No way will I be getting this giant, expensive box -too much redundancy, and as noted, Yes were never known for their variation and improv during these shows. I highlights set will draw my interest and maybe my $. I didn't spring for the Progeny box for the same reasons.
To be honest Yes PR company have lost the plot in recent years anyway. If it's not endless live releases from the most recent irrelevant tour, it's burying 4 brand new tracks on the end of one of them. I guess they have good predictions that they'll move enough of these sets, but couldn't they give fans something that they'd actually like? I think there might at least be an extended BBC Sessions coming up.
Recall it being a very dull performance in Raleigh, NC. Did not touch the 79 tour which was the last time I saw Anderson/Howe/Wakeman with Yes, or subsequent tours that included them.
That set's CDs did not include all the songs played on that tour and consequently I didn't buy 'cause I expected better in time.
I might be interested in a 3 or 4 disc set with all of the songs played on the tour, but this is way too much.
Echoing others: Yeah, this release is way off the mark. Pick the best show, release the audio and video on CD/DVD. But what I want most of all is a remaster of this guy: Which is one of my favorite music docs ever.
Union came out when I was in high school at the likely height of my Yes super-fandom, I saw them twice on that tour including the Nassau Coliseum show included here. But I don't think a set of bootlegs from the tour is worth even a third of the price they want for this.
"The main disc features a multi-camera shoot DVD, with an accompanying soundtrack mixed by Trevor Rabin from the Shoreline Amphitheatre (8th August 1991) show." Also included in the box is a mixture of fan recordings, desk tapes and FM/Radio Broadcasts. These will be included with the main program, as a way for the band to combat this highly bootlegged tour, where some fans are paying in excess of $70 per show from various Japanese websites. Save your money, people. There's nothing in here you don't already have if you're a bootleg collector, and nothing, literally nothing, from any member of Yes' actual archives. What a disappointment. The Shoreline show sucks, it's sloppy, the video is just the in-house screen feeds, and the show isn't even in the round, which was one of the coolest things about the tour. (And also, it's been released multiple times already. The press release implies it's newly mixed by Trevor, but he did that back in the 90's, and it's not great) There's a pro-shot video from early in the tour from Denver that could be released, but the band would have to be involved, and they clearly are not here. Also, who is still paying $70 for bootlegs 20+ years into the internet age? That's some 1990's record show crap.
Much to digest in this story (I have read it before), but clearly JE loses a lot of credibility when he slags the playing abilities of Howe, Wakeman and Bruford -all displayed their musical chops long after 1990. Elias really comes off as bitter about the whole experience and misses no opportunity to slag Yes. I do believe the thrust of his point regarding the need for the adjunct musicians -had the members cooperated more it likely would have required less hired guns.
It's just the version already bootlegged though, right? Not the complete show? And certainly not from the original source, which I presume is in Trevor's possession? It's amazing how many releases have come from this tour without a single ounce of band involvement after Trevor's contractually obligated mix of the sloppy Shoreline show in the early 90's.
Yeah. That's circulated in trading circles for awhile. I mean, it's better than nothing (certainly better than Shoreline) but it's basically a random label releasing a bootleg, not Yes themselves releasing something from their archives, and it's obvious as soon as you see it. I mean, I love bootlegs, always have. But they shouldn't be sold, even by the band, when the band could easily put something better together and render the bootlegs obsolete.
It's a pity that they never released the full concerts of "the word is live". Now I don't expect they can agree on any old concert release.
My only complaint about that one was that it was too short, and should've been extended to have more Rabin-era stuff. I'm okay with the cherry-picking...how many "Roundabouts" with the exact same lineup does one need? But it should've been at least another 60-90 minutes longer, and had more stuff from '83-'94 on it.
I think this is a tour best enjoyed on DVD, for the sight of the Yes alumni on one stage together, but not necessarily one to listen to without the visuals (from multiple venues!) A live set from this line up is better than the Union album, but not to the extent that it warrants such a large and expensive box set. The "Union Live" CD/DVD package seems sufficient tbh.
Amazing effort as a product that actually gets released. Imagine if other artists released something like this. Genesis, Elton John, etc. big names who have had tons of stuff filmed and recorded live yet has released only a fraction of it in official terms. I am not going to buy this box, obviously, though with all that is included the price is fair. I love Yes and the clips I have seen from this tour and the surrounding documentary was very good. But what a release nonetheless!
My thoughts upon seeing this set: "This is ridiculous! Who would possibly want this? It's too expensive! Also, what's the street date?"