ARW officially turns into YES feat Anderson Rabin Wakeman

YES!


...although maybe they could get Pino Palladino...oh wait, that's been done already...

 

Alan didn't look well at all at the Hall of Fame...how is he going to play the Relayer album?!

ARW will probably never go down the album series route, so Howe's YES is doing the right thing, going deep and appealing to the fans.

Best of both worlds as far as I'm concerned!

 

Slightly off topic..I found an old interview from YES on Rockline in 2002 which I just uploaded to my YouTube page. This was a hysterical interview. Jon's definitely high, Chris & Alan had a few too many, Steve was Steve and Rick joined the conversation over the phone while on an airplane. I miss these days

 

Ronnie Van Zant's widow still owns an equal share of the Lynyrd Skynryd brand/corporation, to my knowledge. Not quite sure how that happened, though. Anyone?

 

Personally I would have rather heard Horn singing on it. I didnt like Benoit singing with Yes but I think he got a raw deal. Just like Adam Wakeman did

 

I guess but I saw some more recent footage of Alan playing with a school band and he really didn't look well at all and put on a lot of weight. I really feel bad for Alan and if he can't cut it playing some of the most difficult stuff the shows are not going to be pleasant. I understand they want to do the albums and have a different appeal then ARW but I hope it doesn't backfire because Alan isn't up to it.

 

That less established band is called Mystery, for those who may not know. I like the three albums they did with Benoit, especially Beneath The Veil of Winter's Face. Great headphone album! They have another French guy singing now, who sounds a lot like Benoit. They've only done a handful of shows outside Canada, but I would enjoy the chance to see them.

 

I too miss these days and met the guys after the 3 concerts I saw in 2002 and they were in great spirits. Ah the good old days when YES was YES!

 

Your point about songwriting is well taken (and I realize you were just presenting a hypothetical scenario to make a point about the Yes situation), but Phil Ehart has been the band's manager since the early 90s, which would present a major complication. Of course, it's all moot, as Steve hates touring and sadly, after more years on the road than most singers, really doesn't have the chops he had as a younger man. Kerry suffered a stroke in 2009 and had to relearn just about everything, including guitar and keyboards. Robbie Steinhardt had open-heart surgery a few years ago and missed the band's one-off 40th Anniversary show in PA. None of the three has the desire to tour, as far as I know. If Steve, Kerry and Robbie had anything close to their prime abilities, I'd say they'd be a more legit version of Kansas than Phil and RICHARD Williams. (Robbie Williams is some English pop star, no?). I mean, Kerry wrote the bulk of their classic catalog, which is all most fans want to hear, and Steve and Robbie contributed the trademark Kansas vocal sound with their perfectly blended harmonies. Robbie also contributed all that beautiful violin on classic Kansas, that is the band's hallmark. It's sad to see our heroes slowly lose their superpowers, but Father Time is a wicked master.

What all this comes down to, in all cases, is legality; the only way we fans truly have a say is to vote with our wallets.

 

You mean the Union days?

 

They were YES in 2002 and they were in great spirits.

 

Got tix for YARW in Sept here in DC (suburban VA, actually). Really looking forward to it!

I'm pushing 50, but I've never seen Yes (of any sort) live before, though I did catch the Anderson-Ponty band here a couple years ago (and loved it).

 

And the consensus seems to be that "Prelude Implicit" is the best Kansas album in decades, maybe since the heyday. And like the current Yes, Kansas has classic-era members only on drums and guitar.

 

Whats the board's hot take on the odds for a 'Union 2' tour coming together sometime after the current bands individual touring commitments have been fulfilled?

 

Slim to no chance IMO. They have no recent hits to generate much interest. The crowds get smaller each year and they haven't had a hit that was even as significant as "Lift Me Up" (#86) in many, many years.

 

I agree. They wouldn´t be able to fill arenas. I know young people who have NEVER heard of them.

 

It's a very good Kansas tribute band album. Better than a few actual Kansas albums. But still basically a tribute band.

 

Zero. No one in ARW needs the money that badly.

 

It's not on the table in any sense. Wakeman's even said as much.

 

That Union tour was pretty good. Except you can tell Howe hated Rabin.

 

Think it seemed really possible, leading up to the RnR HoD induction ceremony. It's always still possible, but it's at least a way's out, if it could still happen. With both groups having booked tours for 2017, it won't be anytime soon. This would require burying the hatchet and obviously collaboration with their respective management teams. Certainly, there are elements that would want it to happen. A lot's changed since 1991 though. Of the original Yes, Banks and Squire are obviously deceased. Bruford is retired, and not sure what Kaye's situation is at the moment. It'd be OK for the faithful, but wouldn't generate the same buzz as last time.

 

"Jon, take that out of here, man . . . "

 

I have a feeling it's more like he resented him, but there wasn't the good interaction we might have hoped for. I thought Rabin added some nice bits to most of the songs (wasn't a huge fan of his wank on Yours Is No Disgrace, though). But Howe didn't really come up with much to add to Rabin's songs, and I had hoped there might be more room for that. In later years, Howe added some nice solos to Owner that indicated a little bit more open approach.

 

Oliver Wakeman, I believe. Adam is the Wakeman who's been with Ozzy and Sabbath for the past decade or so.