LIVE AT MONTREUX 2003

This album's relevance has recently dropped due to the release of Symphonic Live this year. But for two years, this album was the only place a fan of Yes music could get an official CD release with music off of Magnification; specifically, In The Presence Of and Magnification. It also includes South Side of the Sky, which was largely ignored by Yes for years despite being an amazing track, and an excellent version of Don't Kill The Whale. Also of interest to fans of Yes, Steve Howe plays an acoustic version of To Be Over that sounds sublime, and Jon Anderson sings an otherwise unreleased track, Show Me, which is nice if not amazing. The Rick Wakeman solo on this disc is quite good, and Chris squire and Alan White do an excellent job on The Fish.

Unfortunately, everything else on this album is lacking. There are better versions of Awaken, I've Seen All Good People, Roundabout, Siberian Khatru, and And You And I elsewhere (and if you're enough of a fan for the material above to matter, you've probably heard them dozens of times arleady). So while this is actually a pretty great live album for Yes fans, those who are more interested in their classic period would be better served skipping this one.

Overall, 2 stars, but 3 for Yes fans.