YESSHOWS

This live compilation album was released only 5 month after Drama and felt like an obvious cash-in on the newly reunited band. Unfortunately, anyone expecting a testament to the new lineup would be disappointed since this release is only concerns itself with the band's past.

Yesshows consists of live recordings from their 1976-78 incarnations, featuring Patrick Moraz on 2 tracks (3 if you count the original LP-version) that take up more than 60% of the album and Rick Wakeman on the rest of the material. It's clear that this record doesn't want to be a rehash of Yessongs, meaning that it's completely void of material from The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge. What we get instead is one track off Tales From Topographic Oceans, Relayer, Tormato and even the title track from Time And A Word combined with three tunes off Going For The One.

This is, in my opinion, a very lethal combination of material since there is nothing to hold these tracks together. Instead, it comes off like a collection of odds and sods that was released as a cheap cash in from both the band and the label. The playing on Yesshows is great, although I lack the magic of the original studio takes. This becomes especially apparent when listening to the over the top performance of Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil). I mean, the original 22 minute version felt way too long for its own good, but this live jam just pushes those boundaries even further into obscurity.

The only track that really makes me want to revisit this album is The Gates Of Delirium and that great performance only makes me want to hear more of of that 1976-tour, even though I'll also have to revisit the 30 minute version of Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil). The general mood of this live album is non-existent thanks to the constant back and forth jumps in time, but I'm sure that Yes fans will forgive Yesshows for its shortcomings since the material itself can be quite pleasant at times. Overall, a good but non-essential part of your Symphonic Prog collection.

***** star songs: The Gates Of Delirium (22:41)

**** star songs: Time And A Word (4:06) Don't Kill The Whale (6:50) Wonderous Stories (3:54)

*** star songs: Parallels (7:07) Going For The One (5:22) Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil) (28:55)