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Episode 35 – Yessongs part 3

Vinyl triple album purchased 1989 (Click to enlarge)

The thirty-fifth episode of the Yes Music Podcast featuring Volume III of the first live album, ‘Yessongs’.

  • Close to the Edge takes up a whole side – is it worth it?
  •  Can Alan White reach Bill Bruford’s standards?
  • Is the production holding back the music?

Listen and see if you agree with me then let me know by leaving a comment or contacting me via the different routes on the right hand side or by leaving a comment below!

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Theme music

The music I use is the last movement of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. This has been used as introduction music at many Yes concerts. My theme music is not take from a live concert – I put it together from the following two creative commons sources:

thanvannispen and archive.org

6 replies on “Episode 35 – Yessongs part 3”

Nice conclusion to the three part series Kevin – made me want to listen to Yessongs all the way through again (I usually shuffle on my iPod). I always look for your podcast on a Friday – Yesshows up next?

Great Job as always Kevin having seen Yes many times in the 70’s and 80’s Close to the edge has always been my favorite to hear live they have always done it very very well.When you realize how the song came together in the studio its amazing that they were even able to reproduce that song I think it was Steve Howe who said that Eddie was on the floor trying to piece the bits of tape that were recorded during the making of close to the edge,also it was Eddie who was swinging a microphone around in the studio while they were recording a lot of that song which gives birth to this real special song.
I would have to agree I have never really been that crazy about the quality of the sound on Yesssongs but at the time it came out it all so was simply amazing overall.
Yesshows would be nice because I was at those concerts in Detroit when they recorded those tracks Like it was yesterday that’s how fast time fly’s.
Until next week Kevin as always thank you for all your hard work and time you put into this it shows and It Does Matter

Best regards
Paul Tomei

Thanks, Paul. It’s great to have such a knowledgeable and experienced Yes fan like yourself listening! How fantastic to have been at those shows way back then.

Listening to a few of the live recordings, even I am glad I managed to get to the shows I did – and I really hope I haven’t finished being table to experience the magic, live.

Well, here’s hoping!

Paul great work, you’ve taken on a monumental task and I applaud you effort. Your conclusion of Yessongs is spot on! Probably the greatest live album in the history of modern music. Yessongs is an incredible period in this bands history. Many of us will always question why the recording quality was so poor. More importantly is where are all of the original master tapes? Do they still exist somewhere and can a really extensive remastering effort be undertaken? Another question I’ve had and I’m sure the answer is no,but were any of the tracks “touched up” in the studio during post production as we have recently discovered from “Frampton Comes Alive” Peter literally re-recorded whole sections and solo’s which is unfortunate to the integrity of that time capsule. If no doctoring of tracks occurred that makes this album even that much more incredible. And Lastly the partner to the album, the concert video. What were the camera people thinking. Steve’s opening solo on YIND is nothing short of virtuoso, yet the camera person chose to film Rick’s flowing robe instead, go figure. A footnote… the powerful version on the album with the incredible opening improve section, is from Athens, Georgia and no video footage of that performance has ever surfaced. Again where is all of the original video footage edited and unedited does it exist somewhere in somebody’s vault or did it end up on the cutting room floor?

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks so much, Greg. It’s great to know you are out there and listening!

I’m no expert but it doesn’t sound to me like the recordings were touched up afterwards. If they were, how did they replicate the terrible sound quality? 😉

Like you, I’d love to see everything restored from the original material. Maybe one day, when people realise the importance of the band?

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