Yessongs

Infobox Album
Name = Yessongs
Type = Live album
Artist = Yes


Released = 18 May 1973
Recorded = 1972
Genre = Progressive rock
Length = 2:09:55
Label = Atlantic Records
Producer = Yes and Eddie Offord
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1e0qoatabij9 link]
*"Rolling Stone" (not rated) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/yes/albums/album/231838/review/5941832/yessongs link]
Last album = "Close to the Edge" (1972)
This album = "Yessongs" (1973)
Next album = "Tales from Topographic Oceans" (1973)

"Yessongs" is the first live album by the British progressive rock group Yes and was released in 1973. It mostly documents the tour for the album "Close to the Edge" but also features two tracks ("Perpetual Change" and "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish") recorded during the previous "Fragile" tour. "Yessongs" was originally a 3-disc set on vinyl, but is now a double CD.

History

The "Fragile" tour track "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)," and the song "Perpetual Change" from "The Yes Album" are the only tracks on the album to feature Yes's original drummer, Bill Bruford, who left the group after recording "Close to the Edge". For that album's tour, Yes were joined by drummer Alan White, who remains with the band to this day. White was only three years into his career as a session drummer, but had already worked with such notable acts as The Plastic Ono Band and Joe Cocker.

The album opens with an excerpt from Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite", which has been a standard opening Yes concerts ever since. Later in the album, vocalist Jon Anderson briefly sings a passage from Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring".

All band members except Anderson and White are given extended solo space. The track "Mood for a Day" is an unaccompanied guitar performance by Steve Howe, who also takes extended solos during "Yours Is No Disgrace" and at the end of the "Würm" section of "Starship Trooper", which might be considered his best electric guitar showcase on the album. The "Yessongs" version of "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" is considerably longer than the studio version on "Fragile", with bassist Chris Squire taking an extended solo (and jamming with Bruford) in mid-song. Bill Bruford performs a drum solo on "Perpetual Change," which is preceded by an extended guitar performance by Howe accompanied by Bruford and Squire. The album also contains a medley of excerpts from Rick Wakeman's debut solo album "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", and Wakeman's keyboards add much to the tracks when compared to the studio albums, particularly "Starship Trooper" and "Roundabout".

The album showcases Yes' ability to breathe new life into their songs in live performances which made them a top concert draw. Some songs are extended to almost double the length of their studio counterparts as well as given a more high-octane performance. Guitarist Steve Howe offers an extended improvised guitar solo on "Yours Is No Disgrace," a last-minute decision.

The album was initially released on three discs in a unique fold-out package featuring artwork by Roger Dean. Inside are four individual panels by Dean which continue a theme that began with "Fragile" in 1971. On the back cover of "Fragile" is an image of a small planet breaking apart into several large pieces with a giant sailing spacecraft nearby. The first panel in "Yessongs", titled "Escape", shows the craft apparently leading the planetary fragment through space. The second panel ("Arrival") depicts these fragments landing in the waters of a new world. In the third image ("Awakening") this new landscape becomes the habitat for various plant and animal species. The final image ("Pathways") depicts the emergence of civilization (Dean's cat walked across this piece whilst still wet and can be clearly seen). This theme is also the basis of the film "Floating Islands". The sailing craft was used as a small logo on many of the band's subsequent albums, and the image sequence inspired Yes vocalist Jon Anderson's first solo album "Olias of Sunhillow" in 1976, although Roger Dean was not involved with that album's artwork.

Yessongs Concert Film

A film, also titled "Yessongs", was released in 1973. It documents their concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre on Christmas night, 1972. The only part common to recording and film is "Close To the Edge", and "Würm", the final movement of "Starship Trooper", recorded at the Rainbow.
#"Overture"
#"I've Seen All Good People"
#"Clap"
#"And You and I"
#"Close to the Edge"
#"Excerpts from 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'"
#"Roundabout"
#"Yours Is No Disgrace"
#"Würm" (excerpt from "Starship Trooper")

On December 17 1997, the film was released on DVD with Dolby.

Track listing

CD Track listing

Disc one

# "Opening (excerpt from 'Firebird Suite')" (Igor Stravinsky) – 3:47
# "Siberian Khatru" (Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman) – 9:03
# "Heart of the Sunrise" (Anderson, Bill Bruford, Chris Squire) – 11:33
# "Perpetual Change" (Anderson, Squire) – 14:11
# "And You and I" (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire) – 9:33
## "Cord of Life"
## "Eclipse" (Anderson, Bruford, Squire)
## "The Preacher the Teacher"
## "Apocalypse"
# "Mood for a Day" (Howe) – 2:53
# "Excerpts from 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'" (Wakeman) – 6:37
# ”Roundabout" (Anderson, Howe) – 8:33

Disc two

# "" (Anderson, Squire) – 7:09
## "" (Anderson)
## "All Good People" (Squire)
# "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Anderson, Squire) – 13:37
## "Long Distance Runaround" (Anderson)
## "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Squire)
# "Close to the Edge" (Anderson, Howe) – 18:13
## "The Solid Time of Change"
## "Total Mass Retain"
## "I Get Up I Get Down" (Anderson, Squire)
## "Seasons of Man"
# "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Tony Kaye, Squire) – 14:23
# "Starship Trooper" (Anderson, Squire, Howe) – 10:08
## "Life Seeker" (Anderson)
## "Disillusion" (Squire)
## "Würm" (Howe)

Original LP Track listing

"For songwriting credits, see above."

ide one

#"Opening (excerpt from 'Firebird Suite')" - 3:47
#"Siberian Khatru" - 9:03
#"Heart of the Sunrise" - 11:33

ide two

#"Perpetual Change" - 14:11
#"And You and I" - 9:33

ide three

#"Mood for a Day" - 2:53
#"Excerpts from 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'" - 6:37
#"Roundabout" - 8:33

ide four

#"I've Seen All Good People" - 7:09
#"Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Præmaturus)" - 13:37

ide five

#"Close to the Edge" - 18:13

ide six

#"Yours Is No Disgrace" - 14:23
#"Starship Trooper" - 10:08

"Yessongs" (Atlantic K 60045) reached #7 in the UK. It also reached #12 in the US during a chart stay of 32 weeks.

Personnel

*Jon Anderson - vocals
*Chris Squire - bass and vocals
*Steve Howe - guitars and vocals
*Rick Wakeman - keyboards
*Bill Bruford - drums (CD 1 track 4, CD 2 track 2)
*Alan White - drums (everything else)

Charts

Album

Certifications

Miscellaneous

* The original concept (AKA "Bob White plot") for the ending of the 1999 computer game involved the planet Britannia being destroyed and the island of Skara Brae lifting off and flying into space. White (no relation to drummer Alan White) commented that this part of the ending "looks like an old Roger Dean painting from " [sic] " the Yessongs album".

Reissues

February 18, 1987 - Original CD Issue - Atlantic Records (CD)
September 27 1994 - 2-CD Remaster - Atlantic Records (CD)

ources

* Allmusic
* "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002

External links

* [http://www.yesworld.com Yesworld: The Official Yes site]