Yes news
YesWorld On tour
Chris Squire,
Steve Howe, Alan White, Oliver
Wakeman (keys) and Benoît
David
(vocals) are on tour as Yes. In
an interview 15 Oct 2009 with Planet Rock radio (UK), Squire said,
"This is now Yes." (The band had been in communication with Jon
Anderson about his possible return in 2010, but that now appears
unlikely.) After
dates in 2008 and one Feb 2009 show, the new line-up played a US
leg
with Asia this summer, and then play Europe
Oct-Dec.
On 2008
dates, the new line-up were perhaps ambiguous about whether they were
or were not
actually Yes, being billed
as "Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes"; most
media
reports just
described them as Yes anyway.
The summer tour's
press release
just describes them as Yes. When 2008 dates were announced, Squire
explained, "This isn't an
attempt to replace Jon Anderson [...] that would be
impossible. With Benoit, we are bringing in a talented singer so that
we can go out and honor the music of YES for the fans". In an Oct
2008
article, Squire described Anderson as "absolutely" still a
member of the band and said "at the last count I believe we have
his blessings to go out and do this." Yet, at their third show on the
2008 tour, Squire also said, "This is our first show of the tour in the
States. You have
a new president and we have two new members of Yes." He and Howe said
similar
things at later dates in 2008/9. Then
again, in a Jul
2009
interview, Squire referred to David and O. Wakeman as
"standing in" for Anderson and R. Wakeman respectively. See
discussion below for more on this and Anderson's situation. Until
the 2009 summer leg, YesWorld displayed the
Yes
members as
Anderson, Howe, Squire and White, although it is unclear what this
meant in practice. However, at
the beginning of Jul,
the front page was changed to reflect the touring line-up, with
Anderson listed as an alumnus. Yes have plans for a new studio
album (see
below) and more touring in 2010, although whether this will be with
or without Anderson is unclear.
The band are playing 30
European
dates
through
to
12
Decwith a 2 hour 15 minutes
set. There are or have been 7 UK dates, 7 German dates,
plus dates in
the Czech Rep., Poland, Slovakia,
Italy,
Belgium, France, the
Netherlands,
Rep. of Ireland, Denmark,
Norway and Sweden. I'll be at the
London
show, so say hi!Attendance at their second night,
in Poland, was reportedly somewhat above 2,000. In his NftE
interview, Howe acknowledges that "Ideas have come up about Japan", but
says he does not think the band
will fit in anything more than North America and Europe this year. A US tour in 2010 is planned.
The band's summer leg had support from Asia with Howe playing both sets. There were 25 US dates in Jun-Aug.
Set list below.
Howe
had
prior commitments to Asia in 2009; he describes the joint tour
in
a Jan 2009 interview
for Notes from the Edge as being in part to satisfy those
prior
commitments and while continuing with Yes. Asia played for about 1
hr and Yes for about 1 hr 40 mins to 1 hr 50 mins.
The
opening night had an audience of ~2300. According to
Billboard, the 27 Jun Las
Vegas
show grossed $57,300 from
1,647 tickets sold, while the 2
Jul San Francisco show grossed $90,652 from 1,966 tickets sold;
the 3 Jul show grossed $148,950
from 2,182 tickets sold; the 7 Jul show grossed $164,918 from 3073
tickets sold; the 9
Jul Phoenix show grossed $71,713 from
1,527 tickets sold; the 12 Jul
show grossed $104,543 from 1,608 tickets sold; the 20 Jul
Detroit show grossed $219,304 from
10,722 tickets sold; the 28 Jul Philadelphia show sold out, grossing
$176,415 from 2,988 tickets; and the
31 Jul Westbury show very nearly
sold out, grossing $167,963 from a ~2,800 audience. Another show
grossed $44,305 from 652 tickets, but
I do not know which date that was.
The 15 Jul Fort Worth (~2,000) and 25 Jul Cohassett (2,300) shows sold
out. The 16 Jun show had an audience of
~800; the 21 Jul show had an audience of ~4000.
A joint tour for summer 2009 by Yes, Asia and
ELP was first rumoured first in Nov 2008.
After shows in early Dec, Squire was reported to have said
that plans were being ironed out for a tour with ELP. ELP were
not involved with the summer tour, but Carl Palmer
(ex-ELP, Asia) said (Mar 2009) that there is
"talk of an ELP reunion in the fall", so a three-way link-up appeared
to remain a possibility at some point.
However, in May 2009, ELP's Keith
Emerson
announced that he is withdrawing from touring for the time
being, saying that "due to past right hand injuries[,] the resulting
nerve damage and dystonic factor has made it unable for me to play the
keyboards to the high standard I have always set myself". He also
confirmed that there had been plans for an ELP tour for the end of
2009. Wetton in Jun 2009, on his forum,
described
the
idea,
saying
"the
festival
featuring
Yes,Asia
and
ELP
[...]
would
have
feasibly
been
very very difficult but possible,except
for what has happened to KE and JA in the recent past." More recently,
in a Sep
2009
article, Palmer says there are now plans for ELP to reform in
2010. (Talking about
Asia in Classic
Rock Presents... Prog issue 1, Palmer said: "We're even looking
at an idea of
mine called Asia: Family and Friends for next year." However, this
refers to another idea
unconnected to Yes or ELP; see under Asia for
details.) On Rockline,
Palmer described Asia and Yes touring together as "a blueprint for the
future".
The first leg of the In the
Present tour saw 31 North
American dates in autumn/winter 2008. Roger
Dean
did stage design using
"stretch fabric on a frame" as he explains in an interview for Notes for the Edge, and artwork
for
the tour; he attended at least the first 2 shows. Paul Silveira
(worked with Yes, Asia, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Anderson
& Wakeman, The Syn) returned as tour
manager, while David Wright was
stage manager. I think Will Alexander (worked for Keith
Emerson) was keyboard tech again. Lighting by Steve Baird.
Preliminary
rehearsals started in Los Angeles in Sep 2008, with a subsequent move
to Canada and the
full band together from mid-Oct. A second
leg of 17 dates was announced for 5
Feb-3
Mar 2009 covering
Mexico, US and Canada, but was cancelled after
one show
(set list
below). This was due to Squire suffering an aneurysm in his leg
and requiring immediate surgery. Details
under Squire.
The 9 Oct 2008 article
continues: "Squire says the shows on the upcoming trek will all be
recorded and possibly offered for sale or download." In a Feb 2009 article,
White
floats
the
possibility
of
doing
a
DVD.
These
comments
were
both
before
the
second
leg
was largely cancelled.
In 2007, Yes moved to Trudy
Green at HK
Management (manage
Aerosmith, Mick Jagger, Def Leppard, worked with
Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson) in California. Green is also
Anderson's manager. As I understand
it, the Yes name
is
currently co-owned by Anderson/Squire/Howe/Wakeman/White. In 2008,
Squire's website stated that
"the
[Yes] name is co-owned by Chris, Alan White and Jon
Anderson". However, Rick
Wakeman e-mailed me in Oct 2008 to correct that, explaining he too
remains a part owner of the name, and so does Howe as far as he knows.
Squire's site went on to say that, "Yes,
LLC
is
co-owned by Chris, Alan and Steve Howe."
(Yes,
LLC
is
the
business
entity.)
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...
Set
list The typical European set is: [SPOILERS—highlight
to
reveal] "Siberian
Khatru",
"I've
Seen
All
Good
People", "Tempus Fugit",
"Onward",
"Astral
Traveler"
(including drum solo),
"And You and I", intermission, "Yours is No Disgrace", Howe
solo, "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Machine
Messiah", "South Side of the Sky", "Heart of the Sunrise", encore:
"Roundabout". On the first date of the European leg,
"Starship Trooper" was played
as a second encore.
Howe varies his solo
from night to night.
Asia
opened proceedings on the summer tour; their set was intro
music, "Wildest Dreams",
"Only Time will
Tell", "An Extraordinary Life", "Video Killed the Radio Star" (originally by The Buggles), "In the Court of the Crimson King" (King
Crimson), "The Smile has Left Your Eyes" (semi-acoustic,
with Palmer on tambourine), "Don't Cry" (semi-acoustic), "Fanfare
for the Common Man" (ELP's
arrangement, with Palmer drum solo), "Sole Survivor", "Heat of
the Moment" (Downes on keytar); the
Yes set was: "Firebird
Suite"
(intro
music), "Siberian Khatru", "I've Seen All Good People", "Tempus Fugit"
(with
Wakeman on Vocoder),
"Astral Traveler"
(with White drum
solo), "And You and
I", Howe solo (two pieces usually), "Owner
of a Lonely Heart",
"Machine
Messiah",
"Roundabout", "Heart of the
Sunrise", encore: "Starship Trooper"
(on some of the last shows of the tour, they just played the
"Würm" section).
YesWorld
has
reviews of the tour. Howe
played "Clap" on the opening
and some further nights, but is mostly
varying
his solo each night. Squire said in a Jul 2009 interview
that, "We went back and looked at
songs like 'Heart Of The
Sunrise' — songs that we have been playing over the years
— and
changed the arrangements around a bit, to make them sound new."
At
the 30 Jun show in Washington state, the Seattle Seahawk's Blue Thunder
Drum Corp came on stage during White's
solo in "Astral Traveller" and
played
a percussion piece with him, before finishing "Astral
Traveller" with the band. The 23 Jul Maryland outdoor
show was
hit by adverse weather conditions: Asia played a full set, but Yes got
halfway through "Siberian
Khatru" before having to withdraw. They returned later to
perform "I've Seen All Good
People" (with O. Wakeman on tambourine instead of keys
because
of a technical problem) and then half of "Roundabout"
before
again
having
to
abandon.
The
26
Jul
show
was
also
affected
by
the
weather:
Asia
again played a full set, but Yes only got two songs into their set
(as far as "I've Seen All Good
People") before leaving the stage. They returned to play
just "Tempus
Fugit", "Astral Traveller"
and "Roundabout". At 3 shows from 28-31 Jul, Ian
McDonald (ex-King
Crimson, ex-Foreigner, 21st Century Schizoid Band) sang and
played flute with Asia on "In
the Court of the Crimson King".
Talking more generally, Howe
in a Jan 2009 interview
for
Notes
from the Edge said, "I
think Yes could or should
have always been able to play any kind of era, and most of us professed
that we did, but of course we didn't." He goes on to say that there was
"good
music when I wasn't in the band", describing Time and a Word as "sensational" and
how "everybody loved 90125".
He continues: "I think it's Yes that's the most important thing—not the
individuals". Asked specifically about playing more YesWest songs, he
continues:
there’s one or two other
songs.
[...] if we give "Owner"
a break and played "Changes"
or something else that was interesting, I’m not against it, but I think
right now, "Owner" is
the kind of predictable ‘80s song, so we are predictable in that area,
and I’m ok with that. I think as we grow in this new way, things like "Astral
Traveler" and other
songs really found their place, so hopefully there is room for that
[...] We could do more from some of the eras that I’m not involved in
as much [...] and there’s got to be a time when we do "To Be Over"
[...] perhaps partly what we’re saying here is it is easy with Benoit
and Oliver. They’re much more open to play music from any era [...]
We did try "A Venture"; [it] just didn’t really work, so it’s not a
given that every time we try something it works [...] but I’m sure
that’s what Yes is supposed to be doing is bringing tunes back into
play that have rather missed appearances.
Later in the interview, Howe
indicates that he will stick
with his approach to varying his
solo spots at each show, and that he will add "Part & Parcel" (from
Motif
Volume
1)
to the
rota.
The set list on the only date of
the second leg (5 Feb, Mexico City) was: "Firebird
Suite"
(intro
music),
"Siberian
Khatru",
"I've
Seen
All
Good
People",
"Tempus
Fugit"
(with
Wakeman on Vocoder),
"Onward", "Astral Traveler" (including drum solo),
"Close to the Edge", Howe
solo ("Winter/In the Course of the Day"), "And You and I" (starting with the "Apocalypse"
section, but then going into the usual acoustic intro), "Long Distance Runaround/the
fish", "Aliens
are Only Us from the Future" (new song by Squire—see
details below, with Squire
on bass and
lead
vocals, Wakeman on keys, David on backing vocals and White on drum kit
just at the end),
"Machine
Messiah" (with David
on acoustic
guitar), "Starship
Trooper"; encore: "Owner
of a Lonely Heart",
"Roundabout". This was the usual set on the latter
section of the first leg too. Earlier on the first leg, the typical set
was: "Firebird
Suite"
(intro
music),
"Siberian
Khatru",
"I've
Seen
All
Good
People",
"Tempus
Fugit",
"Onward",
"Astral Traveler",
"Close to the Edge", intermission,
"Parallels",
"And
You
and
I", Howe
solo spot,
"Long Distance Runaround/the fish", "Aliens
are Only Us from the Future",
"Machine
Messiah", "Soon"
(with David on acoustic guitar),
"Starship
Trooper", encore: "Owner of a Lonely Heart",
"Roundabout". David also plays some percussion
live. Howe's
solo
spot
was
initially
"Mood
for
a
Day"
and
"Clap",
but varied since with different pieces at every show (details at Forgotten
Yesterdays). The
set was about 2.5
hours long earlier in the tour, but became slightly shorter."South
Side
of
the
Sky"
was
in
the
"Starship
Trooper"
slot at the first two shows, while "Heart
of
the
Sunrise"
was
played
before
"Tempus
Fugit" at
the first 6 shows, but then dropped. There have been a couple
of further minor
changes at individual shows—again
see Forgotten
Yesterdays for details. In particular, a few shows were
notably shorter for various reasons.
A few other pieces were mentioned as possibles for the tour, but have
not been played (at least, yet). In an interview with
Oliver for Notes for the Edge,
Mike
Tiano
adds
that
White
said
that
"A
Venture"
was a candidate for the
tour. Oliver also discussed the possibility
that he will have a solo spot
or that he might do something from 3 Ages of Magick
with Howe, but said it depends on other set list choices. White says
that "In the Presence of"
was also
considered.
Longer term plans
The current line-up are touring
through to the end of 2009. They then have plans to record a
studio album at the beginning of 2010 (as described
below), followed by more touring. Some reports had Anderson (and
maybe R. Wakeman) returning to the band at some point in 2010, but the
latest
reports suggest this will not happen. In an interview 15 Oct 2009 with Planet
Rock radio (UK), Squire was asked about the change from "Howe, Squire
and White of Yes" to "Yes":
Squire:
The fans seemed to just love both the
new additions [on the In the Present tour]. There were no complaints
at all, from anyone I could see. So, after, y'know, a respectful
amount of time, we thought, obviously, this is who Yes is now, so
this is why it's being called Yes.
Interviewer:
This
line-up
[...]
this
is
now
Yes.
This is
now Yes.
Where
does Jon Anderson fit in, if
anywhere?
Well...
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.
Because
he did do a small scale tour
[...]
Obviously,
that's one level of
stress [laughs] but y'know the way a tour has to be arranged, it's a
lot heavier duty. Y'know, of course, I hope he has a full recovery
and maybe in the future we will do shows again, but probably not
under the guise of a full scale rock and roll tour.
In another radio
interview that month, Squire talked about the frequent line-up
changes in Yes and saying, "It's quite normal that at the moment we're
touring with two new guys." The interview continues:
Interviewer: [In 2008] There was various
things knocking around the
press. There was the whole Internet scenario with Jon allegedly
claiming he wasn't happy about it, and Benoit coming in from a, y'know,
Yes tribute band. And there was loads of, sort of adverse publicity for
a time.
Squire: Yeah, there was.
But that's all kind of died now.
Yes. 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.
[...] [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.
Asked about fan reaction to their
US
touring with the new line-up, Squire (somewhat implausibly) said,
"There have been no complaints as far as I can see [...] everyone seems
to be really loving the addition of the new guys."
Squire and Howe have been
talking about continuing with the
current line-up. In a 20 Sep interview on BBC
Radio 2's Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the 70s,
Squire
says
he
was
at
Howe's
home
a
few
days
before
discussing
recording
a
new
album
in 2010 with
David and O. Wakeman.
Asked about Anderson's absense, Squire said:
For a period of time it's been
difficult for Jon to... commit to doing... y'know, a large-scale tour
like one has to when one
takes a whole crew and the entourage on the road. It's got to be for a
period of time. And his health has been a little bit fragile. Although
I hear he's much more recovered than he has been. But, er, during the
course of that uncertainty, we hired in Benoît to do that job and
that's going extremely well.
Various articles have been published across Europe with the band
currently touring there. If
you can help improve any of the translations, please contact me!
Thanks. 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]." He
ends: "The fans want to hear the music live. I heard no-one complain
that Jon Anderson wasn't there on our last tour. And now that we've
been going for 41 years, we may as well continue!" ["Fansen
ønsker uansett å høre musikken live. Jeg
hørte ingen som klaget over at Jon Anderson ikke var der
på vår forrige turné. Og nå som vi har holdt
på i 41 år, kan vi jo like gjerne fortsette!"]
(Thanks to Knut A. Ramsrud for translating.)
In an Oct
2009
article
in Slovak, Squire says that, "In 41 years, Yes has been through many
personnel changes and whenever a new member joins, he brings new energy
too. Changes have always been good for us. We like when our music
sounds different than in the past."
[Original Slovak: "Za 41 rokov prešla
Yes
mnohými personálnymi zmenami a vždy, keď príde do
kapely nový člen, prinesie so sebou aj novú energiu. Pre
nás sú zmeny vždy
prospešné. Baví nás, keď naša hudba znie inak ako
v minulosti"]
(Thanks to Vojtech Toman for translating.) And in another Oct 2009 Slovak
interview, Squire is asked whether Anderson might return, and says:
"Jon is no longer in the group. I don't know, depending on his health.
Maybe one day we'll do some things together again. I hope so. We're
still friends." ["Áno, Ion už nie je v skupine. Neviem,
záleží to od jeho zdravia. Možno jedného dňa
urobíme opäť spolu nejaké veci. Dúfam. Sme
stále priatelia. Musí sa zotaviť."]
In another Oct
2009
article, this time 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 an Oct
2009
Polish
article, Howe is
asked about David being a permanent replacement for Anderson. He
replies: "Nobody knows what the future will bring. You don't
have a crystal ball, do you? Neither have I. You have a car and you
have to drive it. Maybe you'll have a Ferrari next week, but you don't
know it yet because you didn't win the lottery. (laughs)" [Original Polish: "Nikt
nie wie, co przyniesie przyszłość. Nie
masz chyba kryształowej kuli? Ja również jej nie posiadam. Masz
taki samochód, jaki masz i musisz nim jeździć. Może za tydzień
będziesz miał ferrari, ale jeszcze o tym nie wiesz, bo jeszcze nie
trafiłeś tej szóstki w totka. (śmiech)"]
(Thanks to justyes on Yesfans.com for translating.)
Asked about Anderson's reaction, Howe replies, "You know what? Can you
call Jon Anderson, if you want to talk to him... I don't know if you're
aware of this, but you're talking to Steve Howe." ["Wiesz co? Może
zadzwonisz do Jona Andersona, jeśli chcesz z nim porozmawiać... Nie
wiem czy zdajesz sobie z tego sprawę, ale rozmawiasz ze Stevem Howem."]
Howe goes on to describe his view of 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.]
A 1
Sep 2009
report by a fan had White, on being asked whether Anderson and R.
Wakeman will return to the band, replying, "Yeah, sometime next year."
In a US radio appearance later that month, White reportedly also hinted
at Anderson's return.
However, in an Oct radio
interview, asked if David is "going to stick
around", White answered "Yeah, yeah." In a Polish
article
in
Oct
2009, White is asked about Anderson's absence given his
improved health. White replies: "I haven't talked with Jon for a quite
a long time, but I know that he feels better than before. I don't think
he would ever like to do a long tour. We're going to meet each other,
this week I presume. We are on good terms. Maybe some day we will do
something with
Jon, but it surely won't be a tour." (Thanks to Cure and others
at Yesfans.com for translation help.) [Original Polish: "Nie
rozmawiałem z Jonem przez jakiś czas, ale wiem, że czuje się lepiej niż
wcześniej. Nie wydaje mi się jednak, żeby chciało mu się jeszcze
wyprawiać w dłuższe trasy. Mamy wkrótce się spotkać, chyba
jeszcze w tym tygodniu. Jesteśmy w dobrych stosunkach. Być może kiedyś
znów zrobimy coś razem z Jonem, ale pewnie nie będzie to trasa
koncertowa."]
One
well-placed rumour
has that a line-up with Anderson/R. Wakeman are not talking about touring in 2010.
Roger Dean in Oct told a fan that
it is unlikely that Anderson or R.
Wakeman will be returning any time soon. Both Anderson (despite Squire's comments
in the above interviews) and R. Wakeman have been
critical of Yes in recent
months.In
the
RWCC
Summer
Newsletter
2009
(out
Sep),
R.
Wakeman
said:
I have
been getting more than a few people asking me what "we" are going to be
performing at the YES concerts in the UK in November and am getting
some startled responses when I tell them that neither Jon nor myself
are anything to do with the current tour and that we are both very
unhappy that they are advertising the tour as YES and not even having
the courtesy or guts to list the line-up, which is nothing short of
deception.
(In fact, much of the tour
promotion
is clear about the line-up, although there are some
adverts that do not mention the current band membership.) An
Oct 2009 interview with R. Wakeman includes the following exchange:
Interviewer:
is it gratifying to have your son stepping in to fill your shoes as the
new keyboard player for Yes?
Wakeman: I got him the job
as it happens. But we don’t discuss it at all because I don’t
have any respect for the current tribute band that is out there.
You can’t have Yes without Jon.
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?
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.
Comments from Anderson in Jun/Jul
were
mixed: see
below.
In the aforementioned Sep 2008 interview,
White said: "We have new management now and they're planning
at least a five-year program for us. Obviously, we're thinking about
the music. Chris, myself and Steve are ready to go. We're all pretty
healthy and ready to get back on the road and do the whole thing
again." 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." There are some
indications that there
might be a break from touring in 2010, with Howe talking about live
dates with his Trio that year and David
saying in an early 2009
interview in Classic Rock Presents... Prog that,
"There'll be a new
[Mystery] album, probably in 2010, when I'm finally off the road with
Yes." (It now appears the Mystery
album may be out this year: see under
David.)
In the aforementioned early 2009 interview, David
says:
"I don't know about my situation but [Oliver Wakeman] certainly has a
future with Yes long term and I know they're going to make great music
together." In an Oct
2009
interview published in
Italian, Oliver is asked what his father says about his position: "He
gave me his blessing, he's happy. But sooner or later, he will return
to Yes, he's not healthy now but I'm sure he'll be back."
[Original Italian: "Mi ha dato la sua benedizione, è contento.
Ma prima o poi anche lui tornerà con gli Yes, ora non è
in buona salute ma son sicuro che tornerà."]
Earlier this year, Yes and Anderson were in communication about the
future. On
12 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. In mid-May, he posted to
Facebook:
I feel
more healthy everyday, and thanks to you
peeps out there, realize YES music needs a voice....I'm ready.....
And:
I
realize that Chris Alan and Steve are
touring as YES now, but I won't be up there singing, '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, I'm sorry that I won't be there singing........keep
the faith, maybe next year......we will see
In a Jun 2009, Polish radio
interview, asked about Yes, Anderson said, "The Yes group is touring
with, er... somebody who looks like me and sings
like me when I was 30. They have a look-a-like, sing-a-like. But I was
very sick last year. And I was only singing two months ago, three
months [...] It's very impossible for me to tour on the big scale, so
that's why I come just for a show here [in Poland]." Asked about a
reunion, Anderson said, "I think next year. 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 to 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. 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, 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 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."
Contemporary quotes from Howe have a different tone again. A Jun
2009
article says:
Though Anderson is currently
healthy
enough to perform solo shows and is still listed as a member on the
band's Web site, Howe doesn't seem in any hurry to boot David out of
the band to give Anderson his spot back.
"That is how we're working it at
the moment," he says, adding: "Nobody knows what the future holds.
There aren't any doors completely shut."
Another Jul
2009
article has Howe saying that Yes will "record
in 2010, and Yes will definitely hit the road again."
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. [...]
Q: Jon's respiratory problems seem to have lingered. What is the
long-term outlook for the band?
A: I'm not a doctor, but from what I know, he may not want to do the
big full-scale touring thing again. But we may be able to do some
isolated shows with him. It really depends how his recovery goes, and
we wish him a full recovery.
In a Jun
2009
article, Squire said of touring with the current line-up this
year: "At the time we were planning this, we were assuming Jon would
still not be back in shape to do anything, so we went ahead with those
plans, and that's what we're doing this year. Next year there may be a
different story, but you know, that's what's going on now." Another Jul 2009 article
says:
After
[...] the last show of the “In The Present Tour” in Europe, later this
fall [note the tour
actually finishes in the winter], the current members of
Yes plan on
heading into the studio to record a new album. Squire says they aren’t
making any firm plans past that point. [...] Squire reveals[,] “I’m
definitely keen on doing a new album, then we’ll see where it goes from
there. Honestly, I hope we can keep doing this for several more years —
at least as long as our bodies hold up.”
As for Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman returning to the fold, Squire
pauses, chuckles, then utters, “The two things I’ve learned about being
a member of Yes are (1), never say never, and (2), anything is
possible.”
New music The current line-up are working on material in order to record
an album in early
2010, after this
year's touring (note that John Wetton has
plans for Feb/Mar 2010 implying Howe will be free of any Asia
commitments then). (It appears there was also discussion
this year around
recording an album with Anderson back in the band in 2010, but this is
now not planned.) In the 15 Oct
2009 interview, Squire described the current
situation:
Interviewer:
What
about
some
recording?
Squire:
Yeah. And that's... We're looking at
doing a new album this year. Well, actually, 2010 because it [2010]
will be hear before we know it. [laughs] We've already started
pulling musical ideas. We're, y'know, hopefully, y'know, not
going to spend too long doing it, but obviously we haven't had an
album out since 2001, so we want to do something that is, obviously,
going to be special.
Any
ideas about who might produce
it?
Well,
no,
not
exactly.
We
haven't
got
that
far
yet!
It's
just
Steve
and
I
met
up
with Oliver and just threw ideas... possible ideas into the hat, what
we could start working on. So that's all that's happened so far, but,
y'know, that's how every album starts.
Another radio
interview that month has the following exchange:
Interviewer: What
are the possibilities of new studio stuff from
Yes?
Squire:
Ah, well, that's a very good point. We, actually... Steve Howe, Oliver
Wakeman and myself just had a get-together to trade material, have a
listen to any ideas that were available for potentially a new Yes album
that we will be recording next year. So that ball is rolling.
An Oct 2009
article
in Norwegian says the band is going straight into the studio after
European touring and Squire again says the a new album will happen
in 2010, saying, "we'll go into the studio to finish the songs I'm
writing for Yes these days". [Original Norwegian: "Da går vi i
studio
for å gjøre sangene jeg skriver for Yes nå"] Asked
what is a good Yes song in 2009, he replies,
"I don't know that myself. I haven't made anything new in a Yes setting
since 2001, so it will be exciting. It will be dependent on the
combination of people in the band, and how we all pull in different
directions". ["Jeg har ikke laget noe nytt i
Yes-sammenheng siden 2001, så det blir spennende. Det blir kombinasjonen av folk i
bandet, og hvor vi alle haler og drar, ler bassistveteranen. Det blir
kombinasjonen av folk i bandet, og hvor vi alle haler og drar"] Squire
also says he "will give the new guys a
chance" on the new album. ["Om den nye Yes-platen sier Squire at han
«vil gi de nye fyrene en sjanse»."]
In an Oct
2009
article in Slovak, Squire again talks of studio plans: "We will
definitely go into the studio, we have a couple of ideas already. But
this is all still at the beginning, so far we've agreed that we will
burn a CD for each other with ideas." [Original Slovak: "Určite
pôjdeme do štúdia, už
máme zopár nápadov. Je to však všetko iba v
zárodku, zatiaľ sme sa dohodli, že si pre seba napálime
cédečka s nápadmi."]
Interviewer: So here's the
million dollar question Who will be behind the microphone? [Per il
nuovo album suoneremo assieme ai nuovi ragazzi della band e a cantare
sarà Benoît David, che lavorerà con noi sul nuovo
materiale.]
Squire:
For
the
new
album,
we'll
be
playing
with
the
new guys in the band
and Benoit David will be singing, he will work with us on the
new material. [Per il nuovo album suoneremo assieme ai nuovi ragazzi
della band e a cantare sarà Benoît David, che
lavorerà con noi sul nuovo materiale.]
So he's not just a replacement for Jon
Anderson... [Allora non è solo un sostituto di Jon Anderson...]
It's
about
a
year
now
that
Benoit
has
been
in
the band, he's doing a
fantastic job and I think it is time to create something new with him.
[È ormai un annetto che Benoît è nella band, sta
facendo un lavoro fantastico e penso che sia giunto il momento di
creare qualcosa di nuovo con lui.]
In a Czech Oct
2009
article, Howe is asked about a new album and whether it will
involve Anderson. Howe confirms plans to record with the current
line-up, but continues, "Of course, nobody knows what the future holds,
and we never say never, but we see that this group can work." He
describes working on new Yes material, but says "it will probably take
a while" and that "Chris's statement [about doing a new album after
touring] was perhaps a little premature". He goes on to say, "I can't
promise, but I imagine that we will be stylistically closer to what we
did in the seventies, none of the current members want to be someone
else, we want to be Yes." Original Czech follows:
Interviewer: Chris Squire mentioned that
he plans a new album after the tour. Will it be with Jon or without
him? What are your plans in this regard? [Chris Squire se
zmínil, že po turné plánuje novou desku. Bude to
album s Jonem nebo bez něj? Jaké máte v tomto ohledu
plány?]
Howe:
We
plan
to
continue
with
this
line-up,
with
this
team. Of course,
nobody knows what the future brings, and we never say "never", but we
can see that this line-up works. Yes, we are starting to work on new
songs for Yes, but it will probably take some time before we take this
further. Maybe we shouldn't have talked about it yet, now everybody is
asking us about it. Chris's announcement was maybe a bit premature. You
know, a band is like a marriage, it works until it breaks, and when you
keep asking yourself why it is not working, then most likely there
really is something wrong. Obviously, I can't speak for Jon, but, for
us, I can say that the so-called classic line-up does not work.
[Máme
plány
pokračovat
dál v tomto složení,
s tímto tvůrčím týmem. Samozřejmě nikdo
neví, co přinese budoucnost, a my nikdy neříkáme
„nikdy,“ ale vidíme, že se v této sestavě dá
pracovat. Ano, začínáme postupně dělat na nových
skladbách pro Yes, bude asi chvíli trvat, než to posuneme
někam dál. Možná jsme o tom neměli zatím mluvit,
teď se nás na to všichni ptají, ale to Chrisovo
prohlášení bylo možná trochu předčasné.
Víte, kapela je něco jako manželství, funguje do
té doby, než fungovat přestane, a když si v duchu pořád
říkáte, proč to nešlape, tak je asi opravdu něco v
nepořádku. Já samozřejmě nemůžu říct, jak to
vidí Jon, ale za nás můžu prohlásit, že v tom,
řekněme, klasickém složení to nefunguje.]
Can you at least tell us something
general about the new album? [Můžete o té desce, kterou
pomaličku připravujete, říct něco aspoň rámcově?]
As
I
said,
more
has
been
said
about
it
than
has actually been done. I
can't promise anything, but my idea is that we will be stylistically
closer to what we were doing in the seventies. None of the current band
members wants us to be different, we want to continue being Yes. [Jak
jsem
už
zmínil,
zatím se toho o ní víc
namluvilo, než se skutečně udělalo. Nemůžu nic slibovat, ale
představuju si, že se budeme stylově blížit spíš tomu, co
jsme dělali v sedmdesátých letech, žádný ze
současných členů nechce, abychom byli někdo jiný, chceme
být dál Yes.]
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. [...]
[We should] not waste time on songs like "Don't Go". It was a mistake,
we do not have to push into the world of pop music. [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. Musimy tylko
pilnować, żeby nie powinęła nam się noga, żeby nie marnować czasu na
takie utwory jak "Don't Go". To była pomyłka, nie musimy się pchać w
świat muzyki pop.]
In a Polish
article
in
Oct
2009, White is asked about a new album. He replies: "We're thinking about it, we're working
on
new songs. I believe the record could be released next year." ["Myślimy o tym, pracujemy nad nowymi
utworami. W przyszłym roku płyta
mogłaby się ukazać."]
In a 20
Sep interview on BBC
Radio 2's Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the 70s,
Squire
discussed
recording
a
new
album
in
2010
with
the
current
line-up.
Earlier
in
the
interview, he discussed the
Devon location where The Yes Album
was rehearsed and where Howe now lives.
I
was
there
last
Tuesday
and
Wednesday
[...]
It
was
the
first
time
I'd
been
in
there since 1970 when we were rehearsing there.
He then went on:
We're
just
talking
about
doing
some
new
music
in
the
coming
year,
with
the
new
guys.
That's why I was visiting Steve last week. To try and get
that up and running.
Shortly after, Squire's wife,
Scotland, said on Yesfans.com:
the guys do want to do a new album with
Oliver and Benoit.
(And, as far as I know, this will not include Jon.)
In a Sep
2009
article, Squire said, "I'm very excited about the new
additions to the Yes line-up. We have already had a very successful
tour of the US this summer and aim to be working on some new Yes music
for next year [2010]." In
a 15 Oct 2009 interview with Planet Rock radio, Squire said that he,
Howe and O. Wakeman were fleshing out some initial ideas for the album,
and that they don't yet have a producer for the project.
Another report the same month
also said
this line-up would probably record an album in early 2010, depending on
the reaction to their European tour in the autumn. After a Jul 2009
show, asked
about making a new album with Yes, David said, "I hope to. I would love
that." In another Jul
article, he says: "Oh, I hope to record some new music with Yes[.]
That would be fantastic. I'm really enjoying this. We'll see where this
all takes us."
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. 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.
In a Sep
2008
interview,
White said: "We're always writing. Chris has songs, so does Steve and
so do I. We've been talking about putting something together, but
whether we can do it prior to this tour or not…it may be in January."
In mid-Oct, White said they are
trying
to do a new album "perhaps after Summer 09" whoever the singer might
be. In a Nov
interview, he said:
We're
all thinking about [a new record], but right now it's just going out on
the road and all kind of jelling together. Chris and Steve and myself
all have a bunch of music that we've piled up over the last three
years, and maybe Oliver and Benoit have some.
In the early Nov 2008 interview,
asked about doing a studio album with
the new line-up, Squire said:
Yes.
Absolutely. We’re looking at doing some new recording. And
obviously we’ll be working with the guys on that. Although there
are no definite plans or dates yet, because obviously we’re working on
this tour. But, we’ll be introducing new ideas. I know
Steve Howe has new ideas and I know I have, as I mentioned earlier,
have written quite a lot of material when I was in London that I want
to use for that purpose.
A Nov
2008
report had the band saying they are planning to record a new
album and then tour behind it. In
a Dec
2008
article, Squire said he would like to do an album with the new
line-up in 2009. He said the same in Feb 2009, with an article
reporting, "Squire [...] is looking forward to making new music with
[David] and [O.] Wakeman in the near
future." In a Jan 2009 interview
for
Notes from
the Edge,
Howe said, "maybe Yes
aren't really at a point where we're basing our career on the next
record we're about to make. We're basing our career at the moment on
playing music that people already love". This seems to suggest a focus
on live playing rather than recording, although later in the interview
he, in passing, acknowledges the possibility of a new record. A May
2009
Billboard
article reports Howe saying that Yes "has got to pace
itself", especially given the new band members, but the article
continues:
Howe
does acknowledge, however, that the long-lived quintet has "other plans
going through the year, but we're not going to announce them yet. One
thing at a time...do a little bit more work and playing and then divert
to recordings."
However, by the time of a Jun 2009
article, Howe says of the current touring line-up: "I think that
when a group is on a good run and you've got a good feeling, you want
to transport that into the studio".In
Jul,
on
Rockline, asked about
a new album, Howe said, "By next year, we'll have something in the
can," and he implied he and Squire would be the main writers. In a Jul
article, Howe said, "I can't really make an announcement like this
is going to happen and that's going to happen, but let's just put it
this way: both bands [Yes and Asia] are working towards recording
projects being realized." In
a Jul
2009
interview
(possibly conducted several months earlier), asked about a new album
with David
and O. Wakeman, Squire said: "We have talked about that. I am hoping to
do that this year." In another Jul
2009
article, Howe says, "we're also looking at a new Yes album and
a new Asia album."
And in a Jul 2009
article,
Howe talks about making a Yes album with the current line-up:
When we
started 'Drama' in 1979, when Rick and Jon similarly weren't
in the group, we were the kind of cast-outs. Chris, Alan and I have a
strange sort of survival goal. We pull out the stops when we realize
that us three are kind of the centerpiece of this, that we better get
our act together and move.
Another Jul
2009
article says: "Howe said Asia and Yes will both record in
2010".
After
[...] the last show of the “In The Present Tour” in Europe, later this
fall [note the tour actually finishes in the winter], the current
members of Yes plan on heading into the studio to record a new album.
Squire says [...] “I think this is a great line-up, so we are really
looking at making some new music,” Squire reveals. “I’m definitely keen
on doing a new album [...]”
I'm sure everybody's open-minded
about
the whole thing; it all depends on how Jon feels about doing that, and
everybody else. We haven't really approached that yet, but I think
we're all thinking about it when we can get the time to do it, because
we haven't been on the road for such a long time as a unit, so
everybody is just wanting to hear the band [...] everybody's got music.
I know Steve's got a lot of music, and Chris has got music, and I've
got music at home. We could put something together, and Oliver's
obviously been working on stuff too, so who knows whether it will sound
like a regular Yes album or whether it would be something new.
Anderson has recently been talking
about making a Yes album with the others, although this is without
confirmation from the others. In a Jun interview published in
Polish, Anderson said he and Yes have talked about recording an album
in the autumn. In a Jul
2009
interview
in
Czech,
asked about recording an album with Yes, Anderson said,
"Chystáme ji na příští rok. Bude to
něco jako naše
dřívější album Fragile, kdy jsme udělali čtyři
velké skladby a každý
člen kapely tehdy přispěl svou zkušeností ze svých
sólo projektů." This translates (thanks to Vojtech Toman
for
translating): "We
are planning it for the next year [2010]. It will be something like our
earlier album Fragile, where we did four bigger compositions and each
member of the band contributed with his experiences from their solo
projects." In a second Jul
2009
interview
in
Czech,
Anderson describes putting a plan to record to the others in Yes:
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). [Original
Czech: 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).]
Roughly, Anderson describes being
very sick in 2008 and having 6
operations. He talks about the pressures of touring with Yes. He
describes the other band members as "brothers", but points out how even
brothers disagree. He says the others want to earn money, which is done
through live work. Anderson describes having a debate with the others a
month ago in which he suggested they recorded a new album. He describes
David as "likeable" and that he has come to terms with Yes touring
without him.
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 and
so, I would guess, will not be used by the line-up without him. 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 "Under Heaven's Door" and "Music is the God of the
World".
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." 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 are 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.
White also talked about new material, 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 want 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.
In an
interview
in Oct 2005's Classic Rock, Howe said, "for Yes to continue
we've got to record and tour, it can't be one
of the other."
In a Sep 2009 thread on
ProgressiveEars.com, Billy Sherwood had some advice
for the band:
My
old comrades should record and release [a new album] themselves, no
need for YES to bother with [record] labels in 2010. There are still so
many YES fans around the world that they only need to sell a few units
to make it worth doing.
Sell directly from yesworld
$20 bucks a CD times 10k fans.
The classic record buying public may be evaporating before our eyes,
it's true... but there are still enough die hard YES fans are out there
to keep the YES flame burning.
I know the model works for CIRCA: and YES has a much bigger draw.
What happened to
Jon Anderson? Will the
"classic" line-up ever return, and what do the others think of the new
line-up?
Anderson had been to tour with Yes in summer
2008. However, he
has been having
major health problems, culminating in a very serious asthma attack
on 13
May 2008 that led to his hospitalisation and what his daughter Deborah described as a "near death
experience". On US radio in Jul,
Alan White
talked of how Jon's wife Jane told him that Jon was "dead" for two
minutes before being revived (see discussion
on Anderson's page). Anderson was advised
not to tour this summer on medical grounds and the Yes tour
cancelled; see the official
announcement. The 4 Jun 2008 press release said:
Jon
Anderson was admitted to the hospital last month after suffering a
severe asthma attack. He has now been diagnosed with acute respiratory
failure and was told by doctors this weekend that he needs to rest and
not work for a period of at least six months or suffer further health
complications.
Six months has already passed, but
Anderson has had some further health issues and, while he has resumed
studio work, it appears he will
be prevented from touring for some time longer. However, Anderson is
returning to some degree of touring this summer—see
under
Anderson. In a Nov
2008
article, White said:
Jon
is slowly recovering. He's had four or five operations, but he wouldn't
be ready to go out for eight or nine months. We're musicians: we just
want to play. I think he [Anderson] is all right with it now.
In
an appearance
on Off the Record broadcast late
Jun 2008 (but
seemingly recorded earlier that month), Anderson had talked about
hoping to tour with Yes in 2009 and said that the band were continuing
to work on 4-5 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, possibly
for late 2009. Those plans appear to have been dropped.
Howe, Squire and White have previously talked of the possibility of
Anderson doing
some work with them, but also of a continuation of David's tenure, both
live and in the studio (see section on new music
below). In a Sep 2008
Associated Press report, Squire "said he is hopeful Anderson
will be well enough to do shows next year [2009]." He was quoted as
saying,
"You can't ever really replace Jon
Anderson, because he's been
such a force in the music business. We look upon his replacement as
more of an understudy." In an Aug 2008 interview for Eclipsed, Squire and White said the
same, that they hoped Anderson might return in 2009. In the 9 Oct 2008
article, Squire says, "Unfortunately Jon has had these health problems
for the last few years, which is why it's taken such a long time [...]
to have any Yes shows [...] We've had to be very respectful
of the fact he's not been well and he's been in and out of the hospital
having quite a few major procedures. If Jon is well again next year
[2009],
he'll be back." However, it is far
from clear what implications Anderson's health have for future touring.
Here's Squire in another interview circa
Nov: "As far as I know, yes [we have
Anderson's blessing], seeing as how he's been unable to speak much, we
haven't really spoken, but our manager, who manages Jon as well, has
been keeping him abreast of all developments. [...] He may be able to
do some shows in the future
but it's
uncertain at this time." In a Sep 2008
interview,
White said:
It’s
not like we’re tossing Jon out of the band or anything like that. When
Jon is well enough to come back and sing with the band, he can. Until
that point, people want to see Yes on the road again. And we had no
idea when that might be. So we’re going out with an understudy.
In a Nov
2008
radio
interview, White said of Anderson, "Jon's pretty sick and
it's not a fact that Jon is not in the band any more. He just can't go
on tour right now. And we've been waiting for three years to [tour]."
In
a Nov 2008
interview, Squire said:
Jon
Anderson had a series of health problems, and he’s not
out of the woods yet. I really don’t know what his prognosis will
be –
if he’ll be able to do any lengthy tours. [...] I can’t tell how Jon
will be in the future, but I imagine it will be more limited to doing
maybe some individual shows here and there with him. I don’t know
if
he’ll ever want to do a full-scale tour again. But once again,
until
he’s recovered, and of course we wish him a full recovery, we won’t
know any of those things. So meanwhile we’re getting along all
right
with Benoit.
The 28
Nov
2008
article re-iterates these points, with Squire saying he
hopes
to tour with Anderson when his health permits and that Anderson will
"always be a member of Yes", and David saying, "I can't replace Jon
Anderson. I'll just do my best." A
Dec
2008
article reads:
White is very deliberate
crediting Anderson as an official member and hopes his absence is just
temporary. [...]
“Jon’s initial reaction was disappointment as he considers himself
still in Yes and so do we,” White admits. “But he knows we want to move
on and make music and he’s got mixed reactions. He’s come to terms that
he’s too sick and knows we can’t sit around forever, and I think he’s
resigned himself to that fact. It was just his 64th birthday and I sent
him an e-mail. He sent one back saying ‘I understand you guys,’ and it
seems to have kind of all sunk in. But absolutely, all three of us feel
that [Jon] is still in Yes and always will be. In fact, we tell people
sometimes that if Jon wants to come and sing on a tour, maybe we’ll
take Benoît out as well and they can each sing some of the
songs.”
"we decided to go out with
someone and
really create an understudy for Jon, not knowing if Jon would improve
or not [...] He's having a lot of procedures for various ailments, but
we hope that he makes a full recovery." The article continues: "while
Squire says that Anderson has given his tacit approval now, it's not
like he's calling up after shows asking, "So, how did the kid do?"
"Jon will be welcome to come do
some things on [record] and maybe
feature shows," he adds, "but I'm afraid he won't be able to do
large-scale tours."
Squire goes on to call vocalist
David a "godsend," and is looking
forward to making new music with him and [O.] Wakeman in the near
future.
In a Jan 2009
interview for Notes
from the Edge, White said: "I hope Jon gets better and maybe
he's not well enough of do whole tours, but possibly he'll come and do
feature things or whatever, but if he wants to go on the whole tour,
it's fine, but it's pretty arduous out there."
We
were considering different options with various singers, some
completely unknown, others quite well known and a few really well
known. But when we were steered to a YouTube clip of Benoit, we
thought, that’s bizarre but almost what we need. We said, why shouldn’t
we try this? So we spoke to Benoit
Je
ne dirais pas que c'était une décision facile, mais une
fois que vous
l'avez prise, après tout va tellement mieux. Il faut regarder
devant et
non derrière. Depuis des années nous ignorions à
quoi ressemblerait
notre horaire (en raison des ennuis de santé de Jon Anderson),
alors de
savoir précisément où nous nous en allons rend
tout le monde plus
heureux. Nous voulons que le chanteur devienne meilleur, nous voulons
voir ce que nous sommes capables de faire comme groupe sans Jon et
continuer l'histoire de Yes. Yes n'appartient à aucun de nous,
c'est la
somme de nous tous.
This translates (thanks to JBK):
I wouldn't say it was an easy
decision,
but once you've taken it, everything goes so much better. We must look
forward and not backward. For years we were ignoring what our timetable
would look like (because of Jon Anderson's health problems), so to know
precisely where we are going makes everybody happier. We want the
singer to get better, we want to see what we are able to do as a group
without Jon and to continue Yes's existence. Yes does not belong to any
one of us, it is the sum of us all.
In another Oct 2008
interview, Howe said, "There is a kind of feeling here that we've
got a new lifeblood. Chris, Alan and I seem to be up for this one.
Well, we've been up for it for years but we haven't been able to get
Jon in the right state of mind or health to come out on tour." In a Jan
2009 interview for Notes
from
the
Edge, Howe said:
There’s
two main options: either we don’t carry on because Jon can’t do it or
we do carry on and work it out so that we can. It’s like saying what
would happen in Genesis [...] "Sorry, Peter Gabriel’s left; we’re going
to quit. We’re going to quit the whole business; none of us are going
to play an instrument ever again. None of us will play Genesis songs
again." [...] if you take that as an analogy [...] surely it was a good
thing that they found the strength to carry through with the Genesis
idea. It changed; it wasn’t quite the same. [...] We’re basing our
career at the moment on playing music that people already love [...] I
mean, some people in Yes at times thought that wasn’t a joy (laughs);
they overplayed the music to the fans who wanted it. No, I find it a
joy.
In
mid-Oct 2008, White said that he
would let their music speak for them rather than commenting on the
situation. However, he did add "I miss Jon too, but we can't stay at
home for ever..." And in another,
he
said:
We really hope that people are
going to
understand that what we're doing with Yes, it's about keeping a great
idea going
We didn't want to replace Jon,
it's nothing to do with us ... Life goes on and we have to design a new
kind of Yes, and that's what we've done.
In an Oct
2008
article, David says, "They asked me to do the singing for now.
Everybody hopes that Jon gets well as soon as possible and comes back."
And "I can't replace Jon Anderson. I'll just do my best." In a Nov 2008
interview
on YouTube, David says, "I'm replacing Jon for the time being.
Hopefully Jon gets better and, y'know, can come back [...] That's the
plan. And my being there and doing this tour will probably allow him to
take the time and the rest he needs to come back full force. That's
what we're all hoping for." An early
Nov
article reports that David does not know whether Anderson "will
be well enough to join a Yes tour overseas and whether his run with the
band ends next month with the last North American date in [Dec]
[David's inclusion in the Feb/Mar leg was subsequently confirmed] [...]
But he's not holding out hope of staying on as the band's permanent
singer and figures Anderson will be back eventually." In an early 2009
interview in Classic
Rock Presents... Prog,
David says: "I don't know about my situation but [Oliver Wakeman]
certainly has a future with Yes long term".
At "The Director's Cut" DVD
screening in Sep 2008, R.
Wakeman was reportedly fine with the new line-up then. He did also
express
the hope that the classic line-up—himself, Anderson, Squire, Howe and
White—would still perform together at some point, but said that it
would not be for a tour given Anderson's health problems and would have
to be "for the right thing, for
something special". He made
similar comments at a book signing in
Sep, saying he hoped he and Anderson would return but that it would be
for something like a couple of large shows rather than a long tour. In
the Summer 2008 RWCC Newsletter,
Rick said, "What the future will hold for the "Classic Line-Up" is
anybody's guess". In Oct
2008, he e-mailed me to say
that he is "still very hopeful"
that the classic line-up will appear again "for some very special shows
as I believe that is what YES is ...very special". In a Nov
radio
interview, White said of Rick, in the context of Yes, that
"he will go on tour some time
again, I'm pretty sure, but not on extensive
tours." In the RWCC Xmas 2008
newsletter, Rick says, "I'm still hopeful that YES and the Classic
Line-Up will have some special moments in the future with events worthy
of what the name and it's [sic]
music
deserve
......I
can
only
hope!"
It first appeared that Anderson
was critical of Howe/Squire/White's plans, but he appears to have since
moderated his position. On 18 Sep 2008, Anderson put an announcement on his website
and on MySpace entitled "Not Yes"; excerpts follow:
Disappointed
that, with the exception of one phone call from Alan, none of the guys
have been in touch since my illness [...] to find out [...] how we will
foresee the future for YES. And disappointed that they
were not willing to wait till 2009 when I'm fully recovered.
And I feel very disrespected, having spent most of this year [2008]
creating
songs and constant ideas for the band, spending time with Roger Dean
creating a stage design [...]
Of course I wish the guys all the best in their 'solo' work, but I just
wish this could have been done in a more gentlemanly fashion. [...]
This is not YES on tour...
By 6 Oct, Anderson's message
had
been taken down again and Squire has since
reported that they have Anderson's "blessings" for the project. At
the time,
Howe, Squire and White were
themselves ambiguous as to whether
they were claiming the new line-up to be
Yes
and were billing themselves as "of Yes", although some ticket vendors,
venues
and
media reports were simply calling them "Yes"—see above.
However,
the announcement of the 2009 summer tour now just does call them Yes.
In a late
Oct
US
radio
interview, asked how Anderson is "taking all of this",
Squire said, "Trudi Green, our manager, has been dealing with the
politics of most of this. But I think Jon, y'know, has given us his
blessing. He understands that we want to go out and work and that the
fans want to hear Yes music. Y'know, we've been off the road for 4
years and we were supposed to
do that 40th anniversary tour [...] And of course we hope he has a full
recovery and, at some point next year [2009], if he wants to do some shows here and there, and I'm
sure Philly would be one of them, y'know, then of course that will be
totally something we'll look at, but in the meanwhile we're carrying on
with Benoît." In an Oct
article, Squire says, "I think what we're doing now, he's
[Anderson]
pretty much giving us his blessing" and "He'll always be a member of
Yes." In an 8
Dec
article, White said:
[Anderson]
was a little disturbed when he heard that this was happening. He wasn't
very happy, but I think he's come to realize that the band has to keep
playing. I've gotten a couple of e-mails from him saying, 'I understand
what's happening now.' It seems like he's getting well, but it's really
slow. It's going to take a long time for him to get well.
Squire responded to Anderson's
comments in an
article
published
in
early
Oct, confirming that he had not spoken
to
Anderson, but the article continues:
"I
send him flowers and get well cards," [Squire] says. "I'm assuming that
when he's fully recovered, he'll get back in touch." He also says that
Anderson knew beforehand about the move to hire a new touring singer.
"I didn't tell him personally," Squire says. "Our manager to a degree
was dealing with the politics of it, which, at the time, seemed the
most appropriate thing."
In the Nov
2008
interview, Squire said, "The facts of life are that Jon was always
in the loop knowing what was going on. Our manager, Trudy Green, was in
constant touch with him, letting him know what our plans were as to
going ahead without him". As
for the future, Squire says, "We've
been together longer than most marriages. Jon
will always be a member of Yes." And, "Of course I wish [him] a full
recovery, and I hope he'll be well
enough to come back at a later date. On the other hand, this might not
happen. So we decided to look into, in my own words, getting an
understudy for him to fill in."
Howe said
the band was sympathetic to Anderson's condition but decided their fans
couldn't wait any longer, particularly since tour plans had previously
been delayed for years due to the singer's solo pursuits.
"Jon put an
announcement out and said, 'Oh, it's not really Yes, they've not been
kind to me,' and that's nonsense," Howe said, adding that the band
still hopes that Anderson can hit the road again in 2009 for the
European leg of the tour.
"We've been
kind to him, we've been considerate, we've not let him down, but he
started up a movement to boycott the tour. But it's not working, we're
getting great ticket sales, people want to come and see us."
As
for Anderson's views now, in an Oct
2008
interview
with
Classic
Rock
Forever, he said, "YES music
is and always will be worth performing and listening to, and I feel
very proud to have been a part of it. Hopefully we will get back
together and perform in the coming years, I truly hope so, the fans
deserve it, and so do we." In
MySpace
blog
posts,
Anderson
commented
further.
On
4
Oct, he said:
here
I am thinking about YES,
trying to keep YES safe, for the millions of fans around the world...I
am a fan, I believe in YES music [...]
When I
sing ''And You and I'' with the guys, it's truly 'heaven' [...]
I
just performed 'Awaken' with the young teens from the 'Paul Green
School of Rock' [...] it was glorious [...] YES music has survived...
I'm just going
through a difficult time health wise, but it is a re-birth for me [...]
next year [2009], there will be more YES music for everyone....for the
next 30 years...
Maybe some young guns will 'get it', and create the next generation of
YES music, I truly hope so...much love..jon..
just
dreaming YES music will be found again by so many young people out
there,I've just been watching some YES DVD's from 6 years ago,35 year
tour of Europe, I realized that the band 'still' play the 'game of
adventure' through music...OK, the fans want to hear their favorite
songs...and they are MY favorite songs as well, and YES deliver, but
they played 'new' songs....still inventive, and with style, I feel so
thankful and happy to have been a part of those days.....but ''Those
days are Over', it's time to breath life again...maybe next summer,
'who knows'...
What will be the future of the Band.....not sure anymore...for a band
to survive 40 years and more is tough .......
The
music will survive, the CD's sound better than ever [...] the memories
last
forever.........the great concerts [...]
Hearing Steve raving
to my right, he plays an amazing guitar, very clear and constant,
Chris, thundering around on stage, yet so delicate at times, so very
musical...Alan grinning, rockin' and blasting the band into the sky,
Rick almost perfect with that beautiful soundscape, and brilliant piano
work...
Like I've said before, bands are very fragile ideas,
they need attention, respect and 'love', they get pushed around by the
outside elements, and this has always been the truth...but YES
survived
YesWorld carries the following
note: "Jon Anderson conveys his thanks to all those who have prayed for
his speedy recovery. Jon will not be present for the current set of
tour dates." In Jan 2009, Stephen Layton
briefly put on his MySpace a
song done in collaboration with Anderson, "You Didn't Hear Me" (see on Anderson's page for details).
Anderson's lyrics appear to be commenting on his relationship with Yes.
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.”
a planned tour in 2008 was canceled
after Anderson suffered from acute respiratory attacks.
Howe said the band waited for
Anderson to decide whether he was fit to tour, but the
distinctive-voiced singer wouldn't commit to Yes. Meanwhile, Anderson
has several solo dates scheduled in Europe [...]
Howe readily allows that Anderson
has had a pronounced effect on Yes since the band formed in 1968 and
simply says with an air of sadness that Anderson's absence is "partly
to do with his health."
And in a third Jul
2009 article, Howe says, "All I can say is that in 2004 we finished
a lot of touring and had a terrific offer for the next year. We were
offered to have the Moody Blues open for us, which we thought was one
of the most flattering things that had happened to us. Jon wanted to
take a year off, and then he took another two years off. That grounded
Yes for a while." He goes on:
Where we are now is a very realistic,
kind of music-friendly Yes. It's a happy Yes that runs quite smoothly.
That's because, I guess, I think Chris, Alan and I have had one
approach to Yes ever since the '70s that 'this is our work, this is our
life, this is the music we keep wanting to play,' so obviously we
needed a new vehicle to keep doing that that was positive, workable and
the most important thing, that you have a good time and everybody's
happy. That's the vitality that makes it work. We don't know what's
going to happen in the future with Jon, but certainly we know that this
lineup of Yes we have now is working.
Squire and Anderson are in contact and a reunification of the
band in 2010
is possible: these are discussed above.
Like most people my age [...]
the
body/mind goes through so many changes. I feel that my health has
always been strong enough for the band …up until 2004. There had been
too many tours, too much friction from outside of the band. This
had made it impossible to keep touring the way YES truly should - and
with NO new music, a lack of passion
for the music and each other, and no real promotion of who YES truly
is, etc., things just looked so bleak. That’s why I suggested a break
for 6 months, maybe do a progressive acoustic CD, and tour on a
different style of touring, semi-acoustic for a while, and less shows
per year [...] We were not communicating as a band should, both Rick
and myself could see it happening, but sadly the others just wanted to
keep going down that same touring spiral
…that’s why YES hasn’t toured, it happens to the best.
What about Rick
Wakeman? And other abandoned line-up ideas
The band on the cancelled
2008 summer tour was to be Anderson,
Squire,
Howe and White, but
not
Rick Wakeman. Oliver
Wakeman, Rick's eldest son, was announced as
"sitting in" on keys, to use the phrasing given at YesWorld. Despite his absence, the possibility of Rick's future
involvement with Yes in some manner remains open, with the
option of some live appearances hinted when the band were to tour with
Anderson. Oliver
is continuing on keyboards for the Howe/Squire/White tour and future
legs (see
above) and would like to continue with the band. In an early 2009
interview in Classic Rock Presents... Prog, David
said:
"I don't know about my situation but [Oliver Wakeman] certainly has a
future with Yes long term and I know they're going to make great music
together."
Rick's absence is for a number of reasons, with the stresses
of
touring on his health being central. In
an early-Feb
interview with Notes from the
Edge, Anderson
said, "Oliver Wakeman will be
playing in the
band, because Rick can't tour anymore. His doctors have told him that
you can't do it. He can do small tours, but he can't do the big work,
you know. He's excited that his son's playing." In a 17
Mar
interview, he said, "I saw Oliver again last week. He's just as
good as his father." The key
point of contention seems to
have been the length of the tour. Chatting with
fans after a solo show in early Nov 2007, Rick explained that he is
limiting himself to 25 shows a year, but that the others in Yes wanted
to do a
tour of over 100 dates. He was quoted as saying, "They're mad—Jon's
voice
would
never
stand
up
to
it."
R. Wakeman has semi-retired
from touring. In Mar 2008, Rick made an announcement about
the
situation on his
website, abbreviated here:
Throughout
much of [2007], e-mails and phone calls were held between Jon,
Chris, Steve, Alan and myself as to where we all felt the future for
YES lay [...] there were conflicting views in many areas!
(Nothing new there, but very healthy of course). My major concern was
that of over-touring, which I felt YES had done since 2002 [...]
especially in America which for me diminished the
"specialness" of the band. I also was concerned for the health of the
band, both as a whole and as individuals. It's a matter of public
record for instance, that Jon in particular really suffered during the
last weeks of the previous YES tour [...]
I have had my fair share of "narrow escapes" when it comes to health
and I felt that I simply could not do months and months of touring each
year anymore and I expressed this to the other guys [...] I
suggested to the new management that we perhaps limited the shows we
would do and make each show something special, but this was rejected
with the management feeling that lengthy touring was the answer [...]
It was therefore with an extremely heavy heart that I had to say to the
guys that I could not be part of a massive long term touring schedule
[...] We are a democratic band and I accept that I was a sole voice in
this thinking.
Chris and I met up a few times and spoke about who I felt would be able
to do a good job in the keyboard department and I put forward just two
names, my two eldest sons Adam and Oliver. Adam [...] was not really a
"contender" because he is fully committed to Ozzy [...] I was [...]
very happy when Oliver told me that Steve had called him.
[...] I truly hope that this is not the end of the Classic Line-Up and
that
something very special may happen in the not too distant future.
In his Spring 2008 newsletter, he
said:
All
of us in the band have been in regular contact as regards what we
individually thought should happen with YES and my view has always been
that the band needed to make some new music and something special and
then do a limited amount of shows that were also something specials I
felt that long touring slots were not the answer for YES.
[...] For many reasons , including that of
health and creativity, I had to stick with my beliefs and decline to
take part in the heavy touring.
I hasten to add that I hope this hasn't closed any doors as regards the
possibility of future Classic Line-Up appearances and indeed, Chris and
I have already spoken about this
In a Mar
2008
article, R. Wakeman talked about his current position:
But
the bad news for Yes fans is that he can't see himself embarking on
another major tour with the band [...]
"I really don't want to commit to a 150-date tour," he said. "At the
end of the last Yes tour a guy came up to me and said how much he'd
enjoyed a show we'd done in Memphis and I couldn't remember having done
it. I went home and tried to write down all the shows we'd done and I
couldn't name half of them. I think that's wrong as it has to be
special when you play live. If it's not, there's a chance you are going
through the motions and I don't want that.
"Besides, things are going quite nicely at the moment as I'm really
busy doing little bits of everything, which is what I really enjoy."
Reporting on an Apr 2008
conversation (see 2 Apr
entry) with R. Wakeman, journalist Dave Ling said, "Though Rick
hasn't ruled out appearing during the trek's intended two-year run in
some shape or form, his son Oliver will be tickling the ivories [...]
Seems that the last suicidally
long bout of roadwork nearly killed the legendary keyboard player and,
according to Rick, almost cost Jon Anderson his voice. He also felt
they should have had some new material to promote, which sadly won't be
the case." In an Apr 2008 interview,
asked
about
Wakeman,
White
replied,
"Well,
he's
not
really
out
of
the
band—he'll
never
really
be
out of
the band. He just doesn't want to push himself. He's got a bunch of
things going on and he doesn't feel like touring." In an interview circa Apr 2008, Oliver said Rick
was not
out of the band, although it is unclear in what sense he meant that. In
a Sep
interview,
White said of the current tour:
[Wakeman] said he’ll come and do
certain shows. He just doesn’t want to do the full-blown tours. He
wants to come and do New York and L.A., which is fine. We’re just going
to carry on being Yes like we’ve always done. The band has changed
around so much. There’s quite a few versions of the band it seems. This
is just another version of it.
Anderson in late Jun 2009 talked about
the possibility of live Yes shows with himself and Rick
back in the band and again indicated that they would like to play
fewer, bigger shows. In summer
2009, Wakeman was highly critical of Yes's promotion of their UK
touring in Nov, and he describes Anderson as sharing his views—see above for details.
There was talk of other past
members being involved in the aborted summer 2008 tour.
Trevor Rabin has
been writing with Anderson (see
below); in Jan 2008, his
webpage said:
Trevor has for a number of weeks been
contacted by YES members and their new management inviting him to tour
with the band this year [2008]. “I appreciate the invite and miss the
excitement of playing live. Unfortunately, my schedule just does not
allow for it this year,”
In a Sep 2008 interview for Delicious
Agony, Sherwood relates how, after Anderson's illness, he had
had an idea: "this was [when White] was still around in CIRCA:. I said
it's too bad we can't
do CIRCA: with Chris Squire as well doing an hour of Fish Out of Water. Steve Howe
playing either as Steve Howe or maybe we get Asia. And we put the
various elements together under one tent [...] That's kinda a
concept I had that obviously didn't fly."
Older
news on Yes re-grouping
It is unclear
whether earlier comments can
shed
much light on the current situation, but they do suggest that the band
members have material for a new project and raise a number of
possible forms a project could take. There were some band
discussion about recording a new
album,
or at least new material, prior to a tour. In a
Jun
2004
interview, White had said the band
were
going into the studio in Feb 2005 and that all the band members have
been
writing material, saying they were working on longer pieces rather than
trying for a hit. Plans for a new album produced by Trevor
Horn appear to have been developed by Squire/Howe/White. In
early Nov 2004, a correspondent
reported hearing that the plan was for Squire, Howe and White to join
Horn
for writing and recording sessions in London from mid-Mar 2005,
with
Horn contributing to the writing as well as producing and with the
intent
that Anderson would join in at some point. This, of course, never came
about.
In a Sep
2004
article talking to Howe, he was
asked about a new album:
"We've been putting
it off
for a
couple of reasons. We don't actually talk about it like this, but we've
got to be on the same page. We have to agree on the level of
pre-production,
writing, rehearsing, then choosing the material, all that before you
even
set foot in the studio.
[...] Howe (and other
members of
the band, he alludes) are not big fans of Yes' biggest '80s hits, such
as "Owner of a Lonely Heart." It could cause a schism in the band.
"Some of the band are
desperate
for Yes to have this raging success again [...] That's an area the band
hasn't
fully agreed on. If we're looking for those kinds of hits, some of us
don't
want to do that, really don't want to do that. We don't want to sell
Yes
down the river for a cheap hit."
In his Aug 2004 MSN Chat, asked whether
the band would be "producing any more LONG songs", Howe said: "I
like
the big long pieces. We'll have to see on our next studio go whether or
not we go to those lengths in the songs. I hope we do. I can't really
say
100%." In a
Jul
2004 interview, asked about a
new Yes album, Squire replies:
don’t talk
to
me about that. We are scheduled to do one and we owe it to ourselves.
I’m
not ever gonna let YES get into the ELP syndrome where we go out and
play
the twelve songs. Which is what GREG [Lake] told me one day. “I go out
and I play twelve songs. My life is twelve songs.”
The interview continues with a number of other
intriguing
statements. Squire goes on:
do
these
guys [the others in Yes] still know what’s going on in the music
industry
do they still have the creativity? Probably not! Do we still need a
producer
to tell us if what we’re playing is great? I’m one of these guys who
seems
to be abreast of what people like. [...]
Just
like LINKIN PARK. They’ve moved into an area where they’re huge and I
know
why. And I have that connection. JON ANDERSON, RICK WAKEMAN and STEVE
HOWE
will have no idea bout that. [...] Over all this period
of time
I’ve
learnt how to be a lead singer [too] though. But I know JON doesn’t
really
dig that.
Interviews going back many
years have Howe and
White talking about writing for a new album. In a Jan 2004 interview
for
Notes
from the Edge, White said, "we've all got songs ready". In
2001,
White talked of having multiple demos prepared for the next Yes album.
Other comments may point to various ideas as to what form new Yes music
could take, although they may well be out of date. White said in Jul
2003 that the band had been fooling around with a new song about
Philadelphia,
but it is unclear how serious this was. A quote from Howe in
Progression
magazine (Winter/Spring '03) may
refer to ideas since abandoned:
I struck a good friendship with the
conductor
in Europe [on the YesSymphonic tour], Wilhelm Keitel, so we agreed to
do
things together in the future. One of the things we (Yes) hope to do
[...] is record a concept album based
around
the life of an important classical composer. So we would take on [a]
composer,
choose some of his work and build something completely new around
it—kind
of a tribute to his life [...]
What I want to do, however, is go for different
set-ups
which can be only choir on one track, an intimate ensemble on another
track,
only cello, only violin, a symphony on the other, etc. Personally, I
love
flute sonatas whether by Bach, Mozart, or Vivaldi.
In a late 2002 interview
with
Prog4You, Howe talked more about his
views on where Yes music should be going:
strong elements of rock [...] that's one of
the leading things that I like about Yes.
I want Yes to be moody and understated [...] There is a very big story
on
Yes. You know, it's been on a lot of curves and deviations and
sometimes
it's played as radio music and that didn't do the band any long-term
good,
although in the short term, everybody thought it was great that we had
a hit record. But in the long-term, [...] you can
never
change the path. After that it's very hard to get back on your original
brief and do music that's progressive, un-commercial, sometimes
purposely
un-commercial.
In a Nov 2001 interview, Howe expressed a preference for the band to
book
studio time prior to recording an album so they can write together,
while
he has also expressed the desire to record the new album in England.
In recent years, Squire/Howe/White
were rumoured to feel frustrated at Anderson's reluctance before 2007
to regroup
Yes and had tried
continuing with band activity or related projects, including appearing
at the
Produced by Trevor Horn show
in 2004 and the aborted More Drama
Tour of 2005. Reports suggest Squire, Howe and White
were considering touring with a new Yes line-up or some
sort
of Yes-related project. In early 2006, Howe said, "If
this
lineup doesn't get back on the road soon, I think other lineups may
have
to be considered", and similar
views were ascribed to Squire and White in that year. Howe rang
Billy Sherwood in 2007 about going into the studio to do some "new YES
music" with him, Squire and White, and not Anderson (according to Sherwood
in
Nov
2008). This
would have been Sherwood working in "a production capacity" rather than
as a full member. Sherwood
declined because of Anderson's absence. In a Nov
2007 Notes from the Edge
interview,
Squire revealed that there had been further thinking around him, Howe
and White doing a project:
I
was talking to I think it was
somebody in Tenth Street Management [some time in 2007] [...] somebody
was
trying to come up with ideas about what myself, and Alan, and Steve
to be doing while Jon was on his holidays [...] I think
somebody came up and said, "Why don't guys do a Christmas album
like Mannheim Steamroller or something," and I said I'm really
not familiar with that stuff. [...] kind of thought it was a
little cheesy, honestly, so I went back to them and said no, I don't
think that's the right kind of thing for Steve, myself, and Alan to
be looking at.
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 Mexican newspaper interview (in Spanish), 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 are also expected to have some involved 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). He discussed the
project in a Mar
2008 interview and described
how they are still working on a script and arranging funding. He says
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 a Feb
2008
interview, Dean said:
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 how much Yes are involved with
current planning for
"Floating Islands". It is expected to feature music by Yes. 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.
The most recent reports about
Dean's project come from Dave
McKean's
Twitter 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."
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.
The project tied in with ideas Anderson was
proposing
for the band's future direction in 2004. Earlier reports suggested the
film could
also
involve footage of the band performing, possibly both new and old
material,
as well as Dean's animations. For Yes, the idea to do such a
project
originates from Anderson (linking in with Dean's longstanding interest
in doing an animated work). Anderson has expressed dissatisfaction with
traditional modes of releasing new material. He has often talked about
new ways of producing and releasing new material both for Yes and in
his
solo career, focusing on DVDs as a way forward. These
ideas
appear
to
be
similar
to
his
solo
plans
(described
below), although details have been lacking. In a May
2004
interview, Anderson said Yes may never release another studio
album: "None of us feel that's what the business end is all about now.
[...] I think DVDs are really the next level." In an Aug 2004 interview
with
The Post Standard/Herald-Journal,
Anderson said: "DVDs are good for us, with
computer animation and the like. DVDs is
where
it's at, so you've got to visualize what to do with it." He went on,
saying
how he saw Yes crafting "a series of ideas over the next two or three
years
and let them come out one or two at a time on the Internet. Not being
tied
to 60 minutes of music that takes a long time to create. Rather, two
songs
a month for, say 24 months. A series." The finished assemblage may
still
have running themes, like a concept album: "By the time you get all the
music, it's like a jigsaw puzzle. By the time you get the final work,
you
realize what the whole thing is." However, the interview finishes with
this caveat from Anderson: "That's what I think. The others in the
band?
Who knows." In a interview in Feb 2004 for
Rockline, Anderson outlined
a "vague" idea for a "new way of creating" whereby the band would
rehearse/record
for a few weeks, take a break of a few months, rehearse/record for a
few
more weeks and so on. In an interview published in Jan 2004, Anderson
was
asked, "Is a new Yes album likely?":
it depends a lot on
what
we get offered. I would love to do something adventurous, like write a
musical with the band or a film score or an opera. Something really
different.
I've also been working on the idea of creating a video game. [...] I'm
not really excited to make a record because I made one last year
and
it never really got into the marketplace. It was a beautiful album
[...] called Magnification and it never got to be heard by too many
people.
And I don't really want to go through that whole experience again.
In an Oct 2005 interview with Squire for YesFANZ,
interviewer Brian Draper asks, "Jon was talking about a DVD approach to
releasing music rather than a CD approach. I never quite understood
what
he meant." Chris replies:
No one ever quite
understands
what he means but that comes with the territory. [...] I think that we
were looking at doing an album like that and we still are possibly. But
it would have to be combined with some kind of a major motion picture
or
some kind of soundtrack that we could be involved in. 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. So maybe Jon had this in his mind [...] He
is always so far ahead in his thinking, its hard for me to keep up with
him.
Draper then raises 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.
Asked, "When do you think the group will get together
about this?", Squire replies:
It will be based on a
worthy project. I think that could be the next thing as Jon suggested
for Yes,
that we will combine our musical input into some kind of film venture
and then we will take that out on the road. In terms of putting a date
on
it, it’s under continual negotiation. And we are trying to figure out
the
best way to keep Yes’ integrity and also to make money as well which
obviously is a real factor in the real world.
Live releases Symphonic
Live
Eagle Records (part of Eagle
Rock
Entertainment) have released Symphonic Live, a 2CD version of
the 2002 DVD release, out in the US and UK. This was taken from the
2001 European leg of the Magnification tour (22
Nov,
Amsterdam) and features the band with the European Festival
Orchestra (conducted by Wilhelm Keitel). Tracks:
Disc 1
"Overture"
"Close to
the Edge"
"Long Distance
Runaround"
"Don't Go"
"In The Presence Of"
"The Gates of Delirium"
"Steve Howe Guitar
Solo" ("Concerto in D"/"Mood for a Day")
Disc 2
"Starship Trooper"
"Magnification"
"And You and I"
"Ritual"
"I've Seen All Good
People"
"Owner
of a Lonely Heart"
"Roundabout"
Buy from
Amazon.com (US):
Buy from
Amazon.co.uk (UK):
"Yes—The Director's Cut"
"Yes—The Director's Cut" (Classic Media Group) is a new live DVD
of material recorded for the 2004 "YesSpeak" documentary. Now out, the
2-disc release contains two
shows by the band from their 2003
UK leg: disc 1 (124 min.s)—Birmingham (3 Jul): "Firebird Suite" (intro
music), "Siberian Khatru", "Magnification", "Don't Kill the Whale", "In
the Presence of", "We Have
Heaven"/"South Side Of The Sky", "And You and I", "To be Over"/"Clap"
(Howe solo), "Show Me", Wakeman solo (intro to "Catherine of
Aragon"/"Celtic Jig"/"Jane
Seymour"), "Heart of the Sunrise", "Long Distance Runaround"/"the
fish" (actually "Whitefish" including an extract of "On the Silent
Wings of Freedom"); disc 2 (132 min.s)—Birmingham contd.: "Awaken",
"I've Seen All Good People", "Roundabout"; Glastonbury Festival (29
Jun): "Siberian
Khatru", "Magnification", "Don't Kill the Whale", "We Have
Heaven"/"South Side of the Sky", "And You and I", "Heart of the
Sunrise", "Awaken", "I've Seen All Good People", "Roundabout".
The DVD was exclusively available from Classic
Direct.com (Europe/Australia/NZ
PAL version, DVD5073X;
US/Canada/Japan
NTSC
version,
DVD5073XNTSC),
but
has
now
had
a
broader
release.
Audio
options
are
stereo
Dolby
Digital
5.1
and
DTS.
The name, "The Director's Cut", gives the misleading impression that
this is a re-edit
of "YesSpeak", however "The Director's Cut" is substantially new,
being a live DVD of material that was only seen in extracts on
"YesSpeak": it
features full, live performances of songs, with short interview
segments inbetween, narrated by Roger Daltrey (The Who).
The show has also been shown on satellite TV.
Further new DVDs and live
releases A couple of retailers (one in New
Zealand, one in Scandinavia) are advertising a DVD release entitled
"Live in Chile" (Showtime). This is a recording of Yes's 20 Sep 1994
show that was broadcast on TV at the time. Tracks: "Intro", "Perpetual
Change", "The Calling", "I am Waiting", "Rhythm of Love", "Real Love", "Hearts", "Changes", "Heart of the Sunrise", "Make It Easy", "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "And You And I", "I've Seen All Good People", "Walls", "Endless Dream", "Roundabout", "Purple Haze". This show has been
extensively bootlegged previously; it is unclear, but this appears to
be a more legitimate release.
"The Lost Broadcasts"
(Voiceprint
VPDVD71;
dur.
43
min.s)
is
an
archival
DVD
(Region
0)
from
the
band's
early
years,
all
taken
from
master tapes and including some previously unseen material. This
release did not involve the band. It is currently available from
Voiceprint, with a general release due 16 Nov in the UK. According to
the release's microsite,
tracks
are
"No
Opportunity
Necessary,
No
Experience
Needed",
"Looking
Around"
(previously
unseen),
"Survival"
(previously
unseen),
"Time
and
a Word", "Yours is No Disgrace" (seems
to be a previously unseen second take), "All Good People (Take 1)"
(actually the third take; this has
been previously released but with
the addition of some visual processing),
"All Good People (Take 2)" (same
take as the previous, but with some
visual processing), "All Good People (Take 3)" (actually the first take
and previously unseen). The
first three tracks, in black and white, were recorded for German TV (Beat Club) in Nov 1969, only the
first of
which has previously been seen. There is then a previously unreleased,
colour, but mimed,
performance of "Time and a Word" from Feb 1970, shortly before Banks'
departure. Finally, from 19
Apr 1971, now with
Howe in the band and again from German TV's Beat Club,
comes the remaining tracks. Voiceprint's
regular page
for the release has a different running order: "Yours Is No
Disgrace", "All Good People (Take 1)", "All Good People (Take 2)", "All
Good People (Take 3)", "Looking Around", "Survival", "No Opportunity
Necessary, No Experience
Needed", "Time And A Word". Liner notes
are by Jon Kirkman (Rock
Radio) and artwork by
Mark
Wilkinson (worked
with Marillion, Judas Priest,
Rick
Wakeman, Geoff Downes).
A second archival DVD
release from Voiceprint is due in early 2010. This will be the first
DVD release of a 1970 Belgian TV special on Yes. It features the band
(with Howe) miming to tracks from the then recently released Time and a Word, at various sites in
Bruges, Belgium. There are also a number of interviews with the band.
Some of these tracks were recently
re-released on DVD as part
of Classic Pictures' DVD
EP series: "No Opportunity Necessary, No
Experience Needed", "I've Seen All Good People" and "Yours is No
Disgrace".
A live
album recorded in 2004 was planned to accompany the band's summer tour,
since cancelled. This has been put on hold, according to an Oct
2008
interview with Squire.
Re-releases & compilations Much of the Yes
catalogue was
re-released in Japan by Warner Music Japan in Jul, with a
new remastering using the Super High Material
CD format and in 'mini-LP'
replica cardboard
sleeve packaging. Albums included in the set are Yes
(WPCR-13512), Time and a Word
(WPCR-13513), The
Yes Album (WPCR-13514), Fragile
(WPCR-13515), Close to the Edge
(WPCR-13516), Yessongs
(WPCR-13517), Tales
from Topographic Oceans
(WPCR-13519) and Relayer
(WPCR-13521), released on 8
Jul, and Going for the One
(WPCR-13522), Tormato
(WPCR-13523), Drama
(WPCR-13524), Yesshows
(WPCR-13525), 90125
(WPCR-13527), 9012Live
The Solos
(WPCR-13528) and Big Generator
(WPCR-13529), released on 22 Jul. Remastering is by
Isao Kikuchi.
The releases that
were also included in Rhino's expanded and remastered series include
the Rhino bonus tracks. There are bonus tracks of
unclear origin on three of the other four releases, according to
listings at
CDJapan. Yesshows has
"I've Seen All Good People" and "Roundabout", which are the 1978
live versions
from Classic Yes. 9012Live
The Solos comes with
"City of Love" and "It Can Happen": these appear to be the two live
b-sides ("City of Love (Live)" was a b-side
to "Rhythm of Love", and "It Can Happen (Live)" was a b-side to "It Can
Happen"). Big Generator comes
with "Love will Find a Way (Edited Version)" (4:18), "Love will Find a
Way (Extended
Version)" (7:12), "Rhythm of Love (Dance to the Rhythm Mix)" (6:55),
"Rhythm
of Love (Move to the Rhythm
Mix)" (4:26), "Rhythm of
Love (The
Rhythm of Dub)" (7:51). These are all alternate versions from the
contemporary
single releases.
Friday Music have
re-released
90125 on LP in the US in their 180 Gram Audiophile Half-Speed Master
Series
(mastering by Joe Reagoso and Ron McMaster) and follow it with Relayer, due next. They previously
released Close to the Edge in the same
format last year. Audio
Fidelity are planning a
Gold CD of 90125, remastered
by Steve Hoffman.
Something's
Coming (a.k.a.Beyond and Before) has been
re-released again on Lilith
in the US. The "Classic Artists:
Yes" DVD documentary has been re-released in New Zealand.
Now out is Introducing Yes, a new budget-priced
compilation on Ear. Some sources list this under the name Earmusic Legends, but that's the
name for a series of similar releases. Amazon.co.uk
lists
this as already out; tracks: "Magnification", "Open Your Eyes",
"Lightning Strikes",
"Universal Garden", "Homeworld (The Ladder)", "Don't Go", "Roundabout
(Live)", "And You And I (Live)". However, Tower.com gives a US release
on Edel with a slightly different track listing, with "The Calling"
replacing "Roundabout", and Amazon.com gives a 27 Oct release date.
Covers of Yes songs
& other
news
In a Jun
2009
interview, asked about the possibility of Yes on Rock Band or
Guitar Hero, Squire says, "There has been some conversation between
Xbox and management. It may actually happen at some point."
Various Yesmen have covered Yes material in other projects. Asia, with Howe
and Geoff
Downes, have been playing Yes's "Roundabout"
live—details here. The Steve Howe
Trio's album The Haunted
Melody includes
re-interpretations of "Mood
for a Day", "Siberian Khatru" and the opening of "Close to the Edge".
They also played these live. Glass
Hammer cover "South Side of the Sky" on their album Culture
of Ascent, on which Anderson guests: see
under Anderson. Howe joines
Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs for a cover of "I've Seen
All Good People": see under Howe.
White has performed a number of Yes songs with bands in 2009: see under White. CIRCA: play Yes material
live, and Yoso are expected too as well: see here.
Dream Theater have released a CD
compiling some of their live covers: Uncovered
2003-2005 (only available through Ytsejam
Records, YTSEJAM018). Tracks: "Death on Two Legs" (originally by
Queen; 3:49), "Heart of the Sunrise" (Yes; 10:29—recorded at a
soundcheck in Berlin in 2004), "Heaven and Hell" (Black Sabbath; 6:19),
"Paradox" (Kansas; 3:43), "Mother Father" (Journey; 5:32), "Machine
Messiah" (Yes; 3:19—this is the middle section of the piece, recorded
at Jones Beach in 2004 when they were supporting Yes), "Since I've been
Loving You" (Led Zeppelin, 6:49), "Diary of a Madman" (Ozzy Osbourne;
5:59), "Cemetary Gates" (Pantera; 8:19), "Won't Get Fooled Again" (The
Who; 10:06).
Magenta
are releasing a cover of "Wonderous Stories" as a digital-only single
on 15 Nov through Tigermoth Records; tracks: "Wonderous Stories: Full
Mix", "Wonderous Stories: Instrumental Mix", "Wonderous Stories:
Acoustic Mix". The band have also made a supporting video. They have been
playing the song live on recent acoustic shows.
Composers Ryan
Fraley (working 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).
For All I Care
from jazz trio The Bad Plus
includes a cover of "Long
Distance Runaround". The Jad
&
Den Quintet
have covered "Owner of a Lonely Heart", as can be seen on YouTube.Each
year, Phish play a complete album
by
another band as part of their
Halloween
festival. Contenders this year included The Yes Album; while not chosen, Phish did play
"Starship Trooper: Würm" at a recent soundcheck.
Vic Anderson's INYTH
project is recording
versions of "Endless Dream" (sample on MySpace page) and a Jon
Anderson/Kitaro song.
On BBC Radio 4 (and available
to hear until 19 Oct) was "Mitch Benn's Wondrous
Stories", in which musician and comedian Mitch Benn considered the
concept album, with contributions from Wakeman, Brian Blessed
(worked with Rick Wakeman), Jeff Wayne and others. The Fragile-period BBC documentary
"Sounding Out" has been shown on VH-1 Classic in the US as part of
their BBC Crown Jewels
series. BBC4 showed
a
90 min. documentary
entitled "Prog
Rock
Britannia" on the genre in Jan 2009; Wakeman, Bruford, Howe,
Roger Dean and
Pete
Sinfield were
among those interviewed. Preceding
the programme was "Prog at the BBC", a compilation of archival
performances including
Yes performing "Yours is No Disgrace" in 1973 (from "Yessongs"), as
well as King Crimson
performing "Frame by Frame" on The
Old Grey Whistle Test. BBC
America are considering broadcasting the show later in 2009.
Brian Draper has written "Yes
in Australia", which he hopes to publish in late 2009 or early 2010.
The book covers Yes's two Australian tours (1973 and 2003) and includes
previously unpublished photos from the 1973 tour.
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.
Alan Farley is putting free
updates to his book "The Extraordinary World of Yes" online here.
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. Squire, Howe
and Bruford are all working on
autobiographies, which will doubtless cover Yes.
Jason Ali and Jonathan
Aitchison have recently published a palaeogeographic
paper (Journal of
Biogeography, 2009,
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02105.x)
considering the evidence that the Kerguelen Plateau
formed a terrestrial causeway between
east Antarctica and India in the late Cretaceous period.
Their paper is entitled
"Kerguelen Plateau and the Late Cretaceous southern-continent
bioconnection hypothesis: Tales from a topographical ocean," a title
inspired by Yes's Tales from
Topographic Oceans.
Other news In Oct 2009, Anderson, Squire,
Horn and Rabin were awarded a BMI award for "Owner of a Lonely
Heart" reaching 3 million plays on US TV and radio.
Alan
White, Chris
Squire & Trevor Rabin at John Lennon tribute event Alan White,
Chris Squire
and Trevor
Rabin all participated in the Imagine a Cure Benefit
Concert
honouring the music of John Lennon. The
concert, spearheaded by White, was on 18 Apr 2009 (with rehearsals on
16-17 Apr)
near Seattle, WA, and was benefitting the Puget
Sound
affiliate of the Susan G.
Komen for the Cure breast
cancer charity. It featured a core band with White and various
guest artists, including Squire
and Rabin,
performing John
Lennon songs
from The Beatles, The Plastic Ono Band and his solo career. Regular
members of Alan's White Sox All-Stars
played, including Bernt
Bodal (ex-Høst),
Spike
Edney (Queen), Jamie Moses
(worked with Queen),
Eric
Bazilian (ex-The Hooters), Geoffrey Castle (violin).
Other
musicians included Reek Havok (works with Alan White; percussion),
Beatles
tribute
band
Apple
Jam (work with Alan White), Roger
Fisher
(ex-Heart, ex-Alias, worked with Alan White; guitar),
Taylor Hawkins (Foo
Fighters), Simon
Kirke (ex-Free, ex-Bad Company, worked with Squire/White)
and Spike O'Neill (Spike & The Impalers,
worked with
Alan White).
The set included (with incomplete
player details noted): "Come Together" (Hendryx on lead vocals), "Day
Tripper" (Hawkins on lead vocals, White on drums, Rabin on guitar, with
Bodal and Hudson), "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My
Monkey",
"Happiness is a Warm Gun", "Hey Bulldog", "I'm Down", "Imagine" (Squire
on bass, Rabin on lead vocals for 1st verse and on guitar), "Instant
Karma" (final song with everyone), "Whatever Gets You Through the
Night", "Just Gimme Some Truth"
(Squire on bass, Rabin on lead vocals and guitar, White on drums,
Hawkins and Hudson on backing vocals), "Long Tall Sally",
"Money (That's What I Want)", "Revolution", "Twist and Shout" (White
one of two drummers), "Luck of
the Irish", "Give Peace a Chance"
(White one of two drummers),
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"
(Squire on bass). In all, Rabin and Squire played on approx.
5 pieces in all, with Rabin only singing on the aforementioned pieces.
A large number of clips are on YouTube here.
Anderson
Wakeman
In May 2006, Wakeman said he
and Anderson were
halfway through
recording
an album together. The duo toured that year and played several
new pieces live and these are expected on
the album. Anderson
(vocals,
acoustic guitars) and Wakeman (grand piano)
toured
the UK; first set:
new song (lyric begins "Some take that
step
along...")/"Yours is No Disgrace" (abbreviated), new song (seems to be
a continuation of the first new song, lyric begins "I hear somebody
cry...")/"Wonderous
Stories", new song (known as "Anyway and Always")/"Your Move"/"South
Side
of the Sky" (similar to
The Ultimate Yes version), "Time and a Word"
(reggae version), "The Garden" (new song), "Awaken". Following an
interval,
Anderson took a solo spot, beginning at the piano for "Piano Songs", a
version of his medley from
his solo touring
("Set Sail"/"Close to the Edge" extract/"Who Could Imagine?"/new song
(known
as "Marry Me Again")/"The Revealing Science of God" extract), then
switching
to guitar for "Give Love Each Day" and "Nous Sommes du Soleil"
("Ritual" excerpt). Wakeman then took a solo spot:
"Nursery
Rhyme
Concerto", "Catherine Howard" and his version of "Eleanor Rigby" in the
style of Prokofiev. The second set finished with the duo playing "And
You and I" (abbreviated), "Turn of the Century", "Owner of a Lonely
Heart",
"Sweet Dreams", "Forever" (new song, a.k.a. "Deeper Love");
encore:
"Roundabout", "The Meeting". There will not
be
a DVD from the tour as the duo feel the new material needs further
work. On his radio show in Sep
2008, Wakeman said the live recordings were "crap" and so there will
not be a release, but that he and Anderson were planning to re-record
the songs for a CD release.
It appears North American shows were
planned, but these have yet to materialise. In a Dec
2006 article, Wakeman said:
Jon and I decided
from
the outset to take things slowly. The Rick and Jon area is just one
part
of our lives. [...] The next stage is not to go out with more touring.
I’ve pretty much retired from long touring now. This means that there
is
likely to be a few shows at some time in America with Jon and myself,
but
not until after we have completed the album that we are doing at the
moment.
The new songs we performed on the tour had a really good reaction and
that
convinced us to finish off more of the songs we had been working on and
to put a really nice acoustic album out.
Asked at a Jul 2009 show, Wakeman
said he and Anderson are "thinking about" another joint tour. In the RWCC Summer Newsletter 2009,
Wakeman, after criticising promotion for the winter Yes tour for not
making his and Anderson's absence clear, goes on to say that "there are
plans for us to do a very limited number of performances together in
2010 which will include the West Coast of America in the first half of
the year and possibly the UK toward the end of the year." Details are
expected in early 2010.
All
to Bring You Morning
Pianist Johnny Harris's 1973 album
for Warner Bros., All to Bring You
Morning, has been released
on to CD (as a vinyl transfer) by Rhino
for the first
time; it is also available digitally. Tracks: "Imagine" (3:52), "All to
Bring You Morning" (14:18), "Love Song" (3:18), "Norwegian Wood (This
Bird has Flown)" (2:36), "Pavane" (4:11), "You've Lost That Lovin'
Feelin'" (9:17). While mostly instrumental, the title track includes
guest appearances by Jon Anderson (vocals, lyrics) and Steve Howe
(guitar), while Alan White plays on much of the album. Eddie Offord
also worked on the album, as recording engineer on 2 other tracks.
Jon Anderson
& Trevor
Rabin
A Jun 2006 report had Trevor
Rabin saying
he and Anderson had just spent a week
writing
together and that they were both very pleased with the results. The
pair
were also working together for about a week in Mar 2006. Anderson has
talked about the collaboration since. In a May
2008
article, he talked of him and Rabin doing live work, "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. In
a Jun 2008 interview (see above),
Anderson again talked about writing
with Rabin, this time mooting the possibility of doing so for a film in
2009.