Blogcritics Comments on DVD Review: Yes - 9012Live

Comment by Paul Roy

Tue, 9 May 2006 08:02:48 EDT

Jay and Duane, you both make some great points. I mentioned in some of my other Yes reviews that it would be nice to hear something other than "Owner" or "Rhythm" from the Rabin-era. Could you imagine the current band doing an updated "Changes". I also thought they should have invited Rabin out as a special guest on the 35th anniversary tour. I agree, for the most part, with Duane's Rush assesment, but the thing that really made up for their lackluster '90's output, were the incredible tours they continued to do every couple of years. The last two may have been their best ever.

Comment by Jay

Mon, 8 May 2006 17:27:37 EDT

Duane, I don't think it's fair to compare the career arcs of Rush and Yes. There are certainly big similarities in the type of music they play, but Rush have been far more consistent both in terms of production and line-up. Rush has been the same 3 guys since the second album, and they released at least one album every two years from '74 until '93. And they only took a long break after '96 to allow Neil Peart to recover from both his daughter and his wife dying in a period of less than a year! I do agree a lot of their greatest music and greatest popularity was around early 80s albums you name, but they have absolutely amazing, classic songs on every album from their second album right up to last original studio disc - and if you don't buy it, crank up "By-Tor and the Snowdog" and "One Little Victory" back-to-back. Those are two KILLER examples of heavy progressive music recorded 30 years apart. Yes, by contrast, is really a tail of a number of different musical personalities, and and a lot of ways different BANDS under (mostly) one name. It's also a bit unfair to compare "Heart of Sunrise" to "Owner of A Lonely Heart" because they really are not the same band. When Trevor Rabin wrote that song his band wasn't even called Yes, it was called Cinema - they only changed the name to Yes once Jon Anderson joined. He wasn't trying to write progressive rock, he was trying to write pop songs. That said, I also think it's unfair to characterize "Owner.." as lame 'cus when it came out in 1983, it was almost as revolutionary as "Heart of Sunrise" and "Roundabout". The snappy synth horns and overly processed guitars sound cheesey to us now, but they were fresh and original sounds when they came out on that record. Yes, perhaps 'cus of the many changes in personnel, various side projects, and whatever weird politics and such have gone on within the band, have been a lot less consistent both in terms of sound and overall quality than Rush if you ask me. All bands have hits and misses, but there are some BIG misses on many Yes albums from '74 on. And I say that as a true fan. I love both Rush and Yes but while you can certainly compare their music, I don't really see how their careers compare historically or in terms of output. Sorry.

Comment by Duane

Mon, 8 May 2006 16:39:55 EDT

Rush is a good analogy for the career arc of Yes. Both bands started off trying to get recognized, having to play music that sounded like other bands, but squeezing in a track or two that had pretensions of something different. Both bands recruited new members (Rush got Peart; Yes got Howe and Wakeman) who injected a new level of musicality. They started experimenting, and things came together for a run of spectacular (in my opinion) albums. Rush generated Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Grace Under Pressure. Yes generated Fragile, Close to the Edge, Topographic, and Relayer. Both strings of albums show these groups at their absolute peak form, both in composition and performance. Then ... something bad happened. In their later products, there were a few good songs mixed in with sub-par stuff that these guys could crank out in an afternoon. Sure, Yes got some airplay and some increased notoriety, but the music was relatively lame. Just think Heart of the Sunrise in contrast to Owner of a Lonely Heart, to take an example. On the other hand, unlike many oldster bands that re-unite and do concert tours for the sake of nostalgia, and usually disappoint, Rush and Yes can still play their instruments. I have seen both live within the past three years, and they are still excellent performers. I think Jon Anderson has actually gotten better with age.

Comment by Jay

Mon, 8 May 2006 16:26:47 EDT

Okay, I agree in part, I'm not keen on any band that doesn't have Trevor Rabin in it trying to play "Owner..." 'cus no one else can really play that solo properly. But there are SO many better songs from Generator or 90125 that they could have played. Don't you think the 35th anniversary band would have killed playing "Changes" or "Almost Like Love" or "I'm Running" or "Hearts"? Anyway I'll admit I'm nit picking 'cus I thought it was a great tour, "Rhythm of Love" is just overplayed IMHO. I actually cried on that tour when they played "Turn of the Century" - they could have just done that one said and said "goodnight" and I would have been pretty happy.

Comment by Paul Roy

Mon, 8 May 2006 15:47:50 EDT

Jay, I loved the version of "Rhythm of Love" that they did on the 35th anniversary tour. I never really liked it that much on the album, but this version really came alive. I was just happy to hear something other than "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" from the Rabin era.

Comment by Mark Saleski

Mon, 8 May 2006 15:37:15 EDT

content aside, Big Generator is also one of the worst-sounding recordings ever made. super-mega-ultra-shrill.

Comment by Jay

Mon, 8 May 2006 15:30:52 EDT

Okay, I'm sorry, I have to say this 'cus I adore pretty much every Yes era, but "Rhythm of Love" is an utterly boring, irritating, generic example of bad 80s songwriting and production, exacerbated by the fact that they INSIST in playing it on every tour with every incarnation of the band (except ABWH) since it came out!!! Worst was on the 35th anniversary tour where Jon sang the song walking through the audience in a jacket so glittery that would have made Glen Campbell puke. Apart from that, I think Yes is a great band. I even liked the Union tour.

Comment by Paul Roy

Mon, 8 May 2006 14:28:50 EDT

Talk has its moments, especially "The Calling", and "Endless Dream", and Big Generator has "Love Will Find A Way" and "Rhythm of Love", but there is too much filler between the good stuff. I find 90125 to be virtually filler free.

Comment by ChuckSplatt

Mon, 8 May 2006 12:07:40 EDT

IMHO, I think Talk is the best thing that Rabin-era Yes cranked out. Not knocking 90125 - that was a great album, too. I would love to have a DVD of a show from the Talk tour, though.

Comment by rob

Mon, 8 May 2006 08:50:24 EDT

Caught Yes on this tour in Toronto at the old Exhibition Stadium. It was excellent. Your review brought back some great memories. I will definitely buy this DVD.

Comment by Guppusmaximus

Mon, 8 May 2006 07:51:46 EDT

Great Review.... Considering I'm an 80's fan, I too loved 90125 because it has the sound of that era. I will definately check this DVD out. But, I also loved "Big Generator" & "Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe" so I'm sure alot of hardcore YES fans would shoot me down for that as well. In general, no matter what music is your favorite, these guys are fantastic musicians that love music. They have such a talent for songwriting and just creating music that pushes the envelope. I am a firm believer that without YES prog rock/prog metal would've been missing a major influence!!