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aglasshouse 
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 Topic: Was Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe a Failure?
Posted: August 27 2016 at 16:50 |
Jon Anderson is said to have felt strained by the restrictions of the pop-oriented rock Yes was playing at the time, and wanted to go back to basics. He pulled on board old Yes members to create a wonderful lineup with fantastic musicians. So, what I (perhaps naively) expected was something along the lines of a classic Yes revival.
But it turns out it was quite different. It didn't quite shake off the Yes sound of that time like on albums 90125 and Big Generator. Much of it features the same things people criticize 80's Yes for, except this time old members of the band are playing it (and Tony Levin). But, this could also be forgiven for either a laidback attitude or age.
It featured multi-movement suites which were very unlike the then-Yes and very much like your stereotypical prog band. So, I ask, did Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe turn out to be just like Jon Anderson's vision of a revival of classic Yes' sound or was it just another 80's Yes album disguised as a complex prog album?
This question extends to the band as well as their only album, seeing as that's where most if not all of their original material came from.
Edited by aglasshouse - August 29 2016 at 09:53
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Tom Ozric
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Posted: August 27 2016 at 17:03 |
Only Teakbois was a failure  - but there was an amusing story behind that slab of Caribbean noodling.........I think Anderson would sign the hotel guest-book as Bobby Dread.......
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Neu!mann
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Posted: August 27 2016 at 17:08 |
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Here's Bill Bruford, quoted from the book The Music's All That Matters:
"Anderson-Wakeman-Bruford-Howe was first and foremost a business thing. I still wasn't crazy about the music, but there were some interesting bits... If we could have developed the group over a very long period of time instead of, say, over five minutes, I believe the band could have been very interesting, but that wasn't the way Arista wanted it."
Quite a change from the spirit of early Yes, I would say. But the music business was very different in 1989 than it was in 1969. No wonder the band could only manage one studio album...
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omphaloskepsis
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Posted: August 27 2016 at 18:09 |
Failure? Not in my social circle. ABW&H has been a hit with every lady friend I've had since 89'. Ignorant of YES they request ABW&H more than any YESish album. Go figure...Not a failure. Me? I love that album. Majestically resplendent music!
Failure? Around the same time a little album called Union stunk up the place. That's failure!
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Clepsydra
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Posted: August 27 2016 at 19:50 |
Absolutely not! What WAS a failure (BUT a good one for me!) was Fish leaving Marillion (what a damn fool he was) Although I LOVE h! 
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Dellinger
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Posted: August 27 2016 at 20:58 |
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It certainly does't have the same feel as 70's classic Yes, but it's got some nice or even wonderful music. "Birthright" in particular is amazing for me, as well as the first two parts of "Brother of Mine" (the last one doesn't do much for me, unfortunatley). "Fist of Fire" is nice too. And from the Union album, I do love "Shock to the System" from the ABWH songs, and like "I Would Have Waited Forever" a lot too. Too bad we can't really know how much of the songs were actually played by the band or how much was played by session musicians. And lately I read that this first album also had it's share of session musicians getting in the way.
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cstack3
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Posted: August 27 2016 at 22:32 |
I saw ABWH in concert, they were sublime!
It was especially fun to see Tony Levin in Squire's spot, and he seemed to enjoy himself immensely. However, the "Yes" brand is probably too compelling to abandon completely, so it always goes back to Yes(registered trademark).
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twosteves
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 08:41 |
Live they were sublime^---so true.
I loved the album with a few exceptions like Tealkbois which was horrible----and still love to listen to it. And I am probably the only one that loves the ABWH songs on Union(not the cheesy yeswest stuff) too---listen to them in my car last week. 
Of course like Howe and Bruford wished they would have continured.
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JD
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 09:50 |
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Failure for who?
The band? I wouldn't say so. Regardless of whether you like the style or not it's a solid album. Their performance on tour was excellent (saw them in Toronto). It's still an album I give a lot of attention to even today.
The fans? I'd say no. This was the first gathering of Anderson, Wakeman and Howe since Tormato and they showed they could still function as a tight and coherent unit.
The critics? In all honesty...who gives f#@k about the critics anyway!
The demo material for the never released second album doesn't sound as strong to me as the first, but with development in the studio, who knows?
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maryes
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 10:11 |
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In my humble opinion, although ABWH ( with the remarkable exception of "The Birg Dream" ) stayed far from my expectations ...the album have another problem ... the quality of sound is pitiful : Tony Levin / Bass and Stick is almost inaudible and Wakeman's Keyboards suffocates Howe's guitars ( it's enough listen the first track "Themes" ) !
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anotherscott
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 10:42 |
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"Miracle of Life" and "Silent Talking" are strong too.
Edited by anotherscott - August 28 2016 at 10:42
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The-time-is-now
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 15:30 |
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Absolutely not a failure in my opinion. The band gave us a pretty beautiful album, inspired. The style isn't exactly the seventies Yes one of course. I would say the sound is more modern. But very good. One of my fave "Yes" albums for sure!
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emigre80
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 15:53 |
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akaBona
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 16:06 |
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A very good album. I still listen it quite often ...
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twosteves
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 17:08 |
 emigre80 wrote:
No. Next question. |
I'm Alive is so good---and so was the video mix of the song.
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miamiscot
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 18:11 |
"Birthright" and "Brother Of Mine" were terrific. Everything else on that LP was disappointing. At least it was better than Union.
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aglasshouse
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 18:36 |
miamiscot wrote:
"Birthright" and "Brother Of Mine" were terrific. Everything else on that LP was disappointing. At least it was better than Union. |
Exactly my opinion.
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delrussisam
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 18:42 |
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As mentioned above the tour performances were excellent and the album itself is wonderful in this die-hard Yes fan's humble opinion. I would have loved to have seen them continue for a bit. Also agree that we could have done without Teakbois.
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Dellinger
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 20:46 |
twosteves wrote:
Live they were sublime^---so true.
I loved the album with a few exceptions like Tealkbois which was horrible----and still love to listen to it. And I am probably the only one that loves the ABWH songs on Union(not the cheesy yeswest stuff) too---listen to them in my car last week.
Of course like Howe and Bruford wished they would have continured.
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Well, I do love "Shock to the System", and "I would have waited forever" isn't bad either. Too bad they might not actually have been played by ABWH, but some obscure session musicians. I believe most of the guitars on "Shock to the System" were actually played by... I think it was Jimmy Haun... they guy that has played with Billy Sherwood in several projects, including the first CIRCA albums, if I didn't mix everything up.
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twosteves
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Posted: August 28 2016 at 21:56 |
I like most of the ABWH songs on Union---I don't know who played what but many of the songs like I would have waited forever----have guitar parts that can be found on Howe solo work---also like Shock to the SYstem, Howes guitar solo---Ankor Wot----Silent Talking----Holding on Evensong and Take the River---are all good songs. If there was a problem with it ---it's Jon let Elias have too much power.
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Was Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe a Failure?