LIVE 1975 AT Q.P.R. VOL. 2

As I explained before, this concert was released in two separate Volumes. Now, I continue with my review for this concert, now for the Volume Two:

1. And You & I: played in a similar way to the live version included in "Yessongs", but Moraz also added his style to this song, even using his own keyboard sounds. It is a good version, anyway.

2. Ritual: by this song, it was nightime, and one can see more clearly the stage designs done by Martyn Dean (and maybe by Roger Dean too, but I don`t remember well now). It is a spectacular song to be seen on video, with the use of the stage designs and lights. Moraz played very well in this song. The drums and percussion section is very good, with White playing the drums, while Anderson, Howe and Squire support him playing percussion instruments and Moraz plays the keyboards. Anderson also plays an acoustic guitar in some parts of this song.

3. Roundabout: a good version, also different due to Moraz`organ solo.

4. Sweet Dreams: I think that this song was included in this tour to promote the "Yesterdays" compilation album which was released two or three months after the "Relayer" album, but in 1975. It is also a good version of this song, played a bit differently due to the changes in the line-up in comparison to the original studio version.

5. Yours is No Disgrace: a heavy version of this song, played similarly to the live version included in the "Yessongs" album and video.

In conclusion, this is a very good concert, somewhat marred by the bad mixing in several parts of the video, but it is, still, a very good filmed document of this YES ` line- up on tour.Alan White particularly shows that he has improved a lot in his playing, being in 1975 very well integrated with the sound and style of the band. Patrick Moraz showed how good he is as a keyboard player, particularly during his piano solo section. The rest of the musicians are very good, as always.

The companion to the other half of the show. Below is the review I had posted for the first installment:

This two DVD set is ESSENTIAL for all Yesfans! It captures the band at their peak period, performing all of RELAYER live, along with many, many of the excellent songs from the same period.

Unfortunately, these DVD's are quite rare, never getting a proper release in north america. The only "official" DVD release is on the Panorama (HK) label and goes for a decent amount of cash when it pops up on eBay. As noted by other reviewers, there are some discrepancies with the audio quality. On disc one it drops out and is really uneven sound, with Moraz at the top of the mix for the first few songs. it evens out on disc two which has a decent quality mix. The video quality throughout the DVD is average for the period and is quite watchable.

Now, the performance exhibited by the band here is phenomenal. on pieces like "Close to the Edge" we can see Moraz' take on some of the solos. Unfortunately he takes them way out of context and ruins them, but now we know! However, on the Relayer songs Moraz is at the top of his game. Jon is playing ghastly electric rhythm guitar throughout most of the show, and he really goes all out on the vocal sections of Gates! Howe is possibly the best I have ever seen him, his solos on this video are simply beyond the realms of human comprehension.

Along with Yessongs, ESSENTIAL for all 70's prog lovers.

Nice but not the best DVD.

Well, i have just arrived home after a heavy but great week at work, i saw a friend and drank a cup of coffee, so i think im going to bed in a couple of hours, meanwhile, i can return to one of the things i like and had not done since 2 or 3 weeks ago, writing reviews, and this time i will review some DVD`s.

I have not had the luck of watching the first part of this two-part DVD concert from Yes, so i cannot make an opinion of both, but i can say what i think about this second part, so it was half of the 70`s when the prog rock scene was at its bestand had released several of its memorable albums, Yes of course had already released Fragile, Tales or Relayer, so some of their highlights were taken in this concert where we can enjoy their great musicianship and the performance of 5 good songs.

Let me tell you that here we dont have the prescense of Mr. Wakeman, but Mr. Moraz makes a great job as usual here, he has control of several parts of the concert and his solos are great, as i said above, this concert has 5 songs which are: "And You And I" and i am sure that ypu and i know this song very well and like it, the performance here is excellent, since this is a 2-part DVD i know that this continues the first one, but i have to say that i would have liked to see another song instead of it at the beginning of the DVD, i mean, maybe this is a calm and slow song to start it, maybe another "heavier" song might have me more satisfied, anyway, thats just me, the song and performance itself is great.

"Ritual" brings me some memories because when i saw Yes here in Mexico i was astonished by their Ritual performance, it was an unforgettable moment for me, so this performance makes me feel some kind of goosebumps since its played in a similar way, and also the stage and designs or figures are maybe the same i dont remember exactly but its great, in this DVD they were young, when i saw them obviously they are much older but their playiong and quality as musicians is still the same good as 30 years ago.

"Roundabout" is another good performance, actually nothing different from other dvd versions so i am probably used to it "Sweet Dreams" is a song that does not enter in my top but i can listen without any problem, i would have prefered another song instead of it, maybe this is the weakest moment. "Yours Is No Disgrace" is the last song and a magnific performance, Squire is as usual greta with his unique style, and what can i say about Howe.

All in all this is a very nice dvd which would be worht buying only with the first part together, otherwise dont bother to do it, only if you are a fan, 3 stars, good but non-essential.

My low rating is not for the performance of the band, which might have been excellent. My rating is for the extremely low quality of the finished product. The picture quality is awful, the sound quality is far worse, the mix is bad (or maybe just the best you could do given the source material) the packaging is unimaginative (in both versions) and the fact that it was released as two different discs - when the whole show easily would have fitted onto one disc - are typical features that piss fans and record buyers off.

To me these releases are strictly historical documents and not for listening/viewing pleasure. I can recommend them only to Yes scholars and serious collectors and even to them only after having invested in all other Yes DVD's out there. I have quite a few Yes DVD's myself and these QPR ones are easily the worst in terms of musical enjoyment (opposed to the pure curiosity of seeing this short lived line-up perform).

I warned you!