Ultimate YES: 18th Album

A Crimson Mellotron wrote: Jon Anderson & the Band Geeks

Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks

Anderson

Have to go with the Band Geeks here. I like mayonnaise on my databases.

Big Sky wrote: Anderson and Band of Geeks. Open Your Eyes was not meant to be a Yes album. It was a Squire and Sherwood project for their band Conspiracy. New management for Yes pushed for it to be a Yes album. Howe was opposed to the album being Yes, but lost out on that decision. As he stated, the band had already recorded a Yes album the soon to be released Keys to Ascension 2, which he believed had some strong material. Howe and Anderson only came in toward the end to record their parts for Open Your Eyes. In fact, both Keys 2 and Open Your Eyes were released in November, 1997, with Keys being released at the beginning of the month and Open Your Eyes 3 weeks later. Open Your Eyes is Yes's worst studio release. In their defense, or at least in Howe and to a lesser extent Anderson, it was not meant to be a Yes album.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Big Sky wrote: Anderson and Band of Geeks. Open Your Eyes was not meant to be a Yes album. It was a Squire and Sherwood project for their band Conspiracy. New management for Yes pushed for it to be a Yes album. Howe was opposed to the album being Yes, but lost out on that decision. As he stated, the band had already recorded a Yes album the soon to be released Keys to Ascension 2, which he believed had some strong material. Howe and Anderson only came in toward the end to record their parts for Open Your Eyes. In fact, both Keys 2 and Open Your Eyes were released in November, 1997, with Keys being released at the beginning of the month and Open Your Eyes 3 weeks later. Open Your Eyes is Yes's worst studio release. In their defense, or at least in Howe and to a lesser extent Anderson, it was not meant to be a Yes album. So true. Open Your Eyes is much less worthy of being a Yes album than Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, which looks and sounds like a Yes album in all but name. It's a pity the way Open Your Eyes turned out though, because the three Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood Conspiracy albums sound pretty good, at least to my ears anyway.  <div style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 2000: Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood - Conspiracy - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nrDIeGSdSWPF7UN5ESd292B4ZIYujkbZk <div style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 2003: Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood - The Unknown - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7hwp0Md6S4sMoW5me2P2OR99_TbjLKT_<div style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 2013: Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood - Conspiracy Live - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n8NkZq6P3Y7RTcsGlY1VusNjHS4xDErRE

Paul,

Agreed. I see the Keys albums as somewhat missed opportunity. Instead of two albums of a mix of live and studio material, I wish Yes would have focused on just new studio album.

Wakeman felt the tracks particularly on Keys 2 was very strong and that it should have been released as just a studio recording. Anderson believed that management let the band down, especially in regards of supporting the Key albums which he felt should have done better on the charts.

Had the focus been on just a studio album, I think Yes would have been better served. Two of the tracks that found their way on to Keys 2 could have easily been put on the first Keys album had the focus been on a studio recording. Mind Drive goes back to the XYZ rehearsals in the early 80s with the arrangement somewhat worked out by the time of the first Key studio sessions. Children of the Light had been written by Anderson and Vangelis in the mid 80s. A demo version of that track was recorded with ABWH.

So the band had material when they went into the studio for the first Keys album. Futhermore, it appears a number of the tracks that appeared on Keys 2 had been worked on during the sessions for the first Keys album. But, the focus seemed to be on releasing a live album with a couple new studio tracks included.

The studio tracks that were recorded for Keys 2 was recorded and mixed by November, 1996. The first Keys album was released in October, 1996, just one month prior. The recorded material for Keys 2 sat on the shelf for a year before it was released. Management during this period of Yes was poor in my opinion.