of
group and never would have gotten anywhere being so. I think the
Yes legacy has more to do with the '70s [...]
Open Your Eyes, The Ladder, are not the right way to make a
record. You have to rehearse, write songs, go to the studio. For
Magnification [...] we did everything in the studio. Which is
bizarre, it's boring and not as it should do, it does not have
the pre-or post-production that are part of the way for Yes to
work.
[Original Spanish: De verdad lo que pasó en los '90 y en
los 2000 es que la música que hicimos en ese tiempo...
fue difícil, para ser honesto. Es difícil, porque
a la gente el cuesta aceptar los roles de los demás, y
hubo conflictos en torno al tipo de música que
podíamos hacer.
[...]
[-Digamos que Keys of ascension fue el comienzo de la
formación de los '70 reformada -retoma en este punto
Steve Howe-, pero hicimos el proyecto completo y nunca nos
fuimos de gira. Y es por eso que Billy (Sherwood) e Igor Korshev
aparecieron, porque necesitábamos vitalidad nueva de
gente que nos ayudara. Así que llegaron y, te digo, Open
your eyes de verdad fue una pesadilla. Y The ladder fue una
pesadilla similar, y Magnification fue una especie de pesadilla
también.
[...]
[-Fueron pesadillas para mí en particular, porque no
tenía esperanza de que esto volviera a ser como en los
'70. Nunca pensé ni esperé que fuera igual, pero
el tipo de problemas que tuvimos haciendo esos discos fue
motivado por la historia de los '80 y '90, en la
producción de las canciones: Yes hizo "Owner of a lonely
heart", que es básicamente de un disco solista pop de
Yes, y lo que eso dejó fue una cicatriz que no se pudo
borrar. El grupo estaba desesperado por un hit, y yo no lo
estaba. No me interesaba tener un hit, no quiero a Yes
detrás de un pedazo de desecho barato, quiero a Yes
escribiendo sinfónicamente, orquestalmente, en un gran
formato, y no preocupado de que en la radio toque un
cliché poppy cualquiera como "Open your eyes". Esas
canciones estaban tan por debajo de los talentos de Yes. El
talento de Yes no consiste en escribir hit singles, no somo ese
tipo de grupo y jamás habríamos llegado a ninguna
parte así. Creo que el legado de Yes tiene mucho
más que ver con los '70 y los '80.
[Howe ni siquiera hace una pausa para continuar. "Open your
eyes, The ladder, no son el modo correcto de hacer un disco.
Tienes que ensayar, escribir las canciones, ir al estudio. Para
Magnification no hicimos nada de eso: hicimos todo en el estudio
(de grabación). Lo cual es extravagante, es aburrido y no
es como se debe hacer, no tiene ni la preproducción ni la
pos-producción que son parte de la forma de trabajar de
Yes.]
Yes is not a band, it's a
concept. It was born before I came to the band and will exist.
It's a challenge to play in Yes because we are an artistic
enterprise of world renown. There is a kind of dream about Yes
and we do everything for it to go on... But there is also the
other, more prosaic, more serious, business side of the band. We
earn our living from that and we have to be sure we are not left
without work. [Yes nie jest zespołem, ale pewnym konceptem.
Narodził jeszcze przed moim pojawieniem się w zespole i będzie
istniał. To prawdziwe wyzwanie grać w Yes, bo jesteśmy
przedsięwzięciem artystycznym o światowej renomie. Istnieje
pewien sen o Yes, a my dokładamy wszystkich sił, by trwał... Ale
jest też proza życia, poważna strona biznesowa zespołu. Z tego
się utrzymujemy i musimy być pewni, że nie zostaniemy bez
pracy.]
[...]
We are on the other side of the barricade. We don't worry about
the problems of today's music industry, but enjoy what we have.
We are not hungry for success, rather we want to do what is good
for Yes.[Jesteśmy po drugiej stronie barykady. Nie martwimy się
problemami dzisiejszej branży muzycznej, ale cieszymy tym, co
mamy. Nie jesteśmy głodni sukcesów, za to chcemy robić
to, co dobre dla Yes.]
Both Anderson
(despite Squire's comments in the above interviews) and particularly
R. Wakeman have been critical of Yes. An
Oct
2009 interview with R. Wakeman includes the following
exchange:
Wakeman: I don’t have any respect for the
current tribute band that is out there. You can’t have Yes
without Jon.
Interviewer: I talked to Jon
Anderson last night. He is, obviously, not happy that
Yes went out without him. He said to me that he does not
think it is Yes unless Rick Wakeman and himself are in that
band. He said it just does not have the same energy, no
matter how good it sounds. Do you agree with that? Is he
justified in his frustrations?
Wakeman: He is completely
justified. Yes is no longer a part of my life so I have
nothing to add except to say that Jon is absolutely right.
I think most fans would agree as well. But, it’s all over
with regards to the classic lineup now. I just get on with
my life and my music.
(Slight pause) Um…yeah… [...]
it’s a very difficult situation. I could never envision Yes
without Jon out front singing. [...] we’re all in our 60s. Jon
is in his mid 60s. Jon’s been feeling very poorly, as you know.
I speak to Jon every week. I think it’s very sad. I think Yes
deserves a real fitting finish, and it’s not been allowed to
have it.
He goes on to talk about his last period in the band:
Jon and I pushed really hard
in the things we wanted to do. I suggested that we put together
a very special, full-year package of winding the band down, of
doing special Yes weekends, all over the world. Maybe 10, 15 a
year, of special weekends, special shows, the real full works
because Yes should go out as a spectacular band, which it was.
It’s not a gigging band. It’s going around doing it. I get
hundreds and hundreds of e-mails from people are who very
unhappy and think it’s very sad. [...] it’s not the way I would
have liked to have seen the classic Yes sign off.
At a live show in Jan 2010, R. Wakeman said "Jon is, was,
should be the lead singer with Yes." He made regular jokes about Yes
on his Planet Rock radio show: in Jul 2010, he made reference to the
current Yes line-up with the phrase "tawdry tribute band". Mid-2010,
he also referred to them as "a Canadian tribute act". In Aug 2010,
it was, "Yes are [...] a Yes tribute band!" In the Oct issue of Classic Rock Presents... Prog,
Wakeman said:
What's the question I'm most
frequently asked? [...] from people in general it's, 'Will the
classic line-up ever play again?' I always used to say 'never
say never' to that one, but I think the now the answer would be
'no'.
When asked if he will ever
play with [...] Yes again, Rick Wakeman answers with a
resounding, “No.” [...] “What Chris [Squire], Alan [White] and
Steve [Howe] do is their business and it is for them to decide
what they do in the same way that I make my own decisions as to
what I want to do [...] All I will say is that I did have dreams
as to how I saw Yes in it’s twilight years but those dreams are
now passed and totally unachievable, so life moves on.” When
asked if he is angry or hurt by his band mate’s behavior Wakeman
simply says, “I’ve moved on.”
The voice is the most
standout thing about any band. There are certain bands for which
it is just impossible to replace that voice. For me, there isn’t
a Yes unless Jon is singing [...]
To me, the Yes sound is all about the musicians and whatever
they’re doing. Certainly Chris Squire and Steve Howe are very
important, but the vocal sound of Yes is a major part of what
makes it Yes. My own view is it’s great that the guys are going
to carry on, but I thought they could play some Yes stuff, go
off in a different direction, use a different name, and create
something new. They could still do some Yes stuff and that would
be absolutely fine.
[...]
I’m not being critical. What anybody wants to do, they can do.
But when I’m asked, I will explain my feelings.
Anderson tours under the label "The Voice of YES". In an Oct
2011 interview, he said of his former Yes colleagues, "we are
not in touch anymore. That's life." A Feb
2011 interview has this:
Interviewer: [...] it certainly looked like
their [Yes's] decision to tour without you while you were sick
was a financial move, but that doesn’t explain why you didn't
rejoin them once you were healthy enough to do so.
Anderson: Well they
turned me down. I called them up and told them I felt great and
wanted to do it and they said "No we're happy where we are,
maybe next year". I thought ok, that's life. You just have to
move on and get on with other things. It just wasn't meant to
be. I think that bless them they're just guys that are going
through what they want to go through and that's life. It's hard
at times to think about it but as long as they're honest with
the fans and they let the fans know who's in the band, rather
than tour as Yes then that's cool. I think they've just started
their tour by saying who's in the band which I think is a good
thing. Before that I was very, very sad and disappointed. [...]
Looking back on the whole history of the band it was badly
mismanaged all the way down the line, but thankfully the music
survived. I'm happy they're saying who's in the band now and
what they've done is what they have to live with you know?
Interviewer:
Apparently they're also working on a new album.
I'm not a thirty-year-old
rock and roller, on tour forever like Yes. I can't do that.
I can tour, actually. I've been on tour with my solo show [...]
But I don't have to contend with, "Turn the bass down!" And the
constant problems of, why doesn't everyone get on? [...]
Over years, you get to a stage where bands stay together because
it's business, and it's still great music, but when I got sick,
I couldn't continue. [...] I was really ill, and the guys didn't
understand it. And what's to say why they didn't understand it.
I don't know. But that's life. You know, you get on with... my
next thing.
[...]
I'm still writing Yes music, even though I'm not in the band.
Because that's what I do. It's part of my DNA
And, asked whether he would re-join Yes given the opportunity:
That's a... It's a difficult
question, obviously. Because they decided to do what they want
to do. [...] They just disappointed me totally, and a lot of
fans. And just... But who cares? Fans, people in live music,
they don't care what
the problems are within a band. And they decided they wanted to
go and get a guy that sounded like me and looked like me. [...]
I'm not a pushover. I'm a good guy. I have a good, strong
spirit. And, er, I'm doing what I believe to be the right thing
by just getting on with music, rather than worrying about the
band. I know they're out there, they're making an album and,
y'know, good luck to them.
It should have been done, as I said, when it happened, in a more
gentlemanly way. We should have talked a little more about it.
But they needed to make money. They were broke, and they needed
to get on the road. And they like doing that. They like being
journeymen. [...] I've got a great life. I'm in love, I have a
happy, beautiful, wonderful time
with my marriage, and I have a beautiful home. I want to spend
time here working and creating. Some people just want to be out
on the road all the time. That's just the way it goes.
An Aug
2011 interview had this exchange. Asked about being replaced
by David, who the interviewer describes as "horrible", Anderson
replies:
Anderson:
He’s just different you know what I mean. They did it with The
Buggles [...] Chris and Steve and Alan they just think well
that’s where we’re going and good luck to them and I just think
well I’ve got a lot of work that I want to do [...] so I’ll just
get on with my life [...] I‘ve left the band a couple of times
because of outside influences trying to push the band around and
I hate that so that’s when I have to say I’ve got to get out of
there quick.
Interviewer: I guess it
may have been different if the new singer had been a member of
YES or perhaps another classic rock legend, but a tribute band
singer? [...]
Anderson: It’s kind of
disappointing but hey 35 years of YES is not too bad after all.
Pressed further on the matter, Anderson continues:
every time I do an interview
they say when are you going to get back together with YES and I
say, “When they wake up.”
Interviewer: Where do you see your
relationship with the band going in the future? [...]
Anderson: Well, I
suppose the quick answer is that I’m sure, possibly, we’ll get
together again… I joke and say, “When they wake up” (laughs).
But it’s as though they all have a path they need to go along,
and we’ll just see what happens. [...] I listened to a couple of
tracks [of Fly from Here]
and thought this is not my idea of Yes, but in some ways you
have to say this is the way it has to be.
I feel a little bit sad for the fans, of course, who just
want Yes to be Yes to be Yes. I wanted the Beatles to be the
Beatles forever, but they packed up and changed, and life moves
on. So in some ways, it will happen when it happens. That’s my
new mantra.
In an Oct
2009 interview, he was asked if it is hard to see Yes tour
without him. His reply:
In some ways, yeah. I think
about it every couple days. The guy who is singing me [...] is a
nice guy. A lovely guy. The other 3 are in their own world and
that's what we want to be, sort of thing. My concern is simple-
be honest and put your names on the poster and make sure they
know who is in the band. A lot of people will go along, maybe
30-40% go thinking I am there singing. I get messages from
people saying they are excited to see me at this show or that
show. I won't be there! There's no question that the show will
be good. They are all very talented. The show celebrates YES
music, but be clear and explain who is in the band you know.
That's all I will say.
I’ve said this before. Chris
and the guys should have displayed who was in the band on the
posters etc. That’s all. Then fans would know who they were
going to see. But they decided not to. That was just
disrespectful to the fans and the history of YES. But that’s
life, as they say. I just keep on moving on with new music and
new dreams to fulfill.
Well, that's a good
question, y'know, I got very sick in 2008 [...] they wanted to
go on the road and do their thing. And I just thought, well, as
long as they tell everybody who's in the band [...] and I'm not
there and Rick's not there
interviewer: Yes is touring with Styx, and
they have a different vocalist. I'm wondering how you respond to
that. Were you asked to come along?
Anderson: No, they
don't want me in the band because I'm too much—what's the word?
I don't like it when they're not playing good, and I would tell
them. They're nice guys and they're doing what they want to do,
going around the world like Journey. It's just gigs, you know?
They make money and do their thing, and that's okay. The fact
that the moved on when I was sick was very disrespectful, but
I've said that before and that's the way life is sometimes.
They're a group of guys out there trying to make money, so God
bless them for that, and they're playing music that I didn't
write so what do I care?
interviewer: Well, I
know you didn't sing on Drama, but for fans, you are the voice
of Yes, so do you feel any ownership to the role and to the
name? Do you feel that if someone else is singing, it's not
really Yes?
Anderson: No, I don't
mind Benoît singing the songs. The only thing that really
bothered me when it happened was that they should've told people
who was in the band, and they didn't. They just went out as Yes,
and obviously, without me or Rick, there not really Yes. People
would go to see them and think "gosh, Jon looks very young," and
he doesn't really even look like me. It's just that when people
pay to see their favorite band, they want to see who they want
to see, of course.
Singer Jon Anderson still is
puzzled why he no longer is in Yes.
Anderson claims that Yes [...] booted him from its ranks in late
2008 without justification [...] yet Anderson seems almost
bitter-free.
"Yes want to do what they want to do and they are happy about
that," said [...] Anderson with a laugh during a recent
telephone interview. "There was a period when I was frustrated,
and Yes didn't understand that. I got sick for about a year in
2008 and couldn't finish the songs I was working on (for Yes)
then."
[...]
When asked if he would ever reunite with Yes, Anderson chuckled.
"Oh yeah," he said while still laughing. "When they wake up."
Anger isn't there [about his
relationship with Yes.] I think I was disappointed that people
can act that way, motivated more by money and business. Most
managers in the rock 'n' roll world... don't care so much about
who's in the band as long as it's making money. That becomes a
problem within a band that's been together a long, long time.
Can't they hang together as friends? Unfortunately, it doesn't
work that way. I remember I was so upset when the Beatles had to
split up. I can imagine a lot of fans are very disappointed Yes
couldn't stay together as a group and had to splinter into what
it is now. But that doesn't take away from the great work we've
done over the years, over a helluva long time. And after awhile
you start realizing that change is good for you. It's healthy.
Jon also addressed the
conflict that occurred in 2008 when Yes announced that they were
touring with their new singer. At the time Jon released a
statement on his website saying that none of his band mates had
been in touch since he fell ill and that "this is NOT Yes on
tour".
In his interview last night Jon revealed why he felt the need to
release his fairly inflammatory statement.
"The problem was [that] they weren't telling anyone that I was
not in the band and they weren't advertising Yes as Chris
Squire, Steve Howe and Alan White, which is what we agreed upon
if they wanted to go out there. I actually gave them my blessing
and said 'If you want to go out there, you've got to make a
living. I'm just not ready at this time to do that kind of
touring.'
"Then they found a singer that sounds like me[...] It's not what
I call in my heart what Yes is all about but that's what they
wanted to do so I had to say something. I just couldn't really
keep quiet. There were people very interested if I was coming
into town."
(I note that the 2008 tour was clearly billed as "Steve Howe, Chris
Squire & Alan White of Yes".) And in another Jun
2011 interview: "I don't see anything in the immediate future
that could bring us back together." Another
that month has this:
Interviewer: Was your health scare part of
the reason you’re no longer working with Yes?
Anderson: I think it
was a combination, you know? They wanted to keep on touring, and
I was sick and couldn’t tour. So, they got probably upset, and
thought, “No, we want to tour,” and they got someone else to
sing. And you say, well … OK, at the time, you know, it was,
“Why didn’t they wait until I got healthy?” I believe you find
out who your friends are when you get sick. You know, it just
happens that’s what they wanted to do.
In yet another Jun
2011
interview, Anderson is first asked about his absence from the
band. He replied:
I left the band getting very
sick about 5 years ago. I was in [...] hospital a couple of
times, getting really
sick, in 2008. And then they wanted to carry on touring and I
said, 'Well, you just do what you want to do, guys. You can't
wait until I get healthy.' I've got to get on with my life
anyway.
Later in the interview, he continued: "As far as going back to the
band [Yes], I think it would be a backward step. I'm happy about
what I'm doing. I'm loving
my [solo] shows". He was then asked what he think of the band
releasing new material with a new lead singer and using the Yes
name:
Anderson: Expletive delet[ed].
Interviewer: Really?
Anderson: No,
they've just go to do what they want to do. They want to go on
tour and do their thing. I can't spend my life worrying about
that. I just get on with my new work
In an
Apr 2011 interview, Anderson makes some similar comments: "I
tried getting the guys in the band of Yes to send me music via mp3s,
but I couldn't get anything from them for maybe a year."
In Jan 2010, Anderson said on his Facebook page:
just
to be clear...I won't be singing with the YES band for now,
they decided to carry on with Benoit, it was their choice, I
did suggest I was ready, but the guys just weren't interested,
they said maybe this year [2010] we could get together, but
I'm not holding my breath....
He appears to have removed the message later the same month. By a Mar
2010 article, he had a slightly different view, saying:
"Those guys (Squire, White
and Howe) like to be on the road, they're like journeymen," he
says. "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."
Prior to being very ill a
couple of years ago I was traveling around Europe and America
just doing one man shows and enjoying life, slowing down from
the crazy rock and roll world. Because when you reach your
sixties, you can’t do the same things you did in your thirties
and forties. I just couldn’t do it any more. It
wasn’t fun, for sure. So I just decided that life’s going
to change, I’m going to change with it. [...]
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 –
a very intense, musically speaking, but not the sort of crazy
trying do deal with, you know, the business. You know
music is pretty easy, but the business is crazy.
Anderson said he was kept out
of the loop by current Yesmen Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan
White when he was being replaced.
“There was very little talking done,” he said. “That’s why I was
frustrated. I was sick and they’re going to do what they want to
do. But when you think about it, they had to make a living. They
have a guy that sings like me and looks like me from 20 years
ago. That’s not the best way of keeping the Yes energy alive,
but it’s one way of doing it. I saw a couple of their things on
YouTube - it was pretty good. They’re always going to be a good
band, just not the same band. So I was a little bit upset last
year [2009] for about 10 minutes, but now I just try to get on
with life.”
In Apr 2010, Anderson posted an update to his Facebook page saying:
"it is sad...Chris and Steve have decided they would rather I wasn't
in YES for now....that is their choice....yes, it hurts, but I must
move on with my life, and create new music...." However, the message
was promptly removed. In an appearance at the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in May 2010, asked about the possibility of re-joining the
band, Anderson said:
I don't know. Anything's
possible. [...] I think the... feeling that I have... what
they're doing isn't very constructive and really isn't very
honest to a lot of people because I do get a lot of people
saying, "I'll see you in LA!" [...] I say, "I'm not in the
band!" So the deal was, erm, y'know, go out as you, don't use Yes as a...
whatever. Y'know, you don't need to be Yes. You can be who you are and go out and
perform, like I do, but everybody's different, y'know, some
people need that. Um, and we're very distant at the moment. The
last thing that I did, I called them last year [2009], feeling
very exicted to work with them, and they just didn't want to do
it. And I just thought, "OK." If you're going to be open and say
I'm ready to go, then let's do it and they just said, "No,
maybe, maybe next year". And I thought, "Maybe's a long way
away." Even though I have great memories of the band, playing
and performing, so you never know. [...]
I think you have people going to buy tickets and not seeing what
they think is Yes [...]
It's not what I would
consider the best way to prolong the history of Yes [...] But,
y'know, people got to make a living.
In a May
2010
interview, Anderson said, "I had to stop working that kind of
situation where you're in a rock and roll band, and your body will
just not take, the sort of 2 or 3 months touring, y'know, hotels,
hotels, and gigs and gigs. After a while, your body just says, no,
you can't do that any more." An Aug
2010 article quotes him:
We can't say much more about
it; that's the way [Yes] wants to do it. I still write Yes music
in my head, and you never know what can happen. If we get in the
[Rock and Roll] Hall of Fame, we'll have to get together, and
maybe that's when it'll happen.
But they're doing what they want to do, and I'm getting on with
my world and my life and my music. And that's feeling very good.
In the Oct 2010 issue of Classic
Rock Presents... Prog, Anderson said:
Going through the experience
of getting sick, and not being able to tour at that kind of
level, or be involved, the break-up away from Yes, has made me a
better, stronger person musically. Emotionally, I'm kind of
confused about it all. But then rationally I say, no, it's
better for me to be doing what I'm doing.
[...]
I've said, okay, I'll just get on with my world. Every now and
again I wish things had been different, I wish we could've had a
little more understanding of what was going on. But it's not
meant to be, and in a way it made me stronger to get on with
what I'm doing now.
He also said, in comments the magazine take as referring to Yes,
"I'm working with people [now] who want to work with you and not
with people who are doing it for the job. That's what happens
sometimes in bands: they're just turning up because they're getting
paid, and it's a job and they've lost the spirit."
Earlier in 2009, Yes and Anderson were in communication about the
future. In May 2009, it was reported that Scotland Squire (Chris's
wife) had said that Chris and Anderson talked about the future of
Yes, including the possibility of Anderson returning to the band in
2010. Anderson himself has talked about returning in a number of
interviews. Around the same time, he posted to Facebook:
I
won't be up there singing [with Yes], 'they' would rather
carry on as they are in their version of YES.....I do feel sad
about it of course , but it's their choice, so if you buy
tickets for a YES show this year [2009], I'm sorry that I
won't be there singing........keep the faith, maybe next year
[2010]
In a Jun 2009, Polish radio interview, asked about
a reunion, Anderson said, "I think next year [2010]. I spoke with
Chris [Squire] a month ago and I said that I was very excited to be
feeling better and maybe we could get together and make some...
music. And he said, 'Well then, next year, yeah.' And I said, 'Next
year. That's fine.' So we will see." A Jun interview published in
Polish for NaszeMiasto.pl has more (thanks to Aleksander
Gruszczyński, Adam Teluk and Jens for translating):
Q: And is there a chance that
Yes will get together in the original line-up with Rick Wakeman
and go on tour, or maybe record something new? [Original Polish: A jest
szansa, że YES zbierze się razem, w oryginalnym składzie z
Rickiem Wakemanem i ruszycie w trasę albo nagracie coś nowego?]
Anderson: Yes, we talked
about recording something in autumn. And a tour next year
[2010]. As for Rick... He wants to be part of this tour but
would prefer it to be shorter. With which I agree. It is better
to play three good shows a week than five or six mediocre ones.
YES should always have an impressive visual side. We'll see how
it turns out. [Tak, rozmawialiśmy o nagraniu czegoś jesienią. I
trasie w przyszłym roku. A co do Ricka... On chce pojechać w tę
trasę, ale wolałby, żeby była krótsza. Z czym w sumie się
zgadzam. Lepiej zagrać trzy lepsze koncerty w tygodniu niż pięć,
sześć byle jakich. Z YES to zawsze powinno mieć wizualny
rozmach. Zobaczymy, jak się sprawy potoczą.]
By the next month, however, Anderson had become more critical. A Jul
2009 interview in Czech had the following exchange
(thanks to Vojtech Toman for translating):
And what about Yes? How does it look for you touring
with them at the moment? [Original
Czech: A co Yes? Jak to momentálně vlastně
vypadá s vaším vystupováním s
nimi?]
That is a very difficult thing. I was very ill last year [2008],
I had to undergo six operations. I feel much better now, but
touring with Yes is very exhausting. You know, they are my
brothers, but sometimes you have to disagree even with your
brothers. They want to make money, which mainly means touring a
lot these days. We talked about a month ago, and I said - guys,
I feel quite OK now, let's go to the studio, record something
new, have some fun, but thay said no, there is a tour which has
already been planned. They play
with a different singer now, he looks like me when I was 25 (laughing). [Tak to je velmi
těžká věc. Byl jsem loni velmi nemocný, absolvoval
jsem šest operací. Nyní jsem na tom o hodně
lépe, ale koncertování s Yes je velmi
vyčerpávající. Víš, jsou to moji
bratři, ale někdy ani se svými bratry nemusíš
souhlasit. Oni chtějí vydělávat peníze, což
dneska znamená hlavně dělat koncerty. Před měsícem
jsme měli takovou debatu, říkal jsem jim -
pánové, už jsem na tom celkem dobře, pojďme do
studia, nahrajeme něco nového, užijeme si nějakou legraci
a oni že ne, že mají naplánované
turné. Hrají teď s jiným zpěvákem,
vypadá jako já, když mi bylo dvacet pět (směje se).]
Yes, I read about that, he's
somebody from a Yes tribute band, isn't he? [Ano, o tom jsem
četl, jde o nějakého chlápka z revivalu
Yes že ano?]
That's right. But he is quite a nice guy. It made me very sad at
first, but then I told myself that it's their decision and there
is no point in thinking about it. I could not sing for half a
year anyway, I painted a lot, but I am, luckily, alright now.
[Je to tak. Ale je to docela sympatický chlapík.
Byl jsem z toho nejdříve hodně smutný, ale pak
jsem si řekl, že je to jejich rozhodnutí a nemá
cenu to řešit. Stejně jsem nemohl téměř půl roku
zpívat, hodně jsem maloval, ale teď už je to
naštěstí v pořádku.]
COMMENTING on a recent Yes concert, one reporter said
that the voice of Jon Anderson was missed, it was a pity that
he was still ailing.
“I sent him an e mail straight away,” Jon told me
recently. “Not only am I no longer ailing, but I’m healthier
than ever!”
[...]
“I’d actually been ill for about five years [...] it got
to the point where I couldn’t continue.”
“I had to take a complete break and ended up having six
operations.”
But Yes [...] wouldn’t wait for him.
“[...] they recruited a guy from a Canadian Yes tribute
band and went on the road with him. I felt that they could
have waited until I had recovered.”
[...]
“When you go through a serious illness, you need to see
if you can perform again, so I’m doing about one show per
week. It’s a lot less of a hassle and it’s a kind of rebirth
for me.”
But have Yes included Jon in their plans for a
forthcoming UK tour?
“I said to them that I was available, but they said they
were contracted to Benoit [...] It’s a complicated situation.”
The ‘complicated situation’ obviously rankles a bit.
“I think it’s inappropriate and not respectful to the
fans.” Jon said. “They shouldn’t have used the name. By all
means go out on tour, but don’t pass it off as Yes because
it’s not.”
(The claim that he is "healthier than ever" appears to be something
of an exaggeration.) The 6 Oct article has an additional quotation:
"I think it's inappropriate
and not respectful to the fans. People have bought tickets
thinking I'm performing on the tour.
"I would like everybody to know that, as much as I wish the band
well, they should not tour as Yes. The fans should be advised
that I'm not part of the tour."
In a Jul
2009 interview (possibly conducted several months earlier),
Squire had the following to say:
Q: There were conflicting
reports about whether Jon approved of the band carrying on in
his absence.
A: He was up-to-date with everything we were doing, and he
hadn't complained about it. Our tour manager is also his (solo)
manager. I think we pretty much have his blessing.
Asked in a Jan
2012 interview about the relationship with Anderson and if
there are any "hard feelings", Squire replied:
I don't think so; there shouldn't be. We just had to move
on and brought in Benoit David to come in and sing. At the time,
it was looking less and less likely that Jon could do it, mainly
because of his medical status. And, of course, he was reluctant
to commit to long-term touring – and I understand why. So we had
to make that change. I always hoped that Jon would see it as a
business decision and nothing personal. That's where it stands.
I'm the only one who's really
spoken to Jon, and we send emails, and Jon sent me an email when
he realized it was going to take quite a while for him to get
well, so I just sent him a long email and told him how I felt
about how he'll never change in my eyes, and I wish he was well.
[...] he sent me a great email back. He said, "I understand...I
love you very much, and it's going to take a while for me to get
better,"
Howe is reluctant to get too
deep into details, noting that the rest of Yes already has been
“made to look like the bad guys” [...]
“There are many reasons why a group has to bond, [...] has to
harmonize on all levels — professionally, personally,
managerially, economically. The public are not going to know
which of those are the most influential for our current
solution.
“But I can tell you that three, four years of waiting for Jon to
decide to come back and tour — and yet he was doing solo tours —
influenced my thinking about the way in which Jon loves Yes
music. Because if he was fit enough to tour on his own, I
thought maybe he was fit enough to tour with us. But he still
turned us down.”
[...] “There were years [...] when Jon was unwilling to tour. He
had his reasons, and some of them were health. But when the
health ones got better, there seemed to be another reason: he
wanted to explore what else he could do outside Yes. But
meantime he went out and played Yes songs on his own solo tour.
“That’s partly the reason why I’m back in Asia at all [...] It’s
a great shame, because Yes were always my priority. But I love
to perform, and I don’t want to wait around.”
[...]
More than anything, though, he’s hopeful that audiences will
discover a happier Yes on tour.
“There’s a new lifeblood in us now. There’s a new reason to do
it, and there’s a new happy group here that likes to work. When
you’ve got that much effervescence ... I mean, people now say,
‘Wow, Steve, we’ve never seen you like this in Yes. We’ve never
seen you smile, joke [...]’ Maybe people should look at that and
ask themselves what that tells them.
“People can see that there’s always been a difficulty in Yes.
There’s been so much back-forward-back-forward with Jon that we
just decided this is what we’re doing, and let’s get on with it
for a while. Nobody’s saying never again with Jon. We’re just
saying that until the circumstances are right, then it’s just
wrong. There’s a balance to strike — and we can’t strike it at
the moment.”
As for the future, in the Dec
2008 article, Squire said age would not slow them down: "There
are classical musicians who perform into their 90s. I don't see why
that can't be the same for people who play rock 'n' roll." In the Mar 2012 Classic Rock, Squire floats this possibility,
once suggest by R. Wakeman around the time of Union:
I've been thinking recently that Yes could evolve into an
entity like the London Symphony Orchestra, with different
players. There could still be a Yes in 200 years' time. But
presumably the band members will be different.
Animated film project: Roger Dean's "Floating
Islands" film or something else
Yes have had preliminary discussions about possible film ventures,
including one being developed by Roger Dean. In an Apr 2007 interview,
Squire says that the band have been in contact with Universal
Pictures about making an animated movie about the band's history
from their formation to the present day, including their more
representative songs. The article makes a comparison with The
Beatles' "Yellow Submarine":
Hace poco la
compañía Universal Pictures se mostró
interesada en hacer una película de animación en
la que se muestra un poco de nuestra trayectoria musical,
desde cuando surgimos, hasta la actualidad, incluyendo
obviamente, nuestras canciones más representativas. Lo
estamos analizando, todavía hay algunas puntos por
precisar, como la historia, de qué trataría y
cómo se abordaría, cuáles etapas de la
carrera se incluirían, las canciones, pero creo que es
muy pronto para hablar del tema, esperemos pronto poder dar
más detalles. [...]
Son muchos años,
muchas anécdotas que contar, creo que
tendríamos que seleccionar muy bien lo que
quisiéramos abordar, porque una película,
comúnmente tiene una corta duración, cerca de
dos horas y es muy poco para contar tanto, ya casi cumplimos
cincuenta años de estar juntos.
Yes may also have some involvement with a project from Roger Dean, a
feature-length film using 3D computer animation based on the
backstory to many of his Yes album covers, called "Floating
Islands" (rogerdean.com
link). Dean discussed the project in a Mar
2008
interview and described how they are still working on a script
and arranging funding. He said the film will probably be just
animation, although he would prefer to use a mix of live-action and
computer-generated backgrounds. Dean is working on the script in an
editorial capacity. In Jun 2007, Dean told a fan that significant
funding for the project has been raised, although his comments
suggested it could still be some while before the film enters
production. Lynda Cope and David Blake are executive producers, with
Dean and David Mousley as producers. In Feb 2011, asked about the
project on his Facebook page, Dean replied: "it is unfortunately on
hold for a while. We're hoping to get things moving again this
summer [2011] though." Asked in Apr 2011, the reply on Facebook was:
We haven't given up on it but
there has been no progress in the last three months, it has been
very intermittent. When there's something to share we'll put it
on the website.
Dave McKean's Twitter
mentioned the project in Jun 2009. McKean is an artist
(including cover art for Bill Bruford's
Earthworks, Dream Theater, Tori Amos) and filmmaker
(directed "MirrorMask", conceptual artist on the "Harry Potter"
films). He explained, "we were both developing fantasy
feature film ideas and decided to try and combine them since they
have a lot in common", but cautioned, "Very early stages of
something that may never happen and even if it does will take
years". He also tweeted, "Lots of notes today on story outline for
Roger Dean film. Coming together well. Parts of our individual
stories + new connective tissue."
it’s surprisingly difficult
to sort out the finances for it. [...] we have had a lot of
people who have said ‘subject to you finishing the script, we’d
like to do it’, so that kind of put the ball back in our court.
We’ve had a number of re-writes on the script and at the moment
we haven’t re-presented it until we’ve got a final, satisfactory
script. [...] our ideal scenario
is to have a script that we really love, because we have a story
that we really love, but the script has always been not quite
right [...] I’m involved in it
but I’m not a writer. [...] It’s not in my hands to get this
right, so it’s a little bit frustrating for me but I think we’re
going to get there fairly soon. We’re currently in negotiations
with a number of investors. All of the investor’s money that
we’ve discussed so far for the movie hasn’t been with
distributors, so our hope and expectation is that we will have a
significant part of the funding in place before we talk to major
film companies.
[...] It’s a ninety minute feature film. My partner and I
haven’t come to a total agreement on whether it’s going to be CG
with live action, which is my preferred route. He is still
thinking we should keep the option of doing it fully animated
with no live action at all which is something I’m not as
enthusiastic about. However the technology is moving forward so
I might change my mind later.
It is unclear whether Yes are involved with current planning for
"Floating Islands". The film is expected to feature music by the
band. Asked in the Mar 2008 interview about Yes making some music
especially for the project, Dean replied: "all members of the band
have spoken enthusiastically about doing that. [...] That's
definitely what we would like." He goes on to say he would like
both existing and new songs, and discusses the options for either
existing or new recordings of old songs. He talks about both
"Awaken" and "Soon". Back in Jun 2007, Dean had said that Yes are
not currently involved with the project beyond authorising the use
of their music. A report from around 2005 had that the film is
intended to contain 8-12 classic tracks (a re-recorded "Close to
the Edge" was mentioned in one rumour) and at least 4-5 new
recordings. In Jun 2007, Dean confirmed there had previously been
discussion of Yes writing new music for the film and that the band
had been thinking of "re-recording everything" (presumably meaning
re-recording classic pieces), but that there hadn't been any
discussion of new music recently with Yes then being dormant.
Further back, there were more reports from
Yes about contributing. In a Dec 2004 Delicious Agony
interview, White said, "We're starting to write music for it." In
his Christmas Newsletter 2004, Wakeman said: "There are certainly
ideas in the offing which include [...] making a film/and/or DVD
with Roger Dean involved with all of the visuals which I
particularly like, but there is much to be sorted out within the
band itself before any decisions". Wakeman
indicated that one of their main reasons to prefer the DVD
format over CDs is Internet piracy. In an Oct 2005
interview with Squire for YesFANZ,
he said:
We are looking at
various options from the various major companies. Universal
have shown interest and we are going to be looking at trying
to put together a show that maybe then after the film has been
made of the same, we can then tour the world with that kind of
a look and with that kind of combining the film and the
touring aspect.
The interviewer, Brian Draper, then raised the
Dean project. Squire:
I think Roger’s
floating Islands idea is a very good project. But after Lord
of the Rings was made [...] with such good quality, it[']s
hard to know quite whether Roger may be a bit late in thinking
about that because it has been done so well with the correct
amount of money [...] His idea, I fully support it but I am
not quite sure where it is going to go. I had a couple of
meetings with him to try and figure it out but so far nothing
is happening.
[...] I think pretty much
[he is looking for funding]. [...] Yes is a separate entity
really from Roger [...] I have to look out for what’s best
for Yes as opposed to Roger. But I think the idea of
animated film for a Yes musical project is a good one but
there are various options on the table that we are looking
at.
Live releases
Downes blogged in Jul 2011 that "there is most likely to be a DVD
shot during the EU Tour", i.e.
at the end of 2011. However, at the 3 Nov gig, White reportedly said
they had no plans to record any show of the tour.
In the Present—Live from
Lyon (Frontiers) is a new release,
available as a 2CD, limited edition 3LP gatefold (FR LP 537;
Europe only; now sold
out) or 2CD+DVD set (FR CDVD 537). These were
released first in Japan (on Victor Entertainment), then in
North America and then in Europe (both on Frontiers). Official
trailer here. This is the 1 Dec 2009 show when Oliver Wakeman and Benoît David were still in the
band. Audio mixer: Karl Groom (Threshold, worked with
Oliver Wakeman, John Wetton, Arena, Pendragon).
Joe Comeau was the guitar/drums tech. The audio is the full
show on the Japanese release, but omits Howe's second solo
piece elsewhere. The ~55 min. DVD consists of interviews
with the band, behind the scenes footage, excerpts from the
show and complete performances of "Roundabout" and "Machine
Messiah". Director of video content: Philippe Nicolet;
editors: Nicolet, Julien Cuendet, Jad Makki, Yves Noël.
Tracks: CD1—"Siberian Khatru", "I've Seen All Good People",
"Tempus Fugit", "Onward", "Astral Traveller", "Yours is No
Disgrace", "And You and I", "Corkscrew" (Howe solo), "Second
Initial" (Howe solo; Japan only bonus track); CD2—"Owner of
a Lonely Heart", "South Side of the Sky", "Machine Messiah",
"Heart of the Sunrise", "Roundabout", "Starship Trooper". Samples
are available on Yes's SoundCloud account. Cover by
Roger Dean; photography by Glen Gottlieb, Jim Halley. The
2CD/DVD version was #67 on box sets on Amazon UK (30 Nov).
In response to discussion on Yesfans.com about whether there
were any overdubs on the album, O. Wakeman said:
From what I can
recall there were no overdubs on the live album.
I worked with Karl Groom on the mix for about 3 weeks in
2010. With any live recording there are going to be
sections which don't sound perfect and occasionally
things do go wrong. Someone might hit a wrong note or a
cable might come loose. A snare skin or guitar skin can
break for example.
I do remember when Karl and I were working on the album,
I spent ages going through all the areas which I felt
could need attention.
After checking the parts together, Karl and I decided to
leave a lot of things in which weren't technically
perfect but showed the band accurately and retained the
feel of the show, otherwise what's the point, you may as
well listen to the studio album!
If there were any sections that really weren't
acceptable and had to be repaired, rather than get
people to replay parts, we went through other live show
recordings from the tour and utilised a part from that
show in order to ensure the live feel was kept
throughout.
There was talk of the whole show possibly being made
into a DVD at the time from the two shows that were
recorded (Rouen & Lyon).
I seem to remember the Rouen show was not as good a show
as Lyon and therefore it would have made syncing the
music from one show to footage from two shows a bit of a
logistical nightmare! But as this was a possibility - we
had to keep the music mix as close to the actual show as
possible.
Buy 2CD/DVD set from Amazon
(UK):
Buy 2CD/DVD set from Amazon
(US):
The evening was recorded for a full DVD
release in 3D by Swiss company NVP (Nicolet Vidéo
Productions), who have previously been involved in making an,
as yet, unreleased 3D film about Steve Howe. A stereoscopic 3D
technique was used that Squire described at the show as novel and
not requiring special glasses to view. NVP had described
a 52 minute film about Yes as forthcoming (preview here).
In the Jan
2012 interview with Billboard, Squire said the 3D film was the
original plan and they still hope to release it at some point:
We're sort of waiting 'til they've got the whole 3D TV
thing without glasses, which I'm told is on the horizon[.] In
the meantime we wanted to get it out there, because that was a
very good version of the band and a very good performance, I
think.
The original project for this was filmed in 3-D! So down
the line, the whole concert was filmed [...] but the whole
two-and-a-half hour set was filmed, and I’m sort of waiting for
the time when the 3-D TV comes out where you don’t need the
glasses, which I’m told is imminent. So by the time that
happens, we’ll do a whole mix of the concert footage in 3-D and
put that out.
In that interview, Squire also
explained about the decision to release this show now:
When the idea came up from the record company—when they
heard the live mixes from that tour, and they really liked it
[...] at first I was a little concerned it was sending out mixed
messages since by then we’d already made the new studio album
with Geoff Downes. But then [...] I thought, “No, it’ll be nice
to document that period when Oliver was playing keyboard—and
nice for him, as well, I think.” So we went ahead and said okay
for them to put it out [...] it’s fairly out of time, really,
but I’m still glad we’re putting it out.
There are two recent live releases from IMV Blueline, but be warned
that these are unofficial, not approved by the band, seemingly akin
to bootlegs and with erroneous information. There is a live DVD from
the Open Your Eyes tour
entitled "The Revealing Science of God". This was filmed for TV
broadcast; although billed as being shot in Bulgaria, it is actually
from the 31 Mar 98 Budapest, Hungary show. Tracks: "Firebird Suite",
"Siberian Khatru", "Rhythm of Love", "America", "Open Your Eyes",
"And You and I", "Heart of the Sunrise", "Mood for a Day", "Diary of
a Man Who Vanished", "The Clap", "From the Balcony", "Wonderous
Stories", "Igor Khoroshev Solo", "Long Distance Runaround",
"Whitefish", "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "The Revealing Science of
God", "I've Seen All Good People", "Roundabout", "Starship Trooper".
Also out is the Live on Air
CD, an incomplete show from a radio broadcast of a Feb 1985 in
Argentina at the end of 9012Live tour; tracks: "Leave It", "Hold
On", "Changes" (also including a few minutes of "And You and I"
before being cut off), "The Gates of Delirium" (sic, actually "Soon"/"Make It
Easy" intro), "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "It Can Happen", "City of
Love", "Astral Traveller" (sic,
actually an incomplete edit of "Starship Trooper" of around 6
min.s), "Gimme Some Lovin'".
Archival DVDs, re-releases and compilations
Buy from Amazon (UK):
Buy from Amazon (US):
The
"Yessongs" movie is being released in a new, limited
edition, 40th anniversary, Blu-Ray version on 30 Apr by
Odeon Entertainment (ODNBM002) in the UK. The film was
scanned and restored by Pinewood Studios Post Production
into HD with two sound options: remastered mono track or
DTS HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound Remix. Bonus material
includes a new 60-min. documentary (in HD) featuring
Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Roger Dean, and a 12-min.
HD-version of Howe's "Beginnings" film. The release also
comes with four new artwork cards by Dean.
After several vinyl re-releases of Yes albums, Friday
Music have re-released 9012Live
- The Solos and Yesshows
on CD in the US and UK with bonus tracks. For 9012Live, that's
the live b-sides "City Of Love" and "It Can Happen". For Yesshows, due 21 Nov,
that's live versions of "I've Seen All Good People" and
"Roundabout", taken from Classic
Yes. These are presumably the same masters as
prior Japanese re-releases.
"Symphonic Live" has been released on Blu-ray by Eagle
Vision. The release has minor differences in the visuals
to prior versions, and omits the option to have the
animations that accompany some pieces turned on or off.
Gonzo have released a remastered
and expanded 2CD ABWH.
A deluxe version (HST004CDSE)
in a cardboard sleeve and with an additional hidden track
("Children of Light") is available
from Gonzo, with a standard (jewel case) version (HST004CD)
available generally. The second disc contains "mixes of
singles taken from the album at the time including material
featured on a promotional disc containing tracks from the
album introduced by Rick Wakeman." And, "three live tracks
[...] that have never been previously released in an
official capacity." A 20-page booklet is also included.
Neither Steve Howe or Tony Levin had any involvement in the
release or even knew about it until after it had come out.
The bonus disc contains:
Buy from Amazon (UK):
"Rick Wakeman Intro's": 2:48 of Wakeman talking about the
album
"Brother of Mine (Edit)": possibly the ~3:20 promo edit
"Brother of Mine (Radio Edit)": ~6:30 edit, also released at
the time as the 'Rock Edit'
"Vultures in the City": previously unreleased on an album
"Order of the Universe (Edit)": presumably the ~4:40 'Short
Edit'
"Order of the Universe (Long Edit)": a ~5:59 edit
"Quartet (I'm Alive) (Single Edit)"
"Brother of Mine (Live)": from the 24 Oct 1989 show at the
NEC, Birmingham, UK
"And You and I (Live)"
"The Order of the Universe (Live)"/hidden track (deluxe version only): "Distant
Thunder" (~5:28; ABWH's version of "Children of Light", omitted
from the final album, seems to be the same as the version
previously bootlegged under the name "Distant Thunder")
The three live tracks are expected on a forthcoming ABWH live
release. In Nov 2009, Wakeman said that a BBC
two-track live recording of ABWH would be released in 2010. He
believed this was the NEC Birmingham show (24 Oct 1989). Gonzo are
now advertising a forthcoming ABWH 2CD release, Live at the NEC
(HST005CD), and a "deluxe edition" of the same (HST006CD)
that comes with a 28-page reproduction tour programme. It appears
that the live bonus tracks on the ABWH
re-release are from Live at the
NEC. Kirkman in late Jan 2011 said to Yesfans.com: "I have
just received the ABWH Deluxe edition check discs so soon as I have
listened to them and checked the running order I will send them off
to Gonzo for pressing the button as regards releasing them. The ABWH
Live album will be after that and will now include some visual
elements!" In a Feb
2011 interview, Kirkman referred to "half hour of footage has
never been seen before and comes from one of the band members."
Gonzo's Union Live has been re-released in Japan as a
3-disc set of the DVD and 2CD.
Mobile Fidelity have released a limited edition, gold re-master of The Yes Album. Live from the House of Blues has
been released as a 180g vinyl by Dutch label Music On Vinyl,
while Tales from Topographic
Oceans has been released as a 180g vinyl by Friday Music.
Covers of Yes songs
& other news
"Roundabout" is one of 83 songs on the "Rock Band 3" game, now
out. Other songs include John Lennon's "Imagine" (on which White
played) and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" (on which R. Wakeman
played), as well as songs by Foreigner, Phish, Queen, The Doors,
The Who and many others. The game is available on XBox 360, Wii
and PlayStation 3. A version for the Nintendo DS has fewer songs,
but does include "Roundabout". Released in the US was "Yes Pack 01",
downloadable content for "Rock Band 3", with "Heart of the
Sunrise", "I've Seen All Good People", "Owner of a Lonely Heart",
"South Side of the Sky" and "Starship Trooper".
Mellow Records are
releasing a 3CDtribute
to Yes, Tales
from the Edge: A Tribute to Yes (MMP519 A/B/C), due 3 May, another in their
long line of prog tribute albums (bands are Italian unless
otherwise specified):
3RDegree (USA) -
"Going for the One" (previewed here)
Raven Sad - "Soon" (previewed here)
Armalite - "Time and a Word"
Periplo - "To be Over"
Spirits Burning (USA) - "South Side of the Sky"
Carlo Barreca - "The Fish" (previewed here)
Luca Scherani - "Holy Lamb" SETI (Chile) - "Machine
Messiah"
The Opium Cartel (Norway) - "Clear Days" (previewed here)
The Samurai of Prog (Finland) - "Starship Trooper"
Vanilla Project - "Heart of the Sunrise"
Yessongs - "Siberian Khatru"
Aquael - "Run Through the Light" (previewed here)
Jay Tausig (USA) - "Wonderous Stories" (previewed here)
Marco Masoni - "In the Presence of"
TenMidnight - "Tempus Fugit"
Goad - "I'm Waiting" (previewed here)
Din Within (USA) - "Changes" (previewed here)
Greenwall - "Onward" Subterra
(Chile) - "Shock to the System" (previewed here)
Coscienza di Zeno - "Homeworld" (previewed here)
Roz Vitalis (Russia) - "Yours is No Disgrace" (previewed here)
The Pravednicks' Band (Russia) - "Awaken" (previewed here)
Kbridge - "Survival"
Yesterdays (USA) - "America"
Chris Fournier (USA) - "Then"
Stefano Vicarelli - "Mood for a Day"
Conqueror - "Lift Me Up" Yesterdays
(Romania) - "White Car"
Mojo Pojo (Venezuela) - "Close to the Edge" (previewed here)
Aurora Lunare - "Don't Kill the Whale"
Alessandro Corvaglia - "And You and I" Supernal
Endgame (USA) - "Parallels" (previewed here)
Another tribute album, released Feb 2011, was Piano Tribute to Yes
(Copycats), in the Classic Rock Piano Series. Tracks: "Roundabout"
(3:41), "I've Seen All Good People" (3:28), "Long Distance
Runaround" (3:10), "South Side of the Sky" (4:09), "Time and a
Word" (3:30), "Starship Trooper" (4:27), "Yours is No Disgrace"
(4:44), "Going for the One" (2:59), "Wondrous Stories" (2:54),
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" (3:43).
Undercover (Musea Records) is the debut
album, now out, from The
Samurai of Prog, a project led by Marco Bernard (ex-Elektroshock;
Rickenbacker bass) with Kimmo Pörsti (drums) and Steve Unruh (Resistor;
vocals, violin, guitars, flute). Tracks: "The Lamia"
(originally by Genesis), "Starship Trooper" (Yes; also on Tales from the Edge, see
above), "World of Adventures" (The Flower Kings), "Assassing"
(Marillion), "Gravitá 9.81" (Arti + Mestieri), "Jerusalem"
(ELP), "Dogs" (Pink Floyd), "The Promise" + 4 bonus tracks of
other acts covering Elektroshock pieces. Guests include Roine
Stolt (The Flower Kings; guitars), Michael Manring
(bass), Jonas Reingold (bass), Jon Davison (Yes, Glass Hammer; vocals),
David Myers (ex-The Musical Box, Mystery; grand piano on "The
Lamia"), Guy Le Blanc (Nathan Mahl, ex-Camel; keys),
Richard Marichal (keys), Eduardo Garcia Salueña (keys),
Stefano Vicarelli (keys), Srdjan Brankovich (guitars). A follow-up
album, Secrets of Disguise,
is planned for late Spring 2012; tracks (in no particular order):
"One More Red Nightmare" (King Crimson), "Aspirations" (Gentle
Giant), "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" (Genesis), "Jacob's
Ladder" (Rush), "Singring and the Glass Guitar" (Utopia),
"Traveller" (Premiata Forneria Marconi), "Descenso en el
Maelstrom" (Crack), "Darkness" (Van der Graaf Generator), "Time
and a Word" (Yes). Guesting will be Stolt, Le Blanc, Davison,
Myers, Salueña, Srdjan Brankovic (Expedition Delta),
Jan-Olof Strandberg, Phideaux Xavier, Mark Trueack
(Unitopia, working with Jon Anderson, Nikki Squire),
Linus Kåse (Brighteye Brison), Octavio
Stampalia (Jinetes Negros), Lalo Huber
(Nexus), Stefano Vicarelli (Fonderia),
Richard Wileman (Karda Estra), Mimmo Ferri
(Floating State), Mento Hevia (Crack) and
others.
Unitopia (MySpace) are releasing
a covers album entitled Covered
Mirror; tracks: "Overture", "Calling Occupants",
"Easter", "Still Here", "Man of Colours", "Genesis Medley: The
Silent Sun/Lamb Lies Down/Suppers Ready/Carpet Crawlers", "The
Rain Song", "Real Love", "Sweet Little Mystery", "Can We Still be
Friends", "The Way the Waters Move", "Yes Medley:
Awaken/Soon/Close to the Edge/Onward/Owner of a Lonely
Heart/Survival", "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime", "To One in
Paradise". For more on Unitopia's Yes connections, see here.
Composers Ryan
Fraley (worked with Jon
Anderson) and Ralph
Johnson and vocalist Lydia
McAdams, as Wave
Mechanics Union, are working on an album of jazz
interpretations of rock pieces. Due soon, tracks are "Won't Get
Fooled Again" (The Who), "Killer Queen" (Queen), "The Rain Song"
(Led Zeppelin), "The Great Gig in the Sky" (Pink Floyd),
"Available Light" (Rush), "De Do Do Do" (The Police), "Eleanor
Rigby" (The Beatles), "Why Should I Cry For You?" (Sting),
"Elephant Talk" (King Crimson), "Istanbul" (They Might Be Giants),
"Heart of the Sunrise" (Yes). Fraley also has an orchestration of
"Days" that he did for Anderson on spec, available on his website (select
"Orchestra" on the audio player).
Classical pianist Stephen
Prutsman performs his version of "Sound Chaser" in his
recitals, and may now be working with Jon Anderson (see under Anderson).
Media,
books,
documentaries & fandom
Scott O'Reilly has written a new digital book entitled "Yes and
Philosophy: The Spiritual and Philosophical Dimensions of Yes
Music", examining the band's output from a philosophical
perspective.
Will Romano's "Mountains Come Out
of the Sky: The Illustrated History of Prog Rock"
(Backbeat Books) covers Yes, Asia, King Crimson,
Genesis, Pink Floyd and many other bands. The foreword
is by Bill Bruford. Another new book about progressive
rock is "Prophets
&
Sages: An Illustrated Guide to Underground and
Progressive Rock 1967-1975" by Esoteric
Recordings label manager/founder, Mark Powell
(worked with Soft Machine, Caravan, Camel).
Another new book about progressive rock takes its name
from Yes: "Beyond
and Before: Progressive Rock Since the 1960's" by
Paul Hegarty and Prof. Martin Halliwell from Continuum.
It is due in hardback 16 Jun (according to Amazon), with
the paperback following 18 Aug.
Garry Freeman (author of "The Bootleg
Guide" and the forthcoming "Emerson, Lake and Palmer—A
Live Guide 1970-1978") is working on "Yes—A
Live Guide 1968-1979" (Helter
Skelter Publishing). The book aims to review as
many shows as possible from this period, including
details on equipment specifications and so on. If you
can help with recordings of shows or technical
information (what equipment the band used, what was the
set list etc.), please e-mail
Garry. The Gottlieb brothers are working on a book
on Yes collectibles and Bill Martin
(author of "Music of Yes—Structure and Vision in
Progressive Rock") has been rumoured to be
working on a new Yes book.
In a Jul 2004 interview, Wakeman said
he would be writing a book about Yes: "I am going to do
[a book] about Yes. There have been lots of books
written about the band and I want to do one from what
it's like inside the band." In a Jan 2005 interview, he
said he was "seriously thinking about" writing a book
about Yes having been asked to do one by a "big
publisher". See further
details under Wakeman. Moraz too is planning an
autobiography that "will reveal the truth of what
happened with Yes" (Oct 2010 interview). Squire and Howe are both working on
autobiographies, which will doubtless cover Yes.
Buy from Amazon (US):
Buy from Amazon (UK):
The well-known Forgotten Yesterdays site is temporarily down.
Pete Whipple posted to alt.music.yes on 30 Nov 2010:
Will be reborn some time in
the future possibly under a different name. Had the rug
jerked out from under me with the current site host and now
there is a dispute over who owns the domain name
forgottenyesterdays.com that I'm trying to resolve. Just
stay tuned. The site will return.
In Dec 2010, Frontiers announced a link-up with 2 Plus Music & Entertainment, Inc.,
who will oversee the label's development, artist acquisition,
marketing and relationships with local distributors and promoters in
the North American market. 2 Plus is headed by Derek Shulman
(ex-Gentle Giant as a musician; ex-Atco Records (where he worked
with Yes), ex-PolyGram Records, ex-Roadrunner Records as an
executive; signed Dream Theater, Slipknot and Nickelback)
and another director is Leonardo
Pavkovic (MoonJune Records/Management, managed Soft
Machine Legacy and Allan Holdsworth; worked with Bill Bruford,
Bozzio/Holdsworth/Levin/Mastelotto Band, PFM, Eddie Jobson,
Hatfield & the North, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper). They
also announced a US/Canada distribution deal with EMI Music
Distribution.
Voiceprint
insolvency
Voiceprint released a number of archival Yes products. They have
also acted as label or distributor for many of the Yesmen, including
Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Bill Bruford, Patrick Moraz and Trevor
Rabin. In Sep 2010, Zeit Distribution Ltd., who traded as
Voiceprint, declared insolvency. Director Rob Ayling set up a new
company, Gonzo Multimedia, which continued with several Yes-related
releases, beginning with The Living Tree. The label
has now been taken over by Floating World.
Management
Yes are with Trudy Green at HK Management (manage
Aerosmith, Mick Jagger, Def Leppard, worked with Michael
Jackson, Janet Jackson) in California. Green was
previously also Anderson's manager. Precisely who owns the Yes
name, or what that question even means, is unclear. However, Yes
as a corporate entity (Yes, LLC) is currently owned by Howe,
Squire and White. Anderson and R. Wakeman were equal co-owners
2002-4, but subsequently sold their shares back. Consider also
this Jul
2009 interview with Squire:
Q: Yes has endured many personnel
changes, but you've always been there. What has kept you in the
band?
A: It's more by default than design, actually. I've been there,
and other members have gone off to do other projects. A lot of
them have come back and left again and come back again. [...]
Q: There have been intraband tension and court fights. [...]
A: [...] Over the years, there have been challenges about who
can use our name. It's quite simple: A majority of people left
in the band at a certain time own the name. It's not like I'm
the guy who has the name under my own contract.
Squire made related comments in an Oct
2009 interview published in Italian:
Intanto è stato
casuale, non è che abbia mai avuto il disegno di essere
il portavoce della band ora e sempre. E' però accaduto
che nel corso del tempo altri decidessero che per loro era il
momento di provare strade ed esperienze diverse. Così
sono usciti e poi rientrati dal gruppo, come hanno fatto [Rick]
Wakeman e Steve Howe. Però sono stato in buona compagnia
perché Alan White si è unito a noi nel 1972 quindi
i suoi 38 anni se li è fatti pure lui...
Projects
involving
multiple Yes men Various projects headed by Billy
Sherwood are covered
elsewhere: CIRCA: and other projects with Tony
Kaye are covered on their own page here,
while The Prog Collective and a
Supertramp tribute album, both with multiple Yesmen guesting
(Squire, Wakeman, Kaye, Downes, Banks and Levin), are covered under Sherwood.Asia, with Howe and Downes, is covered
on its own page here. The Buggles and
Producers, with Horn and Downes, are
covered under Horn.
Anderson/Wakeman
Having begun a collaboration in 2006, Jon
Anderson and Rick Wakeman's duo
returned in late 2010 with an album of new material, The Living Tree (Gonzo Multimedia,
HST050CD). The album has been released in the UK, but only digitally
in the US. The pair have toured the UK and North America and a live
CD from 2010's touring is now out. The pair are planning work on
their next album together and there may be European dates in 2012.
In a May
2011 radio interview, Anderson said: "the people in the UK
[...] had a great time [on the 2010 tour] and they want us back
again this year [2011], but we're gonna have to wait until next year
[2012] because we might be touring [the US] later this year". In an interview
for Dutch website Lords of Metal, conducted by Winston Arntz
in Nov 2011, Anderson said, "We really hope to bring the show to
Holland next year [i.e.
2012]." Later on, Anderson added:
[Wakeman] wants to tour more
and do we’re talking about next (this) year [2012] so we’ll see
what happens. [...]
We are starting some new music in January [2012], we already
talked about it on the [US] tour. About the kind of music we
would like to try and we’ll see what happens…
In his Jun 2011 GORR, Wakeman mentions that he and Anderson "have
been exchanging music to work on for [...] the pair of us" (as well
as material for the project with both of them and Rabin; see below). Asked in a Jun
2011 interview, Anderson said:
I think we’ll do another,
or two, because we’re connected, we’re good friends. [...] we
talked about, next year [2012] we could do a tour of Europe in
the springtime maybe, we’ll see what happens.
We are started
writing in the new year [2012], we have a lot of new ideas to
work on, and we enjoy each others music...so a new album should
be coming...
We’re actually writing some new music next month. He sent a
couple of things last week. We’re still creating, we’re still
talking about touring later in the year or the beginning of next
year, so we’re in touch.
Now out is The Living Tree In Concert Part One
(Gonzo, HST097CD) taken from the band's 2010 UK tour. Tracks: "And
You & I", "Living Tree Part 1", "Morning Star", "Long Distance"
[sic], "The Garden", "Living Tree Part 2", "Time and a Word", "Just
One Man", "23/24/11", "Southside" [sic], "House of Freedom", "The
Meeting". Cover art is by Mark Wilkinson. A 'Part Two' will be taken
from the pair's 2011 US tour, although discussing this in an Oct
2011 joint interview, Wakeman said (seemingly as an
alternative to 'Part Two'):
Jon and I haven't really
discussed this, as the live album from the UK tour has only just
been released. Personally, the next thing I'd like to see from
Jon and myself is a DVD; one that is put together from a special
one-off show in a special venue. [...] I'm sure Jon and I will
chat about it on the tour. We chat all the time so the subject
is bound to come up as to "what's next!"
We also recorded that tour
live and that did come out extremely well [...] We wanted to
film it but we felt it wasn’t ready to film. Visually it wasn’t
ready to film. Musically, we’re happy with the duo show, but
we’ll wait because if we’re going to do a DVD it’s got to be
something a bit special, so we’re talking about that.
The duo played a 14 date tour
Oct/Nov of the eastern US and Canada. On the opening night, they
played two sets plus an encore for a total (including half hour
intermission) of 3 hours: first set: extract from "Open", "Starship
Trooper", "Sweet Dreams", "Forever", "And You and I" (abbreviated),
"Living Tree (Part 1)", "Long Distance Runaround", "America",
"Garden", "Living Tree (Part 2)", "Time and a Word"; second set:
"South Side of the Sky", "Wonderous Stories", "Just One Man", "Nous
Sommes du Soleil/Leaves of Green", "Roundabout", "23/24/11", "I've
Seen All Good People: Your Move", "House of Freedom", "Awaken",
"Soon"; encore: "The Meeting". They played the same songs on the
final night of the tour, but "Roundabout" was moved to the first
song of the encore, followed by "Soon" and "The Meeting". The 19 Oct
show sold out, selling 504 tickets, grossing $17,341; the 22 Oct
show sold 783 tickets, grossing $44,075; the 23 Oct show sold 703
tickets, grossing $32,953; the 24 Oct show sold 796 tickets,
grossing $44,020; the 26 Oct show sold 1,211 tickets, grossing
$44,495; the 27 Oct show sold 531 tickets, grossing $25,595; the 29
Oct show sold 1,011 tickets, grossing $45,870; and the 30 Oct show
sold 563 tickets, grossing $29,287. The 1 Nov show sold 603 tickets,
grossing $29,745; the 2 Nov show sold out, selling 500 tickets and
grossing $45,090; the 4 Nov show sold 1,232 tickets, grossing
$83,356; the 5 Nov show sold 611 tickets, grossing $29,170; the 6
Nov show sold 1,480 tickets, grossing $46,153; the 8 Nov show sold
993 tickets, grossing $43,853; the 10 Nov show sold 698 tickets,
grossing $44,924; and the 12 Nov show sold 810 tickets, grossing
$49,432.
They played a 20-date UK
tour Oct/Nov 2010 under the name The Anderson Wakeman Project
360. They performed as a duo—Anderson (vocals, acoustic guitar),
Wakeman (two keyboards)—playing two 1-hour sets; Cambridge set:
"Starship Trooper", "Sweet Dreams", "Forever", "And You and I"
(abbreviated), "Living Tree (Part 2)", "Morning Star", "I've Seen
All Good People: Your Move", "Garden", "Living Tree (Part 1)", "Time
and a Word", "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Long Distance Runaround",
"Yours is No Disgrace", "Just One Man", "Wonderous Stories",
"23/24/11", "South Side of the Sky", "Turn of the Century", "House
of Freedom", "Soon", "The Meeting". The Bristol set had a different
order: "Starship Trooper", "Sweet Dreams", "Forever", "And You and
I", "Living Tree (Part 2)", "Morning Star", "Long Distance
Runaround", "Garden", "Living Tree (Part 1)", "Time and a Word",
"Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Yours is No Disgrace", "South Side of
the Sky", "Just One Man", "Wonderous Stories", "23/24/11", "I've
Seen All Good People: Your Move", "Turn of the Century", "House of
Freedom", "Roundabout", "Soon", "The Meeting". Both sets began with
a short, new opening number; Anderson only played guitar on the
opening piece and the Yes songs. The Ipswich show had an audience of
~800. There was an additional "pre-tour"
performance on 8 Oct in Surrey, with Anderson and Wakeman
joined by 50 members of the Voice in a
Million choir (worked with Rick Wakeman, Foreigner);
audience was ~350-400.
The Living Tree has artwork by Mark
Wilkinson. Tracks (lyrics by Anderson; music composed by
Wakeman, except track 9):
"Living Tree (Part 1)" (4:04)
"Morning Star" (4:30)
"House of Freedom" (5:38)
"Living Tree (Part 2)" (4:37)
"Anyway and Always" (3:51), played live in 2006
"23/24/11" (6:25)
"Forever" (5:33), played live in 2006
"Garden" (3:23), played live in 2006
"Just One Man" (4:46), music composed by Jeremy
Cubert, also appears on Anderson's solo album Survival
and Other Stories in a different version
Vocals by Anderson; piano and keys by Wakeman. Produced by
Anderson/Wakeman/Erik Jordan. Details
in
the Yescography. Much of the album was
recorded by Wakeman and engineer Jordan in Aug/Sep 2010;
Wakeman explained the process in his Aug 2010 GORR: "how we
are going to record with Jon in California and me being in
Norfolk, [...] I will be preparing all the back tracks here
and then sending the files to Jon who will be recording the
vocals using his mobile system whilst out doing some solo
shows in America. The files then get sent back to me for
Erik to mix"
it's a concept album and the
world is my inspiration. The
Living Tree stands for Mother Earth, for nature and
what we do with it. We should wake up and stop destroying our
beautiful planet. As you probably know I have been through near
death moments a few years ago and so I became more connected to
the Garden. My voice was gone and I couldn't sing for more than
six months, so I painted and listened and I watched everything
around me. The title track comes from that period of time, the
time I was recuperating. We all are Mother Earth, you know; we
have to take care of our environment.
Asked in a Feb
2011
interview whether this collaboration arose out of spite
against Yes continuing without them, Wakeman replied: "Absolutely
not. Jon and I enjoy writing together and we have been on a parallel
musical route and journey for some years now. It was really the most
natural thing to do. We didn't simply do it because we could. We did
it because we felt we had something together musically that was
worthwhile; that's the principal we work on." (In a Mar 2011
interview, Howe had rather different views on the pair's live work:
see here.) In a Sep
2011 interview, Wakeman said: "I never saw Jon Anderson and I
working together as a replacement for the now "dead" dreams I had
with the band Yes. What Jon and I do is totally stand alone." A
joint Oct
2011 interview had this exchange:
Interviewer: you’re being billed as the
“'Heart and Soul' of Prog giants YES.” How do you respond to
this assessment? Does it imply that your contributions were more
important than the other members’?
Anderson: No, not
really. I think they say that to show how important we were to
the band’s creative process.
Interviewer:
What do the other members of Yes think about your
collaboration? Has there been any response from anyone?
Anderson:
I don't know what they think; we are not in touch
anymore. That's life.
Jon
Anderson & Trevor Rabin
Anderson and Trevor Rabin have
been sporadically collaborating over the last 5 years or so. A Jun
2006 report had Rabin saying he and Anderson had just spent a week
writing together and that they were both very pleased with the
results and the pair were also working together for about a week
in Mar 2006. Anderson has mooted both the possibility of joining
Rabin on some film work and of touring the YesWest catalogue. In a
May
2008 article, he talked of him and Rabin "maybe touring some
of that '80s-period music, because it was very special. [...] I
wouldn't do it, like, Yes. I'd do it like me and Trevor aspiring
to be the two of us making music and see what we come up with."
The article describes Anderson as being "amenable to some sort of
reunion of the Yes[West] lineup", although it is unclear whether
Anderson indicated the involvement of any of Squire, White or
Kaye. However, it appears this co-writing activity is now being
directed to a project with Rick Wakeman as well: see immediately
below.
Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman & Trevor
Rabin
Anderson, Wakeman and Rabin have been working on a project
together, but the collaboration is currently on hold. Some
material has been written, mostly by Anderson/Rabin in early 2011
and before, but also through online interaction by all three
since. However, the project was much delayed: in 2011, it emerged
that plans had shifted to the main activity being in 2012, and by
2012, it appeared the project had been pushed back to 2013. Then aMar
2012 articlehad this
from Anderson:
Over
the past year, Yes fans have been looking forward to a
proposed project from [...] Anderson [...] Rabin and [...]
Wakeman. Unfortunately, as Anderson tells Ultimate Classic
Rock, the grouping has been put on hold.
“We did some songs last year, and Trevor had some things going
on in his life that he had to sort out, you know, family
things and he gets very, very tied up in his music for movies,
so we just found it hard to collectively get together. And
Rick’s got so many things that he’s doing in England. He has
TV shows and radio shows. So eventually, it will happen. You
keep the door open and hope that it will happen.”
We
talked about it, we wrote a couple of things together, Trevor
got sidetracked, we talked about this year. We haven’t
really finalized a time. It’ll happen when it happens. That’s my
new mantra: ‘It will happen when it happens.’
The article then continues:
is
there any chance of Anderson, Wakeman and Rabin hitting the road
and playing Yes songs? “No, I don’t think so.”
(There was previous talk of
live shows.) An interview
with Anderson conducted by Winston Arntz in Nov 2011 had already
suggested no imminent developments:
With Trevor it’s all about
timing being everything you know. You never know, Trevor always
said he wanted to do but right now he’s going through some
changes in his work, seeing what he wants to do. I am very open
to when it happens it happens, always ready to try things like
that.
[...] I think Trevor is waiting to jump into that adventure but
he’s not quite ready yet in his heart. We wait and see and when
we will work together I think it will be real spontaneous music.
That’s what we talked about, making it spontaneous. A bit
different than we used to do…
In a mid-Apr 2011 Facebook message, Anderson had said, "all is
great with Trev, Rick and Myself, writing ideas , and thinking of
next year [2012] already." In an Apr
2011 interview, Anderson said, "At the moment, I am writing
with Trevor Rabin and Rick." Asked about the collaboration in a May
2011 radio interview, Anderson said, "we were writing songs
just two weeks ago [...] it's gonna be fantastic next year
[2012]". In this interview,
published Sep 2011, Wakeman describes meeting Rabin in London
"recently" to discuss the project. Then there was this in
a joint Oct
2011 interview by Anderson and Wakeman:
Wakeman: [I'm] waiting to hear from Trevor at
the moment. To be fair, I certainly haven't chased him, as I've
been so busy this year [2011] (as indeed Jon has and certainly
Trevor as well). I really want this to happen; I believe it
could be amazing in so many ways. I will certainly play my part
in trying to bring this to fruition.
Anderson: We've talked
about creating a project; it's just finding the right time to
work together.
The Nov 2011 Classic Rock
Presents... Prog (issue 21) has this on the
collaboration:
Rabin is also to be involved in
a new project with [...] [Wakeman and Anderson.] But things are
still in the formative stages right now.
"We are still working it all
out. I did spend some time with Jon when he was over in the
States doing solo shows not that long ago. I'm sure this'll
happen."
The original idea was for the project to be made up of and be
called Anderson Bruford Wakeman Rabin, echoing the Anderson
Bruford Wakeman Howe project of 1988-90, but Bruford is not to be
involved. I had multiple reports that plans for the project came
to a halt in Mar 2011, but the project returned to being a going
concern. I reported the project's demise here on 31 Mar, but in
response to the subsequent online discussion, Wakeman explicitly
denied that the project was cancelled and his webmaster advised
looking to the RWCC for any official news. A report from close to
Jon Anderson also denied the project had come to an end. Wakeman
discussed the matter at some length in his April 2011 GORR:
Wayne [RWCC webmaster] 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!
Just two days ago I received some music from Jon for the Trevor,
Jon and Rick project, and it’s tremendous. I’ve also sent some
stuff to both the guys as well, so unless there really is
something I don’t know, then all is progressing really well.
He continued in his May 2011 GORR:
I was hoping to be able
to confirm quite a few things in this month’s GORR in relation
to stuff like [...] the Rick, Jon and Trevor situation as well,
but as ever, things seem to take much longer than you think is
necessary and subsequently I only have “bits and pieces” to
report on the above.
[...]
Jon is in pretty constant contact with Trevor Rabin and music
has already started flying back and forth. Jon has sent through
some great ideas and I will shortly be sending some stuff back
across the Atlantic to both Trev and Jon. Trev, I know, is also
working on music for the project and we are all really up for it
and excited as to what it’s going to produce. As many people
know, it’s a combination of YES personnel that’s never been used
on recordings, and certainly, if the chemistry that happened on
the UNION tour between the three of us can reignite itself, then
we are in for a treat making the music and hopefully it’ll be a
treat for others to listen to it......and then, with a bit of
luck...live performances...and special ones, not hundreds of
gigs one after the other which dissipates all meaning of the
music.
Jon Anderson and myself have
been exchanging music to work on for both songs for the pair of
us and of course the upcoming project with Trevor Rabin who has
also been sending stuff to Jon and so there’s a bit of a round
robin happening which is all very exciting and the quality of
the music so far is outstanding and so I have very high hopes
for both the album and live appearances.
[...]
June is going to be an interesting month for sure. [...] I will
be doing some more prep music to send to Jon and Trev for the
new project.
In an Innerview
with Anil Prasad, published May 2011, Wakeman was asked about
the status of the project. He replied:
there is the potential to
produce something very exciting, simply for the reason that
whilst we all know each other, the three of us have never
specifically worked together before. [...]
I wouldn’t say we’ll do loads and loads of touring, because
Trevor is extraordinarily busy [...] Jon is busy with his solo
work, and I do a lot of television and radio work [...] What I
think will be great is if we put together a small number of
shows to go with a lot of new music. The shows would be
something really special rather than a whole bundle of touring.
I would like to think the album will be done by the end of the
year [2011], and then we’ll start looking at slotting in shows
around the world according to everyone’s schedule next year
[2012]. It’s not something ruled by a record label or management
[...] We’ll work out what’s best for all of us and the project.
Asked about plans for Bruford's involvement, Wakeman said:
Bill sort of retired. He
decided a couple of years ago that enough is enough. [...] He’s
a fantastic guy, but once he makes a decision, it’s very, very
rare that he changes it. I can’t even think of an occasion when
he’s changed his mind [...] I think he may well have been
tempted by the idea, so who knows? He may just come onboard, but
it’s unlikely.
To Classic Rock Presents... Prog
(Jun 2011), Rabin said of the project: "We are starting soon. We
have some pretty cool ideas, but we're not rushing it or being
pressured by business needs." In a Jun
2011 interview, Anderson said: "I've been in touch with Trevor
for the past four or five years. [...] We wrote some songs together
last year [2010], and we've written a couple this year [2011]. We're
thinking next year [2012] might be a good time to try [to make an
album]." In another Jun
2011 interview, Anderson said: "me, Trevor Rabin and Rick are talking and... actually
we're writing a couple of songs". And another interview
published in Jun 2011, but conducted in Apr, had this:
Anderson:
[...] in the 90s we did the Talk album, which I
love very much.
Anderson: Me, Trevor (Rabin) and Rick
(Wakeman) want to re-perform that next year [2012]. We're
working on songs, but we're talking about doing songs from Talk
and Big Generator and 90125. It takes
time, we can't say exactly what it is, but we're talking. We
believe. We're all busy. Timing is everything. My new mantra is
“It will happen when it happens”.
Interviewer: That's
still an active project [...]?
Anderson: Oh yeah, we were working on songs
last week. It's slowly moving, it takes time.
Interviewer: You're trading files back and
forth?
Anderson: Yeah.
Interviewer:
[...] you'll
do shows together?
Anderson: Next year [2012].
Interviewer: And new music.
Anderson: Oh yeah. I would never just go on
stage and do the old stuff. I would rather do some new stuff
with the old stuff and make people aware that music is timeless,
and we shouldn't be judged on what we've done, more what we're
about to do.
Interviewer: It would be great if you revisit Talk [...]
Anderson: Oh yeah, we were singing … (sings)
"it's the last ... time ... telling myself everything." Trevor
and I were singing that together on the phone.
[...]
Anderson:
We'll
definitely be doing it [Talk].
Interviewer: Rumor had it you were getting Bill
Bruford back on drums.
Anderson: Well, we asked him but he doesn't
tour anymore. You never know, he might say, “Hmmm, I need some
money”. You never know!
In an Oct 2011 interview, Anderson talked about them playing
"Perpetual Change" and "Heart of the Sunrise".
A Jul
2011 interview describes the trio as starting recording soon,
with Anderson saying: "We've written three, four songs at the
moment. Whether we tour it, I don't know. We'd like to, but we'll
see how everybody's schedule is for next year [2012]." While an Aug
2011 interview had this exchange:
Interviewer: you, Rick Wakeman will be working
again with [...] Trevor Rabin [...] putting together another
band type project. Will that just be a trio or will you be
looking to fill in... will you be looking to replicate a 5-piece
like Yes and have somebody else on bass and drums in that
project?
Anderson: I think it
will just be a trio with some musicians backing up the project.
We're still working on it.
Interviewer:
Well, that was Yes's commercially most successful period of output
with "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and songs like "Changes". Will
there be an attempt to replicate or reproduce some of that style sounding,
y'know, those big radio-type songs? Or will it be whatever the
moment moves you guys to produce?
Anderson:
I think whatever the moment moves, but I'll let you
know.
Some material has been prepared and concrete discussions had about
the band. Wakeman in Jan 2011 said that the three of them "are
working on putting a band together to both record and perform". A Mar
2011 interview with Anderson had this:
As you probably know I loved
the albums we did with Trevor like Talk and Big
Generator. [...] We'll get together to write some new
music and thereafter we intend to go on tour with these new
songs and of course we will also perform some Yes classics.
We'll do a try out of a month and then, if it works, we'll also
perform some gigs in Europe
On 11 Mar 2011, Mike Tiano said (at the Notes
from
the
Edge
Facebook
site), "Trevor told me yesterday that conversations with Rick
and Jon are happening." Asked about whether the project will move
forward, in a Jan
2011 interview, Anderson said:
I don't know. I got an e-mail
from Trevor today [...] I was with Trevor last week. [...] We've
talked over the last couple of years about maybe getting
together and doing some concerts, re-looking at the album Talk,
and 90125, Big Generator, and a couple... two or three Yes
classics, but centering in on that and maybe... We've written a
couple of new songs and... me and Rick have written two songs
for the project. But like anything, it's timing. It will happen
when it happens, and I'll be there!
The interviewer then asked who else would be involved, mentioning
Bill Bruford and Tony Levin, and Anderson replied:
No, Bill's not touring any
more. [...] He's decided he doesn't want to do it no more. But
you can never discount that. We'll see what happens. [...]
Timing... Trevor's got work, Rick's got work, and I'm busy, but
eventually the timing will work. It'll either be this summer
[2011] or next summer [2012], but we'll do it.
Rick and I and Trevor (Rabin)
might make some music together and tour. It's all in the talking
stages but if we did something I might ask Roger [Dean] for
something [in terms of cover art]. He did Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and
Howe so I'd probably ask him. When I work with Rick and
other people that were in Yes, it feels like Yes music no matter
what. You can't get away from that, so there's no harm in
dressing it up that way.
“It could
happen, but it’s a question of
timing,” Anderson said. “I’m touring the UK with Rick this year
[2010] and Trevor and I wrote some songs, but now he’s busy
doing film scores. It will be a real celebration of Yes if we
ever get around to doing it.”
In an Oct
2010 interview, Rabin said he was "still hoping to work again"
with Wakeman, and later in the interview:
Interviewer: What about the record that you’re
currently working on with your Yes compatriots, Jon Anderson and
Rick Wakeman?
Rabin: We haven’t
started yet. But Jon, Rick, and I are really itching to do it.
In late Dec 2010, Anderson said:
Going
to write songs with Trevor......talked about shows
together.......can't promise anything....just ideas just now....
Initial plans in early 2010 were for the project to have included
Bill Bruford as well, but he has always insisted he is not involved.
News of the project first emerged in the 6 Feb 2010 edition of
Wakeman's Planet Rock
radio show: a listener sent in a question asking Wakeman about the
possibility of he and Rabin "re-uniting to play Yes material again."
Wakeman responded:
Just last week, a discussion
took place between myself, Trevor and a couple of other
ex-members of Yes who will remain nameless [...] about doing
just that, about doing an album, and I think the odds are extremely high that it will
happen this year [2010]
Reports of private comments by Anderson and Wakeman in 2010
identified Bruford as the fourth ex-member involved. A Jul 2010
report claimed Wakeman had said privately that there is no decision
as to the form of the project (e.g.
album or live shows), but that the line-up will be him, Anderson,
Rabin and Bruford. A May
2010 report has Anderson identifying the same four, but saying
that the project is only "talk" at that time. He also said that
Bruford loves the idea, but is not sure about touring. The Mar 2010
edition of Classic Rock
Presents... Prog reported the same quartet. The article
reads: "Bruford has recently announced his intention to retire from
music, but Prog
understands if the project goes ahead he will be involved." Bruford
repeatedly denied his involvement or interest. His webmaster, Sid
Smith, responded to a fan with this message (18 Mar 2010): "Your
message has been passed to Bill. He retired from public performance
15 months ago and isn't joining any band. Perhaps sales are down at
Classic Rock?!" In Apr 2010, Smith posted to Bruford's website:
Recently, certain sections of
the internet have been awash with rumours that Bill is about to
return to active service in the company of his old muckers, Rick
Wakeman and Jon Anderson and Trevor Rabin. The rumour gained a
little bit of traction by appearing in print in the latest
edition of Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine. [...] I
contacted Bill for the inside scoop.
Rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, Bill had this to say. “I'm
told there are people getting over-excited about the next
reunion I'm not on. Oh ye of little faith! I haven't been
approached by Wakeman, Anderson, Rabin, Howe, Squire or Uncle
Tom Cobley for anything more than a pint. For the hard of
hearing, I repeat - I've retired from public performance.”
So there you have it from the horse's mouth!
In his 18
May blog, Bruford said in reply to questions:
a lot of people talking about Yes, which you may
all know that I am not re-joining and have received no such
invitation from anyone connected with the band. [...] Can’t we
just let rumours be rumours? It just clogs up the place.
The answer to Roger Norway - 3/16/2010 12:02:37
PM [who asked about
the reports of Bruford's involvement in the
Anderson/Wakeman/Rabin project] is therefore – I have
no interest. These rumour things often get started by a ‘slow
news’ day over at the magazines and blogs.
Jon
Anderson & Peter Banks
A few years back, Jon Anderson and Peter Banks began working
together remotely. The collaboration was soon abandoned, but
contact was re-established in 2011. In an Aug
2011 interview, Anderson said: "I was actually talking to
Peter Banks just a couple of days ago. He's been pretty sick, and
I gave him a call, and he's gonna send me some guitar music to
sing to." However, it is unclear how likely this will ever come to
fruition.
Levin Torn White
Now out is a new collaborative instrumental album by Levin Torn White,
a trio of Tony Levin (bass,
Stick), Alan White (drums,
percussion) and David
Torn (worked with Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio,
Jeff Beck, David Bowie, John Legend; guitar,
textural events). (Levin previously played with Torn with
Bill Bruford.) The project was recorded over the preceding
year in Seattle, WA, Woodstock, NY and Plymouth, New
Zealand. The 14-track album, simply called Levin - Torn - White
(Lazy Bones), was
produced by Levin and Scott Schorr, and mixed by Tony
Lash; it was mastered in July. Torn, on The Gear Page
forum, described it as:
this was a real
"project"-project,
w/deep involvement, concept & direction from the
producer.....
scott schorr, who, fwiw, is a lovely &
hyper-enthusiastic dude.
also, the mixer --- tony lash --- was very positively
involved.
Schorr described how the project came about on
Yesfans.com:
[It] all started
when I produced Tony Levin's solo CD, "Stick Man."
Tony & I hit it off so well that we were looking
for something else to work on. Alan has always been
one of my fav. drummers and Yes my all time fav. band.
I mentioned it to Tony & he dug Alan so he was way
into it. Tony then recommended David Torn [...] What a
crazy trio that would make!! So, that's the story. It
was really cool to watch how these 3 powerhouses came
together & really gelled. I can tell you that each
guy pushed themselves to the limit. I was hoping for a
hard core sound w. melody as well. I think they pulled
it off.
Buy from Amazon (US):
He later had this to say:
it all started w. Alan in the
studio. I just said, "rip it up, Alan. The more hardcore the
better. Whatever you feel." Then we ran a click track through
his headphones & began recording him just jamming. We'd stop
then give him another tempo & he'd be off and running. In
between takes, he'd just be messing around; off beats &
fills galore (no click) & I would tell the engineer to start
recording. Alan had no idea he was being recorded during these
"breaks". Most of these free jams made the record. His timing
was impeccable & he was so locked in the entire time. [...]
after drumming, he sat at the piano & blew everyone's mind.
Awesome pianist & he actually wrote a very cool piano piece
that didn't make the record.
And:
I've been a life long fan of
classic Yes & Crimson & I just asked myself, "what kind
of sound would I personally like to hear as a fan." You make
that guess & then hope you're right. Also, isn't FREEDOM FOR
THE MUSICIAN (in the recording studio or live) one of the most
important aspects? It seems that when you have players of this
caliber, you let them GO OFF, without any restrictions. What you
hear is what Alan, Tony & David came up with. My main
guidance to them & I hope it wasn't restrictive: Hard Core
& Progressive!!
I've known Alan and admired him
for some time, but never got to do a project with him. (Not
counting the "YES" album where we both played with different
incarnations of the group, but not together!)
David is an old friend and co-conspirator [...]
When I realized from Alan's ideas, and my reactions, how radical
the direction was for this music, David seemed not only the best
choice, but pretty much the ONLY choice for guitar!
He went on to describe how the album was made:
It's a category I don't know
quite how to describe. Improvisational, to be sure, but with
each player improvising separately to what the others had done,
and then re-assembling and then re-improvising.
I came up with some really
different drum patterns and timings. Some of it was especially
for this, but some of them were things I have been working on
for years. Tony and Torn [...] then came up with their own ideas
[...] Toward the end, it was more Tony and Torn who
collaborated, since I was on tour with Yes. I was on the
telephone quite a bit, talking to them. Some of those things
were inspired from me as the source. It might change direction
slightly, become something different.
He went on:
When we were first getting into
it, we were all just trying to find our own way. [...] I think
all of these ideas have been doing through the three of us for a
lot of years, and those things just naturally come out when
you’re inspired by the people you are playing with. It was
mostly improvised but, at the same time, it still sounds really
articulated. There are spaces within all of that stuff to
breathe.
In an Oct
2011 interview, White describes the project starting with
him, Levin and Schorr, but then they considered a number of
guitarists, before Levin and Schorr proposed Torn.
You can order the
album through Levin's website. Tracks: "No Warning Lights",
"Ultra Mullett", "White Noise", "The Hood Fell", "Monkey Mind",
"Cheese It, the Corpse" (full streaming
audio available here), "Convergence", "Pillowfull of Dark",
"The Eggman Cometh", "Sleeping Horse", "Prom Night of the
Centipedes", "Crunch Time", "Brain Tattoo", "Lights Out". Schorr,
on
Yesfans.com, described White's work for the album as "more
in the style of Classic Yes (Relayer, Tales, Going for the One.)"
There is a preview
video on YouTube and various
samples on SoundCloud and Facebook. Details
in Yescography. The album has been as high as #68
at Amazon.com (#48 in Rock).
Asked about the possibility of live work, Torn said: "we've been
talking about it, but a few periods-of-time already haven't
worked-out, so..... dunno." Levin, in the aforementioned
interview, said, "We're indeed talking about that… too early to
know if it can come together. Alan busy touring with Yes -- I have
Fall and Winter commitments with Stick Men sharing a bill with
Adrian Belew. So … we'll see." While in White's Nov 2011
interview, he said: "We've talked on email about doing some shows,
maybe next year [2012] sometime. I think everybody still has that
in the back of their minds. But I told Tony we would have to
rehearse at least a month to recreate that stuff!"
Sonic
Reality progressive rock project Sonic Elements (Facebook; SoundCloud) is a group
of progressive/classic rock projects led by Dave Kerzner
(Lo-Fi Resistance, working with Billy Sherwood, Jon Anderson,
Steven Wilson, Simon Collins, ex-Giraffe),
founder of the music software development company Sonic Reality. Kerzner
is the main producer and keyboardist of a number of "virtual
bands" involving several guests—including Billy Sherwood, Francis
Dunnery (ex-It Bites, ex-The Syn, worked
with ABWH), John Payne (ex-Asia,
Asia Featuring John Payne, GPS), Nick
D'Virgilio (Mystery, ex-Spock's
Beard, Big Big Train, ex-Genesis, ex-Tears for
Fears, worked with Chris Squire), Erik Norlander
(Asia Featuring John Payne), Mike Keneally
(ex-Frank Zappa, ex-Stanley Snail, worked with Robert Fripp),
Jason Scheff (Chicago),
Nad Sylvan (Agents of Mercy, Unifaun), Roger
Manning (Jellyfish; vocals, keys), Dorie Jackson
(works with Dunnery, ex-The Syn) and others—that are
recording various covers (including of Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd,
Genesis and ELP) and original songs for upcoming releases, but
where some of the instrumental tracks are also available through
Sonic Reality's sample libraries. In Dec 2011, Kerzner described
to ProgressiveEars.com
the plan for 2012 as:
Sonic Elements Fantasy Interactive
Dark Side of the Moon w/ Alan Parsons
Sonic Elements XYZ Fantasy Band Tribute to Rush featuring Neil
Peart Drums
Sonic Elements Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Fantasy Soundtrack
Tribute to Genesis
Sonic Elements Trifecta (original music with Billy Sherwood and
drums from Terry Bozzio, Rod Morgenstein, Neil Peart...)
Sonic Elements TBA fantasy progressive rock project featuring...
... all of which involve Sherwood. The tribute to Rush and
'Trifecta' serve to explain the model for these projects. The
original track "Trifecta", previewed
here, features newly composed material performed by Sherwood
(bass, guitars) and Kerzner (keys) to an existing drum track for
Rush's "Tom Sawyer" that was recently recorded by Neil Peart for
his Vol. 2 The Grooves
sample library at Sonic Reality with producer Nick Raskulinecz
(worked with Rush), while the Rush tribute consists of
covers of Rush songs, again using Peart's drum tracks. However, on
7 Feb, Kerzner said on Facebook: "So that no one has to wait too
long for these wonderful projects to make their way to full album
releases... a decision has been made [...] to release a variety of
singles and EPs spanning originals and covers." Full-length albums
will follow. A 5-song EP, XYZ—A Tribute to Rush, produced by Kerzner, is now due
21 Apr on download and as limited edition CD from esoundz. Pre-orders will be
available from early Apr and will include a bonus, downloadable
6th track. Tracks:
"Tom Sawyer", with John
Wesley (Porcupine Tree, ex-Fish; vocals,
guitar), Sherwood (bass) and Kerzner (keys); sample
here
"Red Barchetta", with Rik Emmett (Triumph; guitars,
vocals), Matt Dorsey (working with Simon
Collins; bass),
Kerzner (keys), Wesley
(additional guitars), Randy McStine (Lo-Fi Resistance; additional guitars); sample
here
"YYZ", with Sherwood (bass, guitars), Alastair Greene (Alan Parsons Live Project; guitars), Kerzner
(keys); sample
here
"Limelight", with Sherwood (bass), Wesley (guitars), Kerzner
(keys), McStine (vocals); sample
here
"Trifecta" [Sherwood/Kerzner], with Sherwood (bass, guitars),
Kerzner (keys)
pre-order only bonus
track: "Times Gone" [Sherwood/Kerzner], with Sherwood (bass,
guitars), Kerzner (keys); also composed around the existing
Peart drum track for "Tom Sawyer"; sample here
Engineered and mixed by Kerzner and Ryan Haft except
Peart's drum performance recorded by Nick Raskulinecz,
Emmett's performance recorded by Mike Shotton, and Wesley,
Sherwood, Dorsey and McStine recorded remotely.
In Apr 2012, Kerzner explained that there:
will at least be another
EP of different material (the "keyboard era" stuff) and then
eventually a full album and that will have different
versions of some of these songs on it as well.
Plus there's going to interactive versions of the songs
similar to Jammit except they can work inside products like
AmpliTube where you can play guitar through modeled amps and
pedals or inside Garageband and play anything you want.
That's coming along with Neil Peart's isolated drum tracks.
But these interactive versions are more for musicians to
interact with.
We're also thinking about putting XYZ out on limited edition
vinyl. Just 300 of them.
Next (again on download and limited edition CD; due
spring 2012) is It—A Tribute
to Genesis & Peter Gabriel, with Kerzner, Francis
Dunnery (vocals), Nick D'Virgilio and Mark Hornsby
(worked with D'Virgilio), plus samples of Tony
Banks' keyboard playing. This will be 4 or 5 tracks from the
forthcoming Lamb Lies Down
on Broadway Soundtrack Tribute album, plus a 'bonus
track' of a Peter Gabriel cover, "Rhythm of the Night", with
Dunnery (vocals), using Sonic Reality's Jerry Marotta drum
library. Either the EP or eventual album (I'm unclear) will also feature Sherwood, McStine and Steve Rothery
(Marillion).
In Dec 2012, Kerzner discussed on Facebook a piece
with Sherwood (guitars, bass, vocals) and himself (Keys) using
Peart's "Tom Sawyer" drums entitled "Times
Gone". It's unclear whether this is a different piece to
"Trifecta" or just a variant name. Seemingly referring to the 'Trifecta' album
project, in Jan 2012, Kerzner said on Facebook: "Among the
various music releases you can expect this year from Sonic
Elements are some original tunes, many of which have been done
with ex-Yes-man Billy Sherwood along with SR sampled grooves of
great drummers such as Rod Morgenstein of the Dixie Dregs."
There is anaccompanying
clip to a piece entitled "Razors Edge" with Sherwood and
samples from Morgenstein. Then there's "Racing Through Time" (sample),
another original piece by Sherwood, this time using a sample
library from Alan Parsons.
At various times, Kerzner or others have described further Rush
covers:
"Freewill",
with Sherwood (bass), Dunnery (lead guitar), Alastair Greene (Alan
Parsons Live Project; rhythm guitar)
"Time Stands Still", with Sherwood (bass)
"Spirit
of Radio", with Sherwood (bass), Kerzner (keys), Keneally
(guitars), D'Virgilio (vocals)
"Subdivisions", with Kerzner, Payne (vocals), Norlander
"Mission"
with Kerzner (keys), Steven Robinson (guitar), Valerie Spinner
(bass) and John Beagley (vocals)
"Between
the Wheels" with Kerzner (keys) and Matt Dorsey
(Simon Collins)
"One Little Victory" with members of Queensryche
"Losing It"
"Digital Man", with Sherwood (vocals, guitar, bass), Kerzner
(keys), Fernando
Perdomo (Dreaming in Stereo, worked with Mika; guitars)
Dunnery is also singing on some of the Rush songs.
Various further progressive rock covers have been described. In
Aug 2011, Kerzner described Sherwood and "several other ex-members
of Yes" yet to be specified as working on some Yes covers.
Sherwood (bass, vocals) and Kerzner (vocals) then described a
cover of "The Fish" (sample),
using existing
drum samples from Bill Bruford and also some other samples
from D'Virgilio. There's a teaser
sample here. Kerzner described in Oct 2011 working
on a Yes medley with Sherwood, possibly including "Starship
Trooper: Würm". Next came a sample from "Changes"
with Sherwood (bass, guitars, drums, vocals) and Kerzner (keys,
vocals). Then in Mar 2012,
Kerzner referred to a cover of "Yours is No Disgrace" with
Sherwood (bass, drums), Tony Kaye
(keys) and Johnny Bruhns (ex-CIRCA:,
ex-Yoso, ex-Yes tribute band Roundabout;
guitar); Kerzner may
also play keys on the piece.
Kerzner's also described doing 3 tracks for the Alan Parsons
project with Sherwood. An ELP cover with Keith Emerson (ex-ELP;
keys) and Payne (vocals) is planned.
In 2005, Kerzner (keys) led a live
performance of "Long
Distance Runaround", with an instrumental intro taken from
Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on
Broadway, with Jon Anderson (vocals), D'Virgilio (drums),
Hornsby (bass) and Stan Cotey (ex-Giraffe; guitar),
available
on Sonic Elements' SoundCloud. Kerzner also said on Facebook
in March 2012:
I
also WROTE a song with Jon Anderson that's absolutely beautiful.
It's not finished yet but he sang a rough and it's really cool.
Stylistically between old Yes, Vangelis and something
futuristic/film soundtrack-like. Not sure if that will end up on
his albums or one of ours but at some point we'll be able to
share something!
Nektar's Spoonful of Time
Progressive rock band Nektar's
next release is to be a covers album entitled Spoonful of Time (Cleopatra Records), performed by
Roye Albrighton (vocals, guitars), Ron Howden (drums, percussion,
except on tracks 5-6) and, on some pieces, Klaus Henatsch (keys).
The album also features multiple guest musicians, including Steve Howe, Geoff Downes
and Rick Wakeman. Tracks:
"Riders on the Storm" (The Doors) – with Billy Sheehan (Mr.
Big, Niacin; bass),
Rod Argent (The
Zombies, Argent; keys)
"Dream Weaver" (Gary Wright) – with Jerry Goodman (ex-Mahavishnu
Orchestra, ex-The Flock, worked with Dream Theater, Billy Sherwood; violin)
"Fly Like an Eagle" (Steve Miller) – with Geoff Downes, Joel Vandroogenbroeck (Brainticket; flute,
keys)
"For the Love of Money" (The O'Jays) – with Ian Paice (Deep Purple; drums);
John Wetton (Asia, ex-King Crimson, worked with
Billy Sherwood; bass) was initially reported, but is
absent from the details currently available
"Blinded by the Light" (Bruce Springsteen) – with Joakim
Svalberg (Opeth;
keys), Ginger
Baker (ex-Cream; drums)
"Sirius" (Alan Parsons Project) – with Michael Pinnella (Symphony X; keys)
"2000 Light Years from Home" (The Rolling Stones) – with
Henatsch, Simon
House (ex-Hawkwind, ex-David Bowie, worked with
Japan; violin)
"I'm Not in Love" (10cc) – with Rick
Wakeman (keys), Vandroogenbroeck (flute, sitar)
"Out of the Blue" (Roxy Music) – with Henatsch, House (violin)
"Old Man" (Neil Young) – with David Cross (ex-King
Crimson;
violin)
"Spirit of the Radio" (Rush) – with Mark Kelly (Marillion; keys), replacing an earlier plan to haveKeith Emerson
(ex-ELP)
"Can't Find My Way Back Home" (Blind Faith) – with Steve Howe (guitar), Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion,
ex-Dream Theater, ex-Billy Idol; keys), Mel Collins (Jakszyk,
Fripp and Collins, ex-King Crimson, ex-Camel, ex-Caravan,
worked with Chris Squire; flute, sax)
The initial report also described a cover of Toto's "Africa" with
Patrick Moraz (keys) and
Vandroogenbroeck (flute, sitar), but this is absent from the final track list.
William
Shatner's Seeking Major Tom Steve Howe and Patrick
Moraz both appear, albeit separately, on the space-themed
concept album of covers entitled Seeking
Major Tom (after the character in David Bowie's song
"Space Oddity") by actor William
Shatner (Star Trek,
worked with Ben Folds). The 2CD album, on Cleopatra Records, is now out. A
3LP vinyl box set with the same track list is also available. The
album was produced by Adam Hamilton.
Disc one:
"Major Tom (Coming Home)" [originally by Peter
Shilling] (5:17) – Nick Valensi (The Strokes; guitar),
Zakk Wylde
(Black Label
Society, ex-Ozzy Osbourne), Mike Inez (Alice
in Chains; bass)
"Space Oddity" [David Bowie] (4:54) – Ritchie
Blackmore (ex-Deep Purple, Blackmore's Night; guitar),
Candice Night
(Blackmore's Night), Alan Parsons (keys)
"Planet Earth" [Duran Duran] (4:50) – Steve Howe
(guitar)
Buy
from Amazon (UK):
Buy
from Amazon (US):
Leon Alvarado A forthcoming project by Leon
Alvarado features guest appearances by both Billy Sherwood
and Rick Wakeman. Sherwood played guitar on "The Seeker", a free download-only
instrumental track. A
second track, now
previewed on SoundCloud, features Sherwood (guitars),
Wakeman (mini-Moog) and Alvarado (everything else).
Alvarado previously released an EP including a piece using an
existing drum track by Bill Bruford.
1975/6
solo albums 4 of the solo albums put out by
the band members in 1975/6—Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow, Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water, Steve Howe's Beginnings and Alan White's Ramshackled—plus two further solo albums—Steve
Howe's The Steve Howe Album
(1979) and Jon Anderson's Song of Seven (1980)—have all been re-released as remastered SHM
format CDs in Japan. There is also a box set of all 6. On to Asia news Return to Where are they now? front page Return to alt.music.yesFAQ
