Taking a welcome breather from their full-album shows, this set features material that touches upon every era of the band, and is super fun, from a fan's perspective. Jon Davison continues to assert his role and is in wonderful voice and, while Chris Squire's presence is forever missed, Billy Sherwood handles his role exquisitely.
The program begins with the be-all-end-all of Yes epics, "Close To The Edge". Steve Howe's playing in the intro is a bit on the erratic side, but it doesn't take long for it to come together. I really dig the way they work through the spacy bit, before the "I Get Up I Get Down" section. It feels weightless. While Davison nails the vocal beautifully, Geoff Downes struggles with Rick Wakeman's original parts and there are a couple of wincing moments, unfortunately. There is still a majesty to this track that makes it fantastic. Just a lofty choice for a warmup song.
Moving on to side two, the band goes deep on "Nine Voices", from 1999's The Ladder. One of the most beautiful pieces of Yes music, this lineup does this song justice. I appreciate the tabla drums. This was one of the biggest surprises of the evening and, while of course it would be better if Jon Anderson was singing this, Davison sings this beautifully.
From here, they go WAY back, to 1970's Time And A Word, with "Sweet Dreams". It is a killer version that finds the band sounding as inspired as the original version. The only thing? There is not a single musician performing that had anything to do with the original. And yet, it is perfect. That's just the way Yes goes. The jam in the middle is pretty wicked, as is the way they arranged the ending.
The band continues to go deep on the acoustic "Madrigal", which originally appeared on 1977's Going For The One. I don't think anyone would count this among their favorite Yes songs, but this is a really pretty number and is one that was made for Jon Davison to sing.
This leads brilliantly into "We Can Fly From Here, Pt.1", from 2011's Fly From Here. It thrills me to no end to see them include recent material in this set, though I do wish that there was at least one song from Heaven & Earth. This sounds fantastic. The backing vocals are super tight and Davison sounds really good singing it. I do find it humorous that this is one of three recordings of this song to be released, sung by three different vocalists, none of whom was Jon Anderson. We will discuss this more later...
To maintain continuity, "Soon" is the only track on side three, at eight minutes long. Originally the ending of "The Gates Of Delirium", from 1974's amazing Relayer, this current lineup does a pretty fantastic job transforming this into an epic in its own right, aided and abetted by Patrick Moraz, who was the Yes keyboardist on this original track.
From there, we land on "Awaken", one of the band's greatest epics. Originally from Going For The One, in 1977, this lineup does a pretty remarkable job here. This is the first released version not to feature Chris Squire and his triple-neck bass and it is noticeable. That said, Billy Sherwood plays this perfectly, doing his best to emulate Squire while adding his own touch. Jon Davison is in stellar voice, and Steve Howe is perfectly on point. One of the best performances in this set.
Side five continues the Going For The One theme with a version "Parallels" that would do Chris Squire proud. The vocal blend on this track is right on the money. One of those takes that proves this lineup's worth.
This soon moves into "Excerpt From The Ancient", otherwise known as "Leaves Of Green". The only part of side three of Tales From Topographic Oceans that they ever play, this is a really nice acoustic song, featuring some brilliant classical playing from Howe. I wish they would play the whole thing but I'll take what I can get.
Now, here's where it gets good, as this is when founding keyboardist, Tony Kaye, joins the band for the remainder of the show. His first jam of the evening is "Yours Is No Disgrace", the lead track on 1971's The Yes Album, which was also Steve Howe's introduction to the band. This is a song that forever lives in my top five and this is a great performance. Sherwood really nails that walking bass line during the breakdown. I do wish Kaye's organ was louder in the mix. It is a vital part of the song. Steve Howe's solo improv in the middle is killer (dig the little nod to "Siberian Khatru"). Some truly inspired playing.
As they prepare for the big finale, Steve Howe takes his solo spot, with a bit of "Georgia's Song" into the classic, "Mood For A Day". This is one of those pieces that never gets old, and always sounds incredible.
With Alan White firmly in his place on the drum stool, the expanded Yes launches into "Roundabout", perhaps its most enduring classic. Alan sounds great, if perhaps not as busy as he once was. The rest of the band is right on point as well. Some may complain at the number of live albums that feature this song, but it's always great, and cool to hear presented by different lineups, in different settings.
Putting an exclamation point on this celebration of Yes is a fired-up "Starship Trooper". Originally released on The Yes Album in 1971, this is another that forever lives in my top five. This is a fantastic performance, featuring solid vocal harmonies from Davison & Sherwood, and a wildly inspired "Wurm" jam to bring it all home.
The current incarnation of Yes features zero original members, but this lineup is a logical point of an ever-evolving entity, and they serve the music well. That is the whole purpose, right? 30 years ago, Rick Wakeman envisioned a version of Yes, far off into the future, (he likened it to the London Philharmonic), who will push forward while continuing to serve the music. In many ways, this is the Yes that he was talking about (though he may disagree with that now), and this could just be the start.
Here's to another 50!
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