Yes: Fly from Here (2011)
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Printed Date: February 23 2025 at 10:39
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Topic: Yes: Fly from Here (2011)
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Subject: Yes: Fly from Here (2011)
Date Posted: August 24 2020 at 15:19
I'm Going for the One Yes album that's often overlooked this time around: Fly from Here is the twentieth studio album by Yes - not including the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album from 1989 - and it was the first Yes album in ten years since the Magnification album in 2001. Following a long re-Union tour in 2009 & 2010, there was Talk of recording a new Yes album, but singer Jon Anderson was in a Fragile state of health, following a bad asthma attack, and he needed time to recover. Canadian singer Benoit David was brought in as a replacement, making Fly from Here the first Yes album not to feature Jon Anderson since the Drama album in 1980. Benoit David was the frontman for the Yes tribute band, Close to the Edge, making him the perfect choice as a replacement singer. Yes line-ups have been something of an ever-changing Relayer race over the years, but The Yes Album featured here included the regular line-up of Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes & Alan White. There's almost as much controversy surrounding the Fly from Here album amongst Yes fans as the classic Tales from Topographic Oceans album from 1973. Time and a Word has it that Fly from Here is generally not that highly regarded amongst Yes fans, when it's sometimes seen as a bit of a bad Tormato in the Yes canon. Fly from Here was a Big Generator of album sales though, climbing The Ladder of success to reach No. 30 in the U.K albums chart and selling well over 5,000 copies in the first week alone, although it was never likely to equal the success of the best-selling 90125 album. Fly from Here may not move Heaven & Earth, but if you Open Your Eyes and ears and give the album a listen, you may discover the Keys to Ascension, or maybe not, as the case may be.  All albums in Red Highlights by Yes  |
Replies:
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: August 24 2020 at 15:58
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A Sad Night at the Airfield is one of those sublime moments of modern Yes. There is a proto-version of Fly From Here by the Buggles (or maybe Yes during the Drama tour) somewhere on the net. |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 24 2020 at 16:12
There's also an alternative version of the album titled "Fly from Here - Return Trip", recorded in 2018 and featuring Trevor Horn on vocals, who also produced the original Fly from Here album.
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Tom Ozric wrote:Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: August 24 2020 at 19:59
| This album was... well, in a way, a nice surprise, and in a way, a disappointment. But in the end, I did like the Fly from Here suite songs, but it didn't really work as an epic or as a suite, it's really just 3 songs with one of them played abreviated as an intro, an uninspired bridge instrumental, and the coda of the fly from here song once again... I prefer to just listen to the 3 main songs, which are rather nice. However, the rest of the album didn't do much for me (except for Into the Storm), so the good parts were mostly songs already written since the 80's. Which makes it a wonder they didn't want to use Oliver's songs that were just released on From a Page (which i haven't heard because I don't intend to buy Live from Lyon again). And then, I was pleasantly surprised with Benoit's singing once he wasn't trying to keep up with Anderson's original vocals while playing live. And then, when the Return Trip version came along, I just didn't understand why they should do that, and didn't really want to give it much of a chance because I thought it was really rude towards Benoit, whose vocals I had already loved (yet, I would love it if something similar was done with Heaven and Earth, though of course Trevor Horn wouldn't have any reason to do so). |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: August 24 2020 at 20:15
| I need to pull it out again. It's been a while since I've heard it. I never bought the return trip version. Is it worth it? |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 24 2020 at 23:27
^ I haven't heard the Return Trip version, but I'm going to Fly from Here right now and see if I can find any YouTube videos from the album to post here. 
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 00:23
| I only ever owned the MP3 version which is unusual for me but I've never had a desire to own the CD . Dellinger's post sums it up well for me. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 01:58
There's a track called "We can fly from here" on CD3 of The Word Is Live box set. Off the top of my head I can't remember how much of the suite it is but I'm pretty sure it's not the whole thing.
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 02:49
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 03:20
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We Can Fly (Official Video) |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 03:39
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The original recording of "We Can Fly from Here" from 1980 with Trevor Horn on vocals. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 04:15
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I know some people don't like this album but I do. I'd put it above most of the later period Yes albums such as The Ladder and Magnification and level with Talk. And I'm talking about the Benoit David version - I've only heard the Horn version once and I've never really understood why they rerecorded the vocals, it wasn't necessary.
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 05:24
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I refuse to hear it. Indeed, it’s the Drama line-up complete, so I’d say it would be a good listen. I’d probably be offended if I was Benoit. |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 05:34
Fly from Here is #6 on my Top 7 list of favourite Yes albums, although perhaps not surprisingly, it didn't come anywhere near to making it into the overall Top 7 in a recent poll.  1. The Ladder 2, Talk 3. Going for the One 4. Close to the Edge 5. The Yes Album 6. Fly from Here 7. Magnification |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 05:44
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The Making of Fly from Here - Part 1 The Making of Fly from Here - Part 2 |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 06:59
| I gave this album a chance yesterday and it's got two listenable songs. Got worse with every listen. |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 07:08
You sound like you're Close to the Edge of giving up on the album entirely.
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Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 07:10
I've already given up on it. |
Posted By: FatherChristmas
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 07:11
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^^Agreed here.
This has got be the first OP to a Yes thread where you didn't write "before I Fly from Here" at the end of it.
 ------------- "Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence" - Robert Fripp "I am an anti-Christ" - Johnny Rotten |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 07:15
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^ Apart from The Ladder album. I mentioned Fly from Here so many times in the text this time that I didn't need to mention it again at the end.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 07:20
Time and a Word indicated to me that you weren't going to like Fly from Here upon listening to it again, but you could try Going for the One Yes album coming up next.
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Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 07:27
 no
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 09:48
^ It looks like I got my words back to front upon reading my last message again. No wonder you look confused. 
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Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 09:53
it's not the "confused" emoticon it's the "erm...let me think" emoticon.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 10:13
Ah yes, I see now. It says "Errrm" when I hold the cursor over your choice of emoticon.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 12:25
Having just listened to Trevor Horn's original 1980 version of "We Can Fly from Here", I much prefer Benoit David's 2011 version. 
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 12:41
| If I were to rate the album on here I would give it 3.5. I think I would struggle to give it four stars. There are some really nice moments on it though. |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 12:48
I've rated all of the Yes albums apart from two which I haven't yet got around to listening to:-  Yes (1969) Time and a Word (1970) The Yes Album (1971) Fragile (1971) Close to the Edge (1972) Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) Relayer (1974) Going for the One (1977) Tormato (1978) Drama (1980) 90125 (1983) Big Generator (1987) Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989) Union (1991) Talk (1994) Keys to Ascension (1996) Open Your Eyes (1997) The Ladder (1999) Magnification (2001) Fly from Here (2011) Heaven & Earth (2014) |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 13:31
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Keys to Ascension (1996) is a live album You should try and listen to Keystudio.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 25 2020 at 14:54
Listening to the album again has had the opposite effect on me. I like Fly from Here more than ever now.
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: August 26 2020 at 00:09
| It's the very definition of 'MEH' |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: August 26 2020 at 02:29
The easiest album to find a place for in my Yes album intros is always the first self-titled album and the hardest has always been Tales from Topographic Oceans.
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: August 26 2020 at 23:18
| About the Return Trip comments, I might add, even if I'm among the ones that refuse to give it much of a chance, wonderint what's the point... well, actually the point is that it was Trevor Horn's music, and he wanted to do that for himself... I still wonder why they didn't do so in the first place, I remember reading something about Benoit himself saying to Trevor that he should be doing it while they were recording the album, and Trevor thought it was not such a great idea and though Benoit's singing was beautiful. I guess he must have changed his mind somewhat later on. And even though I myself think Benoit should have felt insulted for this, I believe I read someone saying that he actually gave his blessing... so I might forgive that album's existence... still, I don't have the urge to buy it again, since I have the original version and find it perfectly enjoyable that way. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: August 26 2020 at 23:21
Well, Keys to Ascension is half live, and half studio, and there's two parts of it. I do wish it was one double live album and one studio one, but it's just not so. Still, I do think it's better to get the Keys to Ascension versions, since I find that some of the best moments are the live tracks... Starship Trooper and Awaken are my definite favourite versions of those songs. |