Gonna buy me some live Yes on dvd

[Rickenbacker]

Settled! Gonna get Yessongs, QPR & Symphonic. Thanks once again, people.

[Tangram]

Symphonic Live is great! A must have for Yes DVD's.

[trurl]

Settled! Gonna get Yessongs, QPR & Symphonic. Thanks once again, people.

Good picks... yeah, the QPR sounds wonky (Who knew Sound Chaser was all about Jon Anderson's Melody Maker guitar!! ) but it's just so freaking amazing to see them and that show at the time, and it's the only time you'll see them with Moraz. And by the time you get to Ritual the sound is fixed...

[Don Arnold]

Which of the 'recent' live dvds are essential?

Rickenbacker: I asked my PE brethren (oh, sorry....and sisters ) a year ago or so about favourite prog dvd's because I was late to the game in acquiring these. Symphonic Live was mentioned several times, as was Live at Montreux 2003.

Symphonic Live ~ As with you, I was a little dubious about this orchestra thing. But of 10 or so prog dvd's I've picked up since my request to boost my collection, this one has got the most playback and most enjoyment. The orchestra truly just blends in with the band, where in some cases you're thinking this is the way it was meant to be played! I think the set list is great, with good variety of tunes and eras. The epics are huge. So, I've left little to guess here - I'm recommending this one.

Live at Montreux 2003 ~ Also glad to have picked this one up. Not on the same level as Symphonic, but since these are my only two Yes dvd's, it's nice to have a concert with just the band. And, it's a treat, at least for me, to see Rick Wakeman behind the keys.

[iguana]

avoid “keys to ascension” like the plague ... however, if you have some time on your hands to have a thorough look around, try to get the first night from the UNION-tour (pensacola, 1991, “the first union”) from the web. it's an audience shot from the upper tiers of the arena, but that only enhances the feeling of actually being there. and the band is on fire, finally out on the road after all the trials and temper tantrums of making “union“ a marketable YES-product.

i agree on the positive sentiments on “symphonic live” (though never having liked “magnification” much), but it's the orchestra that is the main selling point here, boys ;-)> – “9012LIVE” is a long overdue overhaul of an entirely different but none less valid YES (watch the documentary, the camaraderie is hilarous and heartwarming), “montreux” is visually too steve howe biased, “philadelphia” has SOME worthwhile scenes but overall is a faulty release and i haven’t watched “yessongs” in donkey’s. never saw the “tsongas” one due to all the doubtful remarks but i cannot bear watching inflated and oversized roger dean-style floating toys for the duration anyway....

how much YES video product can one own? how much time to watch it all can one have?

[arj]

Symphonic! You gotta listen to it in 5.1, the bass pedals shake the room! This is the one that is closest to my experiences seeing Yes live - mainly due to the stellar audio (in spite of an orchestra). Brislin's enthusiasm is palpable. The orchestra loves playing. Chris Squire pretends to pick his nose in an effort to throw Alan White - has anyone else spotted that?

[Rand Kelly]

The Yessongs DVD is a MAJOR disappointment.
Gotta second the votes for Symphonic Live. Fantastic arrangements. Jon's voice is in fantastic form.
I really like Live at the House of Blues, primarily because it features The Ladder material.
Songs From Tsongas isn't great, with the major exception of South Side of the Sky, which features incredible tradeoffs between Steve and Rick.

Which is why I never bought Yessongs on dvd. The blu-ray didn't get any better reviews either. I went and burned my orig. vhs tape to dvdr and that suffices just fine. I still can't for the life of me figure out why they never released Masterworks 2000 from Holmdel,NJ. The boot I have of that is incredible and it was filmed from the balcony. VCR recorders actually deliver a fairly good sound from the theater. Release,release Holmdel.

[Rand Kelly]

avoid “keys to ascension” like the plague ... however, if you have some time on your hands to have a thorough look around, try to get the first night from the UNION-tour (pensacola, 1991, “the first union”) from the web. it's an audience shot from the upper tiers of the arena, but that only enhances the feeling of actually being there. and the band is on fire, finally out on the road after all the trials and temper tantrums of making “union“ a marketable YES-product.

i agree on the positive sentiments on “symphonic live” (though never having liked “magnification” much), but it's the orchestra that is the main selling point here, boys ;-)> – “9012LIVE” is a long overdue overhaul of an entirely different but none less valid YES (watch the documentary, the camaraderie is hilarous and heartwarming), “montreux” is visually too steve howe biased, “philadelphia” has SOME worthwhile scenes but overall is a faulty release and i haven’t watched “yessongs” in donkey’s. never saw the “tsongas” one due to all the doubtful remarks but i cannot bear watching inflated and oversized roger dean-style floating toys for the duration anyway....

how much YES video product can one own? how much time to watch it all can one have?

I own 16. Btw, Q.P.R. has been released on 2 sep. dvds and I bought both at Amazon. They are not expensive,less than $15 ea. They have been titled:Gates Of Q.P.R. vol. 1 and 2. Union is still available as a single disc giving you the Shoreline Show and I think Denver. But,I jumped on the limited ed. and bought the deluxe 4 disc,cd/dvd package which is the only way one gets Pensacola,Fl. Which as said before is PHENOMENAL. I paid almost $50 for that D.E. of Union and it was worth every penny.

[Frumious B]

Settled! Gonna get Yessongs, QPR & Symphonic. Thanks once again, people.

Just keep in mind that QPR will have you repeatedly yelling "Holy f*ck!!" at your TV in joy/amazement so you should take steps to isolate yourself from children, house pets and the elderly prior to viewing.

[Rand Kelly]

If you are adventurous and have the time you can try this: Play the dvd with the sound off and place Sound Chaser from The Word Is..Live onto your headphones and if you are really good you may be able to sync the audio with the video. You can also do that with Gates from Yesshows,since it's the same Cobo Hall show iirc. It takes some time to get it right,but it can be done. After that it all gets back to normal and Disc 2 is perfect which has a blistering Ritual,Sweet Dreams,Roundabout and Yours Is No Disgrace finale.

[happytheman]

No love for ABWH DVD? Personally I find this performance flawless (sure there are a few "over thetop" moments like the drumstick cam). Best tour I've seen of Yes outside of Relayer tour.

[Trane]

Yet to have any, but I'm not in a major rush to have some... If I do, I'd much prefer one from the classic years

I heard reserves about the Yessongs footage... how is it?? Are there any others dating from pre-78??

Eventually maybe the KtA concert, but that's a last tresort >> the rest, no thanks

[ItalProgRules]

Chris Squire pretends to pick his nose in an effort to throw Alan White - has anyone else spotted that?

Heh heh, yep! I also get a good laugh out of Squire at one point trying to bait Howe into a "playing back-to-back in the stereotypical "rawk" manner" and Howe just completely ignoring him! Finally Squire just gives up and wanders back to his side of the stage. Don't know why I find that so funny but I do.

[tom unbound]

Danger !! Avoid the DVD that came with Live in Lyon. I'm too much of a Yes fan to say any more.

[80s were ok]

YESSONGS IS LEGEND, period. I guess by todays standards, the footage is grainy and the audio is tinny but who the fuck cares!! THIS is the movie we all saw IN THE THEATERS, MIDNIGHT SHOWINGS, before VHS and DVD even existed. At the time, this was THE SHIT and to a huge generation of Yes fans, it will always be the greatest Yes video ever.

[Paulrus]

I heard reserves about the Yessongs footage... how is it??

This has been discussed ad nauseum. Just go to YouTube and see for yourself -- the whole thing is there:

Are there any others dating from pre-78??

Other than everything else already discussed in this thread? Or are you asking if there's anything else besides what's been discussed? The only thing I think we haven't covered are the odds and ends like the "Sounding Out" program, the Going for the One sessions footage, and the '69 "Beyond and Before" performance from French TV. That's pretty much everything that is a live performance. Everything else out there is canned, like the Belgian TV program from 1970 and the "America" clip from '72. Again, most of this isn't available commercially but all of it can be found on YouTube. Knock yourself out.

[tom unbound]

But,I jumped on the limited ed. and bought the deluxe 4 disc,cd/dvd package which is the only way one gets Pensacola,Fl. Which as said before is PHENOMENAL. I paid almost $50 for that D.E. of Union and it was worth every penny.

I've never heard of this release before so I did a little internet research. From what I've learned ( learning is mainly why I come to PE ) someone mixed two BOOTLEG videos to produce this , and then Voiceprint/Gonzo removed their credits, ripped them off and released it !!
I've read that the master tapes of one were ruined in hurricane Katrina, I wonder if that was the tape shot from high in the arena, the one that originally started with the graveyard scenery ? (The one where I recognize Tom from Tarpon Springs' voice).
I've had a hyper-low gen VHS of that for years, only lately have I put it on DVD. (NP) And, yes it is PHENOMENAL !! I tried to find it on Youtube, but to no avail. Could only find one song. Voiceprint/Gonzo polices the internet pretty closely for their stuff, all the Gong french TV videos disappeared after their Gong video release, and I believe that's why the Gong Nearfest videos on Youtube disappeared too. Unfortunately, that was never released.
The boot version, First Union, claims 5.1 sound, but isn't that hard to do from 2 bootleg tapes ????
P.S. -- Thanks for shooting that show Tom !

[JeffCarney]

Yessongs is essential, so good pick there. Ignore comments about the sound. I don't know what happaned as I could swear it sounded better when it used to air on Cable TV years ago, but the performances are too essential to let this get in your way. Actually, I prefer the version of YiND used on the album, but come on ... Yes playiing on the Close To The Edge tour? This is a no-brainer, IMO.

[Sean]

Yeah, but they are playing it with Alan White who just learned it a week prior.

[80s were ok]

Yeah, but they are playing it with Alan White who just learned it a week prior.

it doesn't matter. It's too engrained by too many Yes fans to pass it off as "just anohter Yes video". It's like saying "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is lame and outdated because newer films have better special effects.

[JeffCarney]

Yeah, but they are playing it with Alan White who just learned it a week prior.

The performance was recorded in December '72. White's first gig with Yes was in July of that same year. He'd been playing the material around six months when the film was recorded.

Incidentally, some of these same performances from the film (including CttE) were also considered strong enough to use on the triple live album.

[bRETT]

Another vote for the House of Yes disc. This was the peak of the Billy/Igor lineup, the most energetic Yes had been for a long while. Plus its a good setlist with a lot of rare material-- six Ladder tracks and Perpetual Change. (Also, this disc is easy to find for very cheap).

[80s were ok]

Another vote for the House of Yes disc. This was the peak of the Billy/Igor lineup, the most energetic Yes had been for a long while. Plus its a good setlist with a lot of rare material-- six Ladder tracks and Perpetual Change. (Also, this disc is easy to find for very cheap).

every single Eagle Rock DVD is easy to find very cheap.....

[MudShark22]

The performance was recorded in December '72. White's first gig with Yes was in July of that same year. He'd been playing the material around six months when the film was recorded.

Incidentally, some of these same performances from the film (including CttE) were also considered strong enough to use on the triple live album.

IIRC, the CTTE and Starship from the film are the same as the album; but the other album tracks (excluding the Bruford tracks) are different than the film.

[JeffCarney]

IIRC, the CTTE and Starship from the film are the same as the album; but the other album tracks (excluding the Bruford tracks) are different than the film.

That sounds right.