Product Details

• Actors: Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, Alan White
• Directors: Denny Somach, Lee Abraham
• Producers: Denny Somach, Lee Abraham, Brian Lane
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (PCM Mono)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: February 16, 1999
• Run Time: 51 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305269076
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,634 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Yes - Live in Philadelphia" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Recorded on videotape at the Philadelphia Spectrum on June 21, 1979, this truncated Yes concert (running a mere 51 minutes, or roughly half the concert's actual length) finds the band during the summer leg of their "In the Round" tour, which was the last to feature the band's "classic" lineup of vocalist Jon Anderson, guitar wizard Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. This is a valuable recording for Yes fans (yours truly saw the Seattle concert of this tour just a month before this Philly gig), but the image quality is definitely sub-standard and the sound mix is barely a notch above awful. Camera access was obviously limited, so the visuals grow rather tedious by the time the DVD reaches the fourth-track performance of "Starship Trooper," and one can only wonder why Alan White's synthesized drum solo was included at the expense of another full-length song. Fortunately this was a good night for the band, and as usual Steve Howe provides an amazing performance on his array of Gibson and Fender guitars. Of course, it all winds up with a closing performance of "Roundabout," and anyone who witnessed the '79 tour will be glad that this DVD--regardless of its marginal quality--was made available. All others may wish to stick to the higher fidelity of Yes's great music on CD. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Live in Philadelphia clearly illustrates the power of Yes music. Recorded in 1979, this concert vivdly chronicles the band's middle era, showing the fragile balance of individual personality, visionary writing, telepathic interaction and brilliant instrumentation that define the timeless music of Yes. Songs: Siberian Khatru, Circus of Heaven, Starship Trooper, The Ancient [excerpt], Your Move/I've Seen All Good People, Roundabout.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars In a word - don't bother, October 12, 2003

By 

Amanda Bartels (Eltham, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yes: Live in Philadelphia 1979 (DVD)

I must admit I get really cheesed off when I see great DVDs of Queen, Elton John, etc cropping up year after year, and Yes fans get these crummy lousy quality drink coasters for themselves.

I thought Keys to Ascension was bad, but it's streets ahead of this lumbering piece of junk. The only redeeming quality is the lineup but you quickly forget that after about 5 mins as the appalling sound and video quality begins to sink in and you wonder why you spent 30c on this rubbish.

There's this awful metallic squeal from one of Rick's keyboards, Chris Squire is almost inaudible and Jon sounds like the cat's being strangled (this is not his fault - it's just that the EQ is horrendous and really, why didn't they just put this out in 2.0 instead of 5.1 which is totally wasted?) There is some nice stuff from the players such as Rick and Steve but as you can't really hear them above the hiss and distortion it's a bit of a waste of time. Even seeing The Ancient performed live is not really a saving grace - the mysticism and wonder of this piece is completely ruined, like watching Lord of the Rings on those tiny aircraft TV screens. . .

The producers have tried to cover up the abysmal sound quality by having lots of hysterical fans screaming at the start and end of each song - maybe an attempt to add atmosphere as well, but as I was completely disgusted by this time the effect was lost.

I skipped over to see what Chris Welch had to say, but he's bored and boring and it's nothing new anyway - it's almost as if he'd seen the video and figured it wasn't worth putting any effort into the commentary.

And that stage just keeps going round and round - The Roundabout Revolving Restaurant, I bet the band wished they could have got off before this stinker came out.

Only worth buying if you find it in a car boot sale, (which you probably will!) Buy another Yes DVD instead. ANY other Yes DVD.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars what is this, a bootleg?, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yes - Live in Philadelphia (DVD)

If Yes is going to release an old concert from Philly, why pick one that's such poor recording? Why not release the live in Philly show from the Big Generator tour? That show has a lot more songs and is a lot better sound and picture quality. Why not release that concert from the Union tour that they kept showing clips from on the YesYears video? They could have picked a better concert than this 1979 to release. What about the Keys To Ascension show? Even if you're a big Yes fan, you should skip Live In Philadelphia 1979 because it's a big disappointment. Send the band some e-mails and tell them to release videos from the Big Generator and Union tours because they obviously filmed some of those concerts.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Homemovie, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yes - Live in Philadelphia (DVD)

Stay away from this piece of garbage!!! I'm a huge Wakeman fan, and had to have it (or so I thought). Audio is beyond poor, and the video looks like a bad homemovie. Add this to a short running time, and you get a real piece of trash. Only get this if you have money you have to get rid of.