YES (CLASSIC ARTISTS)

I figured if I was going to start doing these, I should pick a video that had to do with one of the biggest Prog bands. Well, you can't get much bigger than Yes, no? Err . . . I mean . . .

So, I suppose there have been countless other documentaries made about this band, but for me, this was the first one I ever saw. It's really, really good. For such a turmoil-heavy career, this really does a great job of keeping track of all the key events. I loved learning about how the band founders, Squire and Anderson, met at the 'La Chasse Club', and how Peter Banks, the band's first lead guitarist, was actually the one who came up the band's name, and countless other tidbits that I suppose veteran Yes-heads already knew about, but for newer Yes fans like myself (I've only been a prog enthusiast for a handful of years), it was really great to get all of this information from one source, and presented in such a concise and direct way.

The story of Yes has to be one of the most intriguing and exciting rock journeys I have taken. Just hearing about those times makes me wish I could have experienced it all firsthand. With all the twists-and-turns these guys have taken, it's a wonder they are even still together in ANY form. I would say if you want a nice music history lesson about one of the most influential bands of all time, Classic Artists: Yes is a very good investment to make. I have yet to watch any other currently available videos on the subject, so I really can't say if there are any better-organized works out there, but I can say for sure that you'll have a hard time finding a more accurate account of everything that went on. Not only was this documentary handled by Chris Welch, the well- respected Yes biographer, but all of the key band members are here, with in-depth interviews that are more than a little eye- opening when it comes to some of their internal feelings regarding certain eras of the group.

In addition to the band members, there is a whole slew of other equally-important figures including Jack Barrie, the manager of the 'Marquee' and 'La Chasse Club' who first introduced Jon anderson to Chris Squire; Eddy Offord, the sound engineer-turned- producer during the band's most musically rich era; Michael Tait, the band's tour manager and the father of modern stage shows; and Phil Carson, the enthusiastic (although quite manipulative) Atlantic executive. All of these additional perspectives are invaluable to creating a very indepth, broad narrative.

The editing and image quality of this documentary is superb. Once again, my lack of experience with any other Yes-related documentary may cloud my judgement a bit here, but I can honestly say that everything sounds and looks very crisp, and the anamorphic widescreen frame fits my HDTV perfectly. Of course, in some cases, the interviews and performance footage lifted from earlier sources end up having the tops and bottoms of their frames chopped off to make way for the 16:9 format, but for the most part, the video is made up of all modern footage, and it all looks really good. The footage is all cut together in way that causes the story to flow very naturally, and very little backtracking needs to be done. So all in all, it's a treat from a technical standpoint.

Something I think is really interesting about this production as well is how well the story is told. It makes you form your own opinions about all of the players involved. I personally found myself growing quite fond of Jon Anderson, while not feeling as warm and fuzzy about Steve Howe. I also ended up feeling like Phil Carson was a bit of a clown in all of this. There are times when he seems to be so genuine about his love of Yes and concerns for their well-being, while at other times he acts as if he's simply reading off of cards or memorizing pre-rehearsed jive so that he could appear like a noble guy in the video. And the fact that he appears to have just come off of a bender and obviously has no clue that 'And You And I' is not part of the CTTE suite doesn't help his cause. But ALL of those opinions of mine came from the depiction of the people through the documentary's wonderful story-telling.

There are some things I wish had been a little different about this, however. The most painfully absent aspect of Yes' career on this thing is the use of substances. Now, I'm not saying they should have gone completely nuts with that side of things, but the band members' intake of certain types of hallucinogens clearly made an impact on the music, and I would have liked to have heard some first-hand accounts from the guys, much like what was presented in The Beatles Anthology. But aside from that and a few other minor issues, I found this to be very rich in information.

So my final verdict is this: if you already know everything there is to know about this band, you probably don't need it, but if you are just as uneducated in Yes history as I was prior to watching this, you'll be hard pressed to find a better visual biography that is as in-depth or enjoyable. Some people complain about the lack of music, it seems, but this is a documentary, not a concert. I'm not watching it for the tunes; I'm watching it for the stories, and this is something it does very well. Plus it's just fun to see the Yes members themselves reminisce.

I'm giving Classic Artists: Yes a very solid 4 out of 5. Happy viewing.

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