When Did Yes Jump The Shark? (And Jump It They Have)

I have been trying to pinpoint when, in my opinion, the band Yes jumped the shark. Among the last remaining Yes fanatics, this is a topic of great discussion. Any post about the most minor Yes tidbit on the Facebook fan page Notes from the Edge is met with comment after comment about the value of what keyboard player, which era, when the band should have wrapped it up etc.

Soaking up all of this noise started to influence my memory and respect for the band, so I thought I’d do my own research and listening. I had not really listened to Yes at a good clip for a few years. I was certainly disillusioned by the replacement (twice) of Jon Anderson due to his continued respiratory failure clashing with the band’s desire to continue to tour. And at the risk of alienating readers and crucifying my credibility, despite my disillusionment about HOW Anderson was dismissed, I am not an Anderson snob: I love the 1980 first Anderson-less album Drama, and I quite enjoy 75 percent of the recent Anderson-less Fly From Here.

But after delving back into the catalog from pre-Close to The Edge to the present, my opinion is that the band was past its prime when it embarked on its 35^th anniversary tour.

Let’s go back a bit. I discovered Yes in high school in the mid 1980s. I knew of the 90125 album but didn’t own it. No, my first Yes album was Tales from Topographic Oceans, the double album with four songs on it. My friend Tom turned me onto it and I listened to it non-stop, fascinated. I was already a Rush fan but this music made Hemispheres sound like the Go Go’s. I branched out from there, to Going for the One, Close to the Edge, Drama, Tormato, The Yes Album and then Relayer. Hell, anything with a song 20 minutes long, I’d buy. I even had the Yesshows album, which I think is long out of print.

I was only able to see Yes live once they hit the road on the Big Generator tour, which to this day gives me goosebumps thinking about the live rendering of Shoot High Aim Low. But I long missed live Yes in its heyday for sure. I caught Union. I saw Anderson Bruford, Wakeman and Howe at the show they recorded for the live album and DVD. I had a major boner when the classic version of the band (Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, White) finally got back together and put out the live Keys to Ascension CDs. I loved the Ladder album and tour, and thought the Masterworks/Magnification tour was a gift, finally hearing Gates of Delirium and Ritual live.

But from there, I think the band should have packed it in. I mean, they had played ALL of their cards – get together with members of all eras (Union tour and shit album), do a record with a symphony (and check out the awesome DVD that came from that effort), do a tour playing all the 20 minute epics. Not much left up the sleeve for the 35^th anniversary except to FINALLY play South Side of the Sky (great idea) and do an acoustic bossa-nova version of Roundabout (not a great idea).

On paper the 35^th anniversary tour was groovy – really deep set list, Roger Dean era stage, classic lineup. But somewhere along the line, the band stopped giving a shit. I saw the first night on the tour and they were rusty as hell. The Roger Dean stuff was lame balloons painted and illuminated. Steve Howe’s tone was weak and brittle (and has been for the last few years). The tempos were ungodly slow and the band was not engaged (and the Key Arena was about half full). They were under rehearsed and made errors. It was frankly embarrassing.

Listening to the live DVD they put out from that tour confirms it. By the recording they were much tighter but still, slow tempos, uninspired playing, and yeah Anderson’s voice was really raggy. They didn’t even bother to fix that in the studio. Or maybe like Paul Stanley, Anderson just needed a long break that he was unable or unwilling to take.

So for me, the band surely had its ups and downs, good periods and so-so periods, and there are probably as many opinions about which were best as there were yes keyboardists. But for me, the band was done by the 35^th anniversary tour. It should have been a farewell tour.

Fortunately the band has left a long legacy of albums and live recordings, DVDs and bootlegs that will continue to freak out music fans for generations. But based on the YouTube's I have seen from the last two years, the band is now shitting on its legacy. Wrap it up boys. You shouldn’t make your 50^th anniversary, even if you can.

Behold this version of (the Anderson-less) Tempus Fugit from last year. Poor Alan White has slowed this song down to an intolerable level and can still barely keep up:

Compare with the (the Anderson-less) original:

New Asia Album Due In June - New Single is Shockingly Good (if you like Asia)

30 years after its incredible and never-matched-by-the-band debut album, Asia are set to release Asia XXX (pronounced "Triple X" but still connotating pornography) towards the end of June.

Usually I would not give a shit.

I am so fed up with the Yes camp, with its ever-changing Jon Anderson-less lineup, and I put Asia in the Yes camp because of Steve Howe - maybe unfairly but there it is. Also, Geoff Downes is in the current incarnation last time I checked.

I also caught Asia live a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed. It was pretty dull and rote.

But out of morbid curiosity I checked out the new single from XXX and damn if it sounds like good old classic Asia. Catchy tune, great energy and Steve Howe still has some magic left in those fingers. Soaring and magestic John Wetton vocal. Really classic Downes keys and Carl Palmer as solid as ever. I was impressed after two listens.

Very nice production too - it actually kind of sounds like the original album. Jury is out on the whole release of course but Asia fans might just dig this new tune! What do you think?

Trevor Horn Produces New Yes Album

The Jon-Anderson-less Yes keeps chugging along, with a new album set for a July release on Frontier Records.

Called "Fly From Here," the album is named after an old song penned by the other Jon Anderson-less lineup from the 1980 Drama album. Trevor Horn (half of The Buggles with Geoff Downes) sang on that album, and truthfully it is one of my favorite Yes albums. Songs like Machine Messiah, Tempus Fugit, Does It Really Happen? and Into The Lens stand up with anything else in the band's repertoire.

ed note: I found this photo tonight, confirming that Geoff Downes is back in the band for the moment. Not sure who Grandma Jones in the middle is, but that might be Trevor Horn who didn't get the memo that only some of the band is dressing like old ladies for photos shoots.

I am always going to consider the current Jon Anderson-less Yes as slightly bogus, as Chris Squire and company decided to end-run around Anderson and replace him with a tribute band singer while he was ill and couldn't sing. Obviously the band is happy to not be under Anderson's thumb, hence the continued touring and new album.

But to add an interesting twist, Trevor Horn is back as producer! After the Drama tour and subsequent split-up of the band, Horn reemerged to produce the astounding Yes comeback 90125, where Trevor Rabin had replaced Howe on guitar and ushered in a whole new generation of the band. But Horn and the band had trouble on Big Generator, the follow up, and had not worked together since.

From a press release on Yes' website: Horn and YES bassist Chris Squire re-discovered the track FLY FROM HERE which has never been recorded as a studio track. “Chris and I were talking one evening about a song ‘Fly From Here’ that we never recorded,” explains Trevor Horn. “I said I was prepared to spend two weeks with ‘YES’ recording that song. When I arrived in America to record it, I was taken prisoner by the band and only allowed my freedom again in return for producing the whole album. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse!!!”

So, here is the deal. Fly From Here has been released. A live version is on the 3-disc The Word is Live set, released in 2005. Credited to Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes, it's...how do I put this?...shitty.

If that song is the central track on this new CD I will likely pass. But we'll see - I am more interested to see if Howe can still play guitar anymore. His performance at a recent Asia reunion I saw in Portland left me feeling like he has jumped the shark.

Another interesting tidbit is that I have seen three separate reports that Downes is back on keyboards for this album, which for sure makes it more interesting to me. Rick Wakeman's son Oliver has been in the current lineup for the last couple of years. Yes' site still has Oliver listed as the current ivory tickler. But we'll see...

Current Jon-less Yes doing 1980 Jon-less Yes (at a total snail's pace at that):

Yes' Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin To Work Together?

I was answering a question on Quora about famous rock musicians who also wrote film scores and the first guy to come to mind was Trevor Rabin from the 80s (and most commercially successful) version of the band Yes.

After the release of very under rated Talk album and subsequent tour, Rabin pretty much packed it in as a touring rock and roller and turned to film scores. He has penned the soundtrack to 40 films since the mid 90s, including Armageddon, Snakes on a Plane and The National Treasure movies. Full list on Wikipedia here.

My impression from some interviews is that Rabin is happy doing film scores and had no intention of returning to rock and roll. However, the Wikipedia entry had these little tidbits:

According to an interview with Rick Wakeman on the 6 February 2010 edition of Wakeman's Planet Rock radio show there is a possibility of Wakeman, Rabin and Jon Anderson getting together to recording a new album. Rabin has already written some new material with Anderson, but the project hasn't yet been confirmed, as they are busy with other commitments.

On 9 July 2010 Rabin accompanied Yes at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and played the encore, Owner Of A Lonely Heart.

In an October 2010 interview, Rabin confirmed that he has finished recording his greatly anticipated instrumental solo album. He plans to release it in a few months time. He also states that Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson and himself are 'Itching' to start recording an album.

OK so WHAT? I think the ultimate fuck you to Steve Howe would be for Jon Anderson to work with Rabin. As you may recall, Anderson had a very serious illness that kept him off the road for a long time, and instead of waiting for him to get better, the other guys did an end run and hired a tribute band singer to replace Anderson.

Reviews have been pretty good but mostly because the band is doing songs Anderson never wanted to play like Machine Messiah from the Drama album - the one Anderson didn't sing on.

There is also no love lost between Rabin and Howe. I think Howe has a major stick up his ass that Rabin took his place in Yes and drove the band to great commercial success.

So yeah, a band with Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman - Yes' best keyboardist (well besides Patrick Moraz) - would be a great big 'eat it' to the other guys and would be an interesting recall of the 80s when there were two Yes' - The Rabin Yes, and the Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe version.

The other thing that made my head spin was this note that Rabin joined the tribute band-singer version of Yes on Owner of a Lonely Heart! Again, WHAT? Along side Steve Howe. Lo and behold I found the fucker on YouTube and even from afar I can feel the tension between those two guitarists.

I will watch with great interest to see if this actually pans out or not.

Chris Squire and Steve Hackett to team Up?

Since Yes' Jon Anderson griped on his Web site about being kept out of the loop on his bandmates replacing him with tribute band singer Benoit David, the Yes camp has been in spin mode.

Guitarist Steve Howe is begging tour attendees to not commit 'musical terrorism' by booing the band, and bassist Chris Squire has reiterated that as soon as Jon is all better, he is welcome to re-join.

Anderson removed his gripey post and it's even gone from the news archives on his site. Of course I re-printed the whole thing here.

But buried in one of those articles is this little nugget:

Squire reports that he's also started a new venture with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett -- "We may call it Squackett," the bassist quips -- that will be released in early 2009, with European dates in the spring.

"We're nearly 75 percent done," Squire says. "It's real good. Steve Hackett is a very underrated writer and actually a very good singer. We're doing a lot of harmonizing, and some of it is almost in the Crosby, Stills & Nash vein."

Not so interested in hearing Squire and Hackett sing harmonies. But it could be musically very compelling as long as they are not trying to craft pop tunes a la GTR.

I have posted a version of this solo before but this is still one of my all time favorite musical passages. I think that is John Wetton on bass but imagine what Chris Squire might do with the part. Please excuse the hairstyles and keyboard player. This must be late 80s/early 90s!

Asia In The Studio

Hmm. Ok back in March, I skeptically predicted there would be no new Asia album and that I would buy a copy for all of my loyal readers if it ever saw the light of day. From the Asia site this week:

We are pleased to report that the band have entered the recording studio to begin work on their first full studio album together since ALPHA in 1983. Sessions are expected to continue during breaks from their busy touring schedule.

OK, I might be on the hook to buy a few copies here. But do you still want it if it sucks as bad as I think it will?

PS - Asia is coming to Portland Tuesday August 21. I will be there to pen a review. Maybe they will bust out some of this new material!? I am cautiously interested...

New Asia Album/Cancelled Dates - Huh?

A very small mention on the Asia Web site indicates the band's summer tour is being transitioned into 'solo gigs.' Huh? In the next breath, it is reported that the band will enter the studio to record the first album by the original four since the atrocious "Alpha" album. Hmmph? What in the hell is going on? Why can't these prog rockers every stick to a commitment? If that new album sees the light of day, I will buy a copy for every one of my readers (both of you).

Reunion Roundup

2007 is shaping up to be the year of reunions. Or at least reunions I am actually interested in following - either because they are going to rock, or for the same reasons people like to watch air crashes and NASCAR spin outs. So without further ado, let's take a look at the many announced reunions of 2007:

The Police. A money grab? You bet. They are going to sock away tons of money. All the hooplah around this one is a constant reminder that there was no bigger band in the early 80s. Am I wrong? U2 is the only other band this big that comes to mind in the 80s but that was after Sting had said farewell and left the others in the dust. Maybe there were others. I dunno. Anyway, reunion tour stadium shows are selling out in seconds - blah blah blah. I got two Seattle show tickets for June 6 but had to buy them separately because Ticketmaster would not let me buy more than one at a time - at ANY PRICE LEVEL. That probably says more about TicketHitler than The Police, but nevertheless, they are selling out any venue they book. And per my earlier post, based on their Grammy performance, this tour is going to kick ass. Just the three Police men - no Sting solo tunes - no back up singers - hopefully no little round trampolines for Sting to leap on (remember the Synchronicity tour?). They will for sure re-work the classics and go outside the box with it. This tour is just a no miss because they all seem to be really sincerely into it - and it will probably never happen again. Enough said - 10 out of 10.

Van Halen. Money grab? Oh my God yes. But beyond that, this one is sort of sad to me. It could be SO great. I thought the choice of Eddie's son as new bass player was bad but at least typically weird for old Ed and I guess it made some kind of sense, consistency wise - three Van Halens - wow! But Eddie said Michael Anthony was out because he was playing with Hagar and "You can't be in two bands." Really? Huh. OK. But once I saw the photo of the 'new' Van Halen with Wolfie and Dave, I actually got a boner to see this show. A kid in the band (and Eddie's kid at that) might inject something really current and interesting into the mix. But then as soon as I got interested - bing - it's postponed indefinitely due to "contract issues." A friend who has a buddy in the Roth circle says it's due to Ed's health. If so, that is too bad. The guy has gone through a divorce, hip replacement, substance abuse and tongue cancer in the last ten years - that's a big load to deal with. If he's not fit to tour, OK - good idea to cancel. His health comes before my amusement. But if Ed's health is together, I am hoping this one happens after all. Probably more for the same reasons I wanted to see Britney's shaved head and new tattoo than the possibility of this being any good. I want to go to the circus and watch some clowns crash the little cars. 6 out of 10.

Black Sabbath with Dio. Called "Heaven and Hell" so no one gets confused. Money grab? I don't know. It looks to me like they all looked at each other and said "It's time." And then Ozzy freaked out and promised a new album of Oz-led Sabbath in 2008. Ha ha ha. That's worth it right there to see what THAT would sound like. The Dio led Sabbath has always been my favorite. They put out the most demonic heavy shit EVER with Dio. No dross. Just pure devil metal. I used to tune my guitar down a half step and play along to LiveEvil after dinner every night for a few months in high school. Beautiful. Like the Police reunion, they are talking about only Dio-era stuff (no Ozzy era songs or Dio solo, etc), so that would also keep it pure for me. The only trouble is they recorded three new songs for the upcoming Black Sabbath: The Dio Years CD. I heard one of the songs and it was a bit of a self parody. Called "The Devil Cried," it was pretty heavy and I tried to like it a lot but the lyrics were a little hackneyed. Dio even had a line where he says "FIRE" the way only Dio can say it - if you know Dio you know what I am talking about. This classic utterance either totally ruins it or redeems it, depending on my mood! Anyway, I will go see this show for sure. Not looking for a train wreck. Hoping it will be as true spirited as the Police reunion but worried it will be a bunch of metal elves way the hell past their prime. 8 out of 10.

Genesis. Money grab? Who gives a shit? My interest in this plummeted when I heard it would not include Steve Hackett or Peter Gabriel. My desire to see this will be directly proportionate to what songs they decide to play. Firth of Fifth, Carpet Crawlers, Dodo, Abacab and Supper's Ready? I may go. Invisible Touch, I Can't Dance, Jesus He Knows Me? FUCK no. These are talented mofos but they have toyed with their legacy so many times even THEY are probably struggling with what they ought to play. I saw them in the 80s and I have to say, from the hardcore proggers to the teeny boppers, no one was satisfied with their set list. It's was all over the place. They need to pick an era and stick with it. Maybe what will happen is they will do this stupid tour and THEN Gabriel and Hackett will join next year. I would go and see that for sure. And by the way, when did Peter Gabriel start looking like a baked Col. Sanders? 4 out of 10.

Asia. Oh man, I saved this one for last. I mean, look at this photo. It's like they hit the Glamour Shots in the mall. Money grab? Please - they would be lucky to play for free fish and chips and veggie burgers. So at least you know they are doing this because they WANT to. I have to say - I love the first Asia album. I love Steve Howe and Carl Palmer and their respective bands, Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I have seen Howe on his own and with Yes a number of times and he is always a pro - always makes me want to cut my own hands off and sell all of my guitars. And I saw the Carl Palmer Band last year in the 650 seat Aladdin Theater and was so blown away. He has a bass player and guitar player who were probably born after ELP had already broken up for the first time, and they did incredibly incendiary ELP instrumentals all night - with no keyboards. Again, I considered chopping off my hands. But LOOK AT THE PHOTO. I have seen some clips of the reunion on YouTube and have read things and it seems like everything is going fine but this one just scares me. I want to like it so bad but I am just afraid I will see this and will vomit. I mean, there is NO question at least half of this band is so far past its prime. Maybe what I do is go see it, stand in the back and get really really drunk so I can pretend it's 1984 and the album just came out. A friend who books artists told me Asia will be coming to the Northwest this summer. Will I go? Yes, but with great fear.

OK, well, I know there are other reunions (Rage Against The Machine being one of the more interesting ones I am leaving out) but barring Pink Floyd touring with Waters, these five are my contenders for 2007. Love 'em or leave 'em.

Asia on Rockline

Tuned into KGON 92.3 in Portland last night to check out the original four Asia guys (Steve Howe, John Wetton, Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer) on Rockline. The host was in LA and the band was in a studio in New York so the interview sounded a bit disjointed to me. But overall they sounded good. Howe was surprisingly funny.

They avoided all the questions about why they broke up and why all the albums after the first one sucked, etc. They did three acoustic songs (Ride Easy, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes and Don't Cry). These sounded really good, except Wetton's voice was pretty froggy. He sounded like he was about two songs away from losing it (his voice). But then in the third song, it came in strong. Maybe he should do more of a warm up before singing (just a suggestion, John). Anyway, it was cool hearing them back together again. Made me all the more bummed that the closest they are playing to Oregon is Las Vegas (they are not even playing the Bay Area, fer Crissake!

Now, please tell me, does anyone screen these Rockline callers? There were some of the most inane questions asked (as usual) by slobbering fans who are so psyched to talk to the band they don't really have anything relevant to say or ask. Had I been patient enough to hit speed dial 5,000 times, here is what I would have asked:

1) When Greg Lake took John Wetton's spot for the Asia in Asia show, that was a truly hot lineup. Why was Lake in the band such a short time?

2) That Asia in Asia show was so good. Will they ever release it on DVD?

3) Will the band do any material from the Yes Drama album (both Howe and Downes were on the album)? How about GTR (Howe in the band, Downes produced the album)?

4) Question for Howe - what really happened to the aborted "More Drama" tour that was supposed to feature the bands White (Alan White with Geoff Downes), The Syn (Chris Squire and others) and Howe solo, with an end jam on Drama tunes. I had a Gold Ticket and front center seats for the Roseland date, but of course the whole tour was scrapped and there was no really consistent, legit explanation for why.

5) What is the band's collective weight? (OK, just kidding on that one)

Speaking of, I saw Carl Palmer's band at the Aladdin Theater a month or two ago and he looked like he takes very good care of himself. I will post a review and some snaps soon.

Old Asia - New Asia

Old Asia - New Asia

These photos of Asia back in their heyday juxtaposed with this '23 years later' shot from this Fall's reunion tour just goes to show that as you get older you either blow up like a puffer fish or shrivel like an apple doll. Bummer that Howe, Wetton, Downes and Palmer won't be coming to the Northwest on the tour. I'd like to see them, even if they are approaching 'fossil-hood.'