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Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius
This week, Mark and I had a very interesting chat about collecting Yes music – different pressings, different versions, different formats. I had come up with several categories of Yes collectors and here they are:
- Musical completist
- Artist/Band Supporter
- Band historian
- Audiophile
- History fanatic
- Tactile fanatic
- Emotional collector
So which category do you think you fit into – or perhaps you consider yourself in several, all or none. Please do let us know in the show notes for this week.
This topic came up because I have just received several new (to me) Yes and Yes-related items. Here are some photos:
Kevin’s newest purchases:
I explain what these are and why I fancied adding them to my collection in the episode and Mark talks about these samplers he has in his collection:
Mark’s Samplers:
Other rather nice Yes things we talk about:
https://www.discogs.com/release/26366471-Yes-Lift-Me-Up
https://www.discogs.com/release/2409832-Yes-Lift-Me-Up
https://www.discogs.com/release/22226941-Yes-Live-in-Heerhugowaard
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Producers:
- Joseph Cottrell
- Wayne Hall
- Ken Fuller
- Jeffrey Crecelius
Patrons:
| Aaron Steelman | Steve Luzietti | Lind |
| Al Dell’Angelo | Terence Sadler | Lobate Scarp |
| Barry Gorsky | John Thomson | Mark Baggs |
| Bill Whittaker | Steve Perry | Mark James Lang |
| Bob Martilotta | Thomas DeVries | Mark Slater |
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| Geoff Bailie | Ray Riethmeier |
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15 replies on “Why collect Yes music? 723”
Great episode. Fun to hear the shared passion for collecting things! I’ve thought about what my label is. I think that fundamentally my interest is in music – so I start as a Musical Completist e.g. I’ll buy the Japanese CD of an artist I like not because of the packaging or to collect but because it has an extra song that I need!
I am certainly a Supporter and my completism makes me a bit of a Historian. Audiophile less so – I like to get the best but I don’t feel the need to have the very best pressing of a record as long as I have a decent one. Tactile – well yes to an extent – tour programmes appeal to the tactile non musical aspect. Nice to have a big book to leaf through while listening. And Emotional – well probably less so.
I do have an example of something that I’m exploring at the moment but … I imagine a 5%er may know the answer and – to be honest – I want to find it myself… hard to explain without explaining but I’m hoping something arrives this week which helps solve my mystery.
And talking of 3inch singles I have this on order
https://www.discogs.com/release/2862727-Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe-Brother-Of-Mine
Look at the label. Perhaps it’s instrumental versions LOL
My other confession is that, in various fits and starts of activity I’m trying to get the complete studio albums of Rick Wakeman on CD. I have a list in my Notes app on my phone and periodically try and fill some gaps via Discogs.
Hey Geoff,
Lol!!! As someone who collects Rick Wakeman albums…both on vinyl and CD. All I have to say is Good Luck!
When it comes to vinyl….it’s a bit easier..as not all of it was pressed on vinyl. And some albums were only released in certain countries on vinyl….I’m looking at you African Bach (which was only released on vinyl in South Africa)…don’t get me started on the shipping charge on that one.
CDs are another story….the whole discography is available….and man there are quite a few interesting releases…
Best of luck Geoff…one day we should exchange lists on what we each have.
Mark
It’s impressive that Kevin keeps coming up with great topics. Fun listen! I confess to being eclectic at best as a collector.
Excellent chat as always. Im not sure if one should admit to ticking virtually all of them! But as we know, it is good for you to have a passion, it gets things done. We all spend our money on something and if it makes you happy, then you should do it.
Keep Yessing and Collecting
Great episode from Kevin and Mark!
Well done gentlemen. Can I confess to being a long term fan of the band without any particular interest in the music media.
I used to own vinyl releases ( most of them original) for every album up to 90125, then switched to cassettes, then CD’s in the 2000s.
I no longer own my original vinyl albums having given them away to a friend in the late 1980s.
I’m no audiophile so a downstreamed digital copy is enough for me these days ( although I do have CDs in storage and an original vinyl pressing of Relayer in my study. But no turntable to play it on.
My interest in the music is more in the composition and performance than in the recording and media, although I’m a great fan of Roger Deans album art.
For me the game changer in recent years is to have music and performance audio and video files available to stream or download online. Who doesn’t like to watch grainy black and white footage of the band rocking out to ‘No Opportunity’ in 1970?
Keep up the great work team!
Regarding the Yes Solo Sampler LP, a classmate of mine back in High School said he got this album at the 1976 Yes tour as a free giveaway. Can anyone tell me if this was common during this tour? I used to bug him to sell it to me, but he never would.
Paul, no, I was at 8 shows on the ’76 US tour, and it wasn’t sold with the merch. And as it’s a promo album only sent to select rock radio stations, including mine at the time, it was not for sale anywhere. I still have my copy, now signed by 11 Yes members and Roger Dean, so far.
I’m not a collector at all really, but I guess I’m a ‘band supporter’. I’ve recently been trying to fill in any gaps in the more recent live albums on CD. The tricky bit will be the reissues that will be coming out constantly now that all the rights have been sold, except (I think) for the 90s albums, which also seem to be fair game!
In the meantime, has anyone got one of these? This was another supposed innovation from around the year 2000. It was intended to promote the Masterworks tour, and allowed you to create your own double CD from a selection of live tracks. These all came from the House Of Blues show from The Ladder tour, BUT three of them – Heart Of The Sunrise, Siberian Khatru and Starship Trooper are from Universal Amphitheatre on the Open Your Eyes tour. I’m not sure (off the top of my head) if these tracks have ever seen the light of day elsewhere, but this was certainly a band-sanctioned project, in conjunction with FOX 92.5 – Cincinnati, and the company that produced the CDs was imix.com – which no longer exists. I wonder if anyone else had a version of this?
Stephen, yes, I have a copy of that double cd. I was friends with a radio dj at that Cincinnati classic rock radio station, as I was a radio dj in Columbus in the 70s & 80s, and guested on Columbus radio shows throughout the 90s and up to last fall. I still have many radio contacts. I’m not aware of those 3 songs being otherwise released from the OYE tour.
That imix release had multiple color options for the cover, as I recall, but I selected the same one you have. You were able to choose the title to appear on the spine, and I called mine “House of Yes, Plus” to evoke the ABWH live album title.
Here is my copy of the European Tour 2009 ‘stick’ from Birmingham November 16th.
As a Yes fan since first hearing them in early 1970, I’ve been collecting everything I can from the band & also the members’ solo or related releases since. So like Dave Watkinson, I have a huge collection of music, books, magazines, programs, photos, posters, and memorabilia. I believe that along with the Gottlieb brothers, I have the largest collection in the US. Being a radio dj in the 70s & 80s, starting in Jan. ’75 gave me access to the band and to many radio promo records and promotional items, like album posters, standees & hanging items. I consider myself everything but an emotional collector. In addition to Yes, I’ve also collected many other progressive and classic rock artists since the early 70s, many of whom I’ve interviewed or met for my radio shows, or my writing for various magazines, newspapers & websites since ’72, including all the classic prog bands & artists such as Genesis, Jethro Tull, ELP, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Gentle Giant, Renaissance and many others. My house includes 2 complete music rooms, with boxes also stored in 2 other rooms as well!
I would consider myself both a musical completist and an Artist/Band Supporter. My Rick Wakeman CD collection is pretty well complete (but I do avoid buying unnecessary rereleases of albums I already have when they get licensed to other labels), and I have a ginormous Billy Sherwood collection, including a bunch of his production work and library music (because no holiday season can be complete without his “Rockin’ Hanukkah,” “Happy Kwanzaa,” and “Bring It On, Santa”)!