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SteveG 
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 Topic: Union: Yes
Posted: January 07 2015 at 09:56 |
We're sailing through turbulent seas with this oddity. 1991's Yes album Union seems to be it's most dividing effort with people calling it everything from a fractured disaster to one of Yes's best albums! If you're unfamiliar, this album combined both late 80/early 90's versions of Yes and ABWH groups with everyone on the record, but not on all of the same songs at the same time. The only person missing from this record company orchestrated brainstorm was Patrick Moraz! So, what's your opinion on 1991's Union?
Edited by SteveG - January 07 2015 at 16:51
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HolyMoly
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 10:01 |
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It's one of only 2 Yes albums I have never heard or owned (Open Your Eyes is the other). Maybe someday. I'm in no real hurry, though I don't dislike 80s Yes at all.
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My other avatar is a Porsche
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LearsFool
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 10:25 |
I have to agree with grumpy old Wakeman on this one. So I take after him and call it Onion; in my case, though, rather than make me cry, it just hurts my eyes.
Well, my ears.
It was just poorly put together. The two Yes-s didn't perform together, they went in two different directions, and the record company's real sin was the mixing job they did. Just a disaster.
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Blacksword
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 10:52 |
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Pretty poor all round really.
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Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!
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chopper
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 10:58 |
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I don't mind it, it has some good tracks on it. They've made worse albums.
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Chris S
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 14:37 |
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ummm...rarely played, largely forgettable. Give me Talk, BG anyday. Too many members in the mix but hey it is now a historic event in the Yes library
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<font color=Brown>Music - The Sound Librarian
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richardh
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Joined: February 18 2004
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 15:25 |
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I played the cassette in the car a lot for a while going back over 20 years. I remember meeting Gary Moore's brother some years ago and he thought it a special album and one of their best interestingly. I haven't played it for ages admittedly but then that goes for lots of albums including ELP's Black Moon which I still rate as decent. I don't believe it to be a bad album , in fact Yes never made a bad album in my opinion although it probably would be a 2-3 star album along with maybe a few others that have been already named in this thread.
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The.Crimson.King
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 16:05 |
It would have made a great 45rpm single... "I Would Have Waited Forever" as the A side and "Shock to the System" as the B side 
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SteveG
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 16:36 |
^This! 
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richardh
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 16:40 |
No room for Angkor Wat 
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SteveG
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 16:50 |
^We'll make it an EP then! 
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bhikkhu
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 17:02 |
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I wouldn't trash it nor would I recommend it. To me it is more of a completely missed opportunity. All those supreme talents together and the result just blah. I had a copy at one point and have no idea what happened to it. Must not have missed it very much because honestly when first reading this thread I thought Union still occupied a place in my collection. I guess that kind of sums it up, an easily forgettable album.
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Dellinger
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 22:40 |
 The.Crimson.King wrote:
It would have made a great 45rpm single... "I Would Have Waited Forever" as the A side and "Shock to the System" as the B side |
Yeah, my two favourite songs from the album... well, plus "The more we Live - Let Go", which I really love too. Besides this ones, the album is OK, but nothing I really want to listen. Also, what bothers me about this album... at least the ABWH songs, is that they are suposed to not really have the band playing in all of it, but has session musicians replacing the band members... specially in the case of Howe, I think there's very little of him left on this songs. I think some sort of single was actually released with this two songs before the album was released which contained the songs before the were tampered and overdubbed... I would really like to listen to them (and even better, get those versions).
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Atavachron
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Posted: January 07 2015 at 22:49 |
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Its main problem is editing, there are at least 3 too many cuts. It would've done wonders for both quality and quantity. Then you'd have a failed but damn good experiment instead of the anticlimactic and unfulfilling thing we got.
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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Tapfret
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Posted: January 13 2015 at 22:38 |
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It's only their 5th worst album for my tastes, behind Talk, Big Generator, The Ladder, Open Your Eyes. And that is without the last 3 albums counted, as I only subjected myself to short clips. Union gets extra credit as well because of the amazing tour that accompanied.
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Svetonio
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Posted: January 14 2015 at 00:38 |
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I think that woulld be more Mr Wakeman's solos on the album. Anyway, it's terrible underrated; there are some great songs actually.
Edited by Svetonio - January 14 2015 at 00:40
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Cristi
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Posted: January 22 2015 at 07:04 |
I used to like it a few years ago but these days I only like Lift Me Up. one of the band's least inspired albums to put it gently.
Edited by Cristi - January 22 2015 at 07:30
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Flight123
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Posted: January 22 2015 at 07:27 |
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I would agree that the concert was great (London, June 1991), which also turned out to be the last time I wanted to see Yes!
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Gerinski
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Posted: January 22 2015 at 08:05 |
Although it is a rather inconsistent album, I quite liked it when it came out, but I got very disappointed when I started reading all the nasty stories of how the album was made. The album liner notes portrayed an image of friendship and unity among all the members which was completely false, and that pissed me off, it was just a commercial product conspiracy between Anderson, Rabin and producer Jonathan Elias.
The 'recording together' never happened, it was all overdubbing, Elias chopping and digitally modifying all the Wakeman's takes, most of Howe's playing being replaced by stunt studio guitarist Jimmy Haun... it was all a joke and that destroyed for me the album, an album should never be released which does not have the consent of the musicians on the final product. But there are some good songs in it.
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SteveG
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Posted: January 22 2015 at 10:32 |
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^Yes, I doubt anyone thinks of this album as a gem and it does have "commercial opportunity" written all over it.
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Union: Yes
