Yes: Keys To Ascension DVD

[kmh364]

I just got the other $6 DVD from DeepDiscount DVD.com (i.e., ELP Live At The Royal Albert Hall...see my review here in the misc threadsection): it's the Yes: Keys To Ascension disc. It was recorded in '96 at the Freemont Theatre in S.L.O. CA, and features the classic Yes line-up of Howe, Squire, Anderson, White, and yes, Wakeman!  
 
The performance is sublime, the sound is excellent, and the vid quality is decent. There's a bunch of artsy-fartsy cheapo video effects, editing, and stylistic nonsense, but for $6 beans, I couldn't go wrong. As a bonus, the band looks much less banged-up as this was nearly ten years past, LOL! It was originally released in 2000, but I don't know if that was VHS, LD, or DVD. It appears this is a new release on DVD, as I pre-ordered it, but I don't know if that means this is an initial or re-issued DVD release.  
 
It's got the entire Close to the Edge album, Starship Troopers, Roundabout, Going For the One/Turn of the Century/Awaken (from the Going For the One LP), Time And A Word, America and others. It's a good couple of hours worth of great tunes, so there it is.
 
Enjoy!
 
Kevin

[David Houck]

The reviews for this DVD on Amazon are all over the board.

[darkstar01]

No Bruford? Wasn't he the original drummer?

[chuckc]

Bruford left after the Close to the Edge album.

[the_mule]

Apparently this DVD has been around in Europe for a longer time, because I own it at least a year, but it is indeed splendid. I can also recommend 'Live at the House of Yes' with that hugely talented young Russian keyboard player (I unfortunately forgot his name) replacing Rick Wakeman...
 
Wilfred

[valvil]

I've had that DVD for about a year too, got it here in the US.  Good one. Those guys still rock.
 
Valentino

[jacko]

I've had the Keys DVD for at least 5 years so I'm really surprised it's taken so long to come out in the US.
See if you can get the Symphonic Live DVD. Apart from being one of the best performances I've been in the last ten years, the european youth orchestra (i think) look to be having a fantastic time and are really digging the music, especially the oboe and clarinet players.
Wilfred, it was Igor Koroshev (sp?) replaced by Tom Brislin for the symphonic tour.
 
Graeme

[kmh364]

Graeme:
 
I think you're close enough on the spelling of Igor's last name, LOL! I saw him during the Symphonic Yes tour in NJ, in Sept. '01, right after the WTC terrorist attack. It was an excellent show, despite the somber mood of the crowd.  
 
I own the Symphonic DVD and it is excellent...too bad it wasn't with Wakeman (no disrespect to Tom intended).  
 
As far as the Amazon.com reviews of this disc go, I stand by my assessment. The vid production leaves much to be desired, but the performance and sound are right on. Add the ridiculously low price I paid for this DVD and we have a winner, LOL!
 
Hell, even bad Yes is better than 99% of the sheissedreck being produced today.

[kmh364]

Question:
 
Does anybody know if that documentary(?) of Yes that came out around the time of the Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe and Yes Union albums is available on DVD. That's the one where they had a tour and combined old/new Yes into one group for a performance. It was Bruford and White on drums, Howe and Trevor Rabin on guitar(s), Wakeman and Tony Kaye on Keys, yadda, yadda.  
 
Anybody know what the H*ll I'm talking about here, or did I dream it up? I saw it on Pay Per View ca. the early-90's. I'd love to get that for myself.

[jacko]

It was 'YesYears' and is available on dvd. Play.com have it in region 2
http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=R2M&title=111594&p=25&g=25&pa=sr
 
but i don't know if it's available in the US on region1.
 
Graeme

[kmh364]

Is that on Yes Years? Are you sure? I have the CD box set (I bought it when it came out). My ex-wife bought me the VHS companion vid not long thereafter, but I haven't seen it in many years. I had almost forgotten about that vid.

[jacko]

Yes,I'm sure. I have it on VHS aswell. Over 2 hours of interviews and archive footage from inception to 1991. Wakeman's reasons for leaving the band are particularly insightful and Brufords snide comments (possibly tongue in cheek, who knows?) show a whole different side to Jon 'peace and love' anderson.
 
graeme

[kmh364]

Yes, I do recall that Bill was particularly frank about his assessments of the band and his bandmates. He did come across as being too good for their type of music.  
 
He left for King Crimson after Close To The Edge stating that he didn't wanna do a CTTE II. Unfortunately, as good as they were, anything he did with King Crimson wasn't as good as what he did with YES IMHO.

[88persuader]

King Crimson and Yes?? You can't compair them. Generally Yes is spacy and positive and Crimson is intense and DARK. From what I read in a Modern Drummer years ago in a Bruford interview the main reason he left Yes was he didn't want to work with Chris Squire anymore. He more or less said Chris was acting like a STAR sometimes showing up 5 hours late for scheduled recording days and sometimes not at all during the Close to the Edge sessions. As far as what isn't as good as that's really a personal preference. I LOVE Yes but honestly I feel that King Crimson is much more to my liking. More intense, more polyrythms, more original. And lets not forget UK and the Bill Bruford band with Jeff Berlin on bass. Talk about an amazing band and amazing bass player!!!! BUT again it's all a matter of taste. To each their own. Oh and I think ALL musicians put their foot in there mouths at times. I remember an interview with Jon Andreson where he made reference to Yes talking about the one album they putout without him. (I forget the title but it was an AWESOME album.) And he said it was a good album but more or less said it didn't sell because without him Yes is nothing. (Not a quote but what I got from his statement) In a way he's right, he's Yes's VOICE and heart ... but it still made him sound a little like a jerk. Oh one other thing ... I have Yes's Keys to Ascension and although i enjoy it one thing bothers me. The music is OFTEN out of sinc with the video ... that really bugs me. Yes at The house of YES is much better ... in MY opinion. It's honest to god live with no special effects and the sound and video are hard wired together. NOW they need to get Chris Squire to play an Alembic! :-)

[kmh364]

I like King Crimson, and the majority of Prog. Rock, myself. I just don't feel that any of their stuff (excepting In The Court Of the Crimson King, which Bruford didn't play on) lends itself to repeat listening like Yes's stuff does, IMHO. That is to say, I don't find myself humming Crimson tunes like I do Yes's stuff. Like you said: it's just a matter of personal taste and no reflection on anyone else's taste or preferrences.
 
I personally find that most of the British Art Rockers, including Yes and Crimson members, do tend to be pompous a**es at least some of the time. Hell, I guess if I could compose and play like those guys, I'd probably be arrogant as well, LOL!
 
I think the best quote from Jon Anderson came during an interview that I remember as being on the Yes Years video...he stated that in response to a music critic that had derided the band in a written review saying something on the order of What's next? Yes sets the Bible to music? to which he replied I'll show you, Sucker! and proceeded to write the ponderous Tales From Topographic Earth, LOL!
 
(Message edited by kmh364 on August 12, 2005)