Way back in October 1972, I bought my very first album- Close To The Edge - on my 14th birthday and from that moment on I was addicted to the wonderful music of Yes; especially the seventies (The Yes Album, Fragile, Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going For The One) Yes albums indeed! Now, more than fifty years later Jon Anderson, the brilliant vocalist of Yes, releases a live album with ten songs from the best Yes-period ever; featuring four songs from The Yes Album (1971), two tracks from Fragile (1971), two songs from CTTE (1972), one song from Relayer (1974) and one track from Going For The One (1977). Jon's still very significant and beautiful voice is a pleasure for my ears and The Band Geeks, consisting of: Richie Castellano (bass guitar, vocals), Andy Graziano (guitar), Andy Ascolese (drums, keyboards, percussion, vocals), Christhoper Clark (keyboards, vocals) and Robert Kipp (keyboards, guitar, percussion, vocals) do an excellent job indeed, although - nag, nag - I miss Rick Wakeman (keyboards) and Steve Howe (guitars) on this album for sure.... Highlights are of course the three brilliant epic prog "monsters," being: Awaken, Close To The Edge and The Gates Of Delirium, which is maybe the best Yes song ever recorded... The rest of the songs on the setlist are of course 100% Yes classics, but I would not have picked Roundabout for this recording, as that is probably the only Yes song of that period that I cannot listen to anymore.... Live - Perpetual Change is a MUST have album for all Yes fans, especially for Jon Anderson fans and although I "know" every note, every chord, every solo, every word by heart of these songs I still cannot get enough of them, as this album is doing serious overtime in my CD player!! Jon says about this album: "I'm so excited for this live album to be seen and heard around the world, keeping the true Yes flag flying...." So, buy or die, my dear prog fans!!! Out on 2CD/DVD, vinyl and Blu-ray!!! **** Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
