DRAMA by Yes: Lost Classic or Justified Dud?

Steve Howe...I love you, man but why'd you have to sing lead on that one tune? Awful.

I've always dug the chorus harmonies on "The Man You've Always Wanted Me To Be". Really 90125-sounding with the particular reverb Horn used there. Sound even more like '83 now :)

much love to benoit but this return trip is dope in a way the original isn't, worthy of buggles / drama legacy; even "bumpy ride" is listenable. trevor made so many better production choices to complement his singing. and it's tearjerking to hear squire's vocals higher up in the mix

has it leaked or did you get a copy already? because pledgemusic has been mum to me.

i bought it on pledgemusic this weekend and got an email link a few hours ago

the files are a bit fucked up though, and the songs cut off early. people have been complaining, and i suspect they caught it before they were about to send out more

really looking forward to a non-fucked up version. what i've listened to so far rules, despite how irritating the early cut-offs are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVz_wMhXwRc

that new one is ill! og one is more raw (of course)

I'm pretty sure that Brix Smith talks, in her book, about fucking Geoff Downes on one of her early trips to London pre-Fall.

It's only alluded to but she talks about a prog rock keyboardist who also had a separate Number 1 chart hit at the time.

apparently those who bought downloads only now have access to non busted files; people who bought other versions still out of luck.

it sounds beautiful. i thought CDs and vinyl weren't available yet? even on random it makes more sonic sense than the original version. the data kerfuffle these past few days kinda enhances the 'wizardly futzing with beloved mixes (RIP Chris Squire!) over years' vibe. extended "hour of need" has more energy than all of heaven & earth. even more dying to know now what anderson-rabin-wakeman are recording with horn throwing this out there

extended "hour of need" has more energy than all of heaven & earth.

yea but so does a dead dog

"i thought CDs and vinyl weren't available yet?" they aren't but I assumed buying those meant access to the downloads. If someone would like to YSI to me that would be awesome as I can't wait to hear this.

ARW are recording with Horn? I didn't realize that; that's great news. Looking forward to that. it's too bad these guys can't get their shit together.

two competing YES camps -- steve howe, chris white, geoff downes, jon davison; anderson, wakeman, and rabin -- just like in the hyper-competitive ABWH pre-union days. don't think they're recording with horn, though, but who knows

*alan white

it's too bad these guys can't get their shit together.

― akm, Wednesday, March 28, 2018 5:56 PM (seventeen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's fucking comical at this stage!

just announced their 50th anniversary tour today. so dumb and depressing.

been listening to this show though and it's the best concert of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu2TJAchJiU

yeah no way am i bothering with this 50th tour. Even though they are dragging along poor Tony Kaye (or they said they were, but the last thing I saw didn't see his name on it)

I liked them with Davidson (and Squire) fine enough a few years ago, they were alright; considering I'd never actually seen yes live I was happy enough with it.

wow, I didn't know there was a well-recorded gig out there with Moraz. alas, this is ILX, so I can't listen to this until late at night

I agree that the infighting is getting ridiculous but I dunno, the time for a "real" Yes reunion that could've borne some real fruit was probably like....2007. Like, the entire lineup (save for Howe) is pretty much all dudes who have been accused of ruining the band. I will say that ARW sounds quite interesting. If they made a studio album I bet it would be pretty good (see: that Jon A./Roine Stolt disc)

also, lmao @ the prospect of a Union 2...make it happen boys!!!

The history of this band is so ridiculous that I could actually see it happening even though everyone thinks it's a shit idea!

whatever happens, this 'return trip' is easily the best yes album since the ladder, maybe even 90125. hats off mr. buggle!

man the people on the yes board hate it lol

broke down and bought a download. this is quite a different mix; it's not just the vocals, the songs are quite radically redone. nice.

fuck a yes board

yes board hosts some fussy bros

and yeah it is the best album since 90125; it was before this reworking though

not sure i like this reworking of sad night at the airfield though. feelings may change.

this version of into the storm is pretty great though

the ladder rules. bruce fairbairn 'got' yes the way both trevors (horn and rabin) do. and igor khoroshev may have turned out to be a sleaze but his stuff is moraz-worthy at its best. the epics bookending it -- "homeworld" and "new languages" -- are awesome (my favorite post-drama ones besides "hearts" and "real love"), and "lightning strikes" is basically the sonic blueprint for merryweather post pavilion, though for sure there is some saccharine filler absent from fly from here

messed up "bumpy ride" is a happy accident; chopped and screwed it's not that bad!

To all fans of YES,

Following on from yesterday’s incorrect assurances from PledgeMusic to customers that the Fly From Here – Return Trip download issues were fixed, we are now very aware this is not the case. Whilst we are confident the flac files are working correctly, we are aware our third attempt at delivering MP3 files still contains errors, namely within track 5 ‘Fly From Here Pt. IV – Bumpy Ride’. The error here lies solely with PledgeMusic, our ingestion of the files provided to us by YES, and our subsequent digital delivery to you, the fans. We apologise unreservedly to all fans of YES, to the band, and all who work with them. We have fallen short of our own standards in delivering content to paying fans and customers. Please direct any and all frustrations with this situation to PledgeMusic, rather than YES, who are an innocent party in this situation.

As it stands, we still do not have an immediate fix for these MP3s, but we have people working constantly to rectify the situation. Any customer who wishes to claim a refund is absolutely entitled to do so and we would ask you contact Customer Services via the site https://www.pledgemusic.com/site/help or to email h✧✧✧@pledgemu✧✧✧.c✧✧.

The Fly From Here – Return Trip CDs have now landed in our warehouse and we have instructed our Fulfilment team to dispatch these as quickly as possible, with shipping beginning today. There are no technical problems with the audio on the CD edition.

Once again, everyone at PledgeMusic apologises for the repeated failed attempts at delivering the MP3 downloads you purchased.

I'm pretty sure that Brix Smith talks, in her book, about fucking Geoff Downes on one of her early trips to London pre-Fall.

It's only alluded to but she talks about a prog rock keyboardist who also had a separate Number 1 chart hit at the time.

Not to derail the thread or anything... but she'd have been 16 or 17? Dave Stewart is also a possibility.

I surmised it was Downes when I read her book last month.

yesss "Homeworld" is so good. my introduction to Yes was a 3-disc comp and on first listen I remember thinking that was the best track

also lmao at this download debacle. what the hell is going on? how is this so hard?

that said I'm really glad to hear this is good - I liked the original FFH quite a bit, but this project just seemed like the pettiest, most pointless thing on its surface. hopefully I'll eat those words.

I'm baffled that pledgemusic doesn't know how to make some mp3s from flac files. WTF.

and people wonder why no one buys music anymore. but it's worth the irritation. it sounds like an homage to chris squire, trevor moved to make an album as good as the first one he recorded with his and geoff's childhood heroes. it's not just trevor replacing benoit's vocals but like he decided to fully rejoin, like geoff did. he completely remixed it and got howe and geoff in to record newer awesomer stuff. give yes a chance, that's all it's saying first song to last. "maybe that's the way it goes when you try to change the world . . . armies of angels are starting to form" sung by the "machine messiah" guy is borderline "tempus fugit"

it sounds like an homage to chris squire, trevor moved to make an album as good as the first one he recorded with his and geoff's childhood heroes. it's not just trevor replacing benoit's vocals but like he decided to fully rejoin, like geoff did. he completely remixed it and got howe and geoff in to record newer awesomer stuff. give yes a chance, that's all it's saying first song to last.

I actually don't know much about the Yes quarrels. Such a shame Howe cant be in the Jon and Rick band.

it's not that he can't, it's that he won't.

"Also wonder whether Horn’s wife passing had an impact on him deciding to “rejoin the band.” Tempus Fugit indeed."

haha, my read on this was "horn's wife hated Yes so much that as soon as she died he was like, "cool, now I can be in Yes again!"

What are the main beefs in Yes? The only one I know is Peter Banks apparently being shut out of a performance.

one of the big ones towards the end were jon thought chris was a drunk and the rest of the band thought jon was a diva

anderson got sick quite some time ago and couldn't commit to a tour so squire and howe replaced him (with Benoit David first; then the EXACT SAME THING happened to Benoit and they did the EXACT SAME THING to him, and got Jon Davidson, who, in both voice and name, is a Jon Anderson/Benoid David hybrid grown from seeds); that's the main thing. Current beef is kind of around ARW deciding fuck it, we're also Yes, and touring as Yes.

yeah also squire was a drunk and anderson is a diva.

basically I'm glad I don't know any of these guys in real life. the only one who is probably anything close to a normal person is Alan White.

i heard some serious INSIDE info a while ago that the whole band was very resentful towards Jon when his young ex wife won a bunch of right to their songs in a divorce and there was no going back after that.

geoff downes fuckin sucks on keys btw

Holy fuck, how do you win songs your husband had a hand in? That's scary.

This is what Rick said to me about the situation in 2011:

I find it weird that Jon’s place in Yes has been taken by the former lead singer with a tribute band. There have been some strange episodes, but this is up there with the strangest of them.

When Jon was very ill, five or six years ago, the right plan would have been to wait until Jon was fit again, in two or three years’ time. But for reasons known only to themselves, three of the guys said: no, we’re going to go out. Personally, I think you can’t have Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant, and you can’t have The Who without Roger Daltrey, so how the hell can you have Yes without Jon Anderson? But they decided that they could.

I don’t have anything to do with it. As far as the classic line-up is concerned, that will never see the light of day again. Yes was always a special band, and now it has turned into a gigging band. It’s trotting around, playing as many shows as humanly possible, and it’s just a great shame.

Is there a sense in which you still feel like a member of the band, even if you’re not officially part of it?

It’s like saying: does Bobby Charlton still feel part of Manchester United, even though he doesn’t play? Of course you are. But as regards what’s been going on for the past five years, this doesn’t have anything to do with me at all. I’ve changed clubs, as they say.

I feel like Yes have been beefing throughout their entire existence. I remember Bruford saying that the sessions for Close to the Edge were just hell. But things definitely go to another level when the creativity dries up and the money stops rolling in. After Trevor Rabin got in the band essentially became "Yes, Inc.", making decisions like booting Eddie Jobson in favor of Tony Kaye so they could reclaim the Yes name (as they'd have 3 original members). I remember reading a fun essay from the producer of Union detailing just how uninteresting these guys were in making new music - the whole thing was basically pieces of a Howe solo album + the producer's own shitty tunes, and they had 9 guys on hand!! Love this band but nearly everyone in it seems like an insufferable dick. Howe preventing Peter Banks from playing one fuckin' song during the Union tour is such a shitty thing to do. Downes going after fans who rightfully called out Heaven & Earth for being total garbage is also shitty. Jon A. seems like a nice person in general but he's definitely a diva. Wakeman is a good dude I guess.

Man Chaki I don't know if Geoff Downes is the best fit for Yes, but he is an awesome keyboard player! I'm an Asia fan, anyway. But I have this double LP he recorded for Geffen of all things in the late '80s and it has some serious side long synth jams.