I've been obsessed with the band Yes since Junior High. My personal list of favorite guitar players always included Steve Howe in at least the top five, if not the top two (he never played with the soul of Eric Clapton, and that kept him out of the top spot, but Clapton couldn't touch him in terms of skill). Rick Wakeman is probably the best keyboard player I've ever heard in person. Bill Bruford is no Neil Peart, but he's as close as it gets in my book. Sure the band was a Spinal Tap-ish revolving door of different musicians coming in and out. Chris Squire is the only member who's always been there. They've had three different lead guitarists, Six keyboard players that I can think of off the top of my head, and (now) three lead singers. Which brings me to the point.
I picked up the two new records last night. Fly From Here is a studio record that came out in July (I think), and In the Present is a live record that came out last month.
Here is a summary of how this current line up came together. The band wanted to tour, but Rick Wakeman wanted it to be a short tour. He was overruled and decided to leave the band for the 37th time. His replacement was his son Oliver. Now I'm sure Oliver Wakeman is a great guy, and I am positive he is a hell of a musician... but still... it's his dad's band. That just seems so utterly lame. Not long after that, vocalist and public figurehead (they used to call him Napolean) Jon Anderson got really sick and was told he could not sing for some length of time. The rest of the band did what any group of long associated co-workers would do and fired him and hired someone else. If you didn't get it, that was sarcasm to the extreme. Imagine if Paul McCartney got very sick just before a tour and the Paul McCartney band decided to go out with some one else in Paul's place. That's an extreme example, but only a little bit.
Here's the kicker. The guy they replaced him with, Benoît David was plucked out of a Yes Tribute band. I kid you not. A Yes tribute band. I believe they found him via youtube.
Now I'm sure Benoît is a hell of a guy and he clearly can sing up a storm, but give me an effin' break. You sack the face of the franchise in favor of a guy who spent weekends pretending to be the guy you fired. It's shameful. Again, nothing against Benoît David, he's got a great deal of skill... but you seriously screwed your leader and hiring a tribute band singer is salt in the wound. Lots of salt in the wound. Tons and tons of salt in the wound.
Much to everyone's surprise, Chris Squire declared that version of Yes to be the current "official" version of Yes, whatever that means, and plans were made to record an album. Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman did exactly what you would expect in such a Spinal Tap-ish situation... they went on tour together.
By the time the sessions got rolling Oliver Wakeman was gone in favor of ex Buggle, ex Asia, and ex Yes keyboard player Goeff Downes. For my money, Downes' playing on 1980's Drama album (the only other Yes record that does not include Jon Anderson) was excellent. I pretend the Buggles didn't exist, and Asia (which also included Steve Howe) was a clear commercial money grab and kinda sad.
The resulting album is called Fly From Here. I have only listened to it once. I like it very much. I am surprised by how much I like it. Benoît David sounds more like Trevor Horn (another ex Buggle who replaced Jon Anderson in 1980, and then produced the first two Trevor Rabin led Yes albums in the early 80's, and who produced this album as well) to me than Jon Anderson, and I think that's a good thing. My instinct is to hate the guy, and if he simply pretended to be Jon Anderson the way he did in the tribute band I would have followed my instinct without reservation. He doesn't. He does his own thing. He sounds a little wimpy overall and has non of the spirit or passion Jon Anderson has, and really he isn't fit to hold Jon Anderson's jock when you come right down to it, but that does not mean he isn't excellent. He is. I was very impressed with his work on the album.
The songs include a nice juicy 25 minute suite that I understand began life as an outtake in 1980 and was dug up again for this record. Steve Howe plays fantastic. He's less than a tenth of the guitar player he was in his youth, but 1/10 of a 1972 Steve Howe is still better than almost anyone else in history. I like everything about the album. It's mellow in a way Yes sometimes needs to be. It's as good as the last two releases, Magnification and The Ladder, both of which I really enjoyed, and it blows some of the post-1983 reunion records out of the water (I'm looking at you Open Your Eyes, and you too Talk). If you like Yes, get it. You'll enjoy it. It's not going to change the world the way Fragile and Close to the Edge did, but it's a good record, worthy of a listen.
In other words, it's totally different than the new live album. I'm only a few songs into it, and already I am afraid to move on. They sound old and decrepit. They sound pathetic. I am shocked that something this weak has seen the light of day. Again, I'm only a few songs into it, but... damn. Every song I've listened to was played at a meager fraction of the expected tempo. As if they are unable to keep up with their younger selves anymore. Hearing Steve Howe play on this album is making me sad. Benoît David, despite my previous praise, sounds exactly like what he is: A total amateur. His intonation is awful. His voice is wavering all over the place. He sounds scared. Really. Scared. He sounds like a tribute band singer who is totally out of his element and in WAY over his head. Tempos sag all over the place (I'm looking at you Alan White) and every member misses cues that a well rehearsed band should nail every single time. And I'm only on track four!
I'm going to listen to the rest of it tonight, but I doubt I will ever listen to it again. It's pathetic.
What does this tell us about Yes in the second decade of the 21st century? When you have the security blanket that is the recording studio, you can still put together great pieces of music. Take away the safety net and you are just painful to listen to. Keep writing. Keep recording. Keep challenging your listeners. But don't subject us to the live environment anymore. Please.
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