Yes: In The Present

It's been a while since I put anything here but now seems like a good time for yet another re-launch. 

In keeping with the theme of re-launches we are going to discuss the one band whose entire 53-year career has been one re-launch after another. Why, yes, we are speaking about Yes. Now, I could go on for hours and pages about the history of that band and all of its lineup changes but I won't. Either you already know it or you can figure it out for yourself. All I will offer is that, in 2002, the "classic" lineup of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White reformed for a tour they dubbed "Full Circle", which also yielded the YesAcoustic project. The following year, after the tour ended, the band went on a hiatus and eventually Rick Wakeman left (for the fifth time), hand-selecting his son Oliver as his successor. Unfortunately before that lineup could hit the road for a scheduled tour, Jon Anderson was sidelined by a major respiratory illness, which knocked him out for several years. Finally, the rest of the band (who were against the hiatus in the first place) had waited long enough and so they hired a singer named Benoit David, and hit the road, leaving Anderson in the past. Many Yes fans, as well as Anderson himself, felt that to be a betrayal, but that's been the story of Yes since the beginning. The number of back-stabbings in that band number in the dozens, often with Anderson holding the knife. So it goes. Over the next several entries we will be re-listening and re-analyzing the post-Anderson years of Yes. 

So the new Yes lineup of Benoit David, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Oliver Wakeman, and Alan White took to the road and they played their hearts out, on a tour that was fittingly titled "In The Present". With Benoit's voice sounding so much like Anderson's, none but the devoted would have known the difference, and the band blasted their way through some of their most classic pieces along with deeper cuts and, most excitingly, two songs from 1980's Drama album, which featured Trevor Horn singing in place of Anderson (who refused to ever sing any of that material while he was back at the helm). 

The set, recorded & filmed in Lyon, France, on 12/01/09, kicks off with "Siberian Khatru", originally from Close To The Edge, and it is a sprightly version. This is a song that often suffers from a dragging tempo but this take is fire. This leads into "I've Seen All Good People", which only suffers from the "give peace a chance" vocal sounding a bit weak. Next up is "Tempus Fugit", from Drama, and it finds the band deep in the pocket. It also features the first evidence of the chameleon-like qualities of Benoit David's voice, as he is now perfectly channeling Trevor Horn (this will come to greater light later, and will ultimately bite him in the ass). Steve Howe's exuberant "YEAH" at the beginning of the song illustrates his excitement at playing this song, which he had so long lobbied to play. The deep dive continues with Chris Squire's lovely "Onward", which was one of the highlights of 1978's uneven Tormato, and a reach back to 1970 with "Astral Traveler", from the band's second album, Time And A Word. Despite the fact that no one who is playing this, aside from Squire, was on the original recording, they still tear the shit out of it, especially Alan White, who throws in a wicked drum solo. This is one of those songs that should have appeared in more set lists.

From there, the set reverts back to the classics, with "Yours Is No Disgrace" (a song that will forever live in my top five Yes songs). It is very well played but, unlike "Siberian Khatru", this one does suffer a bit from being just a hair too slow.....not dragging terribly but just slow enough to be safe. The best versions are when the band sounds like they are about to fly off the rails, but I still quite enjoy this. Especially the jam, where it really does pick up, and Steve's frantic guitar work will spin ya dizzy.

Anyway, this leads us into "And You And I" which is a song that sits just outside my top five but is probably the greatest Yes song ever. Now, I am not one of those fans that slags off the current lineup and I am not particularly loyal to any specific era, but "And You And I" is one song that I just have a hard time hearing sung by anyone but Anderson. Too much of him is in the song and, while his successors have done admirable jobs, it still feels weird. That said, this version is majestic. Following that, Steve Howe takes his solo spot with "Corkscrew", which is mellow but also has like 300 sections. I have no idea how he remembers this. I mean, I know, he's Steve Howe and he wrote the damn thing, but still. It's pretty badass.

Next up, this version of Yes takes a stab at the 90125 hit, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart". It's nice to see Steve finally succumb and actually play this with purpose (and not just because he has to). His solo, while in a totally different universe from Trevor Rabin's, totally shreds. The only real issue with this is Oliver Wakeman, whose samples are obtrusive and not terribly necessary. Benoit David puts on one hell of a performance here, especially towards the end, before Steve rips into a second flaming solo. 

Next up is the deep Fragile track, "South Side Of The Sky", which had never been performed before the "Full Circle" tour. Benoit has a tendency to be a dead ringer for Anderson and that is none more apparent than on this track. Oliver Wakeman does his dad proud with his piano work, which has that perfect sense of airiness, which complements the "nah nah" vocal section exquisitely. This leads itself into a killer jam that finds Steve and Oliver trading eights for about two minutes straight and that is fun as hell. 

But the fun and games are over and shit is about to get real. "Machine Messiah", the brutal, metallic opener from Drama gets a long overdue reading here. While it is not as crunchy as earlier versions, this take is outstanding, and perhaps the highlight from this set. Benoit's voice shifts into Trevor Horn mode seamlessly, and Chris Squire's voice sounds fantastic. Man, I really miss him. The band's playing on that crazy middle section is like a bolt of lightning. This is another song that lives in my top five and this version does great justice.

My top five represents once again with "Heart Of The Sunrise", and a version that features some pretty tasty bass licks by the late great Chris Squire and a wickedly Andersonian performance from Benoit. Oliver Wakeman, however, seems to play all the right notes but doesn't exactly gel with the band, and feels a bit intrusive at times, but that just may be that he is so high in the mix. Anyway, it was a solid take.

Apparently it is written that any given Yes performance must include "Roundabout". Fortunately it is always a fun one, so why not? This is a particularly hot take, as is the performance of "Starship Trooper", which closes the show. 

What we have here is a new iteration of a band that had been itching to go on the road for a long time. The exuberance in the trio of Howe, Squire, and White reveals a long-tight unit, thrilled at playing again. Benoit David - a singer who was hired because of how well he sang Yes - does a fantastic job. He's got big shoes to fill and it is just a shame that his own identity never really came forth during his time in Yes. Oliver Wakeman does an admirable job and is at his best when he is not trying to emulate his father, or is not too high in the mix. This band is on fire, and the presence of lesser-known cuts makes this set even more desirable. 

Unfortunately, until last year's belated release of From A Page, this was the only document of Oliver in this band, as it was not long before he was given the shaft, in favor of Geoff Downes. We'll get to that later....