"Yes" cancels remainder of tour

The "In The Present Tour," featuring Yes' Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White, is cancelling the remaining scheduled shows.

.. ..

Chris underwent surgery on his leg on February 11, 2009. The operation was successful and Chris is on his way to a full recovery. However, Chris has been advised by his physician that he needs a one month rest period, hence the reason for the cancellation of the rest of the tour dates.

.. ..

As previous stated, Chris and the rest of the band wishes to apologize for any inconvenience that this might have caused to their fans and hopes to see them again soon.

Some thoughts on boxed sets...

A few days ago I posted a review of the new Ayreon boxed set, Timeline. It got me to thinking about boxed sets in general. A bunch of progressive rock bands have released (in some cases, several) boxed sets, with varying degrees of success.

What do I mean by success?

That can be measured in so many ways. Certainly commercial sales is one way, but come on…this is prog. More importantly are artistic degrees of success and content. A label can repackage an artist’s catalogue, but if the artist him (or her) self is involved, the results are often superior. Related to that would be the contents of the set…is it a simple collection of previously released material, or is it filled up with interesting stuff that we may never have heard before?

The following is a smattering of boxed sets that I’ve found to offer very good value for one reason or another.


King Crimson – Epitaph, The Great Deceiver. Sure, they released one of the better career retrospective boxed sets in Frame by Frame. But save for the fourth disc of live material and a few curious edits (re-recording vocals and bass on "Cadence and Cascade" and "Bolero" respectively, among others), FxF doesn’t offer a huge amount to the hardcore Crimhead. Better to look at Epitaph, a 4-CD set of material from the first incarnation of the band (including some awesome BBC session stuff), or The Great Deceiver, 4 discs of concert material from 1973-1974. Both are well nigh essential…the first really allowed people to re-evaluate the first band and what they were capable of, while the second showed the 1973-1974 band for what they were…perhaps the first progressive metal band, and one who could jam as well. Awesome stuff all the way around.

Genesis – Archive 1968-1975. Full Lamb Lies Down concert? Check. Another disc of live material from the Selling England period, along with some hard to find B-sides? Sure, why not? An entire disc of material from the Genesis to Revelations era? Well…interesting, to be certain. It’s a shame the band didn’t visit this idea for the second boxed set (1976-1992)…if they had, I’d recommend both. Add in some excellent liner notes and recollections from all parties involved, and I am more than willing to overlook the re-recorded bits (yes, it was hard to mic Gabriel when he was in the Slipperman costume, but…). Now, all we need to find is a previously unknown high quality professionally filmed Lamb show and release it on DVD…that sound you hear is the sound of 500,000 devoted Genesis fans combusting spontaneously in thought…

Magma – Trilogie au Triannon. It’s tempting to say you need no more Magma than this. This is the essence…the first trilogy from Christian Vander and his Kobaian band mates. MDK, Wurdah Itah, Theusz Hamtaakh…Orff-ian, minimalistic, orchestral, intense. You get lyrics! You can sing along! It sounds like I making fun of this, but…I’m not. Magma is one of my favourite bands ever, and this boxed set is one of the best ways to discover what this underrated band has to offer. Not many groups can claim to have created a whole genre of music…Magma did just that. Essential. Essential in extremis.

Frank Zappa – The MOFO Project/Object. Zappa’s had a bunch of things that could be considered a boxed set. Lather is one, one might consider the YCDTOSA series as one, especially if you have the road case to put the volumes in. But that one was released in 6 individual releases, while Lather is more a repackaging than anything else. MOFO is…more. Yes, you have the original Freak Out! Album, but it’s a mix no one has heard in almost ever. Plus loads of studio sessions, outtakes, interviews…it gives the listener a great look into Zappa in 1966, the Mothers of Invention at their early onset, and it smokes to boot. I am not too keen on the packaging (the plastic seems to stick a little bit), but it’s an impressive looking thing, to be sure. And the music matches it.

Echolyn – A Little Nonsense. Yes, I wish the debut release were in print by itself. Same with …and every blossom, or When the Sweet Turns Sour. But we get all of them here, along with some remakes of older songs, some outtakes, and so on. 3 discs, a bugger of a package (yes, it looks all nice, but the discs can be a beast to get out carefully), and a nice booklet that offers up some historical background to the music in hand. If you’ve got everything else the band released and are missing these, get the box. It’s less expensive by far than trying to dredge up an original pressing of the debut, which at one point was selling for $200 or more.

Renaissance – Da Capo. A bit slight at only 2 CDs, this set is, however, what the old Sire released Tales of 1001 Nights dreamed it could be. More inclusive by far, it covers the old Keith Relf era of the band up through unreleased material from the Time Line/Camera Camera era band. The booklet is informative, there’s some great photos of the band from throughout the life of the group, and over all, it’s the best package a Renaissance fan has right now. It serves as a great intro to the band for those unfamiliar with their glorious classically influenced progressive rock. And really…you can never have too much Annie Haslam.

Emerson Lake and Palmer – Where do I go here? I don’t have the most recently released boxed set, so I am limited to looking at The Return of the Manticore and the 3 Bootleg Boxes. The original 4 CD boxed set really only offered up one disc of interest to hardcore fans…the first, with some reworkings of songs from each band member’s past (i.e., a Crimson cover, a Nice cover, an Arthur Brown cover), as well as a reworking of Pictures at an Exhibition. There’s a few previously unreleased live tracks tossed in to spice things up, but overall, this is pretty much a career retrospective and not much more. The bootleg boxes are illuminating, and occasionally offer up some great sounding live recordings (the pair from 1992 and 1993 specifically), but in the end they are for absolute die hard fans only, the ones who can handle listening to a recording that is muffled or imperfect in order to hear the band taking risks.

I have a hard time with Yes. All I really have is the old YesYears set. I do not have In a Word, nor do I have The Word is Live. So I can’t recommend either of those. And YesYears…out of print, out of date (only covers up to Union), and some curious selections in tracks. Not a lot of unreleased goodies either…and very unessential now that Rhino has repackaged and re-released all the original studio albums with a plethora of bonus tracks and stuff.


I'll probably revisit this subject in a few days as well, once I've had a chance to mull over a few other boxed sets and artists...watch this space!

In The Present - opening night set list

Potential spoilers, so once again there'll be many carriage returns between this introductory paragraph and the meat of the piece. What follows is the opening night set list from the In The Present tour, featuring Steve Howe/Alam White/Chris Squire of Yes, along with Oliver Wakeman and Benoit David.

Don't say I didn't warn you about the spoilers:

















(spoiler space)













1st Set:
Firebird Suite
Siberian Khatru
I've Seen All Good People
Heart of the Sunrise
Tempus Fugit
Onward
Astral Traveller
Close To The Edge

2nd Set:
Parallels
And You and I
Mood For a Day
Clap
Owner of a Lonely Heart
Long Distance Runaround/The Fish
New Song by Chris- Aliens are Only Us From the Future
Machine Messiah
Soon
South Side of the Sky

Encore:
Roundabout

New Jon Anderson interview

Dan of Classic Rock Forever sent me a link to this exclusive and recent interview with Jon Anderson. Some interesting information in here, and one that I think a lot of you may find enlightening.

Follow the link to read on.

USA Today article about Yes

Thanks to the people at ProgressiveEars for bringing this one to my attention.

There's a reasonable article about the current Yes/In the Present activities available on their website. It really doesn't tell us much about the situation that most of us don't already know (save perhaps for this quote from Chris Squire about Jon Anderson's current mood/thoughts on the tour: "I think what we're doing now, he's pretty much giving us his blessing,"), but it's still nice to see a major publication/website dedicating some screen inches to a prog band.

Now, if they gave this much space to an article about Art Bears or Harmonium, we'd have something to cheer about ;-)

In any event, click the link to read the article.

Yes announce benefit concert

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 27, 2008—With the eagerly anticipated 30-city “In the Present” tour getting underway Nov. 4 in Ontario, band members Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White of YES have agreed to donate a portion of proceeds from their Nov. 23 concert at Albany’s Times Union Center to STRIDE Adaptive Sports.

The volunteer, non-profit organization provides more than 3,500 adaptive sport and recreation lessons annually to children and individuals with special needs with 200 instructors serving 850 families, offering free programs in 15 different activities and locations. STRIDE is an affiliate member of Disabled Sports USA, Professional Ski Instructors of America and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors; and an official Red Cross Provider.

The members of YES will donate $10 from every $38.50 ticket sold to STRIDE for their Fourth Annual Wounded Warrior Snowsports Event, with 15 members of the armed forces who have sustained permanent injuries during their service brought to the Albany area on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 for a weekend of Adaptive Skiing and Snowboarding at Jiminy Peak, Mountain Resort.

All funds from ticket sales will go directly to cover the cost of transportation, lodging, food, clothing, entertainment and gifts for the Wounded Warriors and their families.

The event will open at Michael’s Banquet House in Latham, N.Y., with dinner and entertainment on Feb. 27, 2009, with tickets available for $30 to the public. For more information on the event, visit STRIDE’s website at www.stride.org. To purchase tickets to the YES concert, contact Katie Moshier at the STRIDE offices in Rensselaer, N.Y., at kmoshier@stride.org.

“We are delighted to lend our hand to this very worthy organization,” said the band. “We are glad to do what we can to support the officers and soldiers who have sacrificed so much to defend their country.”

The “In the Present” tour, which will hit a total of 30 cities in November and December, features Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White playing selections from hit albums like Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans and 90125 along with audience favorites like “Roundabout,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “I’ve Seen All Good People,” some of the enduring classics that have made YES the most influential and groundbreaking progressive group in rock & roll.

The tour will get underway at the Hamilton Place Theater in Hamilton, ON, on Nov. 4 and run through Dec. 17 at the Hard Rock Casino in Miami., featuring guitarist Howe, bassist Squire and drummer White, joined by keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, the son of YES’ Rick Wakeman, and vocalist Benoit David, a Montreal, Quebec, native and vocalist in several YES tribute groups, who was discovered by the band on the Internet and invited on the tour.

The group’s itinerary includes performances at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Nov. 14, Baltimore’s Ram’s Head Live Nov. 16, Cleveland’s House of Blues Nov. 25, Detroit’s Fillmore on Nov. 26, Cincinnati’s Taft Theater Nov. 29, St. Louis’ The Pageant Dec. 2, Chicago’s Chicago Theater Dec. 3, Atlanta’s The Tabernacle Dec. 7, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium Dec. 10 and Orlando’s Hard Rock Live Nov. 14, with more dates to be announced.

Thoughts on Richard Wright and Yes

A few brief thoughts…

I’ve gotten e-mails and comments elsewhere asking why I haven’t written about two particular topics that have been fairly heavily discussed in progressive music circles recently.

The first of these topics is the recent death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright. My honest answer here is this; while his passing is of course sudden, and tragic, and pretty much puts the final nail in the Pink Floyd coffin (and oh how difficult it is to use that analogy here and now), I simply have no real emotional response. I am sad that he is gone, and that his musical voice has been silenced. His recent work with David Gilmour touring On An Island showed him to be happy, motivated and re-energised in playing and singing. “Wearing the Inside Out” on The Division Bell showed his songwriting voice to be back…not as whimsical as he was as a young man, perhaps the flip side of the young man playing in the summer that we saw in “Remember a Day.”

So yes, I am sad he is gone. But I have no other pithy, philosophical statements to make. I never saw PF live (had my chances in 1988/1989 and 1994, and passed due to show size and cost), and while I have the videos and albums, that’s as far as my connection goes. I was probably more upset over the passing of Roger Keith Barrett…not to belittle Richard Wright’s contributions to PF or his importance, but…it’s my position, and I am sticking to it.


The second subject is the “In The Present” tour with Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White of Yes, with Oliver Wakeman (son of Rick) and Benoit David replacing Jon Anderson. Jon has been very clear in expressing his opinion on the situation:

“And I feel very disrespected, having spent most of this year creating songs and constant ideas for the band, spending time with Roger Dean creating a stage design, also working with VH1 and Sirius and XM Radio to help promote the welfare of YES.”

There’s been thousands…perhaps tens of thousands…of words spent debating this subject on various mailing lists, forums, et cetera. And I am not sure what I can say or add to the discussion that in any way makes a difference…save for the fact that several people have, again, asked me why I haven’t written about it or expressed my viewpoint.

So here it is.

Yes has existed without Jon Anderson before (Drama). Yes has gone through more line-up changes than some major league baseball teams over their history…casting aside musicians without a thought when someone better or more appropriate (or more available) came along. Yes was incredibly active from 1996 through 2004, releasing 3 standalone studio albums (Open Your Eyes, The Ladder, Magnification), two mixed live/studio albums (Keys to Ascension I and II), 1 standalone live album (Live at the House of Blues), and several live DVDs. They toured heavily, every year almost, from 1997 through 2004, with the 2002-2004 tours not being in support of any new material. And none of the guys is getting any younger: Alan is the youngest of the White/Squire/Anderson/Howe quartet at 59…Jon is oldest at 63.

I understand the other three’s motivations for wanting to play out…this is the 40th anniversary of the band’s formation, and that is cause for celebration. For many people, Jon Anderson IS Yes…his voice is the one thing most people immediately recognise as being Yes. Touring without that voice, and his long, winding, easy to get lost in talks between songs, his dedications to Janeeee his wife, his pixie-ish persona, is like touring without a big part of what many people identify as Yes.

Personally, I almost prefer that Howe/Squire/White toured under a different name, similar to how Iommi/Butler/Appice/Dio tour as Heaven and Hell, not Black Sabbath (despite the fact that they are really Black Sabbath…or at least a line-up of Sabbath that had historical precedence). While some tour dates are being listed as Howe/Squire/White of Yes: In the Present, many dates are being advertised as simply Yes. Touring as Drama, or The Affirmatives, or anything else, might not have had the economic strength of touring as Yes, but would perhaps be more clear to casual fans that expect Jon Anderson, “Roundabout,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart” that this is not necessarily Yes…even though it’s 3/5 of Yes, and playing Yes music. It would be fairer to Benoit David, who is being touted as not Jon Anderson’s replacement by Chris Squire (“This isn't an attempt to replace Jon Anderson, because as we all know, that would be impossible.”), and yet in the press has been called the new lead singer of Yes. And it may have gone a long way toward mollifying Jon Anderson, who currently feels disrespected as quoted above.

But this is Yes. And Yes has never been anything but a band filled with dissension, difficulty, occasional hostility, and various/sundry fractures and break-ups. It will be interesting to see how ticket sales go, how the tour goes, and what this means for future Yes activity.

Yes - In The Present Tour details

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25, 2008—YES concerts have always been very special events, and this winter’s “In the Present” tour, hitting a total of 30 cities in November and December, will be no different, as Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White play selections from hit albums like Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans and 90125 along with audience favorites like “Roundabout,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “I’ve Seen All Good People,” some of the enduring classics that have made YES the most influential and groundbreaking progressive group in rock & roll.

The tour will get underway at the Hamilton Place Theater in Hamilton, ON, on Nov. 4 and run through Dec. 17 at the Hard Rock Casino in Miami., featuring guitarist Howe, bassist Squire and drummer White, joined by keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, the son of YES’ Rick Wakeman, and vocalist Benoit David, a Montreal, Quebec, native and vocalist in several YES tribute groups, who was discovered by the band on the Internet and invited on the tour.

The group’s itinerary includes performances at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Nov. 14, Baltimore’s Ram’s Head Live Nov. 16, Cleveland’s House of Blues Nov. 25, Detroit’s Fillmore on Nov. 26, Cincinnati’s Taft Theater Nov. 29, St. Louis’ The Pageant Dec. 2, Chicago’s Chicago Theater Dec. 3, Atlanta’s The Tabernacle Dec. 7, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium Dec. 10 and Orlando’s Hard Rock Live Nov. 14, with more dates to be announced.

Over the course of a remarkable 40-year career that has time and again redefined the boundaries of rock, YES have become renowned for their live performances since being formed in 1968 by Chris Squire and Jon Anderson, who shared a mutual interest in vocal harmonies and classical music. With drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist Peter Banks and keyboardist Tony Kaye, they became YES, earning a residency at the famed London venue The Marquee Club, where they played with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, releasing their self-titled debut album in July 1969.

Guitarist Steve Howe, who went on to play in the popular prog-rock groups Asia and GTR and continues releasing acclaimed solo albums and touring, brought an experimental cutting edge to YES for their 1970’s The Yes Album, their first album to top the UK charts. Drummer Alan White, who had been hand-picked to play on John Lennon’s Imagine and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, came aboard in 1972. YES then went on to conquer America and played at some of the largest paid attendance concerts of all time, including JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in 1976 to a crowd of over 130,000 people.

A dominant force in rock music for more than four decades, YES has created some of rock’s most enduring and compelling hits, selling more than 30 million albums worldwide. The group has defined music history with their dynamic instrumental contrasts and abstract lyrics. Their symphonic use of sound and innovative musical styles continues to make them the most successful progressive rock band in history and their amazing career continues to defy many of their rock counterparts.

Says Chris Squire: ‘In the Present’ perfectly describes our experience in rediscovering these songs all over again while performing them in concert, as if for the very first time.”

“IN THE PRESENT” TOUR DATES

Nov. 4: Hamilton Place Theater, Hamilton, ON

Nov. 5: Massey Hall, Toronto, ON

Nov. 7: Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton Beach, NH

Nov. 8: Community Arts Center, Williamsport, PA

Nov. 9: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT

Nov. 11: Hershey Theater, Hershey, PA

Nov. 12: The LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH

Nov. 14: Hammerstein Ballroom, NY, NY

Nov. 15: Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ

Nov. 16: Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD

Nov. 18: Sovereign PAC, Reading, PA

Nov. 19: The National, Richmond, VA

Nov. 21: Borgata Events Center, Atlantic City, NJ

Nov. 22: Theatre @ Westbury, Westbury, NY

Nov. 23: Theatre @Times Union Center, Albany, NY

Nov. 25: House of Blues, Cleveland, OH

Nov. 26: The Fillmore, Detroit, MI

Nov. 28: Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH

Nov. 29: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI

Nov. 30: US Cellular Center, Bloomington, IL

Dec. 2: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO

Dec. 3: Chicago Theater, Chicago, IL

Dec. 6: House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC

Dec. 7: The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA

Dec. 9: Palace Theater, Louisville, KY

Dec. 10: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN

Dec. 14: Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL

Dec. 15: Ruth Eckerd, Clearwater, FL

Dec. 17: Hard Rock Casino, Miami, FL

Yes tour canceled

NEW YORK, NY, JUNE 4, 2008 -– Legendary rock band Yes announced today that the group will unfortunately be canceling their 2008 40th Anniversary Tour. The 26-city tour was scheduled to kick off in Quebec next month and run through the summer.

Said Jon Anderson, “In the wake of my recent respiratory attack, doctors have advised me to spend the coming months resting and recovering. Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to tour with Yes this summer as originally planned. I'd like everyone know how deeply disappointed I am by this turn of events. I was looking forward to celebrating our music with the amazing family of Yes fans once again; but as we all know, health must come before anything else. Wishing you all the very best...”

Said Chris Squire, “We were all looking forward to performing for our fans after a prolonged leave of absence from touring. I am especially regretful of the fact that I know many of our fans and friends have probably laid out non-refundable airfares and hotels, etc. in order to enjoy the Yes shows this summer. Please join me in wishing Jon a speedy return to health, which at this point in time is our main concern.”

Yes frontman and founding member Jon Anderson was admitted to the hospital last month after suffering a severe asthma attack. He has now been diagnosed with acute respiratory failure and was told by doctors this weekend that he needs to rest and not work for a period of at least six months or suffer further health complications. Upon receiving this news the band has determined that their tour plans need to be put on hold.

Ticket refunds will be available at the point of purchase.

End of May 2008 gnosis2000 top 20

Been a while since I posted this, but...here's the current top 20 rated albums from the gnosis2000 rating site (covering prog/art rock/fusion/jazz/et cetera):

1) Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Darwin! Ita
2) King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King Eng
3) King Crimson Larks Tongues In Aspic Eng
4) Genesis Selling England By The Pound Eng
5) Premiata Forneria Marconi Per Un Amico Ita
6) Änglagård Hybris Swe
7) Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Io Sono Nato Libero Ita
8) Hatfield and The North Rotter's Club Eng
9) Genesis Foxtrot Eng
10) National Health Of Queues And Cures Eng

11) Yes Close to the Edge Eng
12) Hatfield and The North Hatfield and The North Eng
13) Coltrane, John The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (box) USA
14) Van der Graaf Generator Pawn Hearts Eng
15) Gentle Giant In A Glass House Eng
16) Premiata Forneria Marconi Storia Di Un Minuto Ita
17) Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Ita
18) Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick Eng
19) Davis, Miles Kind of Blue USA
20) Magma Hhai/Live Fra

When I last posted (February 2008), the following were the top 10:

1) King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King Eng 1969
2) Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Darwin! Ita 1972
3) King Crimson Larks Tongues In Aspic Eng 1973
4) Änglagård Hybris Swe 1992
5) Genesis Selling England By The Pound Eng 1973
6) Hatfield and The North Rotter's Club Eng 1975
7) Premiata Forneria Marconi Per Un Amico Ita 1972
8) Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Io Sono Nato Libero Ita 1973
9) Genesis Foxtrot Eng 1972
10) National Health Of Queues And Cures Eng 1978

So, outside of a reshuffling of titles, the top ten remains consistent.

Several various updates (Yes, NEARfest Records)

YES:

This has been circulating some, but for the benefit of anyone who may not yet have seen it, the following was published by Billboard:

Even as it prepares for its 40th anniversary tour this summer, Yes is working on new material, frontman Jon Anderson has revealed to Billboard.

Anderson says the progressive rock heroes are preparing four new songs of the "opus" variety -- lengthy, multi-movement compositions along the lines of Close to the Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans.

"They're very, very different," Anderson says. "It'll be interesting when we perform them, because we know that we want to try and perform them in a unique fashion."

But Anderson adds that he's not sure those songs will wind up comprising Yes' first set of new material since 2001's Magnification. "Putting together an album really isn't logical anymore," he notes. "Putting together a large piece of music or something that is really a jump in a musical direction takes a lot of commitment from everybody.... But maybe during the tour we will discuss making some new music."

Anderson says he'd also be amenable to some sort of reunion of the Yes lineup that made the group's triple-platinum 1983 smash 90125 as well as 1987's Big Generator and 1994's Talk. He and Trevor Rabin, the guitarist and co-producer in that incarnation of the band, have been in discussions about "maybe touring some of that '80s-period music, because it was very special." But Anderson says he and Rabin aren't necessarily thinking about resurrecting that version of Yes as a recording entity. "I wouldn't do it, like, Yes," Anderson explains. "I'd do it like me and Trevor aspiring to be the two of us making music and see what we come up with.

The Yes anniversary tour kicks off July 12 at the Festival d'ete de Quebec in Quebec City.



NEARfest Records:

Chad Hutchinson posted the following at ProgressiveEars regarding future releases:

2006 (DVD) is next on the plan, but time permits too much being done at that moment. I'll have plenty of time in my "retirement" to focus on it.

A 2007 DVD is a different animal as neither headliner allowed recording of any kind. We're not sure of the wide-spread appeal of a product from '07 without Magma and Hawkwind on it. Another option though, is to do a combo '06-'07 DVD. We'll see. It depends on the response from '06 bands for the most part, especially Mr. (Keith) Emerson.

2008 is in progress. In theory, I think they'll all agree to it. Recording agreements for both audio and video will be sent out in the next week or so.

My focus, NFR-wise, right now is to get the live PRR (Pure Reason Revolution) CD designed and manufactured in time for NFX. Gonna be tight!

YES: Close to the Edge and Back Tour dates

Close to the Edge and Back Tour

North America 2008
July 12: Quebec City, QUE - Quebec City Festival
July 13: Toronto, ONT - Molson Amphitheatre
July 15: Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
July 16: Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium & Star Pavilion
July 18: Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
July 19: Detroit, MI - Freedom Hill
July 22: Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
July 23: Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
July 25: Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Event Center
July 26: Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
July 28: Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
July 29: Baltimore, MD - Pier 6 Pavilion
July 31: Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
Aug 1: Miami, FL - Hard Rock Live Arena
Aug 2: Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
Aug 4: Atlanta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
Aug 6: Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
Aug 8: Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug 9: Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
Aug 11: Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug 14: Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
Aug 15: Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater at Qwest Field Events Center
Aug 19: Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
Aug 20: Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
Aug 22: Universal City, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre

Yes in 2008? Speculation

While I generally do not like to deal in speculation, there's enough stuff flying around to make this worthy of note here. Much of this information has been compiled on Henry Pott's Yes (Where are They Now) page, located HERE.

Some snippets:

Yes to re-group with a world tour
Yes have new management and are in negotiations around a North American tour this summer, coinciding with their 40th anniversary.

Who will be in the band?
The band will include Anderson, Squire, Howe and White, but it appears that they will be without Rick Wakeman. Reports suggest that Oliver Wakeman, Rick's eldest son, will plays keys instead. The key point of contention seems to have been the length of the tour. Chatting with fans after a solo show in early Nov, Wakeman confirmed he had been in discussions with the others about touring in 2008 and that he wants to do a tour, but that they could not agree on what form the tour should take. He explained that he is limiting himself to 25 shows a year, but that the others want to do a tour of over 100 dates. He was quoted as saying, "They're mad—Jon's voice would never stand up to it." Wakeman has semi-retired from touring.

New music
New music is also planned: in a late 2007 interview, Squire said:

"The thing about Yes is we've always challenged ourselves to do different things, bring different things out, approach music differently, and stretch the boundaries of our capabilities under the banner of it being Yes. Next time when we're in the studio, which might be in a years' time or something like that, I'm sure we'll look at certain ways of doing things in a different fashion. Some things will work, some won't - but we'll give it a go."

Set list
In a Nov 2007 Notes from the Edge interview, asked what he saw as the major goal for Yes in 2008, Squire said, "Well, it would just be nice to playing to people again and that stuff. Hope everyone has a good time, enjoys it. As far as an actual set list, we haven't really discussed that yet."

There's loads more information on the site linked above which goes into some greater depth on the whole evolving situation.