A MOONLIT NIGHT IN BUDAPEST

Less than a year after the release of their highly successful concept album, Yesterdays is back, this time with a live concert recording. In a somewhat unconventional fashion, the recording was made during their inaugural tour, featuring material from their debut album, "Moonlit Garden."

Unfortunately, at the time, I was not yet familiar with the band, so this release promised to be a true treat for me, and it did not disappoint. It maintains the high-quality, audiophile sound, and comes in a beautiful digipack package that I've come to expect from them.

What makes this concert special is the presence of Peter Banks, the former guitarist of Yes, who was a special guest for the evening. He performed with his Harmony in Diversity improvisational program. The third act of the evening was Flamborough Head, who had released their Budapest concert album several years prior. Peter Banks surprised Yesterdays at the end of their performance, took the microphone, and spoke very admiringly of them. You can hear this at the end of their YES-inspired song "Seven."

I consider Yesterdays' album "Moonlit Garden" a very strong debut. They stand out as an intriguing Eastern European progressive presence, offering distinctly Hungarian-flavored atmospheres, even though they briefly sing in English on two tracks. The original album has a very acoustic sound, so it's quite interesting that the live recording features hardly any acoustic guitar; instead, a brilliant-sounding Fender Stratocaster and a double-necked guitar enhance the sound.

The beautiful vocals, along with the enchanting flute, make the instrumentation particularly special. Everything falls into place seamlessly, despite this being the fourth concert in the young career of Yesterdays.

The epic-length track "Seven" from the "Moonlit Garden" album is the true highlight of the concert, but I also have a strong fondness for the songs "Hol vagy?" and "Várj még." In comparison to the original version of "So Divine (like Cherrypie)," we get a longer version with a jazzy virtuoso minimoog solo, paying tribute to the band's late keyboardist, Zsolt Enyedi.

Following prog rock traditions, the live concert recording also includes instrumental solo pieces, such as Bogáti- Bokor Ákos's guitar virtuoso performance ("Willow") and Zsolt Enyedi's melancholic and beautiful piano solo ("Memories of Light").

I was delighted to hear the news of Yesterdays releasing this live album, and I'm pleased to see on social media that the band is actively performing again. I hope to have the chance to see Yesterdays live in concert.

I recommend this release to symphonic prog enthusiasts and those who are not deterred by jazzy elements, moods, and even folk-inspired references. A real prog-delight with 4 stars.