Keys to Ascension [Live]

Yes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 29, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 22, 1996
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Cmc International
• ASIN: B000001Y9T
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,604 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic 1996 live set by the classic Yes lineup, January 14, 2003

By 

woburnmusicfan (Woburn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keys to Ascension (Audio CD)

In late 1995-early 1996, the classic Yes lineup -- Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, White -- got together to record an album in the Yesworld Studio in San Luis Obispo, California. In March 1996, they played three straight nights of shows in that city. The best of the live recordings are included on this 2-CD set, along with half a CD of studio tracks (of course, by Yes standards, half a CD just means two tracks...and 30 minutes of music).

The album would be worth it just for the first live recordings of the epics "The Revealing Science of God" and "Awaken". Both are fantastic renditions. (Wakeman's pipe organ solo on "Awaken" is unfocused compared to the studio version; if you get bored, listen for Anderson plucking a harp in the background.) There is also a take on "Siberian Khatru" that rivals the "Yessongs" version. The Yes arrangement of Paul Simon's "America" has never been a favorite of mine; the unease of the lyrics is at odds with the brash instrumental passages between the verses. But the take here is almost enough to make a believer out of me. I can't picture the song being performed any better than this. One of the last songs I ever expected on a Yes live album was "Onward", a sweet-nothing love song by Squire from the "Tormato" album. It's about the most simple, straightforward song Yes has ever done, and it works here just BECAUSE of that. In between the long, convoluted songs, the simplicity of "Onward" allows the listeners to rest and cleanse their aural palates before diving into "Awaken". The second CD includes the encores: a solid reading of "Roundabout" and a version of "Starship Trooper" that may be better than the one on "Yessongs", with Howe and Wakeman swapping solos during an extended ending. The sound quality on the live tracks is great, much better than was possible on Yes' 1970s earlier live albums.

Of the studio tracks, the 10-minute "Be the One" is very good, with a soaring melody and Anderson's uplifting chorus "Be the one giving in to love/Never let the good in life desert you". "That, That Is" starts with a lovely Howe acoustic guitar theme, but is too uneven a song to sustain its 19-minute length.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars live,, in top form, December 10, 2000

By 

R. Bruynesteyn (Horn Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keys to Ascension (Audio CD)

IMO their best live album, but as such perhaps not essential. However, America, the Paul Simon tune plus some Bernstein references makes a rare and very good appearance here (listen to the guitar solo from 5:30 throuugh 8:20!) and Onward is way better than the studio version, being played here unplugged rather than the strange electric workout on Tormato. The studio s=tracks are not bad either and show that there is life in Yes in the 90's. It would be brave, and quite possibly better, to release the studio tracks of KtA 1 & 2 together, as they are a lot better than Open your mind

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Disc 1 rules!, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Keys to Ascension (Audio CD)

Mostly I am psyched about the live material. The performances are awesome, and the choice of cuts, with songs like "The Revealing Science of God," my favorite Yes piece in accordance with one of the fans below is pretty deep-cutting into the Yes catalog. I also agree with a customer below that Squire's "Onward" is about 10,000 time better than the Tormato version, which I absolutely hated more than any other Yes song (save, perhaps "Arriving UFO" and "Saving My Heart"). It has been transformed into a beautiful work centered around the classical guitar mastery of Steve Howe, rather than the thin sounding studio electric version. Anderson and Squire's harmonies soar on this cut. I'd say this album is worth it for these 2 tracks alone. As for the studio stuff, I've listened to it a few times but can't remember how most of it goes. It didn't have the impact on me that songs from albums like "Close to the Edge" or even "ABWH," which these songs seem to be trying to emulate, have, but then they do seem worthy of my giving them more listens. It's just hard to not put on the live stuff when I pull out this album!