YES Announces 'Classic Tales Of Yes' Fall 2023 U.S. Tour

[Steve983]

If this is what they play in the UK next year then I'm not really bothered about going. Too many songs I don't want to hear and the only thing 'new' is the Tales medley...

[bondegezou]

The show is all up on DimeADozen

[bondegezou]

Same with Time and a Word TBH. But I think at this point, it's just down to Yes repertoire rather than who was on what.

Indeed, although the tour in support of the Time and a Word album featured Howe, so he has a historical link to it.

[yesstiles]

I thought for sure it would have The Remembering or To Be Over. I’m disappointed.

[bondegezou]

I thought for sure it would have The Remembering or To Be Over. I’m disappointed.

There is (contrary to earlier reporting) a bit of "The Remembering" in the Tales medley. That's perhaps where the rumours came from.

[battema]

I also was somewhat hoping to see To Be Over finally make it into the setlist. It feels like a song that this lineup could do really well. It's also probably the one song that would get my butt back in a seat (if nothing else, I'm still a bit of a completist and this is the only one of my personal fave Yes tunes that I've not seen live).

[battema]

Apropos of nothing, but giving credit where due...all things considered, we may like Lineup X more than Lineup Y or setlist A vs. setlist B....but damn, Yes has been pretty darn thorough in hitting just about any and every corner of their history on stage. If I go back and think about everything I've seen them do over the last few decades (to say nothing of during the "original" run in the 70's) it's pretty remarkable. There are pockets that I think were underrepresented from the decades when I saw them (the 2nd half of Big Generator hasn't seen much love since that tour, even during the Talk tour, and I would love to have heard something from the 2nd half of Relayer as well)...but on the whole it's a pretty damned impressive spread of material that Yes has covered. Definitely not coasting on the same "Classic Band on Tour Setlist" sometimes used by other older bands.

[battema]

Last burst of "oh hey, I'm thinking about Yes" activity du jour: if I was going to pick a "not the usual tune" from the Yes West era for this lineup to do, I'd probably enjoy hearing their take on It Can Happen.

[progfan1]

First glimpse I have seen from that opening show:





Edit: I wouldn't mind if they switch out Rhythm of Love with something else.

I always thought "It Can Happen" would be an 80s tune that would sound good with Howe. That said, if they can't play something as simple as RoL any tighter than this, I'll be saving my money for bands that are properly rehearsed.

[Scott Bails]

Howe has complained in the past of the way Rabin played his parts in the 80's. Maybe this is Steve's way of revenge. Idk.

I've always said that Howe and Rabin are both amazing guitarists who have completely different styles, and neither plays the other's parts well. Usually by choice, it seems.

Last burst of "oh hey, I'm thinking about Yes" activity du jour: if I was going to pick a "not the usual tune" from the Yes West era for this lineup to do, I'd probably enjoy hearing their take on It Can Happen.

I don't understand why they haven't tried this one. Howe could play his Danelectro Coral Sitar to great effect. I think they could pull this one off very well.

[happytheman]

There is (contrary to earlier reporting) a bit of "The Remembering" in the Tales medley. That's perhaps where the rumours came from.

Have you listened to the Tales Medley yet Henry? "Parts" of the Remembering are pretty tight.. however IMHO on the whole the transitions throughout the medley are clunky at best.. Leaves of Green is fine.. but you would expect that..
Much prefer what Steve did on Not Necessarily Acoustic.. (sans his vocals)

[hedgehogweed]

There's actually over 4 minutes of The Remembering

[Sean]

Did they...forget the rest?

[MudShark22]

Did they...forget the rest?

The UnRemembering

[unclemeat]

Did they...forget the rest?

The Dismembering.

[Scott Bails]

Did they...forget the rest?

<golf clap>

..

[jrw]

Looks like at the second show they dropped Rhythm of Love and All Connected and added Starship Trooper

[arturs]

Looks like at the second show they dropped Rhythm of Love and All Connected and added Starship Trooper

Not that I was able to go anyway, not playing anywhere near me. But still, guys, you put out a very decent Yes album this year. Play the darn thing!

[Firth]

I've always said that Howe and Rabin are both amazing guitarists who have completely different styles, and neither plays the other's parts well. Usually by choice, it seems.



I don't understand why they haven't tried this one. Howe could play his Danelectro Coral Sitar to great effect. I think they could pull this one off very well.

I feel that Rabin’s style is quite technical, but not inspiring. Steve Howe has been much more innovative, and can be technical.

[Progatron]

[moecurlythanu]

Looks like at the second show they dropped Rhythm of Love and All Connected and added Starship Trooper

Awesome! Although I would have preferred them to play "Roundabout" twice.

[Aquatarkus]

Ack. I can't believe they dropped one of the two new songs they were playing. As evidenced by the clip of the Tales medley, I just honestly feel that Jon D is just the wrong voice for the classic material live. I felt this when I saw them on the Quest tour and I was hoping that experiencing the material live I might have a different response. No, for me, Howe's Yes should follow Gabriel's lead and play a large chunk of new material. Ultimately I think Davison's voice is only tolerable in large doses like a full gig when he's singing his material. Same with his Glass Hammer material. I have spent a lot of this summer listening to the new Yes album and think it is quite good. Play this, play more songs from the Quest. Gabriel has shown that even after twenty years without new material, you don't have to make your concerts a nostalgia trip. I heard some grumbles at the Philly show but mostly fans had a great time and I myself appreciated new material even though I haven't listened as much to the new material as I intended. But hearing all those new songs live, sure made me want to listen to the new songs more after the gig. It could be this way with Yes too I think.

[Mstove]

Ack. I can't believe they dropped one of the two new songs they were playing. As evidenced by the clip of the Tales medley, I just honestly feel that Jon D is just the wrong voice for the classic material live. I felt this when I saw them on the Quest tour and I was hoping that experiencing the material live I might have a different response. No, for me, Howe's Yes should follow Gabriel's lead and play a large chunk of new material. Ultimately I think Davison's voice is only tolerable in large doses like a full gig when he's singing his material. Same with his Glass Hammer material. I have spent a lot of this summer listening to the new Yes album and think it is quite good. Play this, play more songs from the Quest. Gabriel has shown that even after twenty years without new material, you don't have to make your concerts a nostalgia trip. I heard some grumbles at the Philly show but mostly fans had a great time and I myself appreciated new material even though I haven't listened as much to the new material as I intended. But hearing all those new songs live, sure made me want to listen to the new songs more after the gig. It could be this way with Yes too I think.

I can't agree at all about Jon D's voice being wrong for the classic material live. I do, however, think some people are predisposed to not love anyone but Jon A singing his vocals, which is fair enough. But, having seen them do a large range of material since Davison joined I think he does a fantastic job and doesn't have to stretch too much to do so. He does approach some bits differently than Jon A, but I like that particularly since he regularly gets hammered for imitating Jon A's singing style, which I don't know how he's supposed to avoid completely when singing the same songs. Go spoken word like Roger Waters is doing?

That said, I'd also love to see more new stuff if I was going to see them this tour. I'm not driving far enough to catch them so it doesn't matter on my end, but it is always cool when they do new stuff. Yes has continued to mix up what older songs they are playing, unlike what ARW did on their tours, but I do wish they would add some more new stuff.

[Sean]

Nice to hear some of The Remembering! This medley is pretty choppy, I think the segues could have been chosen differently in a couple spots. Still, it's....different. I wish they would have played a few minutes of the first half of The Ancient, but that would require rolling out the lap steel and a marimba. Not worth it, I'm sure... Not for such a small segment.

[Aquatarkus]

I can't agree at all about Jon D's voice being wrong for the classic material live. I do, however, think some people are predisposed to not love anyone but Jon A singing his vocals, which is fair enough. But, having seen them do a large range of material since Davison joined I think he does a fantastic job and doesn't have to stretch too much to do so. He does approach some bits differently than Jon A, but I like that particularly since he regularly gets hammered for imitating Jon A's singing style, which I don't know how he's supposed to avoid completely when singing the same songs. Go spoken word like Roger Waters is doing?

That said, I'd also love to see more new stuff if I was going to see them this tour. I'm not driving far enough to catch them so it doesn't matter on my end, but it is always cool when they do new stuff. Yes has continued to mix up what older songs they are playing, unlike what ARW did on their tours, but I do wish they would add some more new stuff.

I really want to feel this way about Jon D and the classic material! I realize so much of this experience is subjective. I'm glad you enjoy them! Mirror to the Sky is such a cool record. I just can't imagine why they don't want to play more of it and the Quest, which is also quite good. Howe is happy and enjoys making this music, the band is harmonious, why not play the heck out of the music that has brought you joy creating? We will never know most like.