Yes

I love most Yes albums and especially all their live albums are treasures. Yessongs is epic and so is Live at Montreux and Live Tsongas as well as the latest live albums with concerts from the 70s.

Dellinger wrote: I actually could do without Tormato... I don't really care about tinny production or whatever... I just don't really like the songs. I do like "Onward", but the version on Keys to Ascension, with the added acoustic guitar intro, is much better. And acutally, I do like "Don't Kill the Whale" too, but once again, I like better the live version at Yesshows, so I don't really need the studio album. As for Union, indeed the album is not great, and the stories about session musicians coming in to do the parts that should have been done by the band are just disappointing, however, I do love "I would have waited forever", "Shock to the System", and "The More we Live, let go", so I really wouldn't do without this album.

I agree that many of the newer (or comparatively newer) songs do benefit from live embellishments or a different emphasis. I'm a sucker for On the Silent Wings of Freedom though - went straight to that track when I heard the sad news about Chris Squire. Great opening bass line and that church bell later on! 😀

I might have another dive into Union and check out those other songs you mentioned - I remember the first two and a bit of re-evaluation of them after all these years might be worthwhile. Might even go into uncharted waters with a few others - just in case there is the odd pearl I missed all those years back.

Squonk19 wrote: Magnification - despite the lack of a keyboardist. The orchestral backing of these songs works very well. Some really strong compositions are hidden in there. I actually thought Fly From Here was a good attempt at capturing the original spirit of Yes - without Mr Anderson. Better than their latest one for sure, sadly.

Yeah, Magnification is great. With some really strong songs. And indeed mostly it doesn't miss a keyboardist... except perhaps on "In the Presence of", after hearing live versions with Wakeman, that piano intro is really improved with him on keyboards... it would be really great to have an orchestrated version with him on the band. I also did like Fly from here well enough... specially the 3 tracks rescued from the 80's were great, and I believe they should have been used on Drama, and Benoit really showed how beautifully he could sing without having to strain himself trying to reach Anderson's original singing on their live shows. They really should have kept him in the band (as well as Oliver, whom I think was doing a better job - at least live - than Downes).

Magnification - despite the lack of a keyboardist. The orchestral backing of these songs works very well. Some really strong compositions are hidden in there.

I actually thought Fly From Here was a good attempt at capturing the original spirit of Yes - without Mr Anderson. Better than their latest one for sure, sadly.



Edited by Squonk19 - October 25 2017 at 17:15

condor wrote: dbeckton89 wrote: Just listen to them all, ...or until you've had enough of Jon Anderson. Yes, but in which order?

Well you've already listened to the essentials by the looks of things so it doesn't really matter does it?

Just listen to them all, ...or until you've had enough of Jon Anderson.

The Yes Album.

90125 is good but aside from maybe Open Your Eyes it's probably the most blatantly pop oriented album they ever did partly because initially it wasn't going to be a Yes record. Still, I don't think it deserves the bad reputation that many of the long time Yes purists seem to bestow upon it. Same thing with Big Generator which is one of their most under rated albums imo(especially these days).