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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
okay, so i gave this a first listen. i can hear some of what you say but i also see & hear some horrible things.
first, truly bruford is fantastic, but he's on one of those weird plastic drumsets yes? still very good.
then, i think steve howe was great in the guitar (most of the time)
problems: too many. i'll try to be kind.
first, there were some horrible-sounding keyboards. don't know who was guilty because there were 20 fingers playing them. sounded a mess.
second, jon anderson's voice completely shot. shrill. that sort of pitch requires young flesh to sound like a full voice and not a whistle. and it was hard to unsee him dancing around on stage and doing interpretive dance to his lyrics. really ouch.
third-- i couldn't hear the bass! not in the great place that it always had. it was buried. what is yes without chris squire's bass leading.
fourth-- the guitar noodler in black. who is he? he plays a solo after steve howe. yes, he moves his fingers fast and al but that music is completely pedestrian. this was not what yes was about. it's more like hair bands.
fifth- howe's solo not quite on this one. he played great otherwise but his solo.. it was like he was trying to jump a fence but had to climb it instead (sorry for the metaphors)
so what i end up getting is this whole mess where i agree there are some great parts, but the whole is LESS than the sum of the parts.
and this is what hurts me about listening to old bands trying to recapture the past--all kinds of old bands, not just this one. the past can't be recaptured. the time is gone and instead of letting it go they keep going after and looking more desperate. what was done then was done then. and it should be left to stand.
so it was great to hear bruford with his plastic drums but it made me sad to watch this video. not trying to be cynical or anything! it was just... i don't know. it was like watching modewrong in Howeīs solos.rn egyptians trying to build the pyramids with legos. or something.
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I understand you in some parts and some parts not.
First, Keyboard players are Rick Wakeman and Tony Kaye. I think the most quilty is Wakeman, because according to Yes-book I read some time ago Tony Kaye really didnīt play that time. He had lost his skills. I agree about that I rather also heard Hammond than those modern keyboards. But they donīt sound me as bad as you. Rick Wakeman has always wanted to do everything with the most modern keyboards. I think he was his best with Hammond, moog, mellotron etc.
Second, I think Jon Anderson had problems with his voice in that concert. He had sung lot better some other, newer lives. I think you havenīt seen Yes live before, because I think thatīs the way he acts always in live. Just because heīs Jon Anderson with his spiritual new age life. In the seventies he got strong spiritual awakening, I think it was the time when they made Topographic. So in the concerts in that time he also wanted to tell the audience about his wakening and others were little embarrassed. Also he would have wanted to make Topographic in the country and the whole band would have slept outside. Others donīt want that, so manager made a little joke and bring to the studio cardboard cows and haystacks. There are lots of Spinal Tap in Yes, I think itīs also just great!
Third, I hear the bass, so maybe itīs about your equipments? Of course itīs not as top as for example studio version.
Fourth, the other guitarist is Trevor Rabin, the one who came into Yes in 90125. The one who has composed Owner of the Lonely Heart. I agree with you that his solo is more the show of skills. And also little bit long.
Fifth, I donīt hear anything wrong in Howeīs solos.
The reason why I think this is the best version is those strong drums. All the versions I have heard are quite great. Some reason I have never liked Yessongs version a lot, I think the main reason is Whiteīs drumplaying. I think the studio version is the best, just for that reason there are those great hammonds.
I understand your opinion about old bands, but I think Yes is not one of those. Yeah, they play mostly the old songs, but I think they play them great way. Yes music is timeless, that Union live version doesnīt sound me something from the past that has already gone. They always play some songs from their recent albums, but I think people want to hear those old classics. So do I, if I someday will see them.