______ ______ ____________ _________ / \ | \ __/ \ __/ \__ | \| \ / |/ _ \ | // _____ || / \_/ \ // / \ \\_ \___ \ || _____ ___\ \ \_ \ \ || / --/ ______| \ \ ___\ || | | - /______ __/ \ ___/ \ \\ \_ \_ // | / ___\ _/ \_ \ \_ _// | \__ \__/ ___/ \_ \____ | \_/ \__ ___/ \___ _/ \__ \__/ \ \_________/ \_____/ \_ \_____/ \ \_ | \_ | \__ __/ \_____________/ N o t e s F r o m T h e E d g e # 82 (c) THE Internet Magazine For YES Fans October 12, 1993 ______________________________________________________________________________ |yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ============= Symphonic Yes Tour - - Definitive News Wakeman and Wakeman - - A Question The Howe Interview - - Kudos To Mike Jon Anderson - - Power Of Silence Info The Yes Connection - - In Strange Places Remember Me? - - An Old Friend Returns The Third One - - Belated Thoughts Yes - - Multiple Choice Various Thoughts - - Symphonic Yes, Banks and Moraz Different Views - - Russian Impressions Union - - The Butcher ABWH - - New Shoreline Disc - - More Thoughts >From The Editor - - Shirts From The Edge - - A Plea For Help ______________________________________________________________________________ |yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SYMPHONIC YES ALBUM/TOUR NEWS ============================= From: IN%"miketi@microsoft.com" "Mike Tiano" According to RCA Victor Classics the American dates for the 'Symphonic Music of Yes' tour has been cancelled with no firm plans for rescheduling dates. There was no reason given for the cancellation. There may be Canadian and European dates but there was no information about either at this time. The album is scheduled for release on October 26. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- WAKEMAN AND WAKEMAN =================== From: IN%"JTOKAZEW@DREW.DREW.EDU" Subj: New Wakeman album? Rumor has it that there's a new album out by Rick Wakeman and (presumably) his son, entitled "Wakeman and Wakeman". Can anyone confirm this? Better yet, does anyone have a review of this album? [ Ed. - This disc was reviewed in NFTE #73. ] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THANKS TO MIKE ============== From: IN%"nash@chem.wisc.edu" Just a thank you for that nice long Steve Howe interview. Thanks to Mike for giving the interview, thanks to Steve for doing it, and thanks to Jeff for running the list that distributed it! I enjoyed reading it -- I wonder if Howe reads any Faulkner though....(i.e.stream-of-consciousness). Keep up the good work, everyone! -john =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- JON ANDERSON'S POWER OF SILENCE =============================== From: IN%"71221.2364@CompuServe.COM" "Damien DeSimone" Hello All: I just got hold of a promotional notice for Jon Anderson's new solo album, THE POWER OF SILENCE. First off, I believe this was originally due to be released on September 14, then it was pushed back to September 28, and now I hear it might be pushed back to sometime in 1994!! Does anyone else know anything about this??!! Anyway, here is the text from the notice along with a tracklisting: "Inspired by spiritual writings, Yes vocalist and percussionist Jon Anderson composes and produces an enrapturing musical journey titled THE POWER OF SILENCE. The album, which features intricate Mexican Indian instrumentation, is 42 uninterrupted minutes of music and was mixed in rare three-dimensional sound. Jon's incredible vocals can be heard on "Building Bridges" and "Ave Verum." THE POWER OF SILENCE truly showcases Jon Anderson's incredible artistic achievement and adventurous creativity. It is truly a work of art from Jon's heart." ** THE POWER OF SILENCE will appeal to the New Age audience in a big way. ** Tracks 4,6,8, and 9 are spoken over different parts of the same piece of music. ** Recommended tracks: "Building Bridges" and "Ave Verum" Tracklisting: 1. The Book Opens 2. Indian Spiritual Play Songs 3. Sixteen Sixteen 4. Talk Talk 5. I Coos (Happy Wind) 6. Quick Words 7. Shall We Play The Game 8. Talk Talk 9. Quick Words 10. Semati Siyonpme (Beautiful Star) 11. Good Day Morning 12. Leap Into The Inconceivable 13. Song Of Home 14. Building Bridges 15. Sound And Color 16. Maazo Maazo (The Deer) 17. Enter Ye The Mystery School 18. March Of The Toltec 19. Ave Verum Well, that does it. I'm sure most of us are looking forward to this album, so let's hope it comes out sometime soon! -Damien- PS - Thanks to Mike Tiano for sharing that excellent Steve Howe interview with us!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A YES CONNECTION? ================= From: IN%"71221.2364@CompuServe.COM" "Damien DeSimone" What does Rick Springfield have to do with Yes? Well, on Rick's 1978 album "Beautiful Feelings" there is a track called "Everybody's Cheating" that was written by Trevor Rabin and someone named Pat Blerk. It's actually a good song, very much in Rabin's grand power ballad style! :-) -Damien- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- GREETINGS FROM JEREMY ===================== From: IN%"ripken@aol.com" 4-OCT-1993 13:55:39.45 Subj: A precinct unheard from... Hello, Yesfans. This is Jeremy S. Weissenburger (former Yesoteric creator), despite who it says on the e-mail address. Although I am still receiving Notes From The Edge at my old address: 07822@brahms.udel.edu Please do NOT send me e-mail posts there; your best bet would be to mail me stuff here: RIPKEN@aol.com And this doesn't mean I'm supervising Yesoteric! I have neither the timne nor the facilities to do that anymore... sorry. Anyway, I thought I'd say a couple of things that have been floating around in my mind: First, I'd like to congratulate Notes on getting those exclusive interviews with Alan White and Steve Howe. Both were very entertaining to read. (On a side note, I'd like to wish Notes a happy birthday of three years!) Second, I happened to be listening to Jon Anderson's Song of Seven, when it occurred to me that about half of the songs are from not just the Song Of Seven demos in Yesoteric, but the Paris Sessions AND "Digital Reels"! I can't remember all of the tracks off of the top of my head, but the Jon a capella piece in "Digital Reels" later became "Days". Can anyone else find the others? (Just something to keep everyone on their toes...) Also, in partial response to Steve Harthorn's question about Rabin's old work on Yesoteric, I remember a Rockline interview from a while back where Mr. Rabin said he was going to remaster those tapes and release a "Best Of" tape. Has anyone else heard any more? Plus, I had heard that Jon is no longer at Geffen Records! Is this true? And if so, will it push back his release even further?? Finally, I'd like to agree with Steve Howe's statement about time between releases. On the Yesyears video, it was explained that BG was held back due to over-production (like it really needed it). After 90125, and a tour, it took over 3 years for them to come up with BG! I'm not saying they should come out with stuff every year (that would be physically impossible, what with touring and all. Steve commented on Yes making two records in a year in the 70's, but we have to remember that touring didn't go on for so long as in the 70's. Some band can literally tour for two or three years before finishing.), but they should have been able to agree to compromise a little more. This doesn't mean that they should just throw something together, mind you, but they should remember that a lot of fans do get annoyed at the space between recordings as it is. I guess it comes down to quantity vs. quality. Comments, anyone? Would you rather have had a fair release by Yes in 1993, rather than an excellent one in 1994 or 1995? Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on. --Jeremy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES ======================= From: IN%"grendel@jaflrn.linet.org" It seems that every time NFTE has a birthday, my mailer goes haywire, so that explains my belated birthday wishes to this digest. What does it mean to me? A lot. I only got interested in Yes thanks to a friend of mine while at the University at Buffalo. I remember borrowing Classic Yes and immediately falling in love with "Heart Of The Sunrise". Considering my only exposure to Yes before then was "I've Seen All Good People", "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and "Leave It", I was amazed that this was such a talented band, instead of a bunch of boring old farts. It was my first serious exposure to progressive rock, and paved the way for my deep interests in ELP, King Crimson, Genesis, and especially Marillion. That was in February of 1992. In the 18 months since, I have been reading NFTE religiously. Somehow, even with mailer problems, I have received every issue from #45 to the present. I now own every Yes CD (no easy task, I assure you.) plus assorted solo albums, side projects, special appearances, bootlegs and whatnot. My thanks go to Mike Borella, editor of NFTE when I first started reading it, to Jeff for keeping it alive, and Cathy Leak for bringing it all to life. --Don =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- YES - MULTIPLE CHOICE ===================== From: IN%"SRAITERI@gcpl.lib.oh.us" Hello! I'm a recent subscriber and this is my first post to _Notes >From the Edge_. I feel like I should introduce myself, so: I'm Steve Raiteri, age 26. I first got into Yes over a decade ago when I listened over headphones to the entire _Close to the Edge_ album on the radio; there was something there I had never heard before. My least favorite Yes song is "Arriving UFO." My favorite songs off of _Union_ are "I Would Have Waited Forever," "Lift Me Up," (I really connected to this one when it first came out), "Dangerous" (Tony Levin shines!), and "The More We Live-- Let Go" (I'm surprised no one has written in yet to say that they used this as music for their wedding--it seems like a natural). I have a lot of questions for you people, and I think I can provide some information also. Information is my job--I'm a librarian. And yes, I have gotten Dan Hedges' book _Yes, the Authorized Biography_ on inter- library loan before. I photocopied the whole thing and gave the copy to my good friend Pete Baker (another recent subscriber--Hi Pete!). Pete and I have been tracking down Yes info and recordings for years. My first bunch of questions concerns the contents of the Yesoteric Tapes, which I don't yet have copies of. I do, however, have the list of the contents, from _Notes_ #62 and #70. So: 1) Where did the live version of "Birthright" on Vol. 2 come from? 2) Who plays on the Asia songs live from Rockline, and when were they recorded? 3) When did the Bill Bruford "Paiste Soundpage Expose" come out? 4) When was the Rick Wakeman "Gone But Not Forgotten" live from Rockline recorded? 5) Where did the extended version of "Love Will Find a Way" on Vol 1 come from? 6) Where did the Mabel Greer's Toy Shop version of "Beyond and Before" come from? Did they ever release anything officially? 7) Are the versions included of Jon Anderson's "Save All Your Love" and Jon & Vangelis' "Be a Good Friend of Mine" the same as the album versions, or are they alternates? 8) Is the version of Rick Wakeman's "And Now a Word From Our Sponsor" the same as the one on his _Private Collection_ album? 9) Are the included songs by Johnny Harris ("All To Bring You Morning" from the album of the same name), Eddie Harris ("I Waited For You" from _EH in the UK_), and Lou Reed ("Ocean" and "Rise Into the Sun" from _Lou Reed_) the only ones on those albums that feature Yes members? Also, a few more miscellaneous questions: 10) Does anybody have any information on the bootleg Yes CD _The First Steps--London 1971_? I'm particularly interested in pre-Fragile live recordings--does anybody have a live concert recording (as opposed to the live in the studio BBC songs) of Yes with Pete Banks? 11) Does anybody have live recordings of the following songs: "A Venture," "Abilene," "Arriving UFO," "Onward," "Release Release" (*please!*), and "Our Song"? According to my reading of the rarities list and the Yesoteric contents, these are the only songs from the _Yes Album_ through _Big Generator_ period that I can't find a copy of, aside from Rick, Jon, and Bill's solo contributions to _Fragile_. 12) Does anyone know if the Peter Banks who was in the band After the Fire was the same Peter Banks that was in Yes? 13) Has anybody got a copy of the A&M Records sampler _We Give a Damn_ (AMLX 3804, from 1976)? According to a Rick Wakeman discography in _The Yes Music Circle_, (which my friend Pete subscribes to), this record was available only through "Melody Maker," and features an otherwise unavailable Wakeman track called "Babylon," from the _White Rock_ sessions. _The Yes Music Circle_ also once had a very interesting Jon Anderson discography, and I present excerpts from it here, for your information and in the hopes that someone can help me find tapes or copies of these things. I love Jon's voice. Note: all of these are British release numbers, and I think it's possible that Jon only produced some of these, and may not have appeared on them: -- Jon & Vangelis - a CD single from _Page of Life_ featuring the non-LP song "Sing With Your Eyes" (I don't know the catalog #) -- "Reach Out (Amounderness)" b/w instrumental version, a 1986 single with the Catforth School Choir (BBC Children in Need RL 597) -- "Whatever You Believe" (live/studio), a 1988 Christmas single with Mike Batt and Steve Harley (CBS/Epic PEEPS 1) -- "Hey Sandy" on the 1971 album _Colin Scot and Friends_ by Colin Scot (Visa 9356 1009) -- Iron Butterfly, _Scorching Beauty_, 1975 (MCA 465) -- Clair Hamill, _Abracadabra_, 1975 (Konk 104) -- Stuart Saturn, _The Singing Astrologer_, 1980 (UFO AM 0095) (I would love to know what the hell *this* is) -- Mike Oldfield, "In High Places" 12-inch single b/w "Poison Arrow" and "Jungle Gardenia" 1983 (US 955-12) (Jon may not be on all of these songs, but we're liable to find out when the upcoming 4CD Mike Oldfield box set is released; according to _Goldmine_, the box will contain the entire _Tubular Bells_ album and many rarities. Jon is on "Places," which is on Oldfield's album _Crises_.) -- Mike Oldfield, "Shine" b/w "The Path" (both non-LP songs, and again I don't know if Jon is on both of them) -- The _Biggles_ soundtrack, with Jon on "So You Want To Be a Hero" and "Chocks Away" (MCA MCF 3328) -- backing vocals on Toto, _The Seventh One_, "Stop Loving You" 1988 -- "Spirit of the Forest" a 1989 multi-artist single in aid of the Amazonian rainforest. If we could locate some of these things, we could put another Yesoteric tape together. Pete and I have a few other things we could contribute, but a list will have to wait until later (I don't have all the information here at work). I would love to have compiled the original Yesoteric tapes, and I'll be glad to do another one. Finally, something I discovered while looking up Yes members in the _Rock Record_ (this is one of my current projects--my library has the 1987 edition, which seems to be the most recent). Somebody a while back posted a note that Bill Bruford appeared on a weird album called _In Search of Ancient Gods_; well, I've found another weird one, though I don't have the album. According to the book, Bruford appeared on a 1975 album by Flash Fearless, _Flash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women_. Also on the album are Carmine Appice, Alice Cooper, Nicky Hopkins, Keith Moon (didn't Bruford hate Moon's drumming?), Maddy Prior (of Steeleye Span), John Entwistle, Justin Hayward, Eddie Jobson, and many others, including someone calling herself (at least, I *assume* it's a her) "Thunderthighs." I doubt very much, though, that the album reflects the sum total of these people's talents (probably not even those of Thunderthighs :)). Well, I'll be in touch. It's amazing to be able to send messages to so many Yes fans like this. This is great! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- MORE SYMPHONIC YES ================== From: IN%"sharth26@ursa.Calvin.EDU" "Steven P Harthorn" Hello Again! I see that people have taken issue with some of the points in my last posting (ABWH Ripoffs?). Good. But I just wanted to clarify: my main point was not so much to rip on ABWH or any such thing. I like the music; it's not my favourite, but hey, anything from Yes is better than most other stuff out there! And I'm NOT complaining about Yesoteric, that's for sure!! It's great! My intension was just to say that it seems that often Yes fans become very slanted towards the ABWH side of Yes as the true masters, when in fact the others have, in their own way, made significant contributions. Sure, there's not as many rarities from Squire, Rabin, Kaye, or White, but does that alone mean lack of musical talent? From what it seems, Trevor spends his LIFE in the studio! He's even working on a symphony, from time to time! (NOT a "Symphonic Yes" album, either!!!) ;) The Symphonic Yes album just seemed to be a quick buck for those involved. THAT was what I was hoping to stir some feedback on. :) Thanks for the Peter Banks comments in Notes #79. Also, I might note that some of Peter's Flash stuff is being re-released on CD. Maybe I'll even drop a few bucks and buy it! Another thought: a recent posting mentioned Patrick Moraz and his unique and versatile style. To me, it seems that Patrick would be PERFECT for an edition of King Crimson!! That wild, schiziod style could add incredible energy to that group (which, in its latest incarnation, doesn't always seem most promising)!! Anyone else agree?? Well, that's enough blathering for now. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THOUGHTS FROM RUSSIA ==================== From: IN%"sharoff@artint.msk.su" "Serge Sharoff" Jeff, I have just received a text from Mike Titez, which (the text) is not about your tapes but mainly about Russia (he is journalist, so absolve him). Apparently, the text was written before the Russian events. The text is very funny to read, so I could not resist to post it to you. +++ SIBERIAN SOMETHING - Soviet and Union - By Mike Titez Thanx to Jeff Hunnicut and NFTE some unreleased music pieces of the YES group appeared in Moscow, capital of Russia, the settlement is mostly known at the West as the center of Siberia where polar and brown bears make war at the streets and backyards just like gray rats vs black rats in NY city. Nevertheless some of rock music listeners have survived there so there are some YES fans too. More, some parts of YES have visited Russia during last years. E.g. they say Mr. Rick Wakeman once appeared at the White Nights Of St. Petersburg music festival (summer 1992), this was explained as his strong will to be portrayed in MTV report. Before this ASIA had appeared in this country with two concerts in Moscow, and this wasn't even taken by any television except Russian, which then broadcasted in particles 10 or 15 minutes of ASIA show. So for YES fans all the visits looked like attempts of a ship-dog to mark the territory overboard in a distant and rarely seen shore. [This is obviously wrong, because there is the well-known video Asia Live in Moscow -- Serge] When Russian president Yeltsin, over 60, former communist party regional secretary and _Politburo_ member announced he _does not reject modern music like GENESIS_ Phil Collins probably has had a slight heart attack. We here have been also in trouble either the president knows himself what Genesis is beside its Biblical definition, or did the president composed a team of advisers younger than other leaders had. Another big achievement of Soviet Union's (now after its splitting it is usually called Russia) YESology was the release of TIME AND A WORD vinyl plate by state record company "Russian Disc" in 1992. The strange choice after more than twenty years depicts all the illegality of the state record company politics in connection with non-resident artists. They the show business folks of Russia are reckoning well enough that their faterland have joined World Authors Rights Convention only since 1974, so they can without any risk steal music published earlier. The Union album hasn't been released authentically on vinyl, so it is not in somehow wide listening here, the CD players are still the sign of luxury. (Really less "Union" in former Soviet Union!) [It is an exaggeration, *tapes* with Union have relatively wide circulation--Serge] This is the way _modern_ YES music became less available for average Russian YES fan and potential loyal listener. So based on above said, one can see what YES is and what it looks like here in Russia for averages. We are somehow celebrating our touch to unreleased YESes. Why? First, as all the fans we simply enjoy their new music no matter how old it is. But the main reason is that it is a chance to go further in something that can be named "research of the YES". The fact is, with the help of the tapes (many thanks Jeff) we increase our status from slightly advanced listeners to the band's trappers. When a group starts to be an object of research, who dares to say it is not at least an event. On the other side, it is usual and custom for rock people here to have tapes--neither vinyl nor CD--in circulation, 'cos nobody before the newest time has been publishing on professional medium either native rock music or foreign one. Authorities haven't had any interest to multiply music from abroad origin, sung in a language they would not be able to understand even been mesmerized, neither Russian rockers declared "We are waiting for changes". That's why all the valuable music for years existed on tapes. Tapes are merry old tradition. So we - _we_ here means not only your co-respondents, but all the YES fans in Russia - will do most to spread tapes in this country, so everybody of non-accidental listener here would be able to go testing in the above said research. Mike Titez Serge Sharoff, sharoff@artint.msk.su =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- UNION BUTCHER ============= From: IN%"mcglincj@bcvms.bc.edu" Given the members of ABWHs' past track record and (in particular) Steve Howe's latest, I am inclined to think that the faults of Union are probably due to Elias' heavy-handed meddling. I'm glad Steve slammed him in the interview, and I believe Elias deserves whatever he gets from now on. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ABWH DISC - TWO OPINIONS ======================== From: IN%"SRAITERI@gcpl.lib.oh.us" Well, I was amazed. Yesterday, after submitting my very first post to _Notes_ here, I went out to the CD store to see what box sets had come out THIS week (Johnny Mathis, Diana Ross, and I forget), and what do I find but a NEW ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE 2CD SET!! It's called _An Evening of Yes Music Plus_, and it's a European release of most of the Sept. 9, 1989 show at Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountainview, CA, which I think has been extensively traded around in one form or another--this was the pay-per-view special, wasn't it? All I had before was a not-very-good copy of a King Biscuit Flour Hour radio show from the concert. The tracklisting: Disc One 1) Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra 2) Time and a Word/Teakbois/Owner of a Lonely Heart 3) The Clap/Mood for a Day 4) Gone But Not Forgotten/Catherine Parr/Merlin the Magician 5) Long Distance Runaround (this includes drum solo) 6) Birthright 7) And You And I Disc Two 8) Close to the Edge 9) Themes 10) Brother of Mine 11) Heart of the Sunrise 12) Order of the Universe 13) Roundabout According to the rarities list, this is not the entire concert: left out were "I've Seen All Good People," "The Meeting," and "Starship Trooper." These would have fit onto the CDs, and I wish they were there. Still, it's a nice package, complete with a Roger Dean cover (I'm not sure where this picture came from--it depicts what look like flying pairs of green lungs with trees growing out of them) and his ABWH logo. Best of all, for an import it was inexpensive--only $26! The set was put out by "Fragile Records Limited" and says "Made in the EEC." A sticker on the back says, "Distributed by Griffin Music" and "Made in Italy." The catalog number on the spine is CDFRL002. The discs themselves are marked, for some reason, CDJMC005 and CDJMC006. How official all of this is I don't know, but the sound quality is great, must be from the master tape--I bet you won't be disappointed if you buy it. I'm sure not, though I haven't had time to listen past "Close to the Edge." Anyway, I hope you can find it. Enjoy! + + + From: IN%"JDLISS@amherst.edu" "MOONLIT KNIGHT" 12-OCT-1993 12:55:45.18 To: IN%"hunnicutt@VXC.OCIS.UNCWIL.EDU" CC: Subj: New ABWH release Return-path: Received: from AMHSRV.AMHERST.EDU by VXC.OCIS.UNCWIL.EDU (PMDF #3029 ) id <01H40TM0NWWW94DX65@VXC.OCIS.UNCWIL.EDU>; Tue, 12 Oct 1993 10:53:55 EST Received: from amherst.edu by amherst.edu (PMDF #2587 ) id <01H409KFZEK08X3BBB@amherst.edu>; Tue, 12 Oct 1993 01:20:03 -0500 Date: 12 Oct 1993 01:20:03 -0500 From: MOONLIT KNIGHT Subject: New ABWH release To: hunnicutt@VXC.OCIS.UNCWIL.EDU Message-id: <01H409KFZO768X3BBB@amherst.edu> X-Envelope-to: hunnicutt X-VMS-To: IN%"hunnicutt@vxc.ocis.uncwil.edu" MIME-version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT I probably will not have been the first to announce it but today I went in the import bin at a big record store and found the long awaited second release of Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe ... entitled "An Evening of Yes Music Plus". This live album is a curious mixture of a real live album and a bootleg. It was US $26.99, a two disc recording of the very available September 9, 1989 show that went out on pay-per-view TV from the Shoreline Ampitheater in Mountainview, CA. It has new cover art copywrighted 1993 by Roger Dean depicting trees growing on rocks floating over a pale lavender sea, a curious admixture of Close to the Edge and ABWH art. The lettering is as ABWH. The titles on the back are OK; the company is Fragile Records and it was "made in the E.E.C." (I assume this is the European Econcomic Community -- the disc says it was made in Italy). On the bootleg side, its packaging is clumsy in some ways. It says only "recorded in Shoreline", hinting at that ignorance European bootleggers sometimes display by misspelling song titles, etc. The booklet contains publishing credits but not authors names; the old Yes songs are just "Rondor Music (London) ltd."; the ABWH ones as in that album's booklet. Also adding to the bootleg flavor, crowd applause is not cut at all, and although there are no glitches or rough cuts of applause, there is one instance of something falling on the stage and one short but intense burst of feedback. (BTW track one is a crazy recorded piece of classical music which serves the same purpose as "Firebird Suite"). As far as sound quality is concerned, it's like a professionally done live album, albeit not a meticulously done one -- it's probably simply the mix that went out over pay-per-view. Everything is very clear and robust, far better than even the best bootleg. My previous purchase, the ABWH Europen Tour '89 bootleg pales in comparison though I described it to this list in glowing terms. Many of the songs are hard to capture, so it ends up sitting on the shelf (it's for sale by the way, mail me if you're interested, the price will be reasonable and it includes the Bruford/Levin jam not on this album). Overall I think it's absolutely fantastic: I saw the show in Montreal, but when you're there the excitement takes over, and I for one never noticed how different these songs are, especially Close to the Edge -- the bootlegs simply aren't clear enough to expose the profoundly different approach of musicians and instruments 20 years later. Another factor to consider is that (as most of you know) Jeff Berlin of Bruford's 78-80 fusion band fills in on bass, having learned the seriously ill Tony Levin's parts in two or three days (the pay-per-view date could not of course be rescheduled). Given this fact and Bruford's new kit and even more schizo approach, the rhythm section is very different from the Close to the Edge of Yessongs. The beginning almost put me off because Howe sounded alone rather than the tight interplay of Squire/Howe yesteryear. But I warmed to it -- it's such a different approach to the song, though the notes are almost all the same (there are a couple definite changes). There is something very unforgiving yet exciting about the clarity of the recording in contrast to the fuzziness of Yessongs. It's hard to explain, but it's very postmodern. I'd give anything for a similiar copy of this song as played with Squire on the Union tour (at least once during the second US leg). It would also be nice to have such a good recording of the band with Tony Levin; Berlin does nicely in a difficult situation, not only learning the parts but also trying to simulate the Stick on the ABWH songs with moderate success. It's interesting -- sometimes he uses something of a wah sound that Squire used in extremis on Tormato; sometimes he tries a sound more typical to jazz/fusion. Notable aberration: Your Move/All Good people came at the end of the first set after And You and I (typically) and must have been deleted from this recording unless it wasn't played at that show. The track listing neglects to mention that the Bill Bruford drum solo follows Long Distance Runaround and gets lumped in with that track. There is also no encore of Siberian Khatru (which I saw) or Starship Trooper, but I imagine with the last minute replacement they weren't anxious to give him even more material to learn. I hope my comparisons to bootlegs won't discourage anyone from getting this; it's excellent. Listening to it I relived the show and learned alot -- like I said, the versions (especially CttE) are different in a way not appreciable on even a good bootleg. I don't know where the money is going or if some laws have changed in the EC on these issues to allow this release, but I call it a step in the right direction; I have always wished that people would put out a limited edition live album of every tour without spending alot of money mixing it and all that. I am not interested in bootlegs as a collector, I just want the sho. It's a strange find but a good one. Gives me hope that ABWH has a future as Steve Howe hinted they might, despite the momentum they lost in reabsorption. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- FROM THE EDITOR =============== I've go two things to talk about today. First, I'm thinking about making some Notes t-shirts. My brother is an artist and I've got him working on a design. Basically it will be the words "Notes From The Edge" in Roger Dean style. I'd like to start some discussion of ideas for the back of the shirt. Try and keep it simple so as to keep costs down. If you have ideas send them in and we'll discuss it in the next few issues. + + + Secondly, and more importantly I want to ask for help from the Notes collective. Serge Sharoff is a Notes subscriber from Russia and would like very much to obtain a copy of Yesoteric. The problem is he has no way to send money out of Russia for a set. Serge would also like to share Russian progressive with anyone who can help him. He sent me a sampler and I can tell you there is some great music being made teher What I propose is to get enough people to contribute one blank tape and a dollar or two until we have enough for a complete set and postage to Russia. Once enough people have signed on we can send the tapes and money to a duplicator. This where you duplicators come in. We need a volunteer. When the set is done it can be sent to Russia. Airmail costs would run around $25 for a 4-5 pound package. It would mean a lot to the Yes fans in Russia who would otherwise never have chance to hear some of this music. I feel this is a good thing to do and I hope you'll help. If you want to contribute a tape and some cash, send me email. Duplicators if you want to contribute your efforts let me know.(I also need know how many tapes we'll need, I thought it was twelve) Once I have enough contributors and a duplicator I'll let the contributors know which duplicator to send the tapes and $ to. I'll also send along Serge's postal address. I'll also be the first volunteer to give a tape and $. --jeff ______________________________________________________________________________ |yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THOSE ALL-IMPORTANT ADDRESSES: ============================== New subscribers, contributions, questions/comments/criticism: Jeff Hunnicutt (Editor) hunnicutt@vxc.ocis.uncwil.edu NFTE Server (lyrics, backissues, discography, rarities, surveys, GIFs): Automated. For help send mail with subject line yes-archive@meiko.com "send main help" to NFTE Server problems, additions/corrections to the lyrics & GIFs, and additions/corrections to the rarities list: Mike Stok mike@meiko.com NFTE backissues, lyrics, etc, via anonymous FTP: cs.uwp.edu Directory: /pub/music/lists/yes Contact for helping out with transcriptions: Greg Utas utas@bnr.ca For Import CD's (last resort): Joe Pizzirusso joep@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com The Yesoteric Tape(s): United States ============= East Coast: R. uS. Hartnett (hartnett@ocpt.ccur.com) New England: Ron Peterson (ron@vicorp.com) Central US: William H. Stoner III (bilbo@cis.ohio-state.edu) Southern US: Jeff Mason (jrm@elm.circa.ufl.edu) West Coast: Edward Ju (edju@chaph.usc.edu) Canada ====== Mike Hackett (hackett@cyberlink.com) Europe ====== UK: David Owen (dro@dsbc.icl.co.uk) Europe (besides the UK): None Australia ========== Andrew Studer (studer@physics.su.oz.au) Asia ==== Atsushi Shionozaki (shio@mt.cs.keio.ac.jp) ______________________________________________________________________________ |yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --< END OF NOTES FROM THE EDGE #82 >-- ______________________________________________________________________________ |yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------