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  1. #1

    YES From a Page

    Was these songs intended to be on the FFH album or what was the idea?
    I think they are the best post-Anderson songs.
    Were Oliver W the main composer?
    I saw this line up when Benoit was brilliant then the very last show before he was sacked.Not a tone was right from his pipe then.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by yes123 View Post
    Was these songs intended to be on the FFH album or what was the idea?
    I think they are the best post-Anderson songs.
    Were Oliver W the main composer?
    I saw this line up when Benoit was brilliant then the very last show before he was sacked.Not a tone was right from his pipe then.
    Yes, Oliver had a big hand in writing them (so much so that he had the band's blessing to do whatever he wanted with them after tey let him go) and they started out as tracks intended for FFH before Geoff Downes was brought in and they decided to have Trevor Horn produce the entire album, which resulted in a lot of that material being replaced by Horn/Downes material.

    I too saw Benoît on his final dates in late 2011. I would say it varied from gig to gig - I saw him one night and he struggled, and another night he was mostly fine. Seems he wasn't cut out for such intense touring, but he did a good job on the album and, for a time, live.
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  3. #3
    Benoit sounded really good on their 2009 and 2010 tours and I saw them several times. On the 2011 tour with Styx he was clearly struggling and Downes was under rehearsed. Styx blew them off the stage that night in NH. Styx were a well oiled machine.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by yes123 View Post
    Was these songs intended to be on the FFH album or what was the idea?
    I think they are the best post-Anderson songs.
    Were Oliver W the main composer?
    I saw this line up when Benoit was brilliant then the very last show before he was sacked.Not a tone was right from his pipe then.
    I don't think it's quite right to say Benoit was sacked, and least not there and then. He got ill during the latter stages of the European tour and was unable to continue. It wasn't until the following tour in (spring?) 2012 that they replaced him with Jon D because his voice was still not 100%. I saw him at the London and Brighton shows in 2011 and he was absolutely on top form.

    It's somewhat ironic that Oliver wrote most of the From A Page songs (and had written more than anyone else I'm guessing too!) but Trevor Horn obviously didn't like them and then decided to write most of the material with Geoff Downes thus ousting Oliver. That serves him right for trying to be helpful I guess

    That said, although I liked them both at the time of release I'm not than keen on playing FFH or From A Page anymore at all.
    Last edited by Steve983; 06-30-2022 at 01:33 PM.

  5. #5
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Benoit has always been a really good singer, IMO. I just don't know that he's cut out for the type of touring Yes was asking of him. But he sounds great on those Mystery albums and Fly from Here.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve983 View Post
    It's somewhat ironic that Oliver wrote most of the From A Page songs (and had written more than anyone else I'm guessing too!) but Trevor Horn obviously didn't like them and then decided to write most of the material with Geoff Downes thus ousting Oliver. That serves him right for trying to be helpful I guess
    All the Horn/Downes material on that album dated back to 1980/81. It's not like they discarded Oliver's material, THEN set out to write replacement material.
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    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    All the Horn/Downes material on that album dated back to 1980/81. It's not like they discarded Oliver's material, THEN set out to write replacement material.
    No, that's exactly what they did, only 1 track was from 1980 plus 1 or 2 recycled Buggles tracks.




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  8. #8
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    I really enjoyed From a Page, and I'm a big FFH fan (either version). IMO, far better than anything Yes has done since.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve983 View Post
    No, that's exactly what they did, only 1 track was from 1980 plus 1 or 2 recycled Buggles tracks.
    What do you mean, "one track" ? The basic "We Can Fly From Here" is from 1980, but most of the rest of the suite (except Howe's instrumental) is from 1981 (but probably initially planned for the next Yes album if there had been one, working title "Vermilion Sands"), indeed Buggles demos, also "Life On A Film Set" (see bonus tracks on reissue of 2nd Buggles album). There is no RECENT Horn/Downes material on "Fly From Here", that was my point. So I don't get what you mean by "no, that's exactly what they did".
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    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    What do you mean, "one track" ? The basic "We Can Fly From Here" is from 1980, but most of the rest of the suite (except Howe's instrumental) is from 1981 (but probably initially planned for the next Yes album if there had been one, working title "Vermilion Sands"), indeed Buggles demos, also "Life On A Film Set" (see bonus tracks on reissue of 2nd Buggles album). There is no RECENT Horn/Downes material on "Fly From Here", that was my point. So I don't get what you mean by "no, that's exactly what they did".
    Maybe we are splitting hairs here, some of the rest of the FFH suite was written for the 2nd Buggles album but sounded rather Yes influenced. So in 2011 they decided to develop it into the whole suite but of course it was co written by Horn & Downes so after ditching Oliver's tracks (and then ditching Oliver himself) it made sense to have Downes in the band. Not sure it matters when it was written exactly but whatever, it wouldn't have been in its finished form until 2011. Even more ironic that is was Oliver's idea to ask Horn to produce in the first place.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve983 View Post
    Maybe we are splitting hairs here, some of the rest of the FFH suite was written for the 2nd Buggles album but sounded rather Yes influenced. So in 2011 they decided to develop it into the whole suite but of course it was co written by Horn & Downes so after ditching Oliver's tracks (and then ditching Oliver himself) it made sense to have Downes in the band. Not sure it matters when it was written exactly but whatever, it wouldn't have been in its finished form until 2011. Even more ironic that is was Oliver's idea to ask Horn to produce in the first place.
    (I like splitting hairs - any discussion of Yes involves a lot of that!) Again, in my recollection this isn't exactly what happened, at least not in that order. The band (perhaps Oliver was particularly into the idea as you suggest, I hadn't read that) thought it would be nice to finally record "We Can Fly From Here", and Trevor Horn was initially brought in to produce that track only. Then, as I recall, Downes was asked to help with the track as he knew the parts better than anyone else. I'm not sure when the ditching of Oliver's material happened, but what seems most logical to me is once the idea of expanding "We Can Fly" into a suite with the 1981 material and Downes joining the band as full member as a result, there was a need to make room for it and since Oliver was out anyway, so was his material. I don't think the ditching of his material pre-dated his being replaced by Downes. I might be wrong, though - not sure we know every detail of what happened anyway.
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  12. #12
    I think another factor that did Benoit in was that he had to really push his range every night to sing the YES classics. His natural voice and range seem to be more in the Dennis DeYoung zone than the Jon Anderson one. I saw him try to sing Parallels one night and it was apparent that it was a struggle for him to hit the notes. I like Benoit's voice more than Jon D's, but D can comfortably sing in a very high range.

  13. #13
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by the winter tree View Post
    I like Benoit's voice more than Jon D's, but D can comfortably sing in a very high range.
    Very well-stated.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    (I like splitting hairs - any discussion of Yes involves a lot of that!) Again, in my recollection this isn't exactly what happened, at least not in that order. The band (perhaps Oliver was particularly into the idea as you suggest, I hadn't read that) thought it would be nice to finally record "We Can Fly From Here", and Trevor Horn was initially brought in to produce that track only. Then, as I recall, Downes was asked to help with the track as he knew the parts better than anyone else. I'm not sure when the ditching of Oliver's material happened, but what seems most logical to me is once the idea of expanding "We Can Fly" into a suite with the 1981 material and Downes joining the band as full member as a result, there was a need to make room for it and since Oliver was out anyway, so was his material. I don't think the ditching of his material pre-dated his being replaced by Downes. I might be wrong, though - not sure we know every detail of what happened anyway.
    I'm not entirely certain. I think plan A was for an album with "We Can Fly" (the basic song, what became Pt. 1 of the suite) produced by Trevor Horn, plus all or most of "The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be", "Hour of Need", "Into the Storm", "Don't Take No for an Answer", "To the Moment", "Words on a Page" and "The Gift of Love", produced by Tim Weidner. Wakeman was, ironically, a strong support of the "We Can Fly from Here" plan (in its initial form).

    There's then a switch to Horn producing the whole album, using more of the Horn/Downes material, and Downes replacing Wakeman. Exactly what order that happened in, I'm not certain. I think it began with the first two, with the third following as a logical conclusion.

    "Solitaire" and the extensions to "Hour of Need" came later. "From the Turn of a Card" was an idea Wakeman had around the same time, but it doesn't seem to have been a serious contender for Fly from Here ever. When "The Gift of Love" wasn't used, Squire went back to the original demo with Gerard Johnson and turned it into "The Game" on H&E instead. It's possible that "Living in a World of Our Own" was also knocking around as a possibility for FfH.
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  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    but most of the rest of the suite (except Howe's instrumental) is from 1981 (but probably initially planned for the next Yes album if there had been one, working title "Vermilion Sands"), indeed Buggles demos, also "Life On A Film Set" (see bonus tracks on reissue of 2nd Buggles album).
    Downes has said parts 2 and 3 were planned for a 2nd Buggles album, not for a Yes album, although they, and "Life on a Film Set" (a.k.a. "Riding a Tide") do sound very Yessy. They surely would have been on a 1981 Drama follow-up if such had happened.
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  16. #16
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    I do love me some YesLore
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    Has this ever been made available anywhere other than Burning Shed? With shipping, it's too expensive for me (especially considering I already have the 2 live discs in the set separately).

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by the winter tree View Post
    I think another factor that did Benoit in was that he had to really push his range every night to sing the YES classics. His natural voice and range seem to be more in the Dennis DeYoung zone than the Jon Anderson one. I saw him try to sing Parallels one night and it was apparent that it was a struggle for him to hit the notes. I like Benoit's voice more than Jon D's, but D can comfortably sing in a very high range.
    Agree!
    As for the keyboard players I have seen Rick,Oliver,Tony,Geoff and T Brislin but unfortunately never Patrick M and Igor.
    Never seen Billy or Jon D either but hopefully I will next year if the Relayer tour finally will see the light of day.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aggie87 View Post
    Has this ever been made available anywhere other than Burning Shed? With shipping, it's too expensive for me (especially considering I already have the 2 live discs in the set separately).
    I don't think so. There is a download available here but is frustratingly the same price as the cd. At least its cd quality and there's no postage costs!
    https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/fr.../l9nj624gad44b

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aggie87 View Post
    Has this ever been made available anywhere other than Burning Shed? With shipping, it's too expensive for me (especially considering I already have the 2 live discs in the set separately).
    One can purchase any or all the studio tracks from “From a Page” on either iTunes or Amazon (at least here in the US).

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    Appreciate these two above comments but I'm still looking for/going to purchase the physical version. Was just hoping it would become available for a bit cheaper shipping, given I have 2/3 the material already. It's not a rush, but I'd be more likely to purchase it when it shows up on Amazon US or somewhere.

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    I'd never listened to this, partly because the physical version is so expensive and inaccessible, partly because it just seems very strange to me that there's a Yes album (or long EP or whatever) of songs mostly written by someone who was only briefly in Yes and didn't write any other Yes songs. It would be like if Genesis released an EP of songs written by Nic Collins. But I do enjoy FFH, more so than most of what came before & after it, so if it's actually pretty good then maybe I'll pick up a digital copy.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by EBES View Post
    It would be like if Genesis released an EP of songs written by Nic Collins.
    I'd buy that!
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  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    What do you mean, "one track" ? The basic "We Can Fly From Here" is from 1980, but most of the rest of the suite (except Howe's instrumental) is from 1981 (but probably initially planned for the next Yes album if there had been one, working title "Vermilion Sands"), indeed Buggles demos, also "Life On A Film Set" (see bonus tracks on reissue of 2nd Buggles album). There is no RECENT Horn/Downes material on "Fly From Here", that was my point. So I don't get what you mean by "no, that's exactly what they did".
    I did not realize that all of the Horn/Downes material on FFH was from 1980/1981. Does that include pieces such as Sad night at the Airfield - and Mad Man at the Screens? I'd never heard those bits before, but had certainly heard the main FFH song and the earlier version of Life on a Film Set.

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by floyd umma gumma View Post
    I did not realize that all of the Horn/Downes material on FFH was from 1980/1981. Does that include pieces such as Sad night at the Airfield - and Mad Man at the Screens? I'd never heard those bits before, but had certainly heard the main FFH song and the earlier version of Life on a Film Set.
    Check out the bonus tracks ("original demo recordings, from the winter of 1980 / spring of 1981") on this -
    https://www.discogs.com/release/2090...dern-Recording

    "We Can Fly - Part II" is "Sad Night at the Airfield". No "Mad Man at the Screens", but either Trevor or Geoff has said it dates back to the same period. And as mentioned in a previous post, "Riding A Tide" is "Life On A Film Set".
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