Customer Reviews

Live at Montreux

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As if to silence any doubters, YES delivers in this disc and the accomapnying DVD what is perhaps the best concert of their 39+ years, and I have listened to, and attended, a lot of YES concerts, good and bad. Montreux must bring out the very best in performers, jazz, blues, rock, whatever. There is a special place in the musical heavens for Claude Nobs. His collection of Miles Davis concerts are among the best ever by Miles, particularly in the electric mode. This YES concert is a tour de force on so many fronts, it is hard to know where to begin, except the beginning.
As Howe strikes the first notes and chords of Siberian Khatru, I wasn't quite sure I was going to be happy with this. You figure at a certain point, it has to be tiring (listen to any Nash version of Our House post 1974). But a clean and sober Wakeman is a formidable beast to reckon with and when he launches in a few beats later, this concert takes off and never stops. The intensity and the power and the commitment to the music is so incredibly strong, I do believe that this is the very best concert they have ever performed.
On the CD, Anderson's naft pattering is at a minimum, and so the music moves from strength to strength all the way through for 2 1/2 hours over two discs. I felt exhilarated at every turn n the music. And there is nothing here by rote. One of the real hallmarks of a band's musicality for me is how successfully they end a tune. With each and every selection from SK through to Roundabout I felt like leaping out of my chair or car. In ensemble mode, YES breathes new found fire into their performances. The interplay in the rhythm section between Squire and White has never sounded so astoundingly driving, nuanced and creative. As I mentioned, a clean and sober Wakeman dusts all comers. He is lit on fire and his precision and explorative use of new technologies gives new dimensions to tunes you have heard a zillion times.
Howe makes up for a tentative start with an acoustic reading of To Be Over that is even more poignant than the stunningly beautiful rendition from his Natural Timbres CD. He rounds out the first disc with such a spirited rendtion of the Clap that you'd swear this is the first time you ever really heard this tune. There is something to be said about YES when Wakeman, Howe and Squier are absolutely spot on, precise and creative. Nothing is slurred, blurred or played to the gallery. There is a focus I have not heard in this band since 1972 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. These musicians came to Montreux aware of Montreux's status in the world of music and they came to prove a point.
It is a career defining point, and the settle the case against all detractors. I can think of no other badn except Miles in the late 80's who took their canon someplace else altogether at a time when they had virtually been written off. Not so fast, Kowalski...
Alan White is the only drummer to have ever successfully succeeded Bill Bruford in the drummer's chair of any band, and it is abundantly clear on this disc why. I don't know if they knew that this would be it for an extended period of time, if not forever, or not, but White plays like it is the last night of his life and he wants to leave his legacy. He is just brilliant. I would tell you that there would be no way for Bruford to follow this performance.
Jon Anderson is a remarkable elf. God knows what mothership left him off here, but there is no one I know who still has that register in their voice at his age, and the man is genetically hard wired so that it is impossible for him to hit a wrong note. As out-there as YES lyrics can be, Anderson sings them with such passionate conviction, you can't help but believe you are hearing the Oracle at Delphi, or the first note in Tolkien's Silmarillion. Whatever, he is on cloud 9 with the music and his irrepressible joy is infectious. He presents his own looped take on We Have Heaven that is also one of the great surprises on the disc and segues beautifully into South Side of the Sky. Later with Long Distance Runaround he delivers it all with a profound ability to maintain his breathing. If you have had the misfortune to purcahse any of the recent Peter Gabriel WarmUp discs from his summer tour, you know what an embarrassing thing it is when a geezer loses his breath and can't remember either the correct lyrics or when to come in. Anderson is just the opposite and makes the delivery of those very convulted layers of lyric abstracts perfectly impassioned and believeable. Squire to his credit is in better voice than I have ever heard him. It is almost reason enough to buy this set. That and his re-imagined take on The Fish is the very best performance of that piece ever. The Fish displays all that is especially brilliant about YES as a band. The music takes unconvential leaps. The band jumps in and jumps out at just the right accent or timing point and then when you are sure he has summed it all up, Squire delivers the well-known chorus with more gusto and surprise than you would ever have expected.
The liner notes state that YES finished this not knowing if YES would ever re-assemble. It would be tragic if they didn't. For all the knee-jerk punk reaction to progressive rock, the fact is that no one played as creatively and as imaginatively as YES did, not just in its glory years, but even in the dreadful Trevor Rabin epoch. This live set covers 8 albums from the well known through Magnification and what comes through strongest is that this band matters.
If this is their coda, it is as beautiful and magnificent a gift as they could ever give back to Music.

A big YES fan--CLOSE TO THE EDGE remains, in my opinionated opinion, the greatest rock album of all time; YES are incredible live--I purchased LIVE AT MONTREUX 2003 the very moment I learned of it's availability.

A new YESSONGS? Not so sure... If, like me, you'll be adding this to your collection--I bought the DVD too--you may want to check your expectations. On the plus side, as you move through this 2 CD set, it picks up. I've no doubt the crowd loved the show: the effect of recency on memory.

"Siberian Khatru"--good... If you see Joe Satriani live he improvises on his classics; keeps the standards fresh. Would be great to hear Steve Howe and Rick Wakemean do the same.

"Magnification"--On the whole I like the MAGNIFICATION album. Not one of YES's best, but it's always good to hear new YES music. Sadly.. "Magnification" just doesn't work live... Too much Jon Anderson, too little band, the mix sounds hollow, something's missing... When I first heard MAGNIFICATION songs live they didn't play well, but I figured the more they were played live the better they'd get. Still sound the same.

"Don't Kill The Whale"--This has always been one of my least favorite YES songs: even in the 80s the mix seemed wrong. Someone who loves this tune should review it. (GOING FOR THE ONE has some excellent alternatives, like "Parallels" which is on YESSHOWS.)

"In The Presence Of"--One of my favorite tracks from the MAGNIFICATION album. Again... see notes on "Magnification" above... it just doesn't work live. The background vocals detract. (Why? They're fine on "South Side, "And You & I"?) Seems to me "Presence" could be great live... Once again, with feeling...

(Can't ever figure out why YES don't play some of the fabulous material from the Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe album. Yeah, Chris Squire and Alan White--who legally own the name "YES"--weren't on it. But... come on... surely we're old enough now to be beyond all that? Great YES music is... great YES music. Grab the low hanging fruit!)

"We Have Heaven"--Strange. From mixes with too much Jon we now get all Jon.

"South Side Of The Sky"--Mix still too vocals heavy, but that fullness to the mix is back: It's YES not Jon & Friends. Nice to finally hear some nice solo work from Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. Crowd justifiably thrilled.

"And You & I"--Hey, it comes from CLOSE TO THE EDGE. Love the song. And after listening to this take, I think I know why they didn't do "Close To The Edge" itself. Was going to mention tempo under "South Side"--seemed slow--but have to mention it here. "And You & I" starts off slow. It almost plods. Until the crowd starts clapping you don't get that "YES live!" feeling. Now the tempo's better. Earlier YES songs do a better job of highlighting the musicianship of everyone in the band. Ends well. Crowd pleased. That was YES!

(Speaking of tempo, I saw Loreena McKennitt recently live. She does a great job of playing her songs a little faster in concert. Really works. N'er a plod anywhere.)

"To Be Over"--Never heard Steve Howe play this live. "Mood For A Day" or "Clap" live will always send shivers down my spine. And--love hearing something different! (In the interests of full disclosure, I own a guitar once owned by Steve Howe. He's always been on of my favorite guitarists.)

"Clap"--Always a crowd pleaser. No disappointments here! If Steve Howe can keep this fresh after all these years, why can't the band keep other songs fresh? YES have written some of the best music on the planet... At end crowd goes bonkers.

"Show Me"--Jon's voice sounds great for the first time on "Show Me." YES's equivalent of "Blowing In The Wind."

"Rick Wakeman Solo Medley"--Crowd goes nuts at the introduction of the master. No wonder, instead of playing background keyboards his fingers finally get a real workout! Again, if Mr. Wakeman can keep this ancient material fresh, what's up with the band and it's classics? Can't Rick be let out of his cage on MAGNIFICATION songs? (My big hope: YES will make a few more albums where they compose together. But they'd have to commit to that.) Crowd goes apoplectic at end. They too want more Rick... they only got a taste... me too...

"Heart Of The Sunrise"--YES hitting their stride. Mix nice and full. Where was Chris Squire before? These days, with the bass so prominent in contemporary music, ya really miss it when it's not there. (What confuses me is why YES and their sound folks don't hear the difference between a mix like this and mixes for, say, the MAGNIFICATION songs. There's a huge difference. Seems fixable too...)

"Long Distance Runaround"--As I believe YES musicians to be amongst the very best I feel it's fair to hold them to a high standard. It makes no sense that material YES has played for years sounds dramatically better than newer material...

"The Fish"--Chris Squire never disappoints. Stills seems odd that this remains his only solo piece. Crowd happy.

"Awaken"--If this double CD started off weak, it's picking up. Odd that it's not until the third track of the second CD ("Heart Of The Sunrise") that we start hearing YES. Nice... This take of "Awaken" has great energy. I always find it odd that YES can play "Awaken" consistently well, but can't do the same with "Close To The Edge." Weird.

"I've Seen All Good People"--If YES couldn't play this in their sleep AND get a crowd on it's feet at the same time, I'd be surprised. Glad we get "Your Move." Perhaps one day local recorder players will join YES? (Although some of the background vocals are okay on LIVE AT MONTREAUX, many are not: sometimes slightly out of tune, runs get real muddy, etc.. When playing live some backing vocalist with voices that blend with Jon's voice might not be a bad idea.) Will have to check the DVD, but I strongly suspect the crowd was on it's feet.

"Roundabout"--Crowd has to on it's feet now. Great ending.

In conclusion: Newer YES material doesn't work well live, and it shows on this set. YES standards good for the most part, tho' some need more energy. Overall this CD set builds, so by the end you feel good about it all. And, I can see a lot of folks not playing CD 1 very often.

My big hope: This CD set indicated YES is, at some level, alive and kicking. If Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones can do it, why not YES? In 2008 we'll have had YES for 40 years. Would be great to have a new album that really showed them all at their best, as composers and musicians.

We can hope...

Kirtland Peterson

Um repertório ao vivo de altíssimo nível desta banda com sua formação clássica'. A banda fez excelentes arranjos e é um dos melhores shows. Fantástico.

El mejor concierto de Yes desde Union! Toda la banda en gran forma: Steve con una energía que no se le veía hace años (un maestro), Rick con la clase de siempre, es el mejor tecladista del mundo (el duo con Steve al final de South Side Of the Sky es impresionante). Chris increible en The Fish acompañado de Alan y Jon con una voz en gran forma. Realmente lo recomiendo, es excelente!!

...An Impressive Concert with thw Best of Yes ant its musicians...!!!Wonderfull....No words to define it.....!!!

This 2 disc cd is filled with their best music live. You'll spend hours listening to the clean crisp sound of Yes.

four stars INSPIRED ENERGETIC NIGHT.

HOT PERFORMANCES WITH INCREDIBLE LITTLE TWISTS, LIKE ON SOUTH SIDE OF THE SKY, WERE WAKEMAN AND HOWE DUEL HEAVILY,

AND YOU AND I HAS BEAUTIFUL WAKEMAN TOUCHES, HE PLAYS TWO TRACKS FROM MAGNIFICATION, ADDING HIS OWN.
STEVE HOWE IS PLAYING WELL AND MOVING ON THIS ONE¡ IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT IN THE OLD TIMES STEVE WAS A GREAT STAGE PERFORMEr, JUST WATCH THE QPR DVD AND HE WILL BLOW YOUR UNDERWEAR OFF IN SECONDS, OR YESSONGS. ON LATER DVD'S OF YES HE GOT STIFFER.
WHAT CAN I SAY OF CHRIS SQUIRE GOD BASS PLAYING?
ONE OF THE BEST YES LIVE CDS
THE DVD HAS SEVERAL AUDIO DROPOUTS THAT PUT YOU OFF SEVERELY. stay away from it

They are good but they do not stretch. If you like what they do you will like it. If you are looking for new excitement forget it.