KEYS TO ASCENSION 2

There is a nice updating of Time And A Word. Jon Anderson had been singing a light version of this for years, usually with only an acoustic guitar accompanying his voice. Here, the whole band gets to play, and Rick Wakeman does an especially nice job on piano. ANd Turn Of The Century gets an airing out. While it doesn't compare to the great studio version, it does come off well.

I have to comment about Close To The Edge. I've never been able to get over Alan White's inability to come close to Bruford's amazing playing on any versions of this song, but at least on this one, he manages to restrain himself from playin over Wakemans transition section at the end of I Get Up, I Get Down.

The studio tracks are the real reason to get this one. In particular, Mind Drive rates as possibly the best new song Yes has recorded since the start of the Rabin years. Obviously, it's not as great as Close To The Edge or The Gates Of Delirium, but it is an excellent epic. The remainder of the new tracks are very good Yes songs. It makes me wonder what happened, and why their next album was "Cover Your Ears"... I mean "Open Your Eyes".

Share this YES review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Evolver
• Report this review (#362285)
• Buy YES music online with PA partners
• Show all YES MP3/Stream
• Go to YES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Keys to Ascension 2 page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for YES related discussions