ULTIMATE YES: 35TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

The Ultimate Yes is a compilation album that was released to celebrate the band's 35th year of existence. There are several different versions of the collection with somewhat different tracks and running order. The version that is available on Spotify in my territory oddly doesn't include anything more recent than (a remix of the title track from) Big Generator. Only the US version covers the whole 35 year history of the band with inclusions from Union, Talk, Open Your Eyes, The Ladder, and Magnification (the latter being their most recent studio album at the time of this compilation).

For fans of the band The Ultimate Yes is of limited interest as most of the tracks here were previously released on the regular studio albums. There are however a few previously unreleased tracks that may be of some interest for fans and collectors. These include a new edit of Soon (a bit longer than the original single edit), the aforementioned remix of Big Generator, a single edit of The Calling, and a radio edit of Homeworld (The Ladder). The single edits of America and It Can Happen are bound to be in your collection already, especially as they were included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD editions of Close To The Edge and 90125 respectively.

There is also a bonus disc with some acoustic recordings including Roundabout and South Side Of The Sky. Show Me is a new song by Jon Anderson that was performed on the band's tour at the time. These acoustic arrangements can be heard on the Yes Acoustic DVD and some of them also on the Songs From Tsongas: 35th Anniversary Concert DVD. If you like me already own both Yes Acoustic and Songs From Tsongas, The Ultimate Yes does not offer that much extra. However, Australia and New World Symphony are new recordings that are not to my knowledge available elsewhere. These are solo numbers by Steve Howe and Chris Squire respectively that round off the bonus disc. New World Symphony is a more fitting closer now than it was at the time considering Squire's untimely passing.

If you want "the ultimate Yes" you must invest in the entire back catalogue, nothing short of that will do.

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