Yes Featuring ARW Live CD Artwork

[Halmyre]

25 years ago is when Talk was being made... Ah, it's obvious! There was an idea for Wakeman to be on Talk that never happened. 25 years ago is the last time Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman were theoretically together in Yes because, for a while, Wakeman was signed up for the album!

Stymied by the various managements failing to agree terms! Or was that just an excuse?

[Steve983]

25 years ago is when Talk was being made... Ah, it's obvious! There was an idea for Wakeman to be on Talk that never happened. 25 years ago is the last time Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman were theoretically together in Yes because, for a while, Wakeman was signed up for the album!

Henry

Talk about clutching at straws... So 25 years ago since nothing happened!

[JJ88]

I think when they started gigging in 2016, it was around 25 years since those three had been in the same line-up (and only briefly even then for the Union tour). But this is clearly not a 'reunion', it's another band altogether, which is why I find it such a bizarre and essentially meaningless claim to make. Anderson appeared on lots of 'Yes' studio albums after Union, and Rabin/Wakeman even appeared on some too.

i firmly stand by my opinion that this is the last that trevor rabin could have anticipated, wanted or intended. if he has as much artistic and creative integrity as i have always thought he had, he'll be out by the end of this year. as of now i find myself siding with howe’s YES more and more.

I don't really side with either. The one and only thing I'd say in favour of 'Howe's Yes' is that whilst lacking in star-power by comparison, they don't over-promise/hype. When they promise something, they do it- the fans don't always like it (to put it mildly) but they actually do what they promise. Two new albums, tours based around 'classic albums', the cameos from previous members etc.

[bondegezou]

another record cover designer chipping in here – because of recognizability and brand continuity (as well as in avoidance of further legal hassles which they had already instigated) they probably had to go with a visual, that was already known to the public. that visual is already flawed (to say the least) and – as another forum member had already pointed out – everything is about marketing in YfARW’s world. in short: there is no way that this could have been improved. ever. it is what it is.

i wonder if they will ever realise that this childish seizure of the YES tag was the biggest mistake conceivable. the YES connection had been flagged on every occasion anyway, therefore ARW could have comfortably built a distinct identity from there (as atrociously 1980s pulp SciFi as their initial logo may have looked, a lot could have been done with it by way of sensible reducing/framing) similar to ABWH but now it's just another YES nostalgia b(r)and.

i firmly stand by my opinion that this is the last that trevor rabin could have anticipated, wanted or intended. if he has as much artistic and creative integrity as i have always thought he had, he'll be out by the end of this year. as of now i find myself siding with howe’s YES more and more.

It's interesting how Wakeman keeps tweeting that he still calls the band "ARW".

Henry

[bondegezou]

Stymied by the various managements failing to agree terms! Or was that just an excuse?

I don't know. Management are blamed. I tend to presume that if people really wanted to do it, then those problems could've been solved, but I don't know anything more.

Henry

[bondegezou]

I think when they started gigging in 2016, it was around 25 years since those three had been in the same line-up (and only briefly even then for the Union tour).

Yeah, I think that makes sense.

Henry

[ronmac]

in short: there is no way that this could have been improved. ever. it is what it is.

I don't agree with this at all. There's always room for improvement, especially with this.

[iguana]

I don't agree with this at all. There's always room for improvement, especially with this.

i'm with you. ceiling unlimited. but in adherence to a (dubiously) installed brand that has all but communicated itself over live shows and tour promo aesthetics possibilies are limited. sadly there seems to be no effort in rectifying that by going for a fast buck.

[Rajaz]

Just recently, the surviving members of Thin Lizzy decided NOT to keep calling themselves that name and buried it. I'm sure that call was made by a band member who still had owner rights. That is honorable and dignifying specially to show fans that they deserve to be truthful and faithful to what once was a legendary and original rock band but is no more and has a totally different identity.
ARW made the same childish mistake John Payne did after he split with Geoff Downes and created his own "Asia" camp. It was called Asia featuring John Payne, nobody cared and commercially speaking had no impact on ticket or CD sales by the original band because they were truthful and had an established identity.
So back to ARW, they seem to be drifting further away from the true Yes and it is becoming a gong show to be honest. This CD/DVD cover sure looks like one of those "Best of or the Many faces of" covers in the bargain bin at the Walmart checkouts or trucker stops as others described it accurately, a far cry from the Topographic Drama or Like it is covers and contents that sure aren't just "vanilla" flavor.

[jamesmanzi]

Is there any other info out there about this release?

[moecurlythanu]

Just recently, the surviving members of Thin Lizzy decided NOT to keep calling themselves that name and buried it. I'm sure that call was made by a band member who still had owner rights. That is honorable and dignifying specially to show fans that they deserve to be truthful and faithful to what once was a legendary and original rock band but is no more and has a totally different identity.
ARW made the same childish mistake John Payne did after he split with Geoff Downes and created his own "Asia" camp. It was called Asia featuring John Payne, nobody cared and commercially speaking had no impact on ticket or CD sales by the original band because they were truthful and had an established identity.
So back to ARW, they seem to be drifting further away from the true Yes and it is becoming a gong show to be honest. This CD/DVD cover sure looks like one of those "Best of or the Many faces of" covers in the bargain bin at the Walmart checkouts or trucker stops as others described it accurately, a far cry from the Topographic Drama or Like it is covers and contents that sure aren't just "vanilla" flavor.

I don't think they're going to just fade away. As long as Lord Maitreya is in the band, anyway. Too many view him as the Yessiest of the Yes men.

[Man In The Mountain]

Just recently, the surviving members of Thin Lizzy decided NOT to keep calling themselves that name and buried it. I'm sure that call was made by a band member who still had owner rights. That is honorable and dignifying specially to show fans that they deserve to be truthful and faithful to what once was a legendary and original rock band but is no more and has a totally different identity.
ARW made the same childish mistake John Payne did after he split with Geoff Downes and created his own "Asia" camp. It was called Asia featuring John Payne, nobody cared and commercially speaking had no impact on ticket or CD sales by the original band because they were truthful and had an established identity.
So back to ARW, they seem to be drifting further away from the true Yes and it is becoming a gong show to be honest. This CD/DVD cover sure looks like one of those "Best of or the Many faces of" covers in the bargain bin at the Walmart checkouts or trucker stops as others described it accurately, a far cry from the Topographic Drama or Like it is covers and contents that sure aren't just "vanilla" flavor.

Ticket sales and venue sizes suggest otherwise. Plus personnel, but whatever... "Steve Howe & The Real Guys" have the Roger Dean license... but they literally slap a painting of his on a cover with boring & bad typography and incorrect balance. If you told me their graphics guy was the same guy who does the ARW graphics, I would say it's very plausible. Really, it's a case nowadays where band management want something that looks good as a tiny avatar on amazon, that clearly resembles the branding. That's it.

[battema]

Meanwhile, the individual members of Pink Floyd are out doing their things under their own names, sometimes overlapping material but often carving out their own unique "take" on the PF sound. Bonus: civility between the different members.

Yes, like ELP before them, have damned themselves through their own actions and behavior.

[ronmac]

Just to be clear, we're discussing brand identity, not branding, which is much more and intangible. But, I digress.

[jupiterspace]

uh...maybe they could just smash some tomatoes on it and take a picture.

[Steve983]

Stymied by the various managements failing to agree terms! Or was that just an excuse?

Back in the early 90's I was a member of the RWCC fan club/newsletter. Rick said that at the time Yes's management demanded that he was managed by them and not by Brian Lane who was his personal manager, he could not agree to those terms so Wakeman on Talk didn't happen. Cant imagine how it would have sounded anyway, couldn't have been worse

[wilcox660]

I recall getting shit on on this board for complaining how duff the original ARW logo & merch designs looked. I'll simply say that nothing has improved. Looks like a comp a kid slapped together in 10 minutes, if that.

[jrw]

I recall getting shit on on this board for complaining how duff the original ARW logo & merch designs looked. I'll simply say that nothing has improved. Looks like a comp a kid slapped together in 10 minutes, if that.

Lane probably took $10,000 from the band’s account and paid $1000 for the album cover and kept $9000 for administrative fees.

[yamishogun]

Cant imagine how it would have sounded anyway, couldn't have been worse

It probably would have sounded like "And here is Wakeman coming in on Keyboard!" on the Keys albums, so much worse and could have tarnished this work of excellence known as Talk.

[Rajaz]

Lane probably took $10,000 from the band’s account and paid $1000 for the album cover and kept $9000 for administrative fees.

Michael Cohen must have split the administrative fees with Lane and kept his share as "hush money" for not disclosing to the band the album artwork real cost ;-)

[stickman393]

uh...maybe they could just smash some tomatoes on it and take a picture.

Actually, that would be kind of classy and both harken back to old times whilst also making a very witty comment on the current cover. Nice!

[Man In The Mountain]

Lane probably took $10,000 from the band’s account and paid $1000 for the album cover and kept $9000 for administrative fees.

More like he got a $200 budget and paid the artist 50 bucks.

[bondegezou]

Is there any other info out there about this release?

http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnarw.htm#liver

We know the show it was recorded at and what was played that night, although we don't know if all of the set will be on the release.

Henry

[wilcox660]

If that "artist" got more than 10 bucks, the band was ripped off!

Lane probably took $10,000 from the band’s account and paid $1000 for the album cover and kept $9000 for administrative fees.

[yamishogun]

Its about as classy as ARW calling themselves Yes in the first place.

Why? They are obviously Yes. How many good Yes songs has Steve Howe written in 28 years since 1980?

Was it "Shock to the System" in 1991? "Bring Me to the Power" in 1996? (I have a soft spot for that one.) "Bumpy Ride" and "Hour of Need" in 2011? (Another soft spot for the latter.) Perhaps "Step Beyond" or "It Was All We Knew" from 2014?