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Rating: An unknown drummer... rumors say he learned the repertoire in 3 days. A little man with a golden voice behind the microphone, a former session keyboardist with hair down to his butt and a sparkling cape, the usual lanky joker on the Rickenbaker, and the other one on the guitar, in his best days. People screaming, impatience in their hearts, in their whistles of approval. Applause to acclaim and energize them and then... the enchanted keyboard of Rick The Magician Wakeman, with the glorious Opening (Excerpt from the “Firebird Suite”), and the crowd erupts, just as the band bursts in with a great version of Siberian Khatru, similar to the record, but perhaps more thrilling because it's live, indeed. Here we savor the perfect harmony between the voices of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and occasionally Steve Howe, the legendary Bach-like solo by Rick Wakeman, and we welcome Alan White, a great drummer destined to never leave the band, thus completing what many consider to be the classic lineup.
By now Yes are consecrated into legend... that's what this is about. And every note of this Yessongs is imbued with magical legend, like a diadem studded with gems and precious pearls, sealing the golden trilogy of Yes, whose career has already reached one of the highest points. Only a band in such fine form can indeed deliver such a version of Heart Of The Sunrise, from the hardprog intro, to the singing with highly impactful lyrics (Sharp distance / How can the wind with its arms all round me...), up to the spine-tingling piano at the end, all supported by the prominently featured bass of Chris Squire.
The sleeve notes tell us that Perpetual Change is still played with Bill Bruford behind the drums (oh, what a drum solo!), just like the good old times, and indeed nothing denies the greatness of the piece: Steve Howe dazzles, extending the duration of the track with his solo. The intro of And You And I begins with Wakeman's synthesizer accompanied by Howe's slide guitar and ties back to the old guitar chord intro. Perhaps the only flaw in this track is the voice, recorded in not quite optimal fashion.
Mood For A Day, which opens the second LP, makes us forget everything, in its atmosphere halfway between classical and Spanish influence. Taking the opportunity, Wakeman promotes his first solo album, playing us pieces like Catherine of Argon, Jane Seymour, and Catherine Howard from The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, which culminate in one of his extravagant and wonderful solos that mix classical pieces with the purest progressive. Roundabout is as fantastic as on the record, with that indescribable organ from Wakeman... I’ve Seen All Good People is placed there specifically to move us, with that sort of mandolin, in Your Move, which Steve Howe plays divinely and the perfect choral parts, then explodes with rock in the homonymous part of the song. Long Distance Runaround connected to The Fish, also sees the presence of Bill Bruford. Is it still necessary to add that the execution is more than perfect?
Third LP: one side solely for Close To The Edge, as if to emphasize the importance of the track and the band’s majesty when performing it live. Could it have ended like this? No, not without the varied and super-extended version of Yours Is No Disgrace and then that stroke of genius of Starship Trooper: Life Seeker is the legendary main theme, then the super-fast arpeggio of Disillusion and finally the triumph with Würm, three chords of pure genius, with the flange of the guitar, the subsequent solo, and the great choice to introduce a part of synthesizer. Witnessing such a show live must have been something sublime. If we then add the great courage of this band to release a live performance on a triple vinyl, which was no small feat for those times (1973), all packaged in one of the most splendid works Roger Dean has ever illustrated, we can elect this live album to one of the most important in Progressive. Some, perhaps the pickiest, have elected it as a prelude to those two subsequent albums, which managed to divide the opinions of audiences and critics so much. But we don't care. To the fateful question: “Was it true glory then?”, we will answer without hesitation: “Yes, undoubtedly.”
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Siberian Khatru (09:03)
(Anderson/Howe/Wakeman)
Sing, bird of prey;
Beauty begins at the foot of you. Do you believe the manner?
Gold stainless nail,
Torn through the distance of man
As they regard the summit.
Even Siberia goes through the motions.
Hold out and hold up;
Hold down the window. Outbound, river,
Hold out the morning that comes into view. Bluetail, tailfly.
River running right on over my head.
How does she sing?
Who holds the ring? And ring and you will find me coming.
Cold reigning king,
Hold all the secrets from you
As they produce the movement.
Even Siberia goes through the motions.
Hold out and hold up;
Hold down the window. Outbound, river,
Hold out the morning that comes into view. Bluetail, tailfly.
River running right over the outboard, river,
Bluetail, tailfly,
Luther, in time.
Dood'ndoodit, dah, d't-d't-dah.
Hold down the window;
Hold out the morning that comes into view.
Warm side, the tower;
Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru.
Gold stainless nail,
Torn through the distance of man as they regard the summit.
Cold reigning king,
Shelter the women that sing
As they produce the movement.
River running right on over,
Then over my head. Outboard, river.
Bluetail, tailfly,
Luther, in time,
Suntower, asking,
Cover, lover,
June cast, moon fast,
As one changes,
Heart gold, leaver,
Soul mark, mover,
Christian, changer,
Called out, saviour,
Moon gate, climber,
Turn round, glider.
04 Perpetual Change (14:12)
I see the cold mist in the night
And watch the hills roll out of sight
I watch in every single way
Inside out, outside in
Every day
The sun can warm the coldest dawn
And move the movement on the lawn
I learn in every single day
Inside out, outside in
Every way
And there you are
Making it up that you're sure that it is a star
When all you see
Is an illusion shining down in front of me
And then you say
Even in time we shall control day
When what you see
Deep inside the day's controlling you and me
And one peculiar point I see
As one with many ones of me
As truth is gathered, I rearrange
Inside out, outside in
Inside out, outside in
Perpetual change
And there you are
Saying we have the moon, so now the stars
When all you see
Is near disaster gazing down on you and me
And there you're standing
Saying we have the whole world in our hands
When all you see
Deep inside the world's controlling you and me
Who'll see perpetual change
You'll see perpetual change
And there you are
Making it up that you're sure that it is a star
When all you see
Is an illusion shining down in front of me
And then you say
Even in time we shall control day
When what you see
Deep inside the day's controlling you and me
As mist and sun are both the same
We look on as pawns of their game
They move to testify the day
Inside out, outside in
Inside out, outside in
All of the way
08 Roundabout (08:32)
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
I spend the day away
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
Spend the day away
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving through the sound and even in the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you
Along the drifting cloud, the eagle searching down on the land
Catching the swirling wind, the sailor sees the rim of the land
The eagle's dancing wings create as weather spins out of hand
Go closer, hold the land, feel partly no more than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time, a thousand answers by in our hand
Next to your deeper fears, we stand surrounded by million years
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
Twenty four before my love and I'll be there
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
You spend the day your way
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you
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Other reviews
By R13569920
Yessongs is a stunning live album and a real manifesto of the period, among the best live albums of all time.
Steve Howe is practically always soloing, but he also plays all the chords, making him the absolute champion in the progressive field.
