A MOONLIT NIGHT IN BUDAPEST

It appears that Yesterdays is making a comeback. Beginning with their concept album "Saint-Exupéry álma" and the unfortunate loss of their keyboard player, the band has now assembled a new live line-up and is set to hit the road in 2024. In homage to their history, they have released a live CD from 2007, a performance where they shared the stage with YES founding guitarist Peter Banks.

Yesterdays' debut, "Holdfénykert," was an intimate and predominantly acoustic album released in 2006. During the tour for that album, the songs truly came to life, and this live CD is a fantastic way to showcase the band's ability to elevate their music, pushing boundaries and improvising new solos. At that time, the band was quite youthful, with most members being new to the prog scene. Only the guitarist and keyboard player were prog enthusiasts, proudly wearing their influences on their sleeves. Ákos demonstrated clear Steve Howe influences, while Zsolt's virtuoso Moog melodies paid direct tribute to Rick Wakeman. They even kicked off the concert with a few chords from YES' "Parallels."

"A Moonlit Night in Budapest" can be considered Yesterdays' Yes(terdays)songs. All the tracks gained power and energy in their live versions. As a fan of their debut album, I found these changes to be truly captivating and intriguing. One of the most fascinating parts, for me, is the crazy "MouthMoog" solo at the end of "Ne félj." Essentially, it involves a microphone plugged directly into a fuzz box with a significant amount of gain and delay, resulting in an unbelievably good sound. Such creativity is refreshing, and I look forward to similar experiments in the future.

"A Moonlit Night in Budapest" stands out as a well-produced live album, serving as a beautiful tribute to Peter Banks and Zsolt Enyedi, capturing a memorable show from 2007. Highly recommended for fans of Yesterdays, and if you appreciate symphonic prog from Hungary, this live CD is a must-listen for you!