Yes to tour with "Understudy" singer

 

You sir, will be my recommendation when Yes comes to me and asks who they should get for their management.

 

But heck, they are actually coming near here.   This is probably as close as they have been since the Relayer tour. 

 

As Rick Wakeman said recently in one interview quoted in alt.yes.faq, maybe it could be a good idea to play with Anderson and him again in YES only "for a couple of very special gigs, no more long tours".

 

To celebrate Procol Harum`s 30th Anniversary of their first single in 1997, they played only one gig in England in 1997. Gary Brooker was joined on stage by almost all the former members of the band, playing the songs with different line-ups. This could be a very good idea for YES to do in 2009 to celebrate more than 40 years in the musical world: why not to play 4 or 5 nights in the Royal Albert Hall, for example, having Anderson and Wakeman there (both with health problems which prevent them to do long tours), inviting every musician that has been in the band, playing in different line-ups, recording one or more of the concerts for  CD / DVD releases, and simply finishing the career of YES with a reunion of old friends? I think that Squire, White and Howe are more put into action now by money that for anything else.

 

I read in the Internet that, after years of offers (very well paid in money)  to reform the band Cream, Eric Clapton finally agreed to play with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker when he learned that Baker has been  ill with arthritis and Bruce survived a battle  with cancer. He finally reformed Cream because he thought that playing with his friends again could not be possible if he waited more time to do it. They played 4 or 5 nights in the Royal Albert Hall in May 2005, and they released a live album on CD and DVD. YES could do the same but...long tours are better because they earn more money, of course.

 

I read Oliver Wakeman`s interview in "Notes from the Edge". He mentioned several songs considered to be played by "SHW of YES": not very interesting for me. More of the same: "Close to the Edge", "Siberian Khatru", "Soth Side of the Sky", etc. Some "new songs" in the setlist: "Machine Messiah", "Tempus Fugit" (both interesting because Anderson didn`t want to sing them), "A Venture" (composed by Anderson!, from "The YES Album" and never has been played live by YES). Oliver also said that he doesn`t have "Relayer" among his collection of YES albums (mainly because his father didn`t have it in his collection, as Oliver really listened to his father`s collections of records in his childhood). So, no "Relayer" songs in the setlist. Maybe "Starship Trooper" again, and of course, "Roundabout". As I have several live albums and DVDs with most of these songs sung by Anderson (except the "Drama" songs of course)  I don`t see a good reason to see  this "SHW of YES" line-up in concert.

 

Maybe an interesting set-list from "SHW from YES" could be:

 

"Harold Land" from their first album, never has been played in concert. It is one of the best songs in that album in my opinion. (Maybe Howe could say "No!" because he didn`t play in the original version).

 

"To Be Over" and "The Gates of Delirium" from "Relayer".

 

"In the Silent Wings of Freedom" from "Tormato".

 

"Machine Messiah" and others from "Drama".

 

And that 's all, because I don`t think that Howe could want to play songs from Trevor Rabin`s albums with YES.