Yes- The Word Is Live

[JJ88]

I know, another Yes thread but I did search and don't think this set has ever had a thread before and seems to slip under the radar, so here goes...

The first disc adds a lot to the legacy in that it contains Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford, a period not well represented elsewhere. It also has the cover 'It's Love' which I don't think is on anything else. Not sure about the inclusion of the already-available BBC tracks though.

On a collection like this I don't think the 'Apocalypse' tune-up or 'Hello Chicago' merit inclusion, I'd have preferred something else ('To Be Over' if it would fit!). However, the other tracks on the second disc and the first couple on the third are like a (welcome) expansion of Yesshows.

The third disc also has a (soundboard-level quality, but still) exclusive glimpse of the Horn-era band live, with two tracks not on Drama, so that's invaluable. The rest is taken up with late 80s Rabin-era stuff...for whatever reason I'm not that gripped by this Rabin line-up live, to be honest.

Overall I find The Word Is Live a bit of an odd blend of material in total yet individually almost all of it is indispensible to those interested in live Yes. Any other thoughts on this one?

[arturs]

I enjoy Disc 1 quite a lot. It's Love is a classic and the 16-minute America was a revelation too. The other discs have their moments, but the sequencing is terrible and the "Big Medley" and "Hello Chicago" did not need a release. The Rabin material on Disc 3 is tepid; I've heard much better work from him in the Yes context. Any of the Talk boots floating around would have provided far more inspired performances than what is on Disc 3.

For a yes completist like me, the set is worth it for the first disc.

[JJ88]

^Thanks for the reply. I like having The Big Medley, if only for the fact it had the novelty of Wakeman playing a fraction of Relayer! And it was a set regular on its tour, I don't think they ever did anything like it again.

[per anporth]

I think it's a decent collection, JJ, but I'd rather see one of the first rate recordings from the 78/79 tours get an official release, &/or something like a recording of the full Cobo Hall gig from which tracks were included on The Word Is Live as well as Yesshows. It's a personal preference, but I like whole concert recordings over bits & bobs compilations.

(from the recordings that have been released, the band were on fire that night in Detroit!)

[Progatron]

A bit of a strange compilation, I haven't pulled it from the shelf in years although I do like it overall. I agree that it's nice to have an official release of the two Drama non-album tracks (that they could have easily fit on to that very short album!) but I actually prefer the instrumental demo track of Do We Really Have To Go Through This (on the Drama remaster), which has a fantastic energy to it.

Maybe I'll give some of this stuff a spin this weekend, thanks for the reminder!

[Paulrus]

I like this one. It fills in some important gaps not covered by previous live releases (Crystal Palace FTW.)

But I agree with others that the thing to do now is follow up on stuff like Progeny and start releasing whole shows from different eras. Sure some of them are not perfect recordings, but as if hard core fans really give a damn?

"C'mon Steven!"

[Man In The Mountain]

I listened to it once. Can't recall much to comment, but it still sits in my collection.

The 7 show box set of Progeny is the shit. Absolutely one of the best archival releases from any band. Warts and all and a lot of it, it's how it happened.

More please.

[gojikranz]

always been a pretty big fan of this one despite its drawbacks discussed above.

first disc is incredible despite the unnecessary BBC tracks.

the second disc almost works as a condensed show given they have the beginning and ending of a show there weird setlist but I appreciate the attempt. and I enjoy the big medley.

third disc though is kinda all over the place.

maybe they shoulda gone 4 discs spread the late 70s stuff over 2 discs and still gone with the beginning to end thing but then they could add in to be over a few more tormato tracks maybe a topographic track.

then disc 4 coulda been drama(expanded could start with does it really happen to do another start of a show kinda thing and then other drama tracks) and big generator (could ended that disc with the rabin era rendition of starship trooper which I always kinda liked in its own weird way).

I also find it odd that of the big generator tour songs that have been released here and on yesyears we got both hold on and changes again even after they were the featured live tracks on 9012live the solos. why not give us big generator or holy lamb or even a different 90125 track that hadn't seen release on a live album.

[Steve983]

I only go back to it for the official release of The Big Medley which is possibly my fave Yes live track, apart from that I have only played it once. Some of the sleeve notes by fans are a little dodgy I seem to recall...

[JJ88]

I like this one. It fills in some important gaps not covered by previous live releases (Crystal Palace FTW.)

But I agree with others that the thing to do now is follow up on stuff like Progeny and start releasing whole shows from different eras. Sure some of them are not perfect recordings, but as if hard core fans really give a damn?

A full release from the Moraz era, especially something from 1975 with Relayer in full, is perhaps the most plausible 'missing link' in their live discography. This box has more from the Detroit Cobo Hall show from which the big epics on Yesshows were taken, so I guess that's another option for a full release, but obviously we have around an hour of the show already. Failing that, the 1977 tour with Wakeman-nothing has been released from that save those songs on Yesshows.

Yes the Crystal Palace show is something of a revelation. I don't think anything from this show had ever been out before.

[gearHed289]

I thought this set looked interesting enough to download from Amazon about a year ago. I didn't feel the need for physical product, which is my usual choice. I actually forgot I had it, so thanks for the post!

Back around '79, when I was 15, my (ex) bro-in-law had a cassette bootleg of a show from the Tormato tour, I THINK from Chicago? I had been playing bass for 2 years at that point and was an immediate Squire fan. I just remember that show sounding like magic. Like nothing I'd ever heard before, or since really. I'm probably getting carried away, but it really seems like YES had arrived at their destination on that tour. I would buy a Progeny-style set in a heartbeat.

[JJ88]

^The Wembley Arena show from 1978 is probably the most famous of this period. It really is a superb performance but my only issue with this Tormato tour period relates to the issue that, well, IMHO some of the album they were plugging wasn't very good. So arguably for the first time in their career, IMHO the live set has some really weak material. 'Circus Of Heaven', 'Madrigal', 'Don't Kill The Whale', IMHO all of these pale badly in comparison to the earlier stuff they play. ('Future Times/Rejoice' and '...Silent Wings...' are better, at least.)

[per anporth]

^^^ There are some fantastic recordings from the 78/79 tours - the BBC Wembley Arena show, a couple of Mike Millard gems from the Inglewood Forum, & also a couple of Boston shows, & Richfield.

There's also the show from Roosevelt Stadium during the 76 tour, that was broadcast on the radio.

It's always been something that I've struggled to figure out - the Tormato sessions were evidently not plain sailing, Tormato itself was hardly a glorious success, the Roy Thomas Baker sessions were a shambles - & yet these "in the round" shows, which stretched over more or less a year's touring, are some of the best shows the band ever did (this impression may be exacerbated by the quality of these recordings, right enough...). I know John Kelman has written here before about how he felt these were the first shows where the hyper-high quality Yes live experience began to dip for the first time - if I remember aright, his feeling was that this was partly a consequence of the stage setup, whereby band members weren't really able to interact with each other.

But my recollection of the Wembley show in particular, was that it was a joyful occasion, & that there was a palpable sense of a band having a great time, looking back over ten true summers long, but also in a place from where they could move forwards to their next stage.

[gojikranz]

I have loads of bootlegs from the tormato tour I find those shows to be really great. and a nice thing is that they changed the setlist up a good deal playing every song but onward at different points in the tour, so a progeny style box could have a bit more variety than progeny had

[ronmac]

New Haven '71.

[per anporth]

I've heard a mix of the officially released Cobo Hall tracks with an audience recording of the rest of the show. The sound quality of the latter is ok at best. We probably have the best of the show (the performances of Gates & Ritual are stunning, I think) - but, nevertheless, it would be lovely if there were "proper" recordings of the rest of the show, which enabled a full concert release.

[JJ88]

^That 'Ritual' is probably the best version of the song available.

I think 'Sweet Dreams' on this set is the only track from the QPR show which has ever been officially released.

[happytheman]

I've heard a mix of the officially released Cobo Hall tracks with an audience recording of the rest of the show. The sound quality of the latter is ok at best. We probably have the best of the show (the performances of Gates & Ritual are stunning, I think) - but, nevertheless, it would be lovely if there were "proper" recordings of the rest of the show, which enabled a full concert release.

I thought this was covered in another thread.. Sugarmegs has the missing cuts from Cobo add them to Yesshows / The Word is Live cuts and you have the complete show

[Chichen Itza]

A full release from the Moraz era, especially something from 1975 with Relayer in full, is perhaps the most plausible 'missing link' in their live discography.

King Biscuit recorded the Boston Garden 12/11/74 as well as Providence the day before

The majority of 12/11 was broadcast, (sans Ritual), the balance and the full Providence show were available from Wolfgangs Vault

Both have a full Relayer

[Grimjack]

Rest of the Cobo Hall tracks (along with all the source/work tapes Squire tapped for Yesshows) were MIA when Rhino compiled TWIL, remained MIA when the Progeny project was being worked on, and unless something has changed recently...they remain MIA.
I love that 10/28/78 Wembley performance...it’s certainly possible I’ve developed a bias towards the quality of the performance that comes from it being the first high quality Yes “bootleg” I ever had as I really enjoy the mix. I’ve heard plenty of audience recordings of that tour and in general think they were playing at a pretty high level.

[happytheman]

Rest of the Cobo Hall tracks (along with all the source/work tapes Squire tapped for Yesshows) were MIA when Rhino compiled TWIL, remained MIA when the Progeny project was being worked on, and unless something has changed recently...they remain MIA.
I love that 10/28/78 Wembley performance...it’s certainly possible I’ve developed a bias towards the quality of the performance that comes from it being the first high quality Yes “bootleg” I ever had as I really enjoy the mix. I’ve heard plenty of audience recordings of that tour and in general think they were playing at a pretty high level.

http://tela.sugarmegs.org/_asxtela/a...DetroitMI.html

[Grimjack]

http://tela.sugarmegs.org/_asxtela/a...DetroitMI.html

Yes they’re lovely audience pulls and certainly glad they’re around but they’re not the multitracks Squire was working from to compile Yesshows. Those are the MIA reels.

[ronmac]

I listen to Sugarmegs all the time. but, they are SUPER-low bit rates and only suitable for streaming.

[Mister Triscuits]

I'd welcome a release of that King Biscuit Boston '74 recording mentioned above

I'd love for that to come out, but I'd be even more interested in the Gryphon set that accompanied it. The original KBFH broadcast was a rare two-parter, the first week being half an hour each of Gryphon and Yes, and the next week being all Yes.

[unclemeat]

^http://www.concertvault.com/gryphon/...r-11-1974.html
http://www.concertvault.com/yes/bost...r-11-1974.html