Yesshows [Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Yes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 15, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: East/West Records
• ASIN: B000002J24
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,853 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good sampling of the era, July 19, 2003

By 

Evil Lincoln (Dayton, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yesshows (Audio CD)

I'd like to start out with a complaint. For reasons beyond my understanding, Yesshows is presented here on *2* CDs (disregard what Amazon says about this- you get a two-disc set) despite the fact that they both add up to less than 80 minutes of music, thus being able to fit on one disc. A real waste of space and CDs. At least it's not reflected in the price.

On to the actual content of the album. The opener Parallels is great, and surpasses its lackluster studio counterpart. The early Yes classic Time And A Word is well-performed too, and Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman, who were not in the band for the studio version, add flair. Steve Howe flubs the opening to Going For The One, but instead of detracting from it, adds an element of charm.

The Gates Of Delirium. Beautiful. Powerful. Passionate. Perfect. That's all I need to say about it. It easily surpasses the studio version (which is still near-perfect).

Don't Kill The Whale is nearly identical to the studio version, but that's not a bad thing, because it's a jam song at heart. The band then gets into a "soul" groove (Jon Anderson's words, not mine) before launching into the daunting Ritual. It may be seven minutes longer than the Tales From Topographic Oceans studio version, but it easily surpasses it. Ritual is divided up into two seperate tracks here to allow for easier digestion. And as a "sound chaser" of sorts (sorry for the pun) to help you catch your breath, the album closes with the pithy and gentle Wonderous Stories.

Yesshows also has a good sound quality throughout, especially on The Gates Of Delirium.

This is an essential live album if you enjoy this era of Yes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Live Album Which Spots I Like (And Spots I Don't Like), November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yesshows (Audio CD)

I like the way Yes jams along with Stravinsky's "The Firebird Suite" before opening the show with "Parallels" (one of Chris Squire's finest songs ever). Patrick Moaz does a great job on "The Gates of Delirium" and even on "Ritual". However, this version of "Ritual" is too long and Jon Anderson's tribal noises over Alan White's cymbal-bashing are plenty annoying! You wish Alan would be allowed to solo unadulterated. "Wonderous Stories" and "Going for the One" hold up well. "Don't Kill The Whale" shows Anderson at his most politically correct, but Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe both add a new dimension to an early standard "Time & a Word".

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great live performance, August 30, 2002

By 

rubidium84 (Ft. Calhoun, NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yesshows (Audio CD)

This is Yes' second live album, and focuses on songs from the three studio albums preceding it. All the tracks here are played beautifully and powerfully; the versions of "Time and a Word", "Gates of Delerium", and "Ritual" are especially brilliant. What I like about Yes in a live context is how they can make a subtle change in a song (like the organ solo on "Parallels" being given to the synthesizer instead) and that change gives the song a completely new flavor. The same effect is achieved in "Ritual" when they move the bass into a more prominent role for the solo.
I'd like to comment on that bass solo - I think it's the best live bass solo I've heard. The way Squire plays at an unusual range (most of this solo is played in the same range as a guitar's low E string) has always fascinated me. Another thing about this solo is how the rest of the band just lets go and lets Squire take over - in particular listen to Moraz: he's just tinkling along, playing the same triplet pattern.
Listen closely to "Gates" and you'll hear some apalling mistakes made by Howe - in the beginning of the song he enters too slowly, throwing everyone off track for a moment, and at 13:45 he starts his solo in the wrong octave, and has to add half a measure and cram some notes together to get back on track. But in spite of these errors, the group remains solid, and ends up playing "Gates" better than they did in the studio. Anderson's voice on this track is at its harshest, and in perfect form (as usual).