Essentially Yes (Spec) [Box set, Special Edition]

Yes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 5, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 5
• Format: Box set, Special Edition
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Eagle Records
• ASIN: B000JBXOQC
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,780 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. New State of Mind

2. Open Your Eyes

3. Universal Garden

4. No Way We Can Lose

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Homeworld (The Ladder)

2. It Will be a Good Day (The River)

3. Lightning Strikes

4. Can I?

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Magnification

2. Spirit of Survival

3. Don't Go

4. Give Love Each Day

See all 10 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. The Calling

2. I Am Waiting

3. Real Love

4. State of Play

See all 8 tracks on this disc

Disc: 5

1. Siberian Khatru

2. Magnification

3. Don't Kill The Whale

4. In The Presence Of i. Deeper ii. Death Of Ego iii. True Beginner iv. Turn Around And Remember

See all 9 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars could have been better, December 9, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Essentially Yes (Spec) (Audio CD)

The box itself is really slick - glossy black with nice colourful logo (same kind of package as Stereolab's set and Porcupine Tree's Stars Die set). That's as good as it gets. Opening the box reveals each of the 5 disks in paper sleeves with album cover art - however, the album liner notes are nowhere to be found! Not even compilation notes! So what about the Live cd. Well, I've listened to it once and it really doesn't stand up to the Keys to Ascension material in terms of sound quality and playing performance. Sounds lackluster. Sorry - only reason to buy is if you want these disks in a neat consolidated package.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars And if you call within the next 40 minutes..., December 8, 2006

By 

R. Hessler (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essentially Yes (Spec) (Audio CD)

That's right folks, order this now at Amazon and you'll get the 4 least successful Yes albums. But wait... order this set now and obtain a bunch of live tracks from a 2003 show with unknown sound quality. Songs that are probably already on the Yes Symphonic DVD in 5.1 digital quality (different concert, of course). This just rubs me the wrong way, the way recording industries are trying to fleece music group fans with extras by having to spend oodles of money in order to get them. Selling the 4 least successful albums by Yes, that most Yes fans already have, in order to get an unreleased live disc? This practice seems to be spreading in the industry.

Granted, Open Your Eyes, The Ladder, Magnification are nice albums (Magnification being the best one), Talk has it's moments but is certainly the black sheep of the Yes Discography. You can get these albums used (or even new if you know where to shop) for a fraction of the price per disc in this set. Then you can get the Yes Symphonic DVD of there performances in Amsterdam (an absolutely solid DVD). Save the money. This set is waste of money. Especially when the quality of the 2003 concert tracks is unknown (and at this price, will remain unknown).

I'll give 2 stars merely because the albums are worth having, but not by purchasing this set.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What's in a word?, March 29, 2008

By 

eurocrank (Ketchikan, Alaska) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essentially Yes (Spec) (Audio CD)

YES is any band Chris Squire decides to call as such. He owns the name. Without Squire, there is no YES--ergo ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE, a band that includes two of the band's original members (Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford, or "Blufrog" as he is affectionately known in the jazz community) and two members that most people consider part of the classic lineup (Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman). In fact, it would be a classic lineup if Squire had participated instead of Tony Levin and Jeff Berlin. Despite being the lead singer for all of the band's many albums but one ("Drama"), Anderson has no rights to the name, so that one album is still a YES album.

"Essential" doesn't mean "necessary" or even "good"; it just means that the name is officially sanctioned, like a trademark.

For the record, the band members consistently on these five albums are Squire, Anderson, and Alan White, White having been with the group since the tour that produced "Yessongs."

There is no mention whatsoever of anything being remastered in this box. As an earlier reviewer noted, the packaging is spartan: you get a hard box (roughly 5" x 5") and the discs in glossy single-LP-style sleeves. That's it--no notes, no recording information, nothing else. It's as if you get only the CD booklet cover and the backside of the tray for each of the disks.

The version of "Talk" does include an eighth track, the 8:08 "special version" of 'The Calling.' Trevor Rabin may not have been involved with or even OK'd the release of this additional track, but I like it though the song didn't need to be extended. To my ears, it can stand tall with 'Roundabout,' 'Owner of a Lonely Heart,' and 'Lift Me Up' as the best of their singles.

The Montreux set has since been released with more tracks as a two-disk set. Either way, the sound and performance are excellent and, to my ears, livelier and more authentic than anything since "Yessongs" (1973)--I suspect there was little to no overdubbing. While "Live at Montreux 2003" may lack the mythic power of that originally-three-record set, it certainly was better recorded and may be more appealing to younger or more recent listeners.

By the way, I have yet to hear a poor release in the Montreux series. The DEEP PURPLE and JETHRO TULL sets are also among their best live releases. They were mixed by David Richards (QUEEN) and mastered by Ray Staff, both of them pros.