YES-TODAY

Yestoday gathers tracks from "Open Your Eyes" and "The Ladder", plus a few choice live cuts from the "House of Blues" album. It shows the songwriting ability most bands only dream of and the live power no one can get close to.

Disc one storms in with the crunching guitar riff of "New State Of Mind", then brings us the joy of "It Will Be A Good Day", before the first dip into the past with a mighty rendition of "Perpetual Change", before "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" reminds us of what we were all singing back in 1983. Then there is 11 minutes 22 seconds of YesMagic, "And You And I" from the "Close To The Edge" album is one of the best YES tracks ever committed to vinyl and this version is one of the good ones, HOWE'S searing guitar lines cut through the epic themes, whilst SQUIRE conjures up some seriously heavy bass lines.

Disc two has the Sherwood influenced "Open Your Eyes", and the very modern sounding "If Only You Knew", a dedication from JON to his wife. The album ends with the ultimate YES song, "Awaken" in all its glory, seventeen and a half minutes of spine tingling genius. Originally released on the 1977 album "Going For The One" this ANDERSON/HOWE epic was always a RICK WAKEMAN showcase, the classical piano intro, followed by some of the best guitar you will ever hear, ANDERSON'S crystal clear vocals, then the dreamy percussive section and finally the earth shattering church organ bring the song to a breathtaking climax before ANDERSON and HOWE bring back a brief moment of calm. This version is a very, very good one with KHOROSHEV emerging having most definitely earned his stripes.