* * * * * * * * * * ______ ______ ____________ _________ / \ | \ __/ \ __/ \__ _________ | \| \ / |/ _ \ _________ / | // _____ || / \_/ \ |NOTES \ // / \ \\_ \_ NOTES| |FROM \ || _____ ___\ \ \_ \_ FROM| |THE \ || / ---/______| \ \_ THE| |EDGE ___\ || | | /______ __/ \ EDGE| |#20 ___/ \ \\ \_ \_ // | #20| \_____ / ___\ _/ \_ \ \_ _// | ______/ \__ \__/ ___/ \_ \____ | \_/ \__ ___/ \___ _/ \__ \__/ \ \_________/ \_____/ \_ \_____/ \ \_ | \_ | \__ __/ \_____________/ Notes From the Edge #20 September 13, 1991 * * * * * * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE... ================ Save the CD and its Cover Art --the demise of the CD longbox, and perhaps the jewel box The Archive Server --at long last! Radio Specials --CTTE radio specials this past labor day weekend The Band Seal --with a little help from Trevors Horn and Rabin The Rabin/Hodgson Collaboration --anything come of it? Uzlot --with Jon Anderson and Stu Hamm Dan Hedges' Yes Bio --a few notes More on YesYears --need I say more? Tony Kaye --the notorious... Rick Wakeman --piano arrangements Yes Complete --and Yes transcriptions in general Japanese Import CDs --investing in quality Skyrvania --a band that covers Yes tunes What If... --Yes influenced popular music the way Led Zeppelin does... Sebastian Hardie --an Australian progressive rock band Cheap Thrills --Esquire and Billie Currie's _Transportation_ Yes T-Shirts --any available from the tour? Roger Dean Posters --anywhere???????? Birthdays --out of the blue they're a year older! Contributors --thank you, thank you, thank you! Addresses --there's more to us than just the newsletter * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTES: =============== Is this it? Am I really back??? My first official newsletter since May, man I hope I didn't forget how to do anything...:-) But you know, they do say one's intelligence peaks at 22 and after that it's downhill...:-) So no surprise if I did :-) We have some great news regarding our archives, but I'll let Mike tell you all about that in a little bit. I am disappointed to see that _Page of Life_, the new one from Jon & Vangelis, featuring of course, the one, the only, Jon Anderson, has not been released yet. Or if it has, I have had absolutely no luck in finding it! This album has been delayed much too long already! I think the record companies enjoy teasing the public with this sort of thing. This way we'll all run right out and buy it when it finally comes out. It's just great the way they have such control over our lives, isn't it?? And right now it looks like there's a lot more at stake than just pushing back release dates. Please note the following submission from Doug Gottlieb of Yes Magazine. I'd heard rumors about getting rid of the CD longbox, and thought "its about time", but now there's this: * * * * * * * * * * DON'T KILL...THE JEWEL BOX ========================== From: IN%"73477.3435@CompuServe.COM" "Douglas G. Gottlieb" 7-SEP-1991 The CD long box (the outer cardboard 6" x 12" box) has environmentalists angry, and rightly so. It is a waste of precious resources. Sting and Peter Gabriel have taken different stances against the long box, which appears to be on its way out. This new environmental awareness is great. The bad news is that what the record companies are planning to use in its place is crap, and consumers are getting the short end. The box Sting's new SOUL CAGES comes in is what the companies are planning to use. This is a piece of card board which is wrapped in cellophane. It is the same size and shape as a long box, but when the cellophane is removed, it folds down to the size of a jewel box. There is no box to throw away, which is great, except that there is no plastic jewel box either. These card board packages do not protect the CD very well, and do not hold up. And if you enjoy looking at the album graphics, FORGET IT. They wear away pretty quickly. This really stinks for YES fans, since YES has the best album graphics in rock (thanks to Roger Dean). Peter Gabriel had a better solution than Sting. He simply shrink wrapped his jewel box (like they do in Europe). Retailers did not like this, because they like the bigger package as a theft deterrent and because the packages fit into their existing bins. Still, the Gabriel way is the better way for consumers. Write to your favorite artists' label right away if you want to make any difference. The record companies are moving very quickly toward adopting this crappy "eco-box". When they do, WE LOSE. And don't think the money they save on this cheap box will be passed along to you. It won't. Doug Gottlieb Yes Magazine ***Addresses for ARISTA and ATLANTIC: Arista Records, Inc. 6 West 57th Street New York, New York 10019 USA Atlantic Recording Corporation 75 Rockefeller Plaza New York, New York 10019 USA (also noted on the back of your favorite Yes Cds) All it'll cost you to voice your thoughts is the price of one stamp. -Cath * * * * * * * * * * THE YES ARCHIVE IS HERE!! ========================= From: IN%"borella@toadflax.eecs.ucdavis.edu" 12-SEP-1991 I love being the bringer of good news... :-) Remember last issue when I asked if anybody would be so generous to provide us with the storage for a Yes archive? Well, not only did someone respond, but he got it up and running in less than a week! Much appreciation goes out to Mike Stok for helping us out! Now we have a centralized location to store all those things that we used to have to request from individuals who kept the information in their accounts. Backissues, discographies, lyrics, survey answers and anything else we think of will be put there. Unfortunately, all we've been able to set up so far is backissues. The rest will come in the next couple of weeks. Please bear with us for now. Here's how to use the archive: 1) Send mail to 2) In the message body (NOT the subject line) type your command in the following format: send You must use capital letters for the issue number. For example, to get Notes From the Edge #9, use the command: send YES-9 To get issue #10, type: send YES-10 And so on. We also have an index file and a help file (which isn't all too helpful yet) set up that you can request using the commands: send INDEX and send HELP respectively. You can request multiple files, if you'd like, by using several commands, each on a separate line: send INDEX send YES-5 send YES-14 You will receive the files in separate mailings. One very important thing; PLEASE DO NOT USE THE ARCHIVE IF YOU DON'T NEED TO! One of the conditions of its existence is that traffic must not be too heavy. So if you already have all the issues you want, please don't request more. Don't "play" with the server by requesting tons of stuff just to see if it works. { attitude off :-) } Right now the archive is a bit barbaric, but we have big plans for it. By the next issue we should have the discography and lyrics on line. In the future, we plan on making it possible for you to request an individual member's discography without getting the whole file (which at this time is 170k). Mike and I would really like to hear what you think. Since he'll be out of his office for a while, please send all questions, comments, problems and suggestions to me. Enjoy! -Mike Borella borella@toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu * * * * * * * * * * _CLOSE TO THE EDGE_ "IN THE STUDIO": =================================== From: IN%"LEWIS%CTSTATEU.BITNET@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu" 4-SEP-1991 Well, I was listening to the radio on Labor Day weekend, hoping to catch the 3-hour Yes retrospective that's been advertised all over the place. So I set up my tape recorder to start, then found out that what they were broadcasting wasn't the program I was expecting. Instead, I ended up with a copy of an In the Studio interview on the album Close to the Edge. ("In the Studio" is a 1-hour music/interview program, concentrating specifically on one album.) Even if it wasn't what I wanted originally, I thought it was pretty good. As the announcer described CTTE as being first put together 20 years ago, I'd guess this was a brand new interview being broadcast for the first time. What follows are some highlights, plus a statement from Bill Bruford (which I thought was pretty funny): First of all, one problem with performing most of the music on CTTE was that none of it was formally written out. Besides that, Jon Anderson had no formal musical training but could instead "hear melodies in his head." Therefore, the challenge was how to be able to communicate these ideas to the rest of the band. As Bill Bruford explained: "Usually he presents them with a great deal of vigor, a great deal of muscle, and a great deal of 'if you don't like it, think of something better.' That usually was Jon's approach, so he would play something really horrendously terrible and most people would say, 'Uh... do we have to play this? Oh no... Well, alright, if we've got to, why don't you put a 6th there in the chord and play it like that,' and then somebody'd say, 'Yeah, but you put an F in the base instead of the G root, then it'd sound better,' and then you see what happens. The original idea would become turned into music by the four competent musicians around him. So he would bang out some horrendous godawful noise over one chord, getting his fingers caught in the strings, with a look in his eyes which said 'if you don't like this, quit or make it better.' Which is a technique that Hitler would use - somewhere slightly to the right of Hitler. And of course people would say, 'Uh, you know, do I have to leave the group? No, alright, well, let's tell him that if you move the G 6th to the G minor 6th then it'd sound really good.' So that's what would happen, and then somebody would say, 'Well, that sounds quite good,' and hey, presto, the ball is up and running. Often used by bandleaders in some way or another, it's throwing down a gauntlet saying 'I'm doing this. You guys can like it or you can leave it or you can improve it.' So we'd improve it." As before, you can drop me a line if you'd like a copy. It's got commercials in it, but otherwise is complete. Did anyone manage to catch the other program? It was called "Close to the Edge: The Yes Holiday Special," presented by the Global Satellite Network. It supposedly included exclusive interviews and rare recordings, and took up three hours. (Yes, both are called "Close to the Edge" - you can see why I was confused.) If anyone caught it on tape, I'd be interested in hearing it. Sarah Lewis slewis@drunivac.bitnet (Please use this address until I get a new account at Ohio State. I leave for grad school in two weeks. Oh boy. :) * * * * * * * * * * LIFE OUTSIDE OF YES FOR THE 2 TREVS: ==================================== From: IN%"wheaton!jevans@uunet.UU.NET" 7-SEP-1991 I was over at my old roommate's place the other night and had him catch me up on the latest pop, et al. cd's that came out this summer. Since I moved this summer I lost all touch with the musical world. So, my friend picked up this really funky cd... pop material and handed me the credits. The bands name was Seal and as you know has the pop single "Crazy" now on the charts. To my disbelief I found out that not only was Trevor Horn the producer of the album, but that Trevor Rabin appears on some of the guitar tracks, with such notables as Doug Wimbish (bass) and Paulhino DaCosta. Does anyone know what other projects Yes-men may be producing... Looks like Mr. Horn, is doing fairly well... Jonathan Evans * * * * * * * * * * RABIN/HODGSON? ============== From: IN%"RNT3515%TNTECH.BITNET@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu" 12-SEP-1991 I've got a couple of things I'd like some info on, so if anybody knows anything about them, please say so. First, a bunch of people have asked me if there will be a single-disc compilation from _Yesyears_, like they did with the Jethro Tull and David Bowie box sets. I have no idea. Does anyone else? Also, whatever has become of the Trevor Rabin/Roger Hodgson collaboration? I've recently become a big Supertramp fan, and I am dying to see how these two work out! I knew Trevor said that "Saving My Heart" was originally intended for the Rabin/Hodgson album, so apparently there's been some work done. Does anybody have any details on this? thanx, Robert. * * * * * * * * * * STU HAMM AND JON ANDERSON COLLABORATION: ======================================== From: IN%"STOREYR@Venus.YCC.Yale.Edu" 30-AUG-1991 In the latest issue of "Guitar World" magazine, there is an interview with bassist Stuart Hamm (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, solo, etc.). He discusses a new band project he's slated to begin either early next year or after the next Yes album. The band will be called Uzlot and features the talents of Mr. Hamm and our very own Jon Anderson. Hamm described the music as soft and somewhat atmospheric adding that he plans to play a lot of fretless bass on the project. I immediately envisioned something like the Jon and Vangelis stuff but with more "real" instrumentation. Needless to say, I found the prospect of such a group existing quite exciting. Hamm went on to say that he has a tremendous amount of respect for Anderson and that he is one of the reasons he decided to become a professional musician. Ross Storey * * * * * * * * * * THE AUTHORISED BIO: =================== From: IN%"cellar!emrys@uunet.UU.NET" 13-SEP-1991 Well, for what it's worth, here's some info that _may_ help some people track down the Hedges bio: Yes, The Authorised Biography ISBN 0-283-98761-8 (softcover) ISBN 0-283-98751-0 (hardcover) Sidgwick & Jackson Limited 1 Tavistock Chambers, Bloomsbury Way London WC1A 2SG First pressing 1981, reprinted 1984. I realize that this has probably been seen before by some of you, but others may find it useful. I hope so! I first heard about the book in 1980, when 'YSP played a 2-hour special coinciding with the release of Drama. I searched Hi and Lois for it, but they didn't have it, so I checked the bookstores :). I spent 5 years looking for the bloody thing! Nowhere to be found. Then we take a little family vacation. Went to Paris and London. Guess what I found in the bookshop just 'round the corner from my hotel in London? Nothing! BUT - they could order it for me, and ship it to me back in the states. I believe I ended up paying about 23 pounds for it (roughly $30-$35 at the rates back then). Lo and behold, 9 weeks later We Had Heaven! Now, of course, it's very dated material. Naetheless, it's still fun to read (read, 'reread') the anecdotes and history. Well worth the ducats. Hope you seekers can find it. Mitch emrys@cellar.uucp cellar!emrys@tredysvr.tredydev.unisys.com * * * * * * * * * * FURTHER COMMENTS ON YESYEARS: ============================= From: IN%"STOREYR@Venus.YCC.Yale.Edu" 30-AUG-1991 Finally, a note on the boxed set. It is really sonically outstanding. The old Yes Album era material is especially improved. However, (in my selfish mode now) I would have preferred that the set leave off "Long Distance" and "The Fish" as well as "Going For the One", "Don't Kill the Whale", and all the live Cinema stuff except for "Changes." I would have liked to see an edit of "The Ancient", "Parallels", "Siberian Khatru", "Release, Release", and "Turn of the Century" as well as other live Cinema material from the Westwood One tapes like the live versions of "Love Will Find a Way", "Owner", and "Rhythm of Love." Also, won't they EVER do "I'm Running" live? Most importantly, I was really hoping for "Go Through This", "We Can Fly From Here", and the other two major Cinema demos "You Know Something..." and "Open the Door." Concerning the Arista material, I'm sure the change in record companies prevented the use of "Vultures", "Give and Take", etc. I'd like to eventually see at least a B-Sides collection from Arista with those songs and the other "lost" Union tunes plus the "I'm Alive" remix and the outstanding long version of "Take the Water To the Mountain." Welcome back all those who were gone for the summer. It's going to be a great year. Ross Storey +++ +++ +++ +++ From: IN%"sale5312@mary.cs.fredonia.edu" 31-AUG-1991 Having had the box set now for three weeks, I think I've given it enough time for things to sink in to put my feelings to words. Overall, I'm happy, but still a little disappointed. There is certainly a void within the package, but trying to condense 18 LPs into 4 CDs (or even 5 or 6) will not please anyone. I think for the material Atlantic presented, they did a fine job. Except that god-awful 4th disc. That is my major source of disappointment with the set. Steve Howe, present for 12+Union+pic on "Time and a Word" gets 2.5 of the 4 CDs, but Trevor Rabin, present for 2+9012Live+Union gets one whole CD of "his" music? That does not make sense. Sure, without Rabin there would be no box set and I really like "Make it Easy", but having *him* play on live versions of "And You And I" and "Heart of the Sunrise" is a travesty. I guess it could be argued that with "Yessongs" one has access to Howe on both of those songs. But listening to both of those on Yesyears leaves me really empty. Rick Wakeman is also missed, but I don't want to get my blood pressure up talking about Tony Kaye anymore. I would have liked to have seen more "live" material from the tour responsible for the material ("Relayer" material live from 1976, "Tales" material live from 1973, etc.) Rare recordings and not rehashed material. But, to give credit, that old stuff sounds so *good* remastered! Starship Trooper and Close to the Edge are worth it alone. Out of the 40+ tracks, the unreleased or just "rare" tracks show a nice side to this band not often exposed on their albums. From the corny "Money" to the rocking rendition of "I'm Down", Yes shows that underneath that 20+-minute-long-song label Yes has attributed in the past, they still had time for fun both in the studio and on stage. I'm glad that this "lighter side" of Yes (Yes Lite? :^) is represented with this box set. Overall, I liked it, but I would have like to have seen 50% or more have been unreleased material. I've seen this set priced at $70, and even at $55 which I paid, that is alot for material which I, and perhaps others who this set is aimed at, already own. Having digested it for the past few weeks though, even with the 4th disc which I will only play 3 or 4 tracks from again (if that many), I can give it three smiles out of four. It's not perfect, but what is, right? One last parting shot- I find it a shame that I have to spend $55 to get versions of "Roundabout", "All Good People", etc., that I *thought* I was buying a few years ago when I replaced my LPs and 8-tracks for the "clarity and crispness" of the "rich, digital CD sound". But alas, at least I do have "rich, crisp, blah blah" sound from many of my fav Yes tracks now, which is something I cannot say about my fav Genesis, Gabriel, Floyd Who, Marillion, etc. songs. I guess I'll have to wait for their box sets, IF I buy them. Marty +++ +++ +++ +++ From: IN%"RNT3515%TNTECH.BITNET@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu" 30-AUG-1991 I picked up the box set after saving up for it for several months... I think it is extremely well done, and every aspect of the production, especially Roger Dean's wonderful packaging, is great. I for one kind of liked the "paint blotches" on the disc case covers... I think the use of the new logo was a good idea, because 1) it's really cool, and 2) it's kinda symbolic. Anyway, remember where I defended Tony Kaye last issue? After hearing his "performance" on the live cuts at the end of Yesyears Disc 4, I completely withdraw any positive thing I might have said about him. Tony Kaye is not only dead weight, he's heavy dead weight. His keyboard solo at the beginning of "And You And I" was simply inexcusable. And the fact that Trevor was playing the fast keyboard parts in "Heart of the Sunrise" was not, I suspect, for added instrumental diversity -- it was most likely due the fact that Tony Kaye cannot cut his parts. Any other band would toss such a player out on his or her ear. Apparently, Tony started playing piano at age 5, then the NEXT day, he stopped practicing... Forgive me if I am being overly ad hominem here, but it's sad to see such an extremely talented band like Yes have to keep such a third-rate keyboard player like Tony Kaye. Bring back Rick. Or Patrick, or Geoff, or Eddie for that matter. You can fault Yes on a lot of things, but one thing you've never been able to touch is the level of virtuosity in the band... until you get to Tony Kaye, that is. He was good in his time (_Yes_ and _Time and a Word_, and I suppose _The Yes Album_ had a few good spots for him), but nowadays he just doesn't cut it. * * * To whoever was wondering why "Give and Take" wasn't on _Yesyears_: Nearest I can figure, the reason that "Give and Take" (or any other tracks from _Union_ or _ABWH_) were not included on the box set could be either 1. _Yesyears_ was released on ATCO Records and _Union_ and _ABWH_ were done on Arista; the band has enough legal problems as it is to have to deal with all that B.S., or 2. There was too much stuff on the box set already; either they could dump a few tracks (possibly pissing off a great many fans of whatever songs they cut) or add another disc to the set (increasing the price by another $10-$15, something I sure didn't need when I bought it). Personally, when I transfer all these to tape (shhh, don't tell Arista I am doing this =) ), I am going to make a fifth tape of stuff that should've been on the set that wasn't, such as "Siberian Khatru", "I Would've Waited Forever", and "Looking Around". * * * That's all for now... Robert * * * * * * * * * * REGARDING TONY KAYE: ==================== From: IN%"kan@dg-rtp.dg.com" 4-SEP-1991 >From: RNT3515@TNTECH.BITNET >Tony Kaye dead weight? OK, I didn't mean he was a useless lump of flesh serving no purpose other than entertaining us with a Richard Simmons impersonation. :-) >Victor Kan did a great concert review of the Union tour last issue, Thanks! >but I must take issue with his evaluation that Tony Kaye is dead >weight. He's no Rick Wakeman, or even Richard Clayderman for that >matter, but I certainly don't consider anybody who can write stuff as >cool as "Rhythm of Love" to be "dead weight". I really like "Rhythm of Love," the rest of Big Generator and 90125. My impression of Kaye is simply one of on-stage performance, not song writing ability or even studio performance. Had he been missing from the stage, I wouldn't have noticed, except for his jumping around like a madman. I can't say that about any other member of the band, although each bandmember had times where he could have walked off stage (but stayed on) while the other guys did their thing. With Kaye, it was pretty much this way for the whole concert in my opinion (except for "Changes" of course!). | Victor Kan | I speak only for myself. | *** | Data General Corporation | Edo emacibus, ergo sum. | **** | 62 T.W. Alexander Drive | Columbia Lions Win, 8 October 1988 for | **** %%%% | RTP, NC 27709 | a record of 1-44. Way to go, Lions! | *** %%% * * * * * * * * * * PUBLISHED WAKEMAN SCORES: ========================= From: IN%"ajm@iconix.oz.au" "Andrew Mack" 3-SEP-1991 Looking through some old stuff the other day I found an interesting snippet of info re Rick Wakeman. Here 'tis unedited and unexpurgated. Andrew ------ From: uqv-mts!Mark_Israel@alberta.UUCP (Mark Israel) Newsgroups: rec.music.makers Subject: Rock score of Rick Wakeman's "Six Wives of Henry VIII" Date: 15 Dec 87 12:29:14 GMT Good luck trying to find a "real score". The ONLY rock music I've EVER come across in full score is by Alan Parsons and the Beatles. The published piano arrangement of "Six Wives" isn't THAT drastically simplified, though; for example in "Catherine Parr" the piano arpeggios are printed in full gory detail. The publisher is: Rondor Music (London) Ltd 10a Parsons Green London SW6 4TW U.K. The alleged "sole selling agents" are: Music Sales Ltd 78 Newman Street London W1 "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", "King Arthur", and "Criminal Record" have also been published in piano arrangements. You might write to the publisher and ask what else is available. I know that at least one of the "Six Wives" numbers, "Catherine Howard", has been published in an arrangement for brass band. You might also try writing to: The Rick Wakeman Information Centre Zwaluwenstraat 114B Bus 1 8400 Ostend Belgium or even to the great man himself, care of the company that put out his most recent album, "The Gospels": Rick Wakeman c/o Stylus Music Ltd Media House 21 Abbey Road Industrial Park Abbey Road London NW10 7XF U.K. Mark Israel * * * * * * * * * * COMMENTS ON "YES COMPLETE": =========================== From: IN%"josh@viewlogic.com" 2-SEP-1991 20:17:09.64 I've got the sheet music book "Yes Complete", but I'm very dissatisfied with how "complete" each transcription is. Entire sections of most songs are missing, such as the opening and middle bridges in Close to the Edge. The book goes up to Drama, and for some reason, the Drama transcriptions are excellent. Which is good, cause I actually like that album quite a bit. Maybe Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes got everyone to write stuff down as they played it. Does anyone have better transcriptions of Close to the Edge, Heart of the Sunrise, South Side of the Sky, or On the Silent Wings of Freedom? I have a tape of a tape of a bootleg record "Yes in the Round" which is from the Tormato tour. It has the best versions of Heart of the Sunrise and Siberian Khatru I've heard, plus (of course) On the Silent Wings of Freedom. I'd love to get the record of that, or at least a first generation tape. Anyone know how I would go about that? [write Dave Markfield for a copy of the rarities exchange list. The address is given at the end of the newsletter. --Cath] * * * * * * * * * * JAPANESE IMPORTS: ================= From: IN%"borella@toadflax.eecs.ucdavis.edu" 12-SEP-1991 Ever wonder why some people will spend 2 or 3 times as much money on a single CD to get the Japanese import version? Quality. Plain and simple. Import CDs (from anywhere but the US) sound better (than US CDs). The Japanese pressings tend to be the best. I'm guilty of spending $30 on Tormato and $50 on Yesshows, but I got them way before anyone else did and they do sound great. Unfortunately for serious collectors, most Japanese imports are going, or have gone, out of print. However, all is not lost. A friend of mine picked up the Japanese version of Relayer last week for only $13. It sounds excellent. I know that prices are coming down (which is good) but so is availability (which is bad). If anybody knows what is currently still being pressed in Japan, please share the wealth! As far as I know, these discs have Japanese versions: Time and a Word Relayer Tormato Drama Yesshows 90125 -Mike Borella borella@toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu * * * * * * * * * * COVERING YES: ============= From: IN%"borella@toadflax.eecs.ucdavis.edu" 9-SEP-1991 I've always wondered if other bands had covered Yes... I finally found one that has...On Skyrvania's self-titled album, they do two 2 minute cuts of Close to the Edge and Ritual. Both are short instrumental pieces, and believe it or not, they are extremely well done! Makes me wish they tried doing the whole song. Not only that, from the liner notes, I read that their average age (at the time the album was recorded) was only 18. -Mike Borella borella@toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu * * * * * * * * * * GET THE [YES] OUT? ================== From: IN%"vicka@wrq.com" "the Littlest Orc" 8-SEP-1991 thanks to Regis Donovan for pointing this out..... from the Boston Phoenix, 8/30/91, "Just Say Yes" by Brett Milano Wouldn't it be fun if all those retro-'70's "alternative" bands started ripping off Yes instead of Led Zeppelin? There'd be fewer commercials on the radio, since all the songs would be 20 minutes long. Instead of seeing long-haired guys from England singing about their sex organs, we'd see long-haired guys from England singing about the order of the universe. Guitarists would steal their licks from Stravinski instead of Chuck Berry; and the high quality fashion stores would start selling sequined capes for the keyboard players to wear. And maybe, just maybe, somebody would come up with a kind of rock and roll that nobody's ever heard before -- just as yes did 20 years ago. --vicka * * * * * * * * * * A YES-LIKE BAND FROM DOWN UNDER: ================================ From: IN%"pearson_r@maths.su.oz.au" 5-SEP-1991 Following on from the list of Yes-like bands mentioned in the last issue of "Notes From The Edge" (i.e. #19), I would like to add another one from Australia. The name of the band is Sebastian Hardie who were active here in the seventies. They released a couple of albums, including their fine effort "Four Moments". While not exactly sounding like Yes clones, they certainly fit into the "progressive rock" category with long melodic complex pieces based around keyboard/synthesizer, and exhibiting classical influences. The band evolved later into another group called Windchase who also released an album called "Symphinity" (if my memory is correct). This was similar in style to the work of SH and was also quite a good album. Following the break-up of this band, the singer/guitarist Mario Millo released a couple of solo albums. However these are probably more pop based, although some tracks recall the style of his earlier bands and on one album there is a reworking of "Rosanna" (a track from "Four Moments"). In recent times he has been active in composing soundtracks for Australian movies and TV mini-series. I don't know how easy it is to locate works by Sebastian Hardie or Windchase these days (especially overseas). However I understand some may be available on Japanese import and recently a compilation CD of their work (including most of "Four Moments") was released in Australia. Anyway I think any fan of Yes would not be wasting his/her time having a listen to this music if they come across it. * * * * * * * * * * MUSIC FOR YOUR MONEY: ===================== From: IN%"wes5@midway.uchicago.edu" "Diane Westerfield" 5-SEP-1991 A Walgreens here in Chicago recently had a table set out with tapes for .99, and what should be right on top but _Esquire_! (I had already bought it on vinyl for $2, but what the heck). Esquire was a band led by Nikki Squire, Chris' ex-wife (OK, I was wrong, she's not his sister. But she still sounds like a female Chris!) Alan White plays drums on at least some of the tracks, and Chris does the mixing (which is really awful) and some backing vocals -- and as we all know, 30 seconds of Chris singing is worth more than a paltry buck!! (-8 He produced the first song off the album, and the rest is produced by Esquire. There is also a Carmen Squire listed as doing backing vocals -- but wherever she is, she's hard to hear. _Esquire_ has some music that is essentially good early-eighties style pop, but is ruined by Nikki's poor singing and Chris' mixing! Ouch! It's painful for me to say, but put the Bangles in charge of vocals and anyone else in charge of mixing and this would be a good album. But, if you can stand the bad points, then _Esquire_ is worth the money. On the subject of cheap Yes-related tapes . . . If you had a good time listening to _Turbulence_ and want to hear more music like it, try searching for Billie Currie's _Transportation_ in the cheapo bins. I got this several months ago at a used record store for .99. It features Steve Howe as guest, and he plays on 6 of the 8 tracks. _Transportation_ has some pretty good music on it, and Steve plays really well. I highly recommend this tape for Steve Howe fans and for appreciators of good keyboard music, too. * * * * * * * * * * UNION T-SHIRTS? =============== From: IN%"rfish@verity.com" 4-SEP-1991 Hi there. I missed the shows... :( Recently, I saw one of the black YES logo on front with CTTE within the logo, Tales artwork below the YES logo, some of the Drama artwork as well... All performers names on the back. ANy chance of getting an XL shirt somewhere? Thanks in advance, Rob <>< * * * * * * * * * * STILL SEARCHING FOR ROGER DEAN POSTERS: ======================================= From: IN%"HUNNICUTT@VXC.UNCWIL.EDU" 11-SEP-1991 I am interested in finding out where I can purchase Roger Dean posters or prints that would be suitable for framing (ie, no fold creases) If anyone has information please email at hunnicutt@vxc.uncwil or hunnicu@seq.uncwil.edu. --jeff ***Yes Magazine advertised two or three different ones in their early summer issue. I guess they got permission and had them printed up...I wanted to get them, but being a starving college student isn't all it's cracked up to be...you can write Yes Magazine at: Yes Magazine 12 Chelsea Place Dix Hills, NY 11746-5414 Wish I knew more...--Cath * * * * * * * * * * BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS... ================================== September --------- 13 Daniel Brown 14 Dori Kelly 15 Tony Vasquez 17 Joe Shelby 18 Joe Pizzirusso 27 Haym Hirsch 30 Corey McKinnon October ------- 3 Bret Haag 8 Marylynn Orzechowski 10 Andy Rachels * * * * * * * * * * CONTRIBUTORS: ============= Ultimate thanks to the following people who are willing to sacrifice their time to keep us informed: Doug Gottlieb, Mike Borella, Mike Stok, Sarah Lewis, Jonathan Evans, Rob Talbert, Ross Storey, Mitch Gorman, Marty Saletta, Victor Kan, Andrew Mack, Josh, Vicka Corey, Rob Pearson, Diane Westerfield, Jeff Hunnicutt and Rob Fish Also Dave Scidmore, Christian Walters, Dave Markfield and Joe Pizzirusso for their 'services' :-) * * * * * * * * * * THOSE ALL-IMPORTANT ADDRESSES: ============================== For New Subscribers, Contributions, Questions/Comments/Criticism: Cathy Leak V111PBXX@UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU For Back Issues: [please see above] YES-ARCHIVE@MEIKO.COM For requests/additions for Lyrics: Christian Walters CWALTERS@DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU For Survey Responses (requests): Dave Scidmore DAVES@HEURIKON.COM For the Yes Discography: Jeff Hunnicutt HUNNICUTT@VXC.UNCWIL.EDU For the Rarities List (Additions and Requests): Dave Markfield ILWN500@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU For Import CD's (last resort): Joe Pizzirusso JOEP@CBMVAX.CBM.COMMODORE.COM ******************************************************************************** --< END OF NOTES FROM THE EDGE #20 >-- ********************************************************************************