SELECTIONS FROM THE WORD IS LIVE

I don't have this promotional sampler CD wtih some tracks which were selected from the "The Word is Live" 3 CD Box Set which was released ten years ago. But I have the Box Set, so I can comment about the selections which were included in this promotional CD. "The Word is Live" Box Set has live recordings from YES which were recorded by diferent line-ups of the band between 1970 and 1988.

"Astral Traveller" was recorded in Gothenburg in 1971 by the "The Yes Album" line-up (Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford). "Astral Traveller" was originally recorded in the studio for YES's second album titled "Time and a Word" (1970) with Peter Banks playing guitar. In this live version, Howe plays the song mostly in his own style, and by doing it, this live version of this song sounds very different to the original studio version. I prefer the live version with Banks which was previoulsy released in late 1997 in the "Something's Coming -The BBC Recordings 1969-1970" album. "Yours is No Disgrace" also was recorded in 1971 by the same line-up from the "The Yes Album" but in a concert in London (which in fact was Kaye's last concert with YES until rejoining the band in 1983), and it is a good live version, with Anderson playing a bit in a Moog.

"Sweet Dreams", which also originally was recorded for YES's "Time and a Word" album by the Anderson- Squire-Banks-Bruford-Kaye line.up, in this live version it was recorded in London in 1975, by a very different line-up (Anderson, Squire, Howe, Alan White and Patrick Moraz) with a somewhat changed arrangement which sounds very well anyway, with Howe and Moraz playing very good solos. "Sound Chaser" was also recorded with this line-up, but in 1976, and it is also a good live version of this song from their "Relayer" (1974) album which was recorded with the same line-up.

"Heart of the Sunrise", originally from the "Fragile" (1971) album, was recorded live in Oakland in 1978, with another live recording being previoulsy released on a live album by the band ( in the "Yessongs" album in 1972, with the Anderson-Squire-Howe-Wakeman-White line-up). It is a good live version, but maybe not better than the other live version, being a bit "raw" in playing. Maybe a live version with Bruford from 1971-1972 could have been more interesting, at least for me, I think.

"Owner of a Lonely Heart" was recorded live in Houston in 1988, by the "90125" album line-up (Anderson, Squire, White, Kaye, and Trevor Rabin). It is a good live version which was previously broadcasted on the radio with other songs from the same concert.

This promotional CD sampler has some interesting selections from "The Word is Live " 3 CD Box Set. Maybe it worked well as a promotional item. But I think that is better to have the Box Set instead. The quality of the recordings is variable, but the Box Set as a whole works more as an interesting historical item to listen to different line-ups of the band playing in concert until 1988.