TOPOGRAPHIC DRAMA: LIVE ACROSS AMERICA

Yes

Symphonic Prog

3.26 | 103 ratings

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I'm not going to indulge in the sheep like, fan boy dribbling that seems to accompany anything from the YES camp. I am not overwhelmed by this recording by any means.

There's nothing major wrong here ..... hence the 3* rating ... it just ..... doesn't quite do it for me.

1. Its so SLOW! ... if they play this stuff any slower they'll never reach the end of a piece without needing a break to take a leak.

2. I'm not going to knock the singer for not being Jon Anderson ... I actually think the earlier live releases he's sung on were really rather good ... but not this time. I can't put my finger on it .... it just doesn't work for me.

3. Crowd noise a little too high in the mix

4. The elephant in the room ..... or should i say the elephant is not in the room? Anyway ... No Chris Squire. One doesn't necessarily appreciate how integral his backing vocals are .... until they're not there anymore.

5. unlike many of the Jon Anderson worshipers ... I love the Drama album ..... but this performance feels inferior.

6. I much prefer the older available performances of the 'oceans' tracks .... although they give it a shot, it just feels ... lacking.

7. Finally, do we really need any more renditions of the other classic YES trax on here? I'd say ... NO .... as a gain these feel weaker than other performances of them, including the recent ones on the last 3 contemporary live albums the band have put out in recent years.

I always want to love a YES release .... this time, I couldn't get there.

with the utmost respect, I think it's time for the guys to recognise, with No Chris AND No John ..... with Alan struggling with health issues ..... maybe this 50th anniversary year is the time to call it a day. They've done enough.

Matt-T | 4/5 | 2018-2-17

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