There is one in 'Uncut' magazine (although no review). A full page at that. It announces that the album is released in the following formats:
-Strictly limited edition CD with slipcase and poster
-Enhanced CD featuring Yes interview, Homeworld game demo + screensaver. Contains fold-out poster booklet.
-Collectors edition double heavy weight vinyl in exclusive gatefold sleeve.
As the ad says : 'A True Return to Form'.
Yes! It's you and YES on Yahoo! Chat Jon Anderson and Chris Squire of the quintessential prog rock band YES will make their first 1999 visit to Yahoo! Chat. They join you from the road in
South America. Yes' 1999 Homeworld Tour kicks off Oct. 15 in support of Yes' new album The Ladder , a return to form for the band, ala Close to the Edge and Fragile. And of course, it features new Roger Dean artwork!
They list the date of Sept. 17th, 10:00 Eastern time.
http://chat.yahoo.com/chat/events/info/091799yes.html
Someone asked if the new Union video could be ordered online.
I ordered mine from Back Trip Records in Osaka. It arrived 10 days after the order. Someone else asked about the ABWH EoYMP DVD. They also have this in stock - volume 1 and 2. My version is different from those below. Mine is Griffin Video ID4083GIDVD - and only cost $40 - retail in Mexico for the full show on one disc as opposed to $42 for each volume from Back Trip. They also have QPR on DVD. I had no idea this was released on DVD, and I am
not about to pay $42 for half a show, when I have the full show on VHS PAL. Full list of their LD and DVDs below + URL.
http://www.heatwave-net.com/cgi-bin/s-new.pl?s=yes&k=a&m=d
Hey Gang, Got a little new information about Peter Banks: Peter is playing a gig on Oct. 31st in Danbury, CT. at the Tuxedo
Junction. Pass on the word. It would be cool if any Yes fan in the area could make it. Wish I could, but there's about 2000 miles between me and the gig. Hopefully, one day Peter will make his way down to Houston.
He is also re-recording the song Sweet Dreams. Peter will play guitars, keys, & bass and ANT-BEE vocals and drums and tape manipulations. For those who don't know, Ant-Bee is the AKA for the one and only Billy James. Besides being an extraordinary musician / producer, he is also an author. Look forward to an up and coming autobiography he is helping Peter put together. Now that should be interesting.
For inquiring minds, here's Ant-Bee's web page. Additional information on Peter could be found here. Bookmark it, and check it out every so often for updates.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/antbee/
Yes cap:
Black one-size has the colorful "yes" (talk) logo embroidered on front. . . . Item # 903 . . . $26.00
Yes pin:
Silver-tone/enamel pin shows the colorful "yes" logo (Talk tour, 1.5 inch) . . . Item # 933 . . . $15.00
Yes pin:
Silver-tone diecut tour pin of 1997-8 "yes" logo (silver-tone w/ teal & red, 1.5-inch) . . . Item # 2855 . . . $14.00
Yes t-shirt:
Black XL shows large, colorful design with "Talk" and "yes" logo. The back shows the "yes" logo and "WORLD TOUR 1994" and lists 60 venues. . . . Item # 113 . . . $25.00
Yes t-shirt:
White XXL w/ great spheres artwork, two square-bordered "YES" logos, and "30th Anniversary." The back shows a "Hard Rock Hotel LAS VEGAS" logo. (XXL only!) . . . Item # 2573 . . . $25.00
Yes t-shirt:
White size large shows big yes logo (circular artwork below). The back reads, "OPEN YOUR EYES TOUR 1998" and lists European venues from Manchester to London . . . Item # 2881 . . . $35.00
Yes ticket:
Unused concert ticket from Jackson Mississippi October 8, 1977. . . . Item # 1355 . . . $10.00
Yes ticket:
Unused concert ticket from Jackson Mississippi June 5, 1976. . . . Item # 1356 . . . $14.00
Yes tourbook:
Open Your Eyes Tour '97 - '98 tourbook with the simple "Yes" cover variation which was only available on the first legs of the tour. . . . Item # 2619 . . . $17.00
Yes tourbook:
Open Your Eyes Tour '97 - '98 tourbook with the "Yes 30 Years" cover variation which was only available at the latter end of the tour. . . . Item # 2618 . . . $20.00
Yes (Asia) tourbook:
Aqua World Tour 1992 tourbook (with Steve Howe) . . . Item # 1366 . . . $15.00
This was the set list for the RIO show>
On June 5, 1999, former Rolling Stone art director Jon Goodchild passed away. What did he have to do with Yes? It turns out he was instrumental in designing the cover for "The Yes Album." Check out a fascinating article by photographer Phil Franks on howe the cover ended up being shot in his kitchen. Then look at a cool picture that was not used. I've never seen that picture before. The guys look pretty young!
Check out the article here:
http://metalab.unc.edu/mal/MO/philm/yes/
Alternatively, click here for just the picture Yes found "too weird to use." http://metalab.unc.edu/mal/MO/philm/yes/hot.html
This morning, a local paper from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, features an interview with Jon Anderson. This is a rough and hasty translation (from Portuguese into Spanish and then into English). I've snipped parts where the journalist writes about the history of the band. Sorry about the length of this post, but I think it is worth reading.
YES DINOSAUR IN CANECAO
Yes fans will have a surprise this evening at Canecao. The English band, a dinosaur of progressive rock, will be playing a set of afro-caribbean tunes, one of them as a tribute to Bob Marley. At least this is what Jon Anderson said in a telephone interview.
"The second song we will play is called NEW LANGUAGE. I believe in this, a new vision is rapidly emerging to be conveyed to those who are waiting for the Story. We need to be strong, use our own voice... this is the key to everything".
Jon announces that the band has recovered the strength of the '70s and defines "The Ladder" with statements as: "People say that it's the best Yes record in 25 years", "It's a record which I've been waiting 20 years to do", and "All the history of the band in one album". [snip]
Jon says that the group has been working live the last two years, wrote the music in that period, and then left the road for 45 days of rehearsals and four months of recording sessions. "We had only two weeks for resting... After so many years together we are very proud about each other and everybody is playing well, the music is outstanding and it is pleasing to see this happening after so much time. With 30 years on career, normality would be if we couldn't stand each other, but this is a very special moment for the group". [long snip as the journalist describes the story of the band]
In the present everything is flowers for the group. Jon says that they decided to start the new tour in Brazil after they were convinced that the North American summer was already saturated. "I suggested South America, even when we have played not long ago here. In Brazil people live the music and the feeling is good. There are problems, but people are not so weary about life".
It is said that most of the new record will be played live this evening. Jon defines the opening track of the upcoming record, HOMEWORLD, as "a classical Yes piece" [snip]... LIGHTNING STRIKES, the promo single, is an exploration into the percussive grounds of the Third World. "It has a lot of percussion, Ethiopian chants and a Latin touch too". He says that his
kids presented him the music of Bob Marley and surprisingly reveals that this changed his life. This is why they wrote a song dedicated to the Jamaican myth, THE MESSAGE, which has a reggae accent. "Just a little bit... We are not a reggae band... There are some new classic rocks. Of course, fans won't miss the songs all want to hear. [snip to avoid spoilers]"
Jon doesn't find risky to play so much new material. "It helps to promote the record and to show that the band survives beacuse of the music and not because of its history. We are not a band of hits. We only had a couple of them on the charts so far. We are a band of albums, by which people listen to an hour of Yes music and feel satisfied".
Asked about MP3s and the possible financial loss that this format can bring to musicians, Jon says in a whisper: "I don't care about that possible loss. Our last single can be downloaded from the Internet. People will buy the CD sooner or later, because of the artwork or the identification with the music, or because they love the artist and want to support him. The managers at the big business are the ones who are afraid because the Internet acquires power over the music, and it is not the company's
investment that decides what you will listen to. I know I have made records that you in Brazil weren't able to hear because the American company told the Brazilian companies that it was not worthy to invest in an album that wasn't a big deal and that the priority to invest were some girls that would become the new SPICE GIRLS..."
Jon admits he is optimistic about the new millenium and the possibilities that technology is opening for humankind: "95% of life is wonderful, but people focus on the other 5%, which is all the media shows, the problems of development, the tragedies". Jon believes in the positive effects of the integration taking place through the universal traffic of information and, in the best hippie style, proclaims that the language of the new millenium is love.
Just picked up the August issue of 20th Century Guitar (Steve Howe on cover and has a lengthy interview). There's a full page ad about Steve's Interactive CD-ROM on the third page and Steve's picture was by Robin. Too bad it's not on the second page, it would've come out a lot nicer since the second page is on slick-back paper.
It was with great expectations that I opened up the envelope that
was lying on the floor in the hallway. I expected to see the wonderful Roger Dean artwork, but instead I got an orange cover with the Yes logo a couple of sentences that said: Advance album. The finished artwork will consist of a Roger Dean painting. Promotional use only.
My fingers were trembling when I placed the disc in the player, luckily I had heard the opening nine minute track "Homeworld (The Ladder)" on a sampler a couple of weeks ago and I knew that it was nothing else than a killer. The two songs that followed "It Will Be A Good Day (The River)" and "Lightning Strikes" are stunning compositions with positive vibes that gets to you immediately and gives you the biggest of smiles. "Can I" is a short so-called "in-between" track and doesn't add much to the overall picture. The following five songs clock in around the five minute mark and give you the feeling that it doesn't get much better than this. And then comes yet another nine minute
track in form of "New Language" and just blow everything else
on the record away.
The album that ends with "Nine Voices (Longwalker)" is absolutely brilliant. In sound it lies somewhere between "Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe" and "Open Your Eyes". It has the skillfulness and positivism like the first mentioned and vocal harmonies off the second. But compared to "Open Your Eyes" it is far more thought through, has a better production and seems to be far more group oriented.
I will do a more proper review in a couple of weeks, but so far I'm extremely happy that "The Ladder" lives up to my high expectations.
I also did an interview with Billy Sherwood last night, I will add that one together with the newer review on The Rivendell Progpage http://fly.to/rivendell.
--Stefan Polzer, Sweden.
These are some statements made by Yesmen to newspapers in Brazil:
Alan White to the *Estadao*:
[Journalist: Yes went thorough the last 31 years making progressive rock, despite heavy metal, punk rock, grunge, and every other hype]. Alan: "Yes, I can say we are some sort of survivors. I think that we survived because we only try to play music, instead of competing with the fashion of the moment". "[The Ladder] has a lot of the old Yes style, but was made in
1999, so it is also full of the expectations that we have for the new millenium".
Billy Sherwood to the *Jornal da Tarde*:
"Good music never dies. Consider jazz, or blues, or other styles. They're no longer fashionable, but they will always be alive. The same happens with progressive rock. More yet, this style still influences directly or indirectly new musicians. We could say that progressive rock is kinda 'father' of many electronic music".
Jon Anderson to the *Folha de Sao Paulo* (excerpts):
"Yes is the same, the group keeps its essence. I just think it has modernized".
"We did a great tour last year and we had fun recording the new album. We feel fine now".
"We progress. The fact that we are still playing together is an evidence of success. We keep climbing the *ladder* of success. When the band began, we thought it would last some months, maybe a year; ten years, no way; twenty years, impossible; and here we are, with a story of thirty years".
"[Bruce Fairbairn] was an excelent professional. He acted as an excelent *referee*. We had about 20 songs, and he went selecting 'this one is good, this one is awful, don't record it'. His influence on us was huge, as he was able to capture the spirit of Yes. He always wanted to do the best, as if MTV didn't exist. *Homeworld* is already one of my favourite songs".
Yes will perform in Costa Rica next saturday. This will be their first visit to our little country, which is located in Central America. To celebrate this ocassion, a group of Yes fans decided to set up a web site (in spanish), where you will find information about this visit. After the show we plan to post some pictures, if possible, along with some reviews and the setlist. The URL is: http://www.reservecrc.com/yes Pura vida!
Yesfolk, check out these recent SA Tour pics!
South American Khatru - Yes em São Paulo, 1999
Well, hello all!!!
Hope everyone's well after this storm and all.... I'm rising from the dead after quite a long hiatus, but my life has been, well, quite out of control for about the last six months or so!! SOOOO many things have happened, changed, etc. that I won't bore you with it here... what I DO want to say is that I'm getting Issue #2 ready. Yes, a bit late, but hey, crap happens... Awaken will DEFINITELY have the third issue out by the end of the year...
NEW ADDRESS!!!!
Awaken has a new address.... the website will be updated in the next few days, but here it is....
Awaken Magazine
P.O. Box 741121
Boynton Beach, FL 33474-1121
If interested in subscribing, it's still $15/ yr ($20 international), but checks need to be made out to me, Diana Hatsis, instead of Awaken. It seems Florida has some different business rules down here.
Found this at AMY:
If anyone out there is interested, I found what seems to be a very good price on the Union LD. Go to http://massmusic.com/cgi-bin/mr.cgi?page=index.html and they have it listed for $44.95 and then when you checkout, there is an additional discount applied. I ordered some other titles, but I think it came out to about $38. Shipping was only $4.26 but it shows as special order and I don't expect to see it for a couple weeks.
The Ladder was released in Scotland today. It comes in a KTA style slipcase, is labelled and numbered as "European Version. Contains Exclusive Poster + Slipcase". I have number 36895. The poster is "KTA sized". It is a series of small boxes containing various Yes logos, copies of b/stage passes, small pictures
of the guys from various album covers. The booklet is 16 pages, the middle pages being devoted to the Dean artwork, which most of you will be familiar with by now. I bought the enhanced CD - put it in my PC - NO GRAPHICS - it is marketed as having the "Homeworld" video on it, but NOTHING - except music.
You might want to go here and check this out for yourself, but I swear I just read it:
At the Costa Rican Yes concert page http://www.reservecrc.com/yes/, listed under 'concierto' is a link to an interview that Steve Howe gave to a magazine (Viva?) that was released yesterday, 17 Sept. Here's the URL:
http://www.nacion.co.cr/viva/1999/septiembre/17/portada.html
And here's the snip which should give us all cause to swoon:
(high-school Spanish translation follows):
¿Qué planes tienen a corto plazo?
- Venimos de Brasil y Venezuela. Después de Costa Rica vamos a México. Luego tendremos un par de semanas libres y después
estaremos en Estados Unidos durante dos meses, hasta que termine el año. El próximo año vamos a estar en Inglaterra durante enero
y febrero y luego iremos a Australia. Los planes son muchos.
-- What are your short-term plans?
We're coming to Brasil and Venezuela. After Costa Rica we're going to Mexico. Then we'll take a few weeks off and then we're in the US for 2 months, until the end of the year. Next year we'll be in England during January and February and then *****WE'LL GO TO AUSTRALIA*****
We've got a lot of plans. (or planes ; ) )
Seems the interview was perhaps a few weeks back? Anyway, hope all your frowns are upside down.
*************************************
From: Roberto J. Gallardo N. [gallardo@cariari.ucr.ac.cr] - Sept 17
I spoke to the reporter who did the interview and she confirmed me that she talked to Steve by phone just last tuesday.
As you can imagine, we are counting the hours until the show tomorrow at 9 pm, local time. Next week we expect to post some reviews and pictures, if possible, in our site.
Go to my Site, the Yahoo chat is there!! Thanks To Jan Carol for sending me the text as she read it. I could not get into the chat, so she cut and pasted to AOL IM for me!! See it pays to be on IM!!! Link is on my site.....
YES page.......Yesmusic mailing list/Chat/AOL IM info.....
http://www.netease.net/members/yesrocks/yesyears.htm
Found this as a link from "my.netscape" . . . thought it might be of interest. Don't know if the link will work so I did a cut 'n' paste on the good stuff.
http://my.netscape.com/news/Entertainment/09_21_1999.reuvf-story-bcmusicsoundbites.html?cp=myre_my
SoundBites: Yes, John Popper, Tori Amos
DETROIT (Reuters) - Yes, its members are pleased to say, is a band again.
True, the British group one of the leading proponents of the progressive rock movement certainly has seemed like a band during the past three years.
Yes has released three albums two of them comprising mostly live
recordings and toured. But its last release, 1997's "Open Your Eyes," was recorded while the band was "putting ourselves back together," according to bassist Chris Squire.
"That was a peculiar way of making an album,'' explains Squire, 51, the sole Yes member to remain in the band all of its 31 years.
"Open Your Eyes," he says, consisted mostly of songs he and guitarist Billy Sherwood were working on "not particularly for Yes, or anything for that matter." Before long, however, singer Jon Anderson, drummer Alan White and guitarist Steve Howe became part of the project, and it evolved into a Yes outing.
But the group's new release, "The Ladder," due in stores Sept. 28, is a bonafide band creation, a largely buoyant collection of 11 new songs put together by the sextet, which also includes keyboardist Igor Khoroshev. The first track, "Homeworld (The Ladder)," also is being used by the video game of the same name.
"We really started bonding on the tour" to promote the last album, Anderson, 54, says. "It really brought us all together and made us feel there's another album to do and sort of a commitment to doing it in a real way. ('The Ladder') is a group effort, and I'm sort of proud we could actually hang tough together and ... make this album."
"The Ladder" was touched by sadness, however. Producer Bruce Fairbairn, who recorded the album with Yes in his Vancouver studio, died during the mixing process. In fact, Anderson found the producer at his home a day after Fairbairn had uncharacteristically missed a session.
"His spirit was still around," Anderson says. "It felt like he was very excited where he was, and his spirit seemed to stay around while we were working on it. There wasn't a feeling that, 'Oh, we've got to give up the album because of this.' It was more like, 'No, we've got to keep going.'"
Yes will be touring throughout the fall to promote "The Ladder," including a planned New Year's Eve gig in Philadelphia.