New Yes album "The Quest" out in October! (5.1 Blu-ray confirmed)

[EricKalet]

This isn't Yes, it's a glorified tribute act

I wouldn't say tribute act...but just the same as the current Queensryche, Styx, etc...band members have evolved, moved on, passed on, etc...

 

[Scott M4]

GTR?

"SHT"

 

[birrrdy!]

I wouldn't say tribute act...but just the same as the current Queensryche, Styx, etc...band members have evolved, moved on, passed on, etc...

Roger Dean needs somebody to do album covers for!

 

[ProgRules]

GTR?

So much potential with such a disappointing result...

 

[jimfisheye]

"SHT"

That's an actual review of the album you're quoting. Most an album review ever made me laugh!

 

[jimfisheye]

So much potential with such a disappointing result...

I'd gotten accustomed to disappointment by this point. I fell for that first Asia album though really hard! Saw what looked like a Roger Dean album cover one day. Guitarist from Yes, drummer from ELP, and bass from King freakin Crimson?!?!?! I was just getting familiar with these bands and Crimson especially were blowing my mind. This was going to be the most hard hitting psychedelic progressive avant garde album ever made! Then I remember looking at the liner notes again and how their names were spelled. Were these different guys?

And that was just a sign of the times. All the old bands that I was getting turned onto were making the same shit music as the modern bands I really didn't like now. By GTR it was just another one of those.

 

[ProgRules]

I wouldn't say tribute act...but just the same as the current Queensryche, Styx, etc...band members have evolved, moved on, passed on, etc...

Wakeman said in one of the videos- Yesyears IIRC- that he envisioned Yes like a Symphony orchestra, continuing on long after the original members (or classic line-up even) had left; constantly refreshing, bringing in new blood to continue the tradition. I liked that idea, but so far it's execution leaves a lot to be desired.

The band members need to be of high caliber. You can't release good talent and substitute a friend of lesser talent (e.g. the younger Wakeman replaced by Downes). You shouldn't keep one of the original geniuses away due to petty squabbles. The band needs to evolve and needs to get back to it's original mission: pushing the boundaries with accomplished musicianship and great songwriting.

I'm not fond of many of the choices the band's made under Howe's stewardship, but then I'm just a fan- not an integral part of what made the band great in the first place. It's Steve;s band now and he's earned the right to do as he sees fit. But imo, FWIW, it's only after Howe has left that the Yes brand will have a chance to once again evolve, rather than devolve, as it has for years. That's assuming the brand survives after he retires.

I'm glad they soldier on for those that still enjoy the music and the shows. But it will take a major change for me to get back on the bus.

 

[kap'n krunch]

RANT ALERT
Steve Howe is not a very likeable character and he does not hide it.
He is not very smart either, cause, it don't matter how great of a musician you are you should also be smart and get over all the squabbles ("JA is a little Hitler", "RW is a clown", "SH is a neurotic") and make music while you are still on this Earth.
Squire is gone(BS, his replacement, is not bad) and Alan White is not fit to play anymore, so the only choice is BB and he has retired.. oh , well... and yes, I agree, as much as I admire GD he is not nearly as great as Wakeman...
The closest thing to REAL YES was the AWR/ARW or whatever a few years ago....
END OF RANT...

 

[Bill B]

Agree with what a lot of others have said about the validity of the current Yes line up. I kind of gave up once JA left (the last time). When CS died that pretty much was an official end (in my mind). However, assuming the new album is priced right (maybe like Styx's last album "The Mission") with a 5.1 mix how can I not check it out?

 

[Bill B]

That's an actual review of the album you're quoting. Most an album review ever made me laugh!

That review was by a guy named J. D. Considine. I just read something about it in the last week on the Ultimate Classic Rock website. He started out in my local newspaper The Baltimore Sun. He used to piss me off with his reviews of my favorite band Rush (and most prog acts in general). I remember specifically the review of "Hemispheres". When referring to the lyrics he said something like "they try to be philosophical but come of more like the wisdom in a greeting card". Still pisses me off to this day

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jd-considine-gtr-review/

 

[JulesRules]

Roger Dean needs somebody to do album covers for!

I'm not fond of many of the choices the band's made under Howe's stewardship, but then I'm just a fan- not an integral part of what made the band great in the first place. It's Steve;s band now and he's earned the right to do as he sees fit. But imo, FWIW, it's only after Howe has left that the Yes brand will have a chance to once again evolve, rather than devolve, as it has for years. That's assuming the brand survives after he retires.

What are the choices the band made under Howe's stewardship? From what I've read, Howe didn't like any of the more recent Yes albums. "Open Your Eyes really was a nightmare. And The Ladder was a similar nightmare, and Magnification was a nightmare too. [...] The group was desperate for a hit, and I was not. I did not care about having a hit [...] I want Yes to write symphonies, orchestrally, in a large format, and not be worried about radio play"

He is not very smart either, cause, it don't matter how great of a musician you are you should also be smart and get over all the squabbles ("JA is a little Hitler", "RW is a clown", "SH is a neurotic") and make music while you are still on this Earth.

If people can't get along, who are we to force them? And the last tenure of the so-called classic line-up produced no studio recordings at all.

 

[kap'n krunch]

If people can't get along, who are we to force them? And the last tenure of the so-called classic line-up produced no studio recordings at all.

That is precisely why they are PROS and should put their egos aside, I remember Quincy Jones posting a big sign at the entrance of the "We are the world" sessions which was something like "Please check your ego at the entrance"....

 

[Bill B]

I actually thought the last great Yes album was ABWH.
Wouldn't that be awesome in surround if done correctly?

 

[doity]

I actually thought the last great Yes album was ABWH.
Wouldn't that be awesome in surround if done correctly?

Yes, but I would add The Ladder. Kind of poppy but good material nonetheless. I saw AWBH here in Portland at the Chiles Center, which is a smallish college arena. Maybe 5,000 tops. It was a near transcendent experience. I remember during intermission there were all of these old Yes fans gleefully wandering around trying to guess what they would play for the second set. The real stars of that tour were Jon and Rick. Jon’s voice was crystal clear and the place had pretty good acoustics considering.

For some reason they only have shows there very rarely and I doubt that most Portlanders think of it as a concert hall. I remember during a break between songs Jon said “Back to school” or something like that. Probably a reference to the Vangelis song that they did.

 

[Bill B]

Yes, but I would add The Ladder. Kind of poppy but good material nonetheless. like that. ...

The Ladder didn't resonate with me. By the time that came out I was in the mode where I was buying so many new cds a month that they got one or two listens, if they didn't slap me in the face they'd go to "THE PILE". I probably should give The Ladder another listen and another chance.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see ABWH live but that would have been cool. I really do like all but the 7th song (Teakbois) on that album.

 

[doity]

That review was by a guy named J. D. Considine. I just read something about it in the last week on the Ultimate Classic Rock website. He started out in my local newspaper The Baltimore Sun. He used to piss me off with his reviews of my favorite band Rush (and most prog acts in general). I remember specifically the review of "Hemispheres". When referring to the lyrics he said something like "they try to be philosophical but come of more like the wisdom in a greeting card". Still pisses me off to this day

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jd-considine-gtr-review/

I remember reading a review of Hemispheres somewhere when it first came out that said simply “This is what the Moody Blues would had sounded like had they gone the direction of Blue Cheer.”

 

[IMachine]

Magnification was my last Yes album

 

[doity]

I wouldn't say tribute act...but just the same as the current Queensryche, Styx, etc...band members have evolved, moved on, passed on, etc...

Yeah, longtime fan of the band and at one point my friends and I used to idolize them. Now I really couldn’t even tell you who plays keyboards in the band now without googling it. Geoff Downes?? I have always thought that a great college course would be “The History Of Yes.” Can you even imagine the final exam on that one .

 

[EricKalet]

Yeah, longtime fan of the band and at one point my friends and I used to idolize them. Now I really couldn’t even tell you who plays keyboards in the band now without googling it. Geoff Downes?? I have always thought that a great college course would be “The History Of Yes.” Can you even imagine the final exam on that one .

not an easy exam!

 

[Petr Kropotkin]

Now I really couldn’t even tell you who plays keyboards in the band now without googling it. Geoff Downes?? I have always thought that a great college course would be “The History Of Yes.” Can you even imagine the final exam on that one .

Imagine the poor sod who writes "Geoff Downes" as their answer, but by the time it gets to the marker, the rock press announces that "Rick Wakeman rejoins YES!"