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(More customer reviews)Music is such a personal thing to many of us, and we can be very critical of our favorite groups. In this case the CD cover states that the CD "features" the talents of eight members of yes. The reality is that not all eight members are very prominent and they do not all appear simultaneously. So the statement that the album "features" the talents of Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Tony Kay, Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White is misleading because some of these artists make what I would consider guest appearances on this CD rather than being "featured." Okay, now that I have established the reason for all the criticism and have talked about it, let's talk about the music.
This music is the kind of complex, interesting music that Yes has been known for making. While I have a lot of Yes's music from many different eras, the consistency is bumpy and the amount of creativity varies substantially. However, when it all comes together the results are excellent.
This CD opens with two rockers, "I Would Have Waited Forever" and "Shock to the System," that have a flavor of the over-the-top music of "90125." The music is enthusiastic and up-beat and well harmonized. There may be a touch of bombast in these two songs, but these two songs are exceeded in the bombast department by the fourth track, "Lift Me Up," and the seventh track, "Miracle of Life." I enjoy all four of these songs with my favorite being "Lift Me Up," which is the most bombastic song on this CD.
"Masquerade," the third track, is a Steve Howe acoustic guitar solo that is beautiful, and it is too short. You may make an argument that Steve Howe could have developed the piece further, but at what point has a theme been exploited without being overlong? I suspect that given that the original CD was only 65 minutes long that had Steve wanted or needed more time he would have been given more time.
"Without Hope You Can Start the Day" also has some more wonderfully bombastic moments and is very enthusiastic and again reminds me of "90125." "Saving My Heart" is a bit more pop-flavored and is also a good song. The harmony is sumptuous and enthusiastic.
I enjoy the introduction to "Silent Talking." The keyboards provide a wonderful flavor that I wish had been explored in more depth. I think this is one of the tracks where Rick Wakeman shines, though I wish he would have been allowed to cut lose with the keyboards. Lyrically the song is not strong, but the words and their sounds were chosen to match the music.
The next two songs actually match each other in sequence well. "The More We Live - Let Go" and "Angkor Wat" have a similar flavor musically. Both songs are beautiful, the kind of music that Yes can make when they are being creative. While the former song does end prior to the start of the following song, the tempos and styles are so related that it sounds as though there was a natural transition from one to the next. A unique feature of "Angkor Wat" is the Cambodian poetry spoken by Pauline Cheng. This song is also heavily reminiscent of some of the more experimental music made in the very early days of Yes; a treasure.
"Dangerous" is an acceptable song. It is one of the most pure rockers on the album versus being full of bombast. However, while it is a good listen, for Yes the song is a bit of a throw-away. While there are some musically interesting elements, this song is not one of my favorites on this album. "Holding On" is another fast-paced song, and I like it, but it just seems to me to be less than inspired than many other songs on this CD.
"Evensong" feels as though it would have belonged better in company with "The More We Live" and "Angkor Wat," along with "Take the Water to the Mountain." These four songs could have formed the core of a separate Yes album altogether, one which would have been unique and had a theme all its own. What could have been, and what will never be. "Evensong" is a way too short instrumental that ends up being the introduction to "Take the Water to the Mountain."
"Take the Water to the Mountain" I really like, another of my favorite songs. The song begins slow and quiet, with simple lyrics. As the song progresses instruments are added, and the song slowly speeds up. Jon Anderson increases the volume and at two minutes into the song the tempo and vocals break out before finishing quietly, closing out the album.
It is easy to be critical of this album, which I believe was originally planned to be two separate albums that were combined. However, there are few perfect Yes albums. This album has some wonderfully unique and excellent music, and is my favorite Yes album from the 90s. Certain tracks on this CD are among the best tracks ever performed by Yes. I consider this album one of the best ever created by Yes, with such a broad range of elements that every Yes fan should find songs they like.
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UnionJapanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. BMG. 2008.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.
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