AN EVENING OF YES MUSIC PLUS

Of course , like everyone else here, if I must own one album from ABWH , this will be the one. But since I chose not too own any but renting them from the library.

But where the heck was that towering bassist of theirs? Why is the best drummer in the world using electronic percussion ruining our pleasure. Why did they feel they had to release such a needless album? And then all a sudden, they will form this incredibly poor album called Union. Yes was in a rut, and such an album was not really making things anymore essential.

God, have i earing problems ? The performance is maybe top knotch (well, let's be fair, not that much), but gosh, what an awfull sound... My beloved drummer, Bill Bruford, never sounded so close to a plastic trash can. And i can't conceive anyone being charmed by such horrible treatment on a masterpiece like "Heart of the Sunrise" ?

A young person's guide to Yes

With only Chris Squire missing from the "Close to the edge" Yes line up, it makes sense that ABWH chose to emphasise that this was a Yes tour in all but band name. Bass playing duties for this live album are undertaken by Jeff Berlin, although you'd be hard pressed to find him getting due credit on the sleeve notes.

The opening "Firebird suite" is replaced by "Benjamin Britten's Young persons guide to the orchestra", which links into the old Yes number "Time and a word". The opening segment is surprisingly mellow and acoustic, with an unplugged "Owner of a lonely heart" leading to an early acoustic guitar session from Howe. I suspect the track order here does not reflect the live performances, and has been put together with a view to creating a coherent album.

Many of the old favourites are played, including "Close to the edge", "And you and I" "Heart of the sunrise", and "Roundabout". They are excellent if faithful renditions, but with the large number of live Yes albums available, it is questionable whether these versions should be deemed "essential".

Steve Howe's solo spot includes the ubiquitous "Clap" (according to Howe not "THE clap" as it is commonly known!) and "Mood for a day", while Wakeman's is more diverse including "Merlin" from "King Arthur", and the moving "Gone but not forgotten".

There are of course several tracks from the sole ABWH studio album, including "Birthright", "Themes", and the excellent "Brother of mine". Whether the live performance adds anything to the studio versions is however doubtful.

In all, a very good but hardly essential live Yes album.

It seems that there are several versions of this album in C.D., but the day I went to buy it, I found two: one European version released in late 1993, which doesn`t include "Starship Trooper", which has in the front cover the "Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe" names with the title of the album (as shown in the scan of the cover included in this page) and it seems that it doesn`t include the credits for the musicians, as I read in previous reviews; and another version, released by Herald Records in the U.S., in 1994, which includes "Starship Trooper", having the same front cover, except that this cover doesn`t have the "Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe" names and the name of the album. It has a purple sticker which says "an evening of YES MUSIC PLUS FEATURING Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, 2 Gold CDs," etc. It only says in the the back cover "an evening of YES MUSIC PLUS", with the titles of the songs included in each C.D. I bought the Herald version, which also includes a booklet with credits and some notes (which have some mistakes, because the writer of these notes wrote that "the last time these four played together was in 1979 while touring in support the Tormato album", which is not true, because Bruford didn`t play in the "Tormato"album, because he left Yes in 1972, so he wasn`t on tour with in Yes in 1979; and also the notes say that this album was recorded "in the final date of the U.S. tour", and this is not true, because they played another concert the next day in Sacramento, California, and they did another tour in the U.S. in March 1990). This live album was recorded at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, in Mountain View, California, in September 9, 1989. It seems that it was recorded for a Radio Broadcast ("courtesy of DIR Broadcasting inc.", as credited in the booklet), and also filmed and broadcasted in T.V. in "pay-per-view", and also released in VHS video (which I have never seen) in 1994 or later with two additional songs: "The Meeting" and "I`ve Seen All Good People". Jeff Berlin appears in this album because days before this concert Tony Levin became ill with Hepatitis. After playing one concert feeling ill,Tony was taken to the hospital after the concert was finished (to read reviews of this concert and other concerts of the same tour and other Yes tours, visit the "Forgotten Yesterdays" website, www.forgottenyesterdays.com). After this happened, some dates were canceled, and Bruford suggested to the rest of the band to call Berlin, who had 3-4 days to learn the songs, writing the bass parts in scores after hearing the original versions in the albums, and later rehearsing with the whole band. So, after this short time of rehearsals, Berlin, in my opinion, did a very good job. Berlin played 6 or 7 concert dates with ABWH, finishing that part of the tour, and Levin re-joined the band for the next leg of the tour several weeks later.The first time I listened to these live recordings was in late 1990, when I recorded in a cassette a one hour broadcast of this concert in a FM Radio Station (in Stereo). So, years after this album appeared and I bought it, and it became one of my favourite live albums. The only thing that I don`t like from this album is the start of the concert with 3 solo medleys, each one by Anderson, Howe and Wakeman, respectively. Anderson included in his solo medley an acousitc version of "Owner of a lonely heart" which was played with Milton McDonald and Julian Colbeck (who also played on tour with GTR). Howe played his usual "Clap/Mood for a Day" medley, plus a musical piece not listed in the cover or in the booklet and played between "Clap" and "Mood...". My favourite solomedley from these 3 played in the start of the concert is Wakeman`s, one of the best solo medleys I`ve have listened from him, which also includes an instrumental version of "Madrigal" from the "Tormato" album, but also not listed in the booklet or in the cover. Bruford`s solo after "Long distance runaround" (not listed in the cover or in the label) is a very good combination of acoustic and electronic drums and percussion.The songs of the ABWH album are played with more energy, and are better in my opinion than the studio versions (with the exception of "Teakbois", which a part of it was played in Anderson`s acoustic solo medley).This live album also has the best live versions of "And You and I" and "Close to the Edge", despite not being played with Chris Squire in the bass guitar. It is also good to hear live versions of "Heart of the sunrise" and "Roundabout" with Bruford on drums, hearing his very good technique despite being played in a drum kit which was a combination of acoustic and electronic drums. "Starship Trooper" was played a bit differently to previous versions, including a keyboards introduction, and a part played with keyboards between the "Disillusion" and "Würm" parts of this song, which includes the first verse of "Nous Sommes du soleil" (from the "Topographic Oceans"`s album song "Ritual") and a "thank you" speech by Anderson to the audience."Starship Trooper", despite being played at the end of the concert, was added as a bonus track in C.D. no. 1. The rest of the musicians played very good, really assisting the ABWH members in playing the live versions more similar to the studio versions. For me, this album was a very good buy, despite the bass was mixed lower than the rest of the instruments, and despite being originally a recording made for Radio broadcasts. I hope someday to watch the VHS video or the DVD of this concert.

I prefer this live from the series of the band's newer concerts. I disliked the Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe studio album mainly because of the new compositions, but here there are luckily only few of them performed here. Also those included, sound better when implemented among the older compositions. The performances of the classics go in my opinion quite weel, and there is positive energy dominating the concert document. My favorites are the player's solo medleys in the beginning of the album, and "Close to the edge" from their classic repertoire. There's also astonishing covers from Mr. Dean included on this double CD. Sadly Tony Levin didn't attend to this reunion concert however.

This live album put out by Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe is essentially Yes without major bass presence. John Anderson never sounded greater, Steve Howe is at the top of his game, and Rick Wakeman is still giving great live performances. Bill Bruford did very well during the show, however, I'm not much for the sound of electronic drums, it sounded unfitting for Yes music. Jeff Berlin plays the Squire bass work as well as the Levin work on the ABWH studio album, but it is lost deep into the mix and in sometimes inaudible.

Now, to the show. Rather than the popular Firebird Suite intro, they open with Benjamins Brittens Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra, they go straight into an unplugged session beginning with a combination track of Time and a Word, Owner of a Lonely Heart, and Teakbois off of their new album. The transition from track to track is very fluid and almost unnoticeable. After that comes Steve Howe's guitar "solo" so to speak. A combination of both Clap and Mood For a Day, his acoustic work never ceases to amaze me. After Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman gets his solo spot, which includes Merlin off of King Arthur, and a top-notch performance of Gone but Never Forgotten. The next track is the first track that everyone plays together on. Long Distance Runaround is still played precisely and fluidly, and after comes Bill Bruford's electronic drum solo. To close out the first disc is And You and I and Starship Trooper, both played note to note perfect. I especially enjoy the section right before Wurm in Trooper where Anderson combines Soon and Ritual into the mix. And Steve Howe's solo on this track is off the wall, just as it always has been live.

Beginning the 2nd Cd is classic Yes staple Close to the Edge, played perfectly once again, except that Rick Wakeman's keyboards during I Get Up, I Get Down don't really have that synthy-organ feel they had on the album, more of a piano feel. After that is Themes, a rollicking track that goes through different themes (no pun intended) and has a very laid-back feel. Brother of Mine is played exactly as it is on the album, and it sounds great. Nothing more to say on that track. Heart of the Sunrise sounds great, however, Wakeman's keys in the intro sound a little dated, and the bass during that great jam part is very quiet (and sounds a bit distorted). Otherwise, the track is great. Concluding the album are two great versions of Order of the Universe and Roundabout, which end a great live show.

Overall, this is a very strong live effort from ABWH. However, if you have Yessongs, or any live Yes album, you won't really need to get this album. It still is good, but unnecessary. 2.5/5

Honestly, this live set is underrated. This album is one of the finest even among other Yes live albums. Well, it's probably I'm biased towards the fact that I listened to this CD after I had watched the laser disc version of this show. The laser disc is definitely one of my favorite as I consider its quality is the same with Yes "Keys To Ascension" laserdisc as well. I could see how Jon Anderson entered the hall from the back doors and the crowd were not aware about his entrance to the hall. While he walked in he sung "Time and a World" continued seamlessly with "Teakbois-Owner of a lonely Heart" with Milton McDonald on acoustic guitar. It's a great show, really. He then introduced Steve Howe on stage to feature "The Clap-Mood for a day" followed with Wakeman entering the stage with "Gone but not Forgotten-Catherine Parr-Merlin The magician". Bruford enters with "Long distance roundaround" where his drum style I do really enjoy. "Birthright" which has powerful lyrics is also performed flawlessly.

Overall, I cannot deny the quality of this live set as a masterpiece live show because the band deserves it. Keep on proggin' ..!

It's tough to be hard on the guys for trying especially with the older songs, but I can't get past the drumming by usual master drummer Bruford. The rapid-style staccato drum attack on the older songs just grate. I don't mind it on the new songs, which btw I like immensely, especially 'Themes/Brother Of Mine'. Just listen to the drumming on 'Heart Of The Sunrise' which is my absolute favorite live YES song. It's so deplorable! On top of the crummy 80's drumming, Berlin's bass is SO underplayed and I miss Squire's backing vocals. Wakemans playing is fine as is Howe's. So overall it's super for the AWBH songs, but heartbreaking for the older songs. 3 stars max!

This album came as a surprise to me. Until recently I have generally shied away from live albums, preferring the better studio sound perhaps at the expense of some good improvisation. But I decided to give this a try, having (mostly) liked the ABWH compositions. I thought it would be interesting also to hear Bruford playing the old material. Unlike some of the reviewers, I really like his performance, even if he uses more coloring with the electronic drums. He brings an Earthworks v.1 feel to some of the songs, and it's really interesting. Like many of the reviewers, I do lament the missing bass. I think had they mixed Jeff Berlin's bass more loudly, it would have come off better, even if he's not as bombastic as Squire. The sound and energy are great--I wish I'd been there!

This album was taken from what was originally a cable TV pay per view performance (somewhere I have the VCR tape I made of it that night). The performance is very good, but on my CD, the Herald release, there are enough flaws in the sound that it must have been taken directly from the video mix.

First of all, Tony Levin fell ill a few days before the show, and Bill Bruford brought in his friend Jeff Berlin on short notice to fill in. And Berlin gets all but completely buried in the mix, leaving most songs missing the fabulous bass playing that Chris Squire had originally provided. Plus, I saw the band on this tour with Levin, and Bruford's solo, with Levin playing along, and joining him inside the ring of drums (they used to do this with King Crimson, too), was one of the highlights.

Many of the harmony vocals get lost as well, leaving Jon Anderson's voice sometimes hanging out there without the full sound that belongs there. And the whole band often sounds like they were playing in a bathroom, with a tinny sound.

On the plus side, the band played well. Rick Wakeman in particular sounds overjoyed to be playing the old Yes standards again. And standards there are. Along with the obligatory songs from the album they had just released, the classic Yes track selection is predictable. But how can you go wrong playing Close To The Edge?

An evening of Yes music minus

This double CD album was originally released in 1993 and contained live recordings from the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe tour An Evening Of Yes Music Plus. While the show is absolutely excellent the album does not contain the complete show. Three songs were omitted from the album: I've Seen All Good People, The Meeting, and Starship Trooper. (Some versions of the album included Starship Trooper as a bonus track but not in the correct position in the set list!)

In 2006, Voiceprint released a DVD version holding the complete show. The latter is clearly the preferable version to buy as it gives you not only the full show, with all of the songs in the correct order, but also the visual experience of video. I am the proud owner of the special edition double DVD set - one of the finest pieces in my music collection - which also holds the music video collection In The Big Dream as a bonus feature. I have previously given the DVD video version a four star review but the CD version merits a lower rating.

Another point of reference is the recently released Live At The NEC, Oct 24th 1989, which features a different show from the same tour. This release also holds a complete show on two CDs. This proves that the full set does fit onto two CDs which begs the question why some songs were omitted from the An Evening Of Yes Music Plus CD album.

Having at least one live release from Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe in your collection is highly recommended but you get more value for money if you get the DVD version of An Evening Of Yes Music Plus. And if you still want more after that get the Live At The NEC double CD. If you have both of these you have everything you need and will not require the CD version of An Evening Of Yes Music Plus, good though it is.

The performance on this CD is, more or less, Yes with bassist Jeff Berlin replacing Chris Squire. Given that Squire has always been my favorite member of Yes, you might think I'd have a problem with that. As it turns out, though, Berlin does a fine job. (And it's my understanding that Squire was having health and addiction-related problems in the late 1980s - - so even if Squire was included in this project, Berlin may have been preferable anyway.)

Interestingly, Berlin is serving as a substitute on An Evening of Yes Music Plus, for Tony Levin, who had fallen ill during the tour. Levin would re-join for the next leg of the tour, which is documented on Live at the NEC, released in 2010.

The setlist of An Evening of Yes Music Plus is divergent, to say the least: after an opening medley, the rest of the show is made up of songs from two periods: 1971-1972 and 1989. The centerpiece is "Close to the Edge," which, prior to this tour, hadn't been performed by Yes in over a decade - - and which Bruford had never performed live. The rendition on An Evening of Yes Music Plus is different from live versions from the 1970s, but is nonetheless one of the highlights of the album. Other Yes songs that are done especially well are "Starship Trooper" and "Heart of the Sunrise." The ABWH original "Brother of Mine" also stands out.

I've mentioned Jeff Berlin's bass playing, but really, all of the performers are top-notch. In particular, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer Bill Bruford are excellent, and between the two of them account for most of the liberties the band takes with the material on An Evening of Yes Music. Guitarist Steve Howe provides some blistering solos, particularly on "Starship Trooper." The vocals are also strong throughout.

Yet I can't consider An Evening of Yes Music Plus "essential" per the Prog Archives guidelines. As good as the performances are, there are better performances of each - - in fact, a majority of these songs are on the classic Yes live album Yessongs.

So, a good album, and one worth having; but hardly essential to a respectable progressive-rock collection.

Review Nº 490

"An Evening Of Yes Music Plus" is the debut live album of the musical project of Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman And Howe. It was recorded live at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, in California USA, in 1989, when they toured their eponymous debut and only studio album "Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman And Howe". However, it was only released in 1993. Like as happened with almost all Yes' albums and with their self-titled studio album, the art cover for the album was also created by Roger Dean. It features a painting from him which was titled "Floating Islands".

The line up on the album is Jon Anderson (lead vocals), Bill Bruford (drums and percussion), Rick Wakeman (keyboards) and Steve Howe (backing vocals and guitar). But, the album has also the participation of three other musicians, Tony Levin, who performed bass on their eponymous studio album as well as on the most of the live tour. Still, he fell sick during this tour and was replaced by Jeff Berlin, a bassist very well known by them because he had already worked with some of band's members. Julian Colbeck, a well known former professional keyboard player that usually collaborates with several bands and musicians such as with Yes and Steve Hackett, the ex- guitarist of Genesis. He participates on this album with some additional keyboards. Milton McDonald, a very well known session guitarist who plays with many artists and that participates on this album with some additional vocals and extra guitar work too.

"An Evening Of Yes Music Plus" contains material from their self-titled studio album, songs from past Yes' albums and excerpts from Rick Wakeman's solo albums. The album opens with "Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra" which is based on a classical oeuvre of Benjamin Britten, and represents the introduction of the live show that substitutes the popular Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" usually used by Yes to open their live shows. From their self-titled studio album we have "Birthright", "Themes", "Brother Of Mine", "Order Of The Universe" and extracts of "Teakbois". From "Time And A Word" we have extracts of the title track. From "The Yes Album" we have "The Clap", "I've Seen All Good People" and "Starship Trooper". From "Fragile" we have "Mood For A Day", "Long Distance Runaround", "Heart Of The Sunrise" and "Roudabout". From "Close To The Edge" we have "And You And I" and "Close To The Edge". From "90125" we have extracts of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart". From Wakeman's albums we have extracts of the albums, "Gone But Not Forgotten" of "Coast Of Living", "Catherine Parr" of "The Six Wives Of Henry VIII" and "Merlin The Magician" of "The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table".

If you've seen Yes all over the years, most of these songs will be, no doubt, be very familiar to you. The performance of the entire band is spot on, Anderson especially in fine form and Howe, as always, giving a virtuoso performance. Although Wakeman's choice of modern keyboard tones at times borders on cheesey, the guy still blazes through these new and classic tracks. In addition, the set opens up with some great solos spots which are always very fun to hear.

This album certainly has that Yes sound mostly due to the fantastic vocals of Anderson. He sounds great all over these CD's. Wakeman is also a dominant force here. Still, his keyboards and synthesizers have a more 80's sound which stands to reason as the album was originally released in 1989. Of course, I can't forget about Howe. Still, his playing is quite restrained, there are many beautiful acoustic moments to be found and he does let loose occasionally like on the rocking "Order Of The Universe", a feel good, up tempo tune with a heavier section featuring fiery work from Howe and Bruford. Other highlights include the poignant "Brother Of Mine" featuring Anderson's patented soaring timbre and the some super and catchy tracks where Howe's acoustic guitar is quite sublime. Remember, the album as a whole is a relaxing listen. Still, you will find no "Gates Of Delirium" here which is completely understandable given the decade this was made. The bottom line is the band sounds tight and progressive and made many Yes fans happy with this album.

Conclusion: We can consider this live album divided into three parts, the solo tracks, the ABWH's tracks and the Yes' tracks. The solo tracks are in my opinion very good and much better than the solo tracks on "Fragile". The ABWH's tracks represents some of the best musical moments of that album and are for me much better performed live than performed on studio. The Yes' tracks include some of Yes' best works, and the live version of "Close To The Edge" is absolutely great and surprising and is probably, in my opinion, the best live version released by them. When I reviewed ABWH's album I agreed with Easy Livin, when he said that the album was a missed opportunity. On this album I agree with Gatot when he says that this is an underrated live album. This is one of the best live albums of Yes and is also one the best live albums I've heard in my life. The individual live performance of Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford are completely irreproachable and absolutely unforgettable. The live album has also an amazing sound quality.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)