YESSHOWS

Yesshows is a far less thrilling album than Yessongs (1973), but like his earlier live companion, it closes a chapter in Yes history. While Yessongs was their crowning achieviment, Yesshows catches them fading away. But it was a worth release, even thought I would prefer it was the recording of one show, or at least the recording of a period of time. Here it mixes Yes of the Patrick Moraz era with the time Rick Wakeman came back. Fortunatly you´ll hardly notice the differences. Their live excellence was notorious and here is the proof they had lost none of it.

Going for The One and Parallels are quite superior to their studio versions and the other tracks are also very well done. I used to hate the vynil double LP because it divided Ritual in two parts. Fortunatly I got a hold of a russian remastered copy that correted that (all the tracks are here, but it is a single CD. Much of the talking and clapping is edited, but I don´t really mind). The sound quality is very good.

Although obviously not par to Yessongs, it is however an essential live album, and documents the best songs from a rather confusing period for Yes (and prog music in general). But, performing live, they were prog masters anyway.