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03-12 Peter Banks dead at 65
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Progressive, Psychedelic, Pop Rock |
Far and away the longest lasting and the most successful of the '70s progressive rock groups, Yes proved to be one of the
lingering successstories from that musical genre. The band, founded in 1968, overcame a generational shift in its audience
and the departure of its mostvisible members at key points in its history to reach the end of the century as the definitive
progressive rock band. Where rivals such asEmerson, Lake & Palmer withered away commercially after the mid-'70s, and
Genesis and King Crimson altered their sounds so radically asto become unrecognizable to their original fans, ...read more
Far and away the longest lasting and the most successful of the '70s progressive rock groups, Yes proved to be one of the
lingering successstories from that musical genre. The band, founded in 1968, overcame a generational shift in its audience
and the departure of its mostvisible members at key points in its history to reach the end of the century as the definitive
progressive rock band. Where rivals such asEmerson, Lake & Palmer withered away commercially after the mid-'70s, and
Genesis and King Crimson altered their sounds so radically asto become unrecognizable to their original fans, Yes retained the
same sound, and performed much of the same repertoire that they weredoing in 1971, and for their trouble, they found
themselves being taken seriously a quarter of a century later. Their audience remained hugebecause they had always
attracted younger listeners drawn to their mix of daunting virtuosity, cosmic (often mystical) lyrics, complexmusical textures,
and powerful yet delicate lead vocals.
Lead singer Jon Anderson (b. October 25, 1944, Accrington, Lancashire) started out during the British beat boom as a
member of theWarriors, who recorded a single for Decca in 1964; he was later in the band Gun before going solo in 1967 with
two singles on theParlophone label. He was making a meager living cleaning up at a London club called La Chasse during June
of 1968, and was thinking ofstarting up a new band. One day at the bar, he chanced to meet bassist/vocalist Chris Squire, a
former member of the band the Syn, who hadrecorded for Deram, the progressive division of Decca.
The two learned that they shared several musical interests, including an appreciation for the harmony singing of Paul Simon
and ArtGarfunkel, and within a matter of days were trying to write songs together. They began developing the beginnings of
a sound thatincorporated harmonies with a solid rock backing, rooted in Squire's very precise approach to the bass. Anderson
and Squire saw the groupsaround them as having either strong vocals and weak instrumental backup, or powerful backup and
weak lead vocals, and they sought tocombine the best of both. Their initial inspiration, at least as far as the precision of their
vocals, according to Squire, was the pop/soul actthe Fifth Dimension.
They recruited Tony Kaye (b. January 11, 1946), formerly of the Federals, on keyboards; Peter Banks (b. July 7, 1947),
previously amember of the Syn, on guitar; and drummer Bill Bruford (b. May 17, 1948), who had only just joined the blues
band Savoy Brown a few weeksearlier. The name Yes was chosen for the band as something short, direct, and memorable.
The British music scene at this time was in a state of flux. The pop/psychedelic era, with its pretty melodies and delicate
sounds, wasdrawing to a close, replaced by the heavier sounds of groups like Cream. Progressive rock, with a heavy dose of
late 19th century classicalmusic, was also starting to make a noise that was being heard, in the guise of acts such as the
Nice, featuring Keith Emerson, and theoriginal Deep Purple.
The group's break came in October of 1968 when the band, on the recommendation of the Nice's manager, Tony Stratton.
Smith (later thefounder of Charisma Records), played a gig at the Speakeasy Club in London, filling in for an absent Sly & the
Family Stone. The group waslater selected to open for Cream's November 26, 1968, farewell concert at Royal Albert Hall. This
concert, in turn, led to a residency atLondon's Marquee Club and their first radio appearance, on John Peel's Top Gear radio
show. They subsequently opened for Janis Joplin ather Royal Albert Hall concert in April 1969, and were signed to Atlantic
Records soon after.
Their debut single, and Anderson and Squire's first song, entitled "Sweetness," was released soon after. Their first album,
Yes, was releasedin November of 1969. The record displayed the basic sound that would characterize the band's subsequent
records, including impeccablehigh harmonies; clearly defined, emphatic playing; and an approach to music that derived from
folk and classical far more than the R&B fromwhich most rock music sprung -- but it was much more in a pop music context,
featuring covers of Beatles and Byrds songs. Also presentwas a hint of the space rock sound (on "Beyond and Before") in
which they would later come to specialize.
Anderson's falsetto lead vocals gave the music an ethereal quality, while Banks' angular guitar, seemingly all picked and none
strummed,drew from folk and skiffle elements. Squire's bass had a huge sound, owing to his playing with a pick, giving him one
of the most distinctivesounds on the instrument this side of the Who's John Entwistle, while Bruford's drumming was very
complex within the pop song context, andKaye's playing was rich and melodic.
In February of 1970, Yes supported the Nice at their Royal Albert Hall show, while they were preparing their second album,
Time and aWord. By the time it was released in June of 1970, Peter Banks had left the lineup, to be replaced by guitarist
Steve Howe (b. April 8, 1947),a former member of the Syndicats, the In Crowd, Tomorrow ("My White Bicycle"), and Bodast.
Howe is pictured with the group on the jacketof Time and a Word, which was released in August, and played his first show
with the group at Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 21, 1970, butBanks actually played on the album. This record was far more
sophisticated than its predecessor, and even included an overdubbedorchestra on some songs, the only time that Yes would
rely on outside musicians to augment their sound. The cosmic and mysticalelements of their songwriting were even more
evident on this album.
The group's fame in England continued to rise as they became an increasingly popular concert attraction, especially after
they were seen bymillions as the opening act for Iron Butterfly. It was with the release of The Yes Album in April of 1971 that
the public began to glimpse thegroup's full potential.
That record, made up entirely of original compositions, was filled with complex, multi-part harmonies; loud, heavily layered
guitar and bassparts; beautiful and melodic drum parts; and surging organ (with piano embellishments) passages bridging
them all. Everybody was workingon a far more expansive level than on any of their previous recordings: on "Your Move"
(which became the group's first U.S. chart entry, atnumber 40), the harmonies were woven together in layers and patterns
that were dazzling in their own right, while "Starship Trooper" (whichdrew its name from a Robert Heinlein novel, thus
reinforcing the group's space rock image) and "All Good People" gave Howe, Squire, andBruford the opportunity to play
extended instrumental passages of tremendous forcefulness. "Starship Trooper," "I've Seen All GoodPeople," "Perpetual
Change," and "Yours Is No Disgrace" also became parts of the group's concert sets for years to come.
The Yes Album opened a new phase in the group's history and its approach to music. None of it was pop music in the "Top
40" sense of theterm. Rather, it was built on compositions that resembled sound paintings rather than songs; the swelling
sound of Kaye's Moog synthesizerand organ, Howe's fluid yet stinging guitar passages, Squire's rippling bass, and Anderson's
haunting falsetto leads all evoked soniclandscapes that were strangely compelling to the imagination of the listener.
The Yes Album reached number seven in England in the spring of 1971; later, it got to number 40 in America. Early in 1971,
Yes made theirfirst U.S. tour opening for Jethro Tull, and they were back late in the year sharing billing with Ten Years After
and the J. Geils Band. Thebandmembers began work on their next album, but were interrupted when keyboard player Tony
Kaye quit in August of 1971 to join ex-Yesguitarist Peter Banks in the group Flash. He was replaced by former Strawbs
keyboard player Rick Wakeman, who played his first shows withthe band in September and October of 1971.
Wakeman was a far more flamboyant musician than Kaye, not only in his approach to playing, but in the number of
instruments that he used.In place of the three keyboards that Kaye used, Wakeman used an entire bank of upwards of a
dozen instruments, including Mellotron,various synthesizers, organ, two or more pianos, and electric harpsichord. This lineup,
Anderson, Squire, Howe, Wakeman, and Bruford,which actually only lasted for one year, from August of 1971 until August of
1972, is generally considered the best of all the Yesconfigurations, and the strongest incarnation of the band.
The group completed its next album, Fragile, in less than two months, partly out of a need to get a new album out to help
pay for all ofWakeman's equipment. And partly due to this haste, the new album featured only four tracks by the group as a
whole, "Roundabout," "TheSouth Side of the Sky," "Heart of the Sunrise," and "Long Distance Runaround" -- although,
significantly, all except "Long DistanceRunaround" ran between seven and 13 minutes -- and was rounded out by five pieces
showcasing each member of the band individually.Anderson's voice was represented in multiple overdubs on "We Have
Heaven"; Squire's bass provided the instrumental "The Fish," whichlater became an important part of the group's concerts;
Howe's "Mood for a Day" showed him off as a classical guitarist; Bruford's drumswere the focus of "Five Percent for Nothing";
and Wakeman turned in "Cans and Brahms," an electronic keyboard fantasy built on onemovement from Brahms' Fourth
Symphony.
Fragile, released in December of 1971, reached number seven in England and number four in America. The album's success
was enhancedby the release of an edited single of "Roundabout," the group's first (and, for over a decade, only) major hit,
which reached number 13 on theU.S. charts. For millions of listeners, "Roundabout," with its crisp interwoven acoustic and
electric guitar parts and very vivid bass textures,exquisite vocals (especially the harmonies), swirling keyboard passages, and
brisk beat, proved an ideal introduction to the group's sound.Neither Emerson, Lake & Palmer nor King Crimson, the group's
leading rivals at that time, ever had so successful a pop chart entry. Thesingle's impact among teenage and college-age
listeners was far greater than this chart position would indicate; they simply flocked to theband, with the result that not only
did Fragile sell in huge numbers, but the group's earlier records (especially The Yes Album) were suddenlyin demand again.
Even the album's jacket, designed by artist Roger Dean, featured distinctive, surreal landscape graphics, which evoked
images seeminglyrelated to the music inside. These paintings would become part and parcel of the audience's impression of
Yes' music, and later tours by thegroup would feature stage sets designed by Dean as an integral part of the shows.
Yes' appeal was multi-level. In some ways, they were the successors to psychedelic metal bands such as Iron Butterfly;
"Roundabout" mayhave been space rock, with a driving beat that carried the listener soaring into the heavens, but lines like
"In and around the lake/Mountainscome out of the sky/They stand there" evoked a surreal imagery not far removed (in the
minds of some listeners) from "In a Gadda DaVida," and just as effective, amid Wakeman's swirling synthesizer and Mellotron
passages, as a musical background for any druggyindulgences that fans might pursue. These would also be among the last
lyrics that fans of the band would have to deal with, apart fromanomalies such as the ethereal "I get up/I get down" from
"Close to the Edge" or the topical "Don't Kill the Whale"; on most of the band'sfuture releases, and for much of this song as
well, Anderson's voice was part of the overall mix of sounds generated by Yes. Some of hislyrics in future years were worth a
detailed look, however, often possessing complex subtexts drawn from religious and literary sources thatmade them good for
intellectual analysis, and something that college students could listen to with no shame or rationalizing. In that respect,Yes
were as much the successors to the Moody Blues, with a beat and balls in place of the pioneering art rock/psychedelic
band'sstateliness and overt seriousness, as they were to Iron Butterfly.
Jon Anderson's falsetto vocals, moreover, compared very well with those of his Atlantic Records stablemate Robert Plant, the
lead singer ofLed Zeppelin. Their classical music influences offered a level of intellectual stimulation that Led Zeppelin seldom
bothered with. And Yesplayed loud and hard; they were progressive, but they weren't wimps, and they put on a better show
than Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Theirmusic seemed to evoke the most appealing elements of heavy metal rock, psychedelic
music, the work of composers as different as IgorStravinsky and film composer Jerome Moross (whose "Main Theme from the
Big Country" provided the basis for the group's version of "NoExperience Necessary"), and Eastern religion, all wrapped in
songs running upwards of 22 minutes -- an entire side of an album.
"Roundabout" would be the group's biggest single success for the next 12 years, but it was more than enough. Although they
would continueto release 45s periodically, including a cover of Paul Simon's "America" during the summer of 1972, Yes' future
clearly lay with theiralbums. On Fragile, "Long Distance Runaround," as a three-minute song, had been the anomaly; the
bandmembers were clearly looking atlonger forms in which to write and play their music.
Close to the Edge, recorded in the late spring of 1972 and released in September of that year, showed just where they were
headed,consisting of only three long tracks, essentially three sound paintings, in which the overall sound and musical textures
mattered more thanthe lyrics or any specific melody, harmonization, or solo. "Siberian Khatru" was almost a rock adaptation of
Stravinsky's Rite of Spring,recalling the composer's most famous work and sounding as though Anderson and company had
tapped into a element of ritual and a stateof consciousness going back practically to the dawn of time (or stretching to the
end of time), while "And You and I" seemed to take "YourMove" to a newly cosmic level. The fans and critics alike loved Close
to the Edge, resplendent in its rich harmonies and keyboard passagesof astonishing beauty and complexity, brittle but
powerful guitar, and drumming that was gorgeous in its own right. The album reachednumber four in England and number
three in the United States without help from a hit single (though an edited version of "And You and I" didreach number 42 in
America).
By the time of the record's release, however, Bill Bruford had left the band to join King Crimson, and was replaced by Alan
White (b. June 14,1949, Pelton, Durham), a session drummer who was previously best known for having played with John
Lennon and Yoko Ono's Plastic OnoBand. With White -- who was a powerful player, but lacked the subtle melodic technique
of Bill Bruford -- installed at the drum kit, the groupwent on tour behind the new album to massive audience response and
critical acclaim. As an added bonus for fans, Rick Wakeman hadcompleted his first solo LP, the instrumental concept album
The Six Wives of Henry VIII, which was released by A&M Records in Februaryof 1973 (Wakeman had played excerpts from it
during his featured solo spot during the previous Yes tour).
A large part of the Close to the Edge tour, like the group's prior tour with Bruford on the drums, was recorded, and a three-LP
(two-CD) setentitled Yessongs, released in May of 1973, was assembled from the best work on the tour. Yessongs became a
model for progressive rocklive albums; at over 120 minutes, it included the band's entire stage repertoire (not coincidentally,
the best songs from the three precedingalbums), all of it uncut and all of it well played. The live album reached number seven
in England and number 12 in the United States.
The group spent the second half of 1973 trying to come up with a follow-up to four successive hit albums. The resulting
record, a double LPentitled Tales from Topographic Oceans, was released in January of 1974 with such high expectations that
it earned a gold record from itsadvanced orders.
Tales from Topographic Oceans broke all previous artistic boundaries, consisting of four long tracks each taking up the full
side of an LP,with titles like "The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)." If the group's prior albums were made up of
paintings in sound, thenTopographic Oceans was a series of sonic murals, painted across vast spaces on a massive scale that
did not make for light listening. Ifthis all seems ridiculously overblown today, perhaps it was, but this work was being done in
an era in which groups like Emerson, Lake &Palmer were recording album-length suites and stretching relatively modest works
such as "Fanfare for the Common Man" by AaronCopland into ten-minute epics. The group members believed they had
cultivated an audience for such music, and they were right;Topographic Oceans not only topped the British charts but
reached number six on the American charts.
No album has more divided both fans and critics of Yes alike. At the time of its release, critics called Tales from Topographic
Oceansexcessive, representing the height of progressive rock's self-indulgent nature. Originally inspired by Jon Anderson's
reaction to a set ofShastric scriptures, the album displayed a sublime beauty in many parts, and immense, mesmerizing
stretches of high-energy virtuosity formost of its length.
The group toured behind Topographic Oceans early in 1974, performing most of the album on-stage. Following this tour, plans
wereannounced for each member of the group to release a solo album of his own. At this point, the group faced another
major lineup change asWakeman -- whose second solo album, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, appeared in May of 1974 .
- announced that he was leaving Yes'lineup in June to pursue a solo career. In fact, as he revealed in interviews many years
later, he'd been very unhappy with the content ofTales from Topographic Oceans, feeling that its music no longer reflected
the direction he wanted to go in and that it was time to partcompany with the band. Wakeman's decision created a major
problem for Yes, for the keyboard player had become a star within their ranks,and was the group's most well-known individual
member; people definitely paid to see and hear his keyboards rippling amidst the band'ssound.
In August of 1974, it was announced that Patrick Moraz (b. June 24, 1948, Morges, Switzerland), formerly of the progressive
rock trioRefugee, had replaced Wakeman. Three months later, the group's new album, Relayer, was released, reaching the
British number four spotand the American number five position. Moraz proved an adequate replacement for Wakeman, but
lacked his predecessor's gift forshowmanship and extravagance. The group toured in the wake of Relayer's release in
November of 1974, but didn't record together again fortwo and a half years.
Indeed, in order to satisfy the demand for more Yes material in the absence of a new album while the group was on the road,
Atlantic inMarch of 1975 released a collection of their early music entitled Yesterdays, drawn from the first two albums and
various singles, whichrose to number 27 in England and number 17 in America. A film that the group had made along their
1973 tour, entitled Yessongs, wasreleased to theaters at around the same time. The movie received poor reviews, possibly
owing to the fact that most reviewers wereunfamiliar with the group's music, but it was profitable and has been popular for
years on home video.
Meanwhile, in the absence of new albums by Yes, other bands began trying to capitalize on their own versions of the Yes
sound: the mostnotable of these were Starcastle, a progressive rock band signed by Epic Records, who made their recording
debut in 1976 with a self-titledalbum that could have been another incarnation of Yes; and Fireballet, a Passport Records
quartet who seemed to bridge the music of Yesand ELP.
In November of 1975, Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water and Steve Howe's Beginnings were both released and climbed into the
mid-sixtieson the American charts. Squire's record was clearly the more accomplished of the two, virtually a lost Yes album,
with the bassist exploringnew instrumental and orchestral textures, and turning in a credible vocal performance as well.
Howe's record was an interesting, low-keyeffort that might have impressed other guitarists, but was sorely lacking in the
songwriting department.
These were followed in March of 1976 by Alan White's Ramshackled, which placed at number 41 in England, and Moraz's solo
venturePatrick Moraz, which reached number 28 in England and number 132 in America. And in July of 1976, Jon Anderson's
Olias of Sunhillow, adazzling, Tolkien-esque science fiction/fantasy epic (with packaging on the original LP that must have
doubled the basic production cost ofthe jacket) that sounded as much like a Yes album as any record not made by the entire
band could, reached number eight in England andnumber 47 in America.
Amid all of these solo projects, the group's lineup changed once again, as Wakeman announced his return to the fold in late
1976, whileMoraz exited. Wakeman's original plan was to assist Yes in the studio on their new album, but the sessions proved
so productive that hemade the decision, fully supported by the band, to return to the lineup permanently.
The group's next album, Going for the One, released in August of 1977, represented a much more austere, basic style of rock
music, builtaround shorter songs. The long-player topped the British charts for two weeks and reached number eight on the
American charts, while thesingles "Wonderous Stories" and "Going for the One" rose to numbers seven and 24, respectively, in
the U.K. Yes embarked on a massivetour shortly after the album's release, including their most successful American
appearances ever, playing to record audiences on the EastCoast.
Tormato, released nearly a year later (heralded by the single "Don't Kill the Whale," the group's first song with a topical
message), made theTop Ten in both England and America in the fall of 1978. Once again, after finishing the tour behind the
album, the group members beganworking on solo projects. The year 1979 saw the release of The Steve Howe Album, while
early in 1980 Jon Anderson hooked up withGreek-born keyboard player Vangelis. The two released an album, Short Stories,
and an accompanying single, "I Hear You," early in 1980,both of which reached the British Top Ten. Jon & Vangelis, as the
team became known, went on to cut several more records together.
In March of 1980, Yes' lineup collapsed, as Wakeman and then Anderson walked out after an unsuccessful attempt to start
work on a newalbum. Two months later, Trevor Horn (vocals, guitar) and Geoffrey Downes (keyboards), formerly of the British
band the Buggles, joined theYes lineup of Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White. This configuration recorded a new
album, Drama, which was released in August of1980; rather ominously, this record did dramatically better in England, reaching
the number two spot, than it did in America, where it got nohigher than number 18. This hybrid lineup lasted for a year, but
the old Yes incarnation remained much closer to the hearts of fans; inJanuary of 1981 Atlantic Records released Yesshows, a
double live album made up of stage performances dating from 1976 through 1978that reached number 22 in England and
number 43 in America.
Finally, in April of 1981, the breakup of Yes was announced. Geoff Downes formed Asia with Steve Howe, which went on to
someconsiderable if short-lived success in the early '80s, and the rest of the band scattered to different projects. For a year
and a half, the groupseemed a dead issue, until Chris Squire and Alan White announced the formation of a new group called
Cinema, with original Yes keyboardplayer Tony Kaye and South African guitarist Trevor Rabin. This band proved
unsatisfactory, and Squire invited Jon Anderson to join. It wasjust about then that everyone realized that they'd virtually re.
formed the core of the Yes lineup, and that they should simply revive thename.
In late 1983, this Yes lineup, with guitarist/vocalist Trevor Horn serving as producer, released an unexpected chart-topping
hit single(number one in the U.S. in January of 1984) in "Owner of a Lonely Heart," displaying a stripped-down modern dance.
rock sound unlikeanything the group had ever produced before. The remaining group released a successful dance-rock style
album, 90125, under Horn'sguidance, which sold well but also proved a dead end, with no follow-up, when Horn chose not to
remain with the group.
Yes was invisible for nearly two years after that, until the late 1987 release of Big Generator, which performed only
moderately well.Meanwhile, in 1986, Steve Howe reappeared as a member of the quintet GTR, whose self-titled album
reached number 11 in America. Theproliferation of ex-Yes members gathering together in various combinations led to an
ongoing legal dispute over who owned the group name,which came to a head in 1989. Luckily for four of them, the name
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was recognizable enough to reach thefans, which sent the resulting album into the U.S.
Top 40 and the British Top 20, more or less handing them a victory by acclamation (latersupported by the settlement) in their
dispute over the name. By touring with An Evening of Yes Music, they presented their classicrepertoire to sold-out houses all
over the country, including a 1990 gig at Madison Square Garden.
The legal squabbles had all been settled by the spring of 1991, at which time a composite "mega Yes" group consisting of
Anderson, Howe,Wakeman, Squire, Kaye, White, Rabin, and Bruford (all of the key past members except Peter Banks)
embarked on a blow-out world tourcalled Yesshows in 1991. The accompanying album, Union, which displayed a somewhat
tougher sound than they'd been known for, debutedon the British charts at number seven and reached number 15 in America.
This tour, which allowed the band to showcase music from all ofits previous incarnations and, in the second half of the show,
featured each member who wished it in a solo spot, broke more records. Thesemammoth three-hour shows and the resulting
publicity (even news organizations that normally didn't cover rock concerts did features on thereunion) only seemed to
heighten interest in the four-CD box set YesYears, which was released by Atlantic in 1991.
The rest of the 1990s proved every bit as busy for members of the group as the '80s had been, if not always in a group
context. Bill Brufordand Steve Howe, in conjunction with producer Alan Parsons and arranger David Palmer, successfully spun
off the group's classic music on amostly instrumental project called Symphonic Music of Yes, released on RCA, which
presented many of the best-known Yes songs in anorchestral setting (with Jon Anderson furnishing vocals in two places).
Trevor Rabin reunited with Anderson, White, Kaye, and Squire in1994 for the Talk album, which sold poorly despite a national
tour and the presence of a killer single in "The Calling." Kaye left the musicbusiness for more than a decade following that
tour, which saw guitarist Billy Sherwood, a longtime friend of Squire's and an ex-member ofWorld Trade, join as a new official
member of the band.
It was also around this time that the first round of upgraded reissues of the group's catalog appeared on CD from Atlantic
Records. In 1995,the classic lineup of Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, and White reunited for a short series of
performances, which yielded several liverecordings as well as a pair of new studio albums soon after, Keys to Ascension and
Keys to Ascension 2, but the reunion was interrupted byWakeman's departure, in a dispute over the treatment of the new
studio material. Sherwood eventually took over on keyboards, in addition tohis guitar duties. He and Squire became key
members of the latter-day Yes lineup, their work in their own band Conspiracy serving as thecore of what became the Yes
album Open Your Eyes.
By this time, Yes had taken on two distinct incarnations, on-stage and in the studio. With Trevor Rabin having opted out of
the group after1995 in favor of work as a film composer, Steve Howe returned to the concert stage as a member, his work a
highlight of their shows, whilein the studio it was Sherwood and Squire, along with Anderson, at the creative center of the
group. And another new member was addedfollowing the tour for Open Your Eyes (which was mostly devoted to reviving their
'70s repertoire), in Igor Khoroshev.
The group's lineup went through further changes amid a plethora of live recordings, released as both CDs and DVDs, in the
early 21stcentury. Sherwood was dismissed in 2000, and Khoroshev was gone after the tour that year. Magnification saw the
band working with a fullorchestra, which proved something of a disappointment to many fans -- Yes had never really worked
well with that sort of accompaniment,on those rare occasions when they tried it in the past, and not even state-of-the-art
digital technology could help. Wakeman was back forthe group's 2002 international tour, and Yes toured again two years
later, to commemorate their 35th anniversary.
All of these performances and new recordings coincided with a massive amount of activity surrounding the group's catalog. A
second, moreexpansive career-retrospective five-disc box set, In a Word: Yes, was released in 2002, and around this same
time Japanese WEA reissuedthe entire Yes catalog in audiophile-quality remastered editions, packaged in handsome miniature
LP sleeves that re-created all of theRoger Dean-designed jackets in perfect detail, inside and out. Not to be outdone, Rhino
Records in the U.S. -- by now absorbed into theWarner-Elektra-Atlantic family of labels -- issued their own remastered
editions of the same catalog in slipcased editions, with the addedvirtues of extensive bonus tracks and annotation and, in the
case of Tales from Topographic Oceans, a remixed master as well.
Yes, by now carrying so many permutations to their lineup and sound, had transcended their progressive rock origins, and
also managed towin over even some of their harshest critics -- perhaps in some ways simply by wearing them down with their
longevity, but also using thatlongevity as proof of their worth. Trevor Rabin returned to the fold alongside Howe -- along with
Geoff Downes -- for one night, in aperformance honoring Trevor Horn at the 2004 Prince's Trust concert (an event that even
got Kate Bush, who never concertizes, onto thestage). The group then became officially inactive, though Rhino did release a
third box set, entitled The Word Is Live, in 2005, to decidedlylackluster reviews -- mostly the set was made up of secondary
material performed by lesser later lineups, though its first disc, part of whichshowcased the Peter Banks/Tony Kaye period,
was worth hearing. Kaye, Sherwood, and White reunited in a new context -- using the groupname CIRCA: -- in 2006, with an
album released the following year. A 21st studio album from the band, the Trevor Horn-produced Fly fromHere, was released
in 2011, and included Canadian singer Benoit David on lead vocals -- David had been the lead singer in a Yes tributeband
before joining the group in 2008. « hide |
Similar Bands: Rush, Camel, FM, Mike Oldfield, Genesis
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