BBC Recording 1969-70 Deluxe Edition

Yes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Cleopatra
• ASIN: B00006JCH5
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,725 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Something's Coming

2. Everydays

3. Sweetness

4. Dear Father

5. Every Little Thing

6. Looking Around

7. Sweet Dreams

8. Then

9. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required

Disc: 2

1. Astral Traveller

2. Then

3. Every Little Thing

4. Everydays

5. For Everyone

6. Sweetness (Intro) [*]

7. Something's Coming [*]

8. Sweet Dreams [*]

9. Beyond and Before [*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BBC YES PUSHES THE ENVELOPE OF SHORT-FORM PSYCHEDELIA, February 28, 2004

By 

Johann Cat "Grauer Kater" - See all my reviews

This review is from: BBC Recording 1969-70 Deluxe Edition (Audio CD)

This is a darned interesting record, not just for fans of traditional YES wanting to hear the band's sonic roots, but for folks like me who come at this set as a fan of the Beatles and the Nice etc. On these BBC recordings, YES is energetic and propulsive in their performances; several songs, especially "Beyond and Before," give me the feeling of being yanked about on a short hang-glider ride--later YES is less likely to be as concise, fast, and skittish. The longest song here is about seven minutes. It is exceptionally neat to hear YES take an early Buffalo Springfield song ("Everyday"), put a rocket under it, and take it through smart, well-defined breaks (including some killer unison accent bits) all in less than five minutes, ending in a ferocious Squire/Bruford "buh-blam"! That track is what this record is about: YES reworking 60's pop-psychedelia and figuring out what they can do with it. Elsewhere on the web someone says of these YES BBC performances, "they play their asses off"--I agree. The rhythm section, especially Bruford at the drums, is superb. The vocals are rough on a few tracks, but fine on others. This band features Tony Kaye on a Hammond organ and the band's original guitarist, Peter Banks. No, he's not Steve Howe, but he's quite fine being who he is. His style is often angular and aggressive; he's not as interested in sounding lyrical or pretty as Howe is, but Banks also does some neat volume pedal work and some lacy effects influenced by jazz guitarists. But the bottom line: Banks is a fine, loud rock'n'roll guitar player, and he's key in giving the early version of YES a raunchier sound than fans of AOR radio might associate with this group. The playing on this record is frankly more in a 60's idiom than the 70's idiom the later band helped define. And that may actually appeal to people who are more fans of sixties' pop and psychedelia (YES work out on a 1965 Beatle song here) than of the seventies' 17-minute arty excursions the band is famous (or infamous) for.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If all contained herein were Sweet Dreams, February 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: BBC Recording 1969-70 Deluxe Edition (Audio CD)

This exciting double CD captures all the passion, emotion, innovation, and general grooviness of the Early Yes era. 'Yes' and 'Time and a Word' were, unfortunately, the only Yes studio albums in which Peter Banks plays guitar. I prefer this album to Time and A Word (which contains largely the same material) because Peter Banks and Tony Kaye play the original parts which were later to be replaced by orchestra on the Time and A Word album. The guitar solos on 'Sweet Dreams' (BBC version) and 'Astral Traveller' are examples of beautifully arranged, uncluttered, and finely blended compositions that do not distract one from the essence of the tracks themselves. Unfortunately, I cannot always say this about the style of the guitarist who was to replace Peter...
I would love to see Peter Banks and Tony Kaye be asked to rejoin Yes for some sort of reunion tour (and album!) to recapture some of that early feel-good spirit that were early Yes. 'Close to the Edge' and 'Fragile' are masterpieces but there never would have been those albums without the firm foundation built by the adventurous, bold, innovative and creative original line-up of Yes as exemplified in this BBC collection! +

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great rock & roll, June 26, 2003

By 

Bob Wettig (Wichita) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BBC Recording 1969-70 Deluxe Edition (Audio CD)

One can only imagine what kind of great rock this lineup (Anderson/Squire/Banks/Kaye/Bruford) would have put out if they had stayed together a couple years longer. IMHO, these are some of the best live tracks from this period that I've heard. Banks/Kaye/Bruford are simply unbelievable!