worth it just for ritual
all but one of the songs is from topographic oceans onward. While it may lack some of the all encompassing energy and greatness of yessongs this live album is a fine collection of live songs from the later period of yes. i was glad to have this as it made the disc completely different from yessongs and havent we all haerd roundabout and seen all good people a hundred times. most ofthe songs are played fairly close to there studio versions there is a very nice version of gates of delirium. but the absolute key to the whole album is a blazing version of ritual. it opens with a fun little section of jon anderson thankingthe crew before blasting into the song. the playing is magnificent and the vocals song beatuifully, and once we get to part II you have to strap yourself in for the ride. squires bass has never been so furious as here the song goes to heights never reached in the studio version incorporating some parts of the ancient before the animalistic drum section before a majestic finish. the song grabs you and takes you on its insane journey with a force that is very rare in music.
i highly recommend this cd especially to yes fans looking to hear some songs they might not have in live versions, and of course for ritual. .
Picks up where 'Yessongs' left off
'Yessongs' featured classic performances from the 'Close to the Edge' era, while this focuses on the 'Going for the One' era. While I have read a couple of reviews stating that the reviewers prefer this over 'Yessongs,' I have to say that I think they are both equal.
Starting with shows from the 'Relayer' tour in 1976 with Patrick Moraz on keyboards, these were taken from Detroit in late '76. Other highlights from this concert appears on the box set 'The Word Is Live. '
And, you get some other great performances here. 'Time And A Word' is great when performed live, as is 'Wonderous Stories' and 'Going For The One. '
But, I have one negative: Why isn't this a single disc? It's pointless for Atlantic to issue this as a two-CD set when this is 78 minutes worth of music. So, this could easily fit onto a single disc. A compact disc can hold 80 minutes of music. You'd think Atlantic might have known that by now.
But, overall, this is a great live record. One of my all-time favorites from Yes. Highly, highly recommended. ENJOY!!!.
Great live album
The lineup on this live set included Jon Anderson (lead vocals, acoustic guitar); Steve Howe (electric and acoustic guitars); Rick Wakeman (mini moog, Hammond organ, piano, mellotron on all tracks except for Ritual and Gates of Delirium); Patrick Moraz (synthesizers, organ, piano, mellotron on Ritual and Gates of Delirium); Chris Squire (Rickenbacker bass; eight string bass); and Alan White (drums and percussion). Released in 1980, this excellent live set would be the last "official" album to capture Yes during the 1976-1978 timeframe and was released during a time when Yes had disbanded (at least until 1983) following the release of Drama (1980).
As I recall, in the early 1980s this album hit my turntable very frequently along with other live prog albums from the period including Seconds Out (Genesis, 1977) and Bursting Out (Jethro Tull, 1978). I think that of all of those albums, Yesshows struck me as the most wild and imaginative of the lot, and features some simply unbelievable performances by the band, especially the bass tour de force on the 28'22" version of Ritual and the searing version of Gates of Delirium. Speaking of Ritual, this lengthy piece was split on the original vinyl version, which was a little irritating - having the piece here in its entirety is quite nice.
The album was produced by bassist Chris Squire and consisted of a series of demo mixes collected from various world tours conducted during 1976-1978. Upon its release, reactions from the band members were a bit mixed (Rick thought it was disgraceful), although Chris liked it. As a fan of the band, I have to confess that I love the album, and although it is a lot more polished than Yessongs (1973), does not lose any of the ferocious energy that characterized live Yes during their peak. I suppose that my only complaint is that Yesshows could very well have been released as a triple album and include (at the time) recently released masterworks like Awaken (from Going for the One, 1977). Although I do not mind the shorter tunes Don't Kill the Whale, Going for the One, Parallels, Wondrous Stories and Time and a Word, the shorter pieces just do not convey the sense of adventure and virtuosity that made Yes one of my favorite bands.
All in all, this is an excellent and extremely well recorded live album by Yes that features great versions of their studio works, especially Gates of Delirium and Ritual, and more or less forms a bookend to their definitive works from the 1970s. Although this version of the CD was remastered by Atlantic in 1994, it is of low quality in comparison with the recently remastered Yes albums by Rhino. My hope is that someday Rhino will properly remaster Yesshows - maybe then other tracks could be added, making this great live album even better.
A delirious face-lift
"The Gates of Delirium" here is simply a crusher of a number. I believe what we get here is a greater show than YESSONGS (I don't really like the live liberties they took with those older pieces). It retools the stilted, metallic, proto-Industrial studio cut from 1974 and sweeps you away with the jamming intensity of a dinosaur prog-rock powerhouse. Both versions are fine, but this is my favorite. It'll rock the house like nothing you've ever heard; it leaves me breathless every time. The BEST version of "Soon" to be found: not too short, not too long and fanciful. As for some other reviews, I'm astonished: I've never heard an out-of-place note on this one. Kudos also to Chris Squire for having the heart to make this album in 1980 (he did the mixing) -- we get an unsloppy version of each song!
"Time and a Word" on the original album of that name was BADLY in need of a face-lift, which it really gets here, making it a sweet joy and a place to gather energy for the next tracks.
All the songs from GOING FOR THE ONE are as good or better than the studio tracks. The version of "Going" here is when Jon could hit those high and sustained notes repeatedly within the whole song (before his voice started breaking on this very song). Let's be thankful for this record!
"Ritual" does NOT outdo the studio version, but the liberties it takes haven't aged so badly. Alan's savage, vociferous vocal tricks on the middle section ("the battle of good and evil"?) are pretty scary at first, and you won't know what the hell it is or who's doing it.
Overall, no Yes fan should be without this set. Don't even think of Keys to Ascension. . . get this! The classic lineup of Yes after the first ABWH album ceases to be of any importance except that they occasionally rise to a very respectful level in playing the Old Stuff.
Great live album from Yes
Ritual is too long. Gates of Delirium is simply amazing. . . the parts that have been added just make shadow on a great Yes epic.
I prefer "Time and a word" and "Going for the one" on Keys to ascension"
"Parallels", "Don't kill the whale" and "Wonderous stories" are good.
Even if the remaster is better than the original, the sound quality is light years away from "Keys to Ascension 1 & 2"
To me, this album worth its price just for the version of "Gates of Delirium".
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