A MOONLIT NIGHT IN BUDAPEST

Step by step I started discovering the music of Yesterdays, indeed, going back in time. Following their Saint-Exupéry álma CD the first album, "Holdfénykert" followed, as well as the concert version, "A Moonlit Night in Budapest", which although released this year, takes the listener back to 2007.

The MiniProg Festival was hosted by three bands: Yesterdays, Flamborough Head and Peter Banks' Harmony in Diversity. This was one of Peter Banks' last concerts... in Budapest on February 25, 2007.

The charm of Yesterdays' first album was that it was presented to the prog audience with very acoustic, intimate music, while it was delivered live with an electric version. Anyone who is familiar with the studio version is expected to have a lot of exciting surprises, not only are the songs stronger in sound, but there are also structural changes, extra speakers, strange sounds (like the guitarist's "MouthMoog" solo at the end of Ne félj, is something unheard in progressive rock).

In the concert recording we hear a young band, which is also interesting because today Yesterdays has grown into a very mature, strong band. However, it is exciting to see, to hear, where they came from, what their initial musical influences were. The influences by Yes, Genesis, Camel were felt in 2006, 2007, but there were also a lot of folk and jazz elements in their music. Now they are moving on the sophisticated music line of symphonic progressive rock, a bit like hearing Yes using a female singer :).

The highlight of the concert CD - for me - was the epic song Seven. It contained everything that is now so Yesterdays branded: virtuoso analog synthesizer solos, mellotrons, great drumming, Steve Howe-inspired guitar playing and a lot of flute melodies. And in this song's structure there are the many exciting rhythm-changes, polyrhythm, and despite the long song structure, it does not contain empty, boring parts, but immediately grabbing the attention of the listener with melodic vocals, catchy choruses, recurring themes and an ending comparable to Starship Trooper, just like the Würm part, only - of course - in 7/8, which is also indicated by the title of the song.

Fantastic concert album by a talented young band that is at the beginning of their career. I also recommend it to those who only got in touch with the music of Yesterdays' concept album from 2022.