Yes Union Live 30 disc megaset

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by tonylevin'ssuitcase, Feb 26, 2021.

  1. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Niahm The Prog Nerd has just uploaded an unboxing vid on YouTube. Personally have no interest in it; I dont have the space for a flight case on my CD racks to start with and it's just too repetitive. Shame about the QPR set being cancelled though as that would be an auto buy!
     
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  2. apple-richard

    apple-richard *Overnight Sensation*

     
  3. mld218

    mld218 Forum Resident

    Its now showing as in stock at Deep discount. I heard nothing from Amazon so I cancelled that order and ordered from Deep Discount.
     
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  4. apple-richard

    apple-richard *Overnight Sensation*

    Amazon has my order as being released on 29 September now. :sigh:
     
  5. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    My copy arrived last night from Import CDs. So far I've only listened to the two Shoreline CDs so I can't yet comment on the sound quality of the other discs. Observations so far:

    The packaging is very nice. The flight case is cool. I'm sure it added significantly to the cost, and ultimately the decoration is less important than the music, but they certainly put a lot of effort into the packaging.

    The discs inside the flight case don't quite fill it up. There's a jewel-case-sized piece of foam at the end. And I'm sure this is no coincidence - the spine of each jewel case has a separate catalog number, from HST600CD to HST611CD - but there is no HST610CD. I suspect that whatever was planned for HST610CD fell through for whatever reason, and so there's a foam spacer in a box that was built under the assumption that HST610CD would be there.

    Among the memorabilia and other inserts, there's a card for the ill-fated QPR box, and an advertisement for an upcoming super deluxe Evening of Yes Music Plus from the 1989 ABWH tour. No legible details as to what it will contain apart from what was in prior editions, but the artwork appears to show four jewel cases and four vinyl LPs.

    The copyright notice refers to "the rights holder" without saying who that is. Maybe they're in hiding so people won't ask them what happened to all the digital multi-tracks known to have been recorded at multiple venues on the tour.

    The Shoreline CDs incorporate the entire set list from the night (minus the second half of "And You And I" when the tape ran out). The 2011 Gonzo edition had CDs that followed the truncated DVD track listing and the deluxe edition added (as DVD-only bonus tracks) the half-song plus "Shock to the System" and "Lift Me Up" - the new version adds the drum duet and "Changes." (The track labeled "Tony Kaye Solo" is actually the first minute and a half or so of "Changes," with a track mark during the quiet bit after Trevor's first guitar burst.) The extra tracks are artfully edited into the Shoreline audio with crossfades etc., rather than fading out the audio from the DVD and fading in the "bonus" tracks. A glance at setlist.fm indicates that the tracks were inserted in the right place. Obviously "And You And I" was unusable on the video because part of the audio is missing. I'm guessing they left off "Lift Me Up" because there appear to have been technical issues with Trevor's guitar that seriously delayed his solo. (Although the extra bars shouldn't have been too hard to edit out and mask with a change of viewing angle.)

    Because the drum duet and "Changes" weren't on the 2011 version, I'm wondering if they're from a different evening, copied in to complete the set. Perhaps this will become clearer after I listen to the other discs. Which will take a while because I'm not gonna binge-listen to multiple shows per day.

    The set isn't on Discogs yet - if that doesn't change, and time permits, I might create a listing from my set, but I don't know how much time is going to permit in the near future.

    EDIT:
    The MusicGlue website lists the following concerts:
    Pensacola Civic Centre 9th April 1991
    Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA 17th April 1991
    Nassau Colosseum 20th April 1991
    Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany 31st May 1991 (FM Broadcast)
    Wembley Arena, UK (2 Discs) 29th June 1991 FM Broadcast + Star Lake Amphitheatre 24th July 1991
    Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Wisconsin 26th July 1991
    Madison Square Gardens, NYC 15th July 1991
    Spectrum Theatre, Philadelphia, 12th July 1991
    Shoreline Amphitheatre (Remastered) 8th August 1991
    Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan 4th March 1992

    The actual contents are a little different. There are no discs labeled "Spectrum Theatre, Philadelphia" - maybe THAT was HST610CD? - but the Denver show (CD and presumably pro-shot DVD) is included, but not listed on the site. The Star Lake Amphitheater show (Burgettstown PA) is part of a 4-CD set of "bonus tracks" rather than glued onto the end of the Wembley show as described above.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2021
  6. kanakaris

    kanakaris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    Are these all audience recordings?
     
  7. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    And a live set from the Heaven & Earth your would probably leave you feeling fragile
     
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  8. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    I had a little time to spot-check the discs this evening.

    Mostly. I believe there are seven professionally recorded CDs (Shoreline x 2, Denver x 2, Burgettstown, Stuttgart & Wembley) and two pro-shot DVDs (Shoreline & Denver). The Wembley set is presented out of sequence, with the broadcast tracks on disc 1 and audience recordings of the rest of the show on disc 2. "Awaken" is on both discs. "Lift Me Up" is on the audience disc, even though I'm pretty sure that song was included on the broadcast. Stuttgart is presented as a complete audience recording and about 50 minutes from a radio broadcast. It sounds like a cassette copy of the broadcast (or a copy of a copy) rather than the original radio tape. The other professional recordings sound pretty good, although the Denver mix is rather rough in places. The audience tapes vary in quality but none of them sound stellar.

    In short, the set looks better than it sounds, but there are a few hours of decently recorded concert material for fans like me who consider the 1991 tour one of their best.
     
  9. TwentySmallCigars

    TwentySmallCigars Forum Resident

    As I previously mentioned in this post, the contents are:

    CDx3+DVD: Pensacola Civic Centre 9th April 1991 (4 discs)
    CDx2+DVD: Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA 17th April 1991 (3 discs)
    CDx2+DVD: Nassau Coliseum 20th April 1991 (3 discs)
    CDx3: Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany 31st May 1991 (3 discs)
    CDx2: Wembley Stadium, UK 29th June 1991 (2 discs)
    CDx2+DVD: Madison Square Gardens, NYC 15th July 1991 (3 discs)
    CDx2+DVD McNichols Sports Arena, Denver 9th May 1991 (3 discs)
    CDx2+DVD: Shoreline Amphitheatre 8th August 1991 (3 discs)
    CDx2: Bunka Taiikukan, Yokohama 4th March 1992 (2 discs)
    CDx2: Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Wisconsin 26th July 1991 (2 discs)
    CDx4: Bonus Tracks: Live, Soundchecks, Radio Shows and Rehearsals (4 discs)
    includes:
    Live: Spectrum Theatre, Philadelphia, 12th July 1991
    Soundchecks: Pensacola, 9th April 1991; East Rutherford, 14th April 1991; Montreal, 24th April 1991; Chicago, 5th May, 1991; Phoenix, 11th May 1991; Munich, 30th May 1991; Frankfurt, 29th May 1991; Birmingham, 26th June 1991
    Interviews: 'Up Close', U.S. radio shows

    The MusicGlue website still hasn't been corrected, people should stop looking there for info.

    Got my set yesterday, I know what I'm doing today!
     
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  10. Xavier Gonzalez

    Xavier Gonzalez Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fremont, CA
    Forgive me everyone. I mean no offense but bare with me. This is what I posted on Facebook.

    Received my YES Union Live 30 box set this week. While it's a beautiful package overall, my opinion is it's an overpriced pretty bootleg. Some music is at the wrong speed or mislabeled. And not much was done to improve the sound or video of things that a lot of fans already have. Including me. So I'm glad I kept former versions of different source material.
    On the positive the Shoreline DVD is slightly improved. And it's nice to have the complete show on the two CD's. ( I was there. You can see me in the audience.)

    The pictures and memmoribila were ok but they picked really bad shots.

    Hopefully , the multitracks that were previously mentioned by Steve Howe recorded in 1991 will surface for a real worthy package. Otherwise, buyer beware.

    UPDATE : Hang on to your money. And if you have some of this stuff already, hang on to that as well. What I have looks and sounds better. And You & I is incomplete ( no excuse for that!!) on the Shoreline CD and other shows sound horrible.
    Just being honest. Sorry. Slight buyer remorse.
    For completists only.
     
  11. TwentySmallCigars

    TwentySmallCigars Forum Resident

    I knew exactly what I was ordering and am quite happy with it.
     
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  12. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    What I'll probably do in the near future is compile a complete concert from the Shoreline, Wembley, Denver, and Burgettstown discs onto three CD-Rs and put that on my CD shelf, with the box set stored elsewhere. Shoreline is 98% of a show but I'd need to swap in a complete performance of "And You and I." I'd probably also use alternate performances of "I've Seen All Good People" and "Roundabout," because at Shoreline Tony kept triggering that awful sample of a squealing girl. (Probably because it was the last night of the U.S. tour so people felt entitled to get a little silly - hence the entire road crew parading across the stage with bags over their heads at the beginning of "Saving My Heart.") And Denver doesn't sound quite as good, but it has a few songs like "Hold On" and "Long Distance Runaround" that were dropped later in the tour. (I'm going to omit songs like "City of Love" and "Starship Trooper" that are only on the Pensacola tape, because of the sound quality. Pensacola is a bearable listen on its own, but crossfading it with professional recordings would shine a 1000-watt arc lamp on its shortcomings.)
     
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  13. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    Listening to the Gonzo discs just now, it appears that the drum duet and "Changes" on the Shoreline CD are the Burgettstown versions, copied in here presumably to provide a complete set list. (The disc is 72 minutes long, so there would have been room to swap in a complete "And You And I" - or at least the missing part of the song - from another performance such as Wembley, but they didn't. They just faded in applause at the end of the incomplete track.) The Burgettstown recordings sound just a little bit "off" compared to the higher-quality Shoreline and Wembley tapes. Denver sounds good enough but sometimes spotlight instruments are buried in the mix - for instance, during Rick's solo at the end of "Owner of a Lonely Heart," Rick's keys are obscured by Tony's up-front synth stabs.
     
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  14. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    I'd love to see that, and I know Howe had mentioned the Union tour as a candidate for a Progeny-style box set, but I don't know if the release of this mammoth box set dampens that possibility.

    From Henry Potts's website:
    Where are they now? - Yes
    "On the 2017 Cruise [to the Edge], he said they were considering some sort of follow-up to Progeny, possibly covering the Union tour, where they have around 6 shows they could use." That was four years ago and there's no update on that prospect. The same site indicates that tour promoter Larry Magid "owns the rights to recordings from the tour" and is one of the new box set's executive producers. If that's the case, and they clearly relied on audience and radio tapes rather than any previously unheard multi-tracks, I'm not sure where Howe's proposed set would come from. Even if Howe has the tapes, Magid could be a stumbling block as the rights holder.
     
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  15. plextor

    plextor Forum Resident

    So which audio from this set is professional quality? Not going to pay an arm and leg for mostly bootlegs.
     
  16. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    Shoreline and half of Wembley sound best, Denver has a rough but clean stereo mix. Burgettstown and part of Stuttgart are radio (or soundboard) recordings, possibly a few generations removed from the original tapes. So 7 out of 26 CDs (and 2 out of 5 DVDs) are professionally recorded.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2021
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  17. WhatDoIKnow

    WhatDoIKnow I never got over it, I got used to it

    Location:
    Italy
    Thank you @Xavier Gonzalez for being open and honest and thank you @SJB for being just as helpful to all of us on the fence over this :hugs:
    I remember buying Union the day it came out and I remember loving the heck out of it, totally unaware of the tension that produced that album. Angkor Wat? Yes please! Take The Water To The Mountain? Yes please! I loved all of it!
    Being from Italy, the mere idea of seeing Yes perform live was something I couldn't even dream about at the time. So this mega box set piqued my interest, but I already knew that the tapes simply weren't there - plus I am a Yes fan who decided to skip on Progeny because I can't be bothered with having seven concerts from the same tour. And no remorse for not having bought that either.
    But your posts are helping me and many more like me to get an informed opinion, so thank you both, I appreciate it very much.
     
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  18. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    You're welcome! I was on the fence for a while too. Ultimately I decided that the set was worth it for the professional recordings, and also for the top-notch packaging. (I rarely buy deluxe sets for the packaging, and never do so if I don't want to hear the music they contain, but it's nice to have a few examples.) Also, even though this wasn't exactly a band-issued project, I figure they must be getting some kind of a cut from this set (including songwriting royalties), and Wakeman has actively promoted it, so that provides an incentive that doesn't exist for downloaded or traded bootlegs. And my kid graduated from college a few months ago so a tuition-sized chunk of discretionary income has been freed up.

    It's definitely not a must-buy for every Yes fan, but it is a numbered limited edition, so Gonzo recognizes that there isn't a bottomless demand. (My set is numbered somewhere around 1800, so there are at least a couple thousand out there.)
     
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  19. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Am sure I read somewhere that 3000 where pressed!
     
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  20. highfell

    highfell Forum Resident

    If you don’t know pretty much 98% of this set including the Video (barring the Burgettstown three songs) can be downloaded for free at yessongs.nl
     
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  21. WhatDoIKnow

    WhatDoIKnow I never got over it, I got used to it

    Location:
    Italy
    Thanks, got it the first time around :winkgrin:

    But see, this is where the difference between "I love my music" and "I love my music and I want/need to have it, hold it in my hands" comes in.
    So many listeners are absolutely happy with downloads. Me, if I really like an album, I need to have it. Stupid, I know, but hey, everyone has a hobby and mine, I guess, is collecting LPs, CDs, in the past cassette tapes... I have a few downloads, but that's just because I can't get hold of their physical counterpart. And even then, I will invariably play a CD or LP so much more than I play a download.
    As @SJB says, the layout, the packaging plays a big part. Take the latest incarnation of George Harrison - All Things Must Pass, which came out in a so-called uber edition going for $1.000. Would I ever spend that kind of money? No. Do I envy those who have bought it? Yes. Does this makes sense? No way, Jose. But we are made of contradictions, aren't we? :angel:
     
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  22. misteranderson

    misteranderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    englewood, nj
    I was at Sound Exchange in Wayne, NJ last week and they had the Union Live 30 set.
     
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  23. Trevor Baxter

    Trevor Baxter Member

    Location:
    UK
    I agree! The packaging is excellent. There’s nothing too exciting in the extras but they’re nice to have all the same. Have to admit I now have multiple copies of the tour programme - an original from the Birmingham UK gig plus the ones included with the cd/dvd and vinyl releases of the Shoreline show. Also, the Union programme was basically an expanded version of the one used for the ABWH tour.
    The sound on the audience recordings isn’t great but it’s listenable for the most part and you do get used to it during the course of a listening session.
    For me, a big part of the listening experience is having the physical product in my hand to refer to / enjoy. I find that I often don’t return to a download after the initial listen. I mostly use downloads to determine whether or not I want to buy the physical product. As far as Yes go, I’m a completist. I’ve followed them since the first LP, and I love the music. Also, bootlegs don’t benefit the artists at all and are basically copywrite theft. At least this set will, hopefully, benefit the band members.
     
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  24. Trevor Baxter

    Trevor Baxter Member

    Location:
    UK
    You could compile your own masterworks double CD from the Yesworld website (I think it was Yesworld) for a short time. You chose the tracks you wanted, the order you wanted them in and even your own album title. Roger Dean did the -pretty basic- artwork and the discs were CD-R’s. I still have mine.
     
  25. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    You might be thinking of The Masterworks, which was a do-it-yourself CD available from Imix around 2000. The tracks weren't taken from the Masterworks tour - they were recorded previously (Universal Amphitheater 1997 and House of Blues 1999), and the set was released to coincide with the Masterworks tour. Most of the tracks, from the Ladder tour, were later released on House of Yes. There were a few different choices for the cover art. I remember being a little annoyed that all of the available tracks would have fit on two CD-Rs, but Imix limited the disc length to 70 minutes so you had to leave off one track.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     

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