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Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius
Mark and I really enjoyed listening to/watching Oliver’s album/DVD ‘Coming To Town – Live In Katowice’. We were surprised by and delighted with the performances, the writing and the production. It’s a great set from a band firing on all cylinders!
- Is this all progressive rock?
- Does Oliver take the lead?
- How proficient are the others in the band?
Oliver’s Website page about the album
Let us know if you agree with us!
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Producers:
- Joseph Cottrell
- Ken Fuller
- Jeffrey Crecelius and
- Wayne Hall
Patrons:
| Aaron Steelman | Dave Owen | Mark James Lang | Paul Tomei |
| Joost Maglev | David Heyden | Paul Wilson | Martin Kjellberg |
| Bob Martilotta | Lind | Michael O’Connor | William Hayes |
| Brian Sullivan | David Pannell | Lobate Scarp | Miguel Falcão |
| Chris Bandini | David Watkinson | Neal Kaforey | Rachel Hadaway |
| Craig Estenes | Dem | Mark ‘Zarkol’ Baggs | Paul Hailes |
| Doug Curran | Robert Nasir | Fergus Cubbage | Scott Colombo |
| Fred Barringer | David | Geoff Bailie | Simon Barrow |
| Geoffrey Mason | Stephen Lambe | Guy R DeRome | Steve Dill |
| Henrik Antonsson | Steve Perry | Hogne Bø Pettersen | Steve Rode |
| Declan Logue | Steve Scott | Todd Dudley | Jim |
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| John Cowan | Tony Handley | Robert | Gary Betts |
| Jim Morrison |
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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: archive.org
5 replies on “Why did Yes want Oliver Wakeman? Part 2 – 590”
Thanks for another great discussion. I agree with Mark regarding the other question: Why did Yes let him go?? I agree ‘his’ album (From a Page) was great. Maybe a new series: why did Yes fire…..?
Maybe Doug has insight into the return of Geoff? Enjoy the weather Mark. Records falling as temperatures soar in Arizona of late. Also the home of some dark sky areas BTW.
You picked a great live album that showcases Oliver’s playing & compositional skills, and that of his bandmates. I reviewed one of guitarist David Mark Pearce’s albums in the late 90s for Progression magazine. He’s a fantastic guitarist, as Mark noted. Drummer Dave Wagstaffe is best known for his time in Landmarq, and also played on Oliver’s ‘Three Ages of Magick,’ and played with John Wetton, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash and others. Singer Paul Manzi was the singer with Arena, and also sang with Ian Paice, Oliver, Gordon Giltrap, and is currently with the classic band Sweet. It’s worth seeing & hearing just for Oliver’s wonderful playing. So after Kevin and Mark, I add my thumbs up on this live recording. I see that Amazon dot com has it on dvd for only $10.36, for those who don’t have it yet!
As for Jeff’s point, I will tactfully say that I wish Oliver had stayed with the band, and I talked about that with various members past & present, including Chris, Alan & Rick. To hear Oliver, Geoff and Trevor talk about the ‘Fly From Here’ period, I highly recommend Jon Kirkman’s two ‘Dialogue-The Yes Interviews’ books. They are currently on Amazon at $22 and $24 for the paperback versions. There are two sides to every story, three sides in one saying, but most of them have been pretty open about the influence of Trevor on the songwriting & recording of the album and the switch from Oliver to Geoff.
Good to hear from you, Dr. Jeff!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Oliver notices a sudden uptick in sales for “Coming to Town” after your glowing reviews. It was enough for me to search it out on Amazon and order a copy… though it’s going to be a bit of a wait as it’s coming from Germany!
Another personnel note: amongst his many projects, Clive Owen is most notably (to me, anyway) the keyboardist for the criminally overlooked progressive band Pendragon, of which I am a tremendous fan. They’ve been making fabulous prog for over four decades.
…aaand, of course: after a seemingly endless winter and a long, cold wet spring, summer has finally arrived in Utah. Completely clear skies and temperatures into the triple digits this week. Put on some good music and enjoy whatever you get!
I think I may have gotten my Clives mixed up… or maybe misheard one way or the other…
Pendragon is still a great band either way.