SOMETHING'S COMING - THE BBC RECORDINGS 1969-1970

Here is a two-disc set of Yes in their fledgling years. According to the man at the flea market who sold me this for $12, he saw Yes in Denmark when they were practically unknown. He says they showed up in Volkswagen bus and played for the same pay as the local bands because they wanted to get their name out their and make it big. He said the next time he saw them they were using an 18-wheeler to haul their equipment. It must have been something, catching a piece of progressive rock history in the flesh like that. Born almost fifteen years after these performances, this is all I have. And while I'm grateful to hear it, I am disheartened with the presentation itself. No question- the sound quality is paper thin and terrible. The guitar is tinny and painful. While the bass and drums come through pretty okay, the rest of the music is downright muddy, and at times distressing. The immaturity of Jon Anderson's vocals are clear enough, however. Yet it is the raw enthusiasm and their clear thirst to push the boundaries of music that makes this item worth having in one's collection. The performances are no doubt lively, and while not quite as good as the studio versions, inject a degree of energy into the performance that is just amazing. "Dear Father," not a proper studio album track, is especially good. "Sweet Dreams" on the first disc inextricably fades out, while "Then" truncates the introduction. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required" is the sloppiest performance of the first disc, played way too fast and just sounding careless all around, even with terribly out-of-tune vocals. One enormous con with respect to this two-disc album is that the second disc is almost pointless, even when the bonus tracks are considered. The second disc offers "Astral Traveler," a better version of "Then," and "Beyond and Before." One other thing it has is a little ditty called "For Everyone," which is an early version of "Starship Trooper." The rest of the disc are different performances of some of the same songs on the first disc. I would have preferred to see some of the overlooked early masterpieces like "Survival" or "The Prophet" instead of redundant presentations. One pro however is hearing the young drumming of a certain Bill Bruford, whom I think steals the show, especially on the very first song. The commentary in the booklet from a clearly resentful Peter Banks is almost as entertaining as the music itself.