SONGS FROM TSONGAS: 35TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT (DVD)

I have seen Yes two times live. The first time was during the "Going for the one" tour in 1977, a very fresh and inspired Yes played their new album and all their 'classics'. The second time was in 2003, again with Rick Wakeman (he has a kind of Richard Burton-Liz Taylor-like relationship with Yes), this gig was good but I missed a spark and the magic. After seeing this stunning 2-DVD I have to conclude that one year after I had witnessed them in 2003, Yes sound much better and more enthousiastic! The first song "Going for the one" reveals that Anderson can reach no more that high voice from the past but in general he sounds more powerful and stable. Most compositions are slightly re-arranged and especially Steve Howe delivers many new versions of his known soli, awesome! One of the most exciting moments is during the unplugged version of "Roundabout" when Rick Wakeman starts to play jazzy piano, so relaxed and all members seem to enjoy this gig (remember the awful "Tales .." tour!). Another surprising 'unplugged' version is from "Owner of a lonely heart", nice to see Steve Howe during this song. On this 2-DVD Rick Wakeman is a bit on the background (he delivers some splendid work on the Minimoog, Hammond organ and acoustic piano), Chris Squire showscases his skills and a lot of pleasure, Alan White still does his job very decent, Anderson ('the hippie with the iron fist') is smiling as never before but this evening the focus is on Steve Howe: watch his play on the Portuguese 12-string guitar in "I've seen all good people" and "Wonderous stories" and the varied soli in "Sweet dreams" (fresh rendition from the band), "Yours is no disgrace" and "Starship trooper", absolutely BRILLIANT! Despite the flood of live Yes DVD releases, this DVD is a MUST!

I sat and watched most of this last night. A well-recorded (although the drums are mixed a bit low), well-filmed DVD. It's nice to see some old songs such as Sweet Dreams and Every Little Thing and Mind Drive is brilliant. Jon Anderson can still reach the high notes (unlike some of his contemporaries), Chris Squire has lost a few pounds, Rick Wakeman looks like he's filming another episode of Grumpy Old Men but plays really well nevertheless, Steve Howe's playing is the best I've seen for a while and Alan White is as solid as ever. A great purchase for all Yes fans.

Best Yes-dvd ever!! Sounds better than quite great symphonic tour couple of years earlier. I have been yes fan last 15 years and saw two times during this anniversary tour: first in Helsinki 2.6.04 and two days later in Stockholm. This dvd reminds me about this second concert in Cloben. Dvd also makes me so happy, because it has managed to capture 100% yes-athmosphere served with great sound and picture quality. Also song selection is excellent and middle part´s acoustic set works well. Let´s hope that Yes still make couple of progressive masterpieces in future!

Well first of all the song program is aligned with that one performed in Switzerland one year ago-June 2004 (their important show at Estival Jazz in Lugano) and it's not a surprise for me...the early songs of their beginning ("Sweet Dreams" for instance, but also some other classics like "Your move/I've seen all good people" ) have always been played with such a great enthusiasm and according a perfect arrangement as well, being never boring or repetitive!!Secondly their inclusion of unusual songs, such as "Mind drive Part 1 and 2" and "My eyes/Mind drive part 3", is the contribution to their new era, represented by the best recent shows of Yes, since 2001 (otherwise characterized also by the magic return of Rick Wakeman on stage with them, after his -a bit uneven- performance of their "Keys to Ascension Tour" dated 1996).Instead talking about disc two, it's probably better than the first one, except on their new proposal concerning a few 80's hit singles ("Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "Rhythm of love"), which is a bit "strident" in comparison to the epic and magical conclusion of "Starship Trooper" for example...but nevermind, that's a minor note, because the quality recording of the DVD is very good, despite of forgiving them for the important exclusion regarding a great "jewel" such as "Heart of the Sunrise"!!

Having been delayed quite a number of times - three or four times if I'm not mistaken - finally the DVD came out. Filmed in May 2004 during one of their 35th anniversary shows, this DVD gives us the classic Yes line-up of Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White. With songs spanning their entire career this show features the band's classic "Going for the One", "Your Move/I've Seen All Good People", "Roundabout", "Starship Trooper", "And You and I". To me personally some classics performed here are quite boring as I have seen them many times in many previous release of YES DVD / laserdisc. But, there are some classics that I've never seen them performed live like "Sweet Dream", The Beatles' "Every Little Thing", "Mind Drive".

The Performance

The film kicks off Disc One with the shooting of the stage from the crowd's view. It shows a gigantic stage design with surreal nature design by Yes's long-time and legendary sleeve / cover designer Roger Dean. The stage reminds me of the cover of ABWH "An Evening of Yes Music Plus". With the playback of "Firebird Suite" each member of the band come out on stage and Jon Anderson plays some cymbals work during the Firebird Suite. Right after the intro part the band blasts the crowd with "Going For the One" that casts Steve Howe playing his Hawaiian / lap guitar. The band performs this song excellently with a bit deteriorated voice quality of Jon Anderson - never mind, it's an aging problem, every one experiences it. What surprises me is that the band plays a classic song that I have never heard them playing in their concert: "Sweet Dream". Nothing special when the band plays "Your Move/I've Seen All Good People" as it sounds the same with their previous releases and I'm getting bored with the song already. It has always been in the set list of their show.

Another great attraction is when the band plays - for the first time in their history - a song created in mid nineties, an epic called "Mind Drive". It's a wonderful and flawless performance, continued with "South Side of The Sky" from "Fragile" album.It then continues with the band's classic "Turn of The Century" and "My Eyes/Mind Drive part 3". Disc One concludes with the favorite classic track "Yours is No Disgrace". After this song the band takes musical break.

One thing that I observe during the band's performance throughout Disc One is that the band is kind like having a lack of passion and energy for the show. Yes, Jon Anderson tried to recover the situation by making some connections to the audience during musical break like before the band plays Mind Drive. But it does not help to improve the situation. Steve Hove never give his smile, Jon is not as he used to be, Rick is quiet. Chris Squire who used to be humorous but this time does not seem to be that happy. Alan White receives a very little share of screen so I cannot observe how he looks. Being a 35th anniversary, it's not good at all having this situation.

The first half of Disc Two contains the band's unplugged performance in a similar style with Yes Acoustic DVD. It starts off with Rick Wakeman (who does not look like changing his gear, unlike other band members) come up on stage with his piano followed by Jon who then sings the first part of ABWH (Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe)'s "The Meeting" while waiting for other band members come up on stage one by one. It's good thread having this short version of ABWH stuff even though I have seen the complete version from ABWH "An Evening of Yes Music Plus". The band continues with the acoustic version of "Long distance runaround", "Wonderous stories", "Time is Time", "Roundabout" and "Show Me". If you have watched the YES Acoustic DVD, this performance is similar but with different venue. Each member uses a non electric instrument - even Alan White changes his drum set with the simple one using single tom.

Rick Wakeman piano solo during "Roundabout" is excellent. My progmate Hardiansyah Rizal is right. He sent his short message to my cellular phone telling his sentimental feeling when he watched this DVD last night; seeing "Show Me" had put some tears that remind him to the great memory of him seeing the band's alive during Yes second leg tour in Singapore 25 September 2003. Yes I do remember that and I share the same feeling with him as I watched the Singapore concert as well with other Indonesian prog mates - including him. What a big surprise is when the band plays Rabin-era top hit that made the Yes name so popular: "Owner of A Lonely Heart". My salute goes to Mr Howe and Mr Wakeman who perform this track excellently even though they did not contribute in the original studio version.

During the transition from completely unplugged session into an electric band, Steve Howe performs his acoustic guitar solo "Second Initial" wonderfully even though without a smile. The band then changes the setting and returns back with full electric band performing another Rabin era song: "Rhythm of Love". Again my salute to Mr. Howe who does great guitar solo in this song, also to Mr Wakeman. Starting with this track, the band sees themselves having passion and energy about the show. During the first part of this track, Jon Anderson walks down the stage and sings the song while running around the crowd. So nice of him. The mood is now energetic and I can feel the soul of the show. Especially, when "Ritual" is performed, I like the improvisation where Chris Squire gives his bass guitar solo and at the end he plays it with Rick Wakeman's synthesizer work - in a humorous setting. It's really cool. The band continues with The Beatles "Every little thing" which I have never heard them played live before. "Starship Trooper" with some improvisation at the ending part finally concludes the show.

Summary

Even though it's not as grandiose as Yessymphonic live DVD, this live set is recommended. Especially, if you are a Yes fan, you should not miss this DVD. Afterall, it's a 35th Anniversary tour - it's a historical event. Sound and picture quality are excellent. Even though no extra, but the DVD offers an interview with Roger Dean. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW.

In order to commemorate their 35 years of existency, the classic line up of Yes has given their excellent performances ....resulted in a very enjoyable concert footage. I give this live concert dvd a four star rating, due to the following reasons :

The song list : Yes give a balanced list of their repertoar, from their earliest tracks such as : Sweet dreams and Every little thing, to their classic live stage performances : And You And I, Ritual, Starship Trooper, and many more ...and songs from their Magnification era. Strangely enough, I noted there is no track from Tormato is performed ( which all of the five guys appeared in the album ). Too bad there is no track from Drama era, but maybe it has been decided so by Yes.

The acoustic set : The acoustic set covers the first half of the second disc : From The Meeting right through to Owner of The Lonely Heart. The session has a very intimate atmosphere and all of the Yes member seemed to enjoy the session with their chat and joke. Jon sat in a bench and play acoustic guitar, Wakeman plays grand piano, even Alan White plays in the front with his mini drum set. You can also enjoy Roundabout in a blues shuffle arrangement ....very interesting.

The stage setting : The stage is set Topographically oceanic, and it gives an impression of otherworldly atmosphere....Yesmember seems like gods from the ocean with their mesmerizing songs.

Best regard, Yoga

4 1/3 Stars ... An excellent concert DVD that unfortunately has its few flaws and does not reach the greatness of the symphonic one. All the musicians are playing well, but they do seem tired. The reason is that this recorded concert is their last one in their tour, so everyone (especially Anderson) sounds a little tired. Putting that little problem aside, the musicianship is still superb, the camera work professional, and the sound quality as good as Yes Symphonic Live. Another interesting thing is the acoustic section in the first half of the second disk.

The Concert :

Disc 1 (65:17) 1. "Intro/Firebird suite" shows the stage with the psycheledic looking things designed by Roger Dean. The musicians come when the famous classical work is playing and Alan backs it up with some percussion. 2. "Going for the one" starts the concert really badly and should be skipped in my opinion. Fortunately, Sweet Dreams is much better, Alan White plays a short solo in it and you see shining drum decorations flying, the song is performed very well and has some nice soloing. "Your Move" is not needed, I've seen it live many times. However, this version is good and Rick Wakeman rock&rolling is fun. "Mind Drive" is an ugly patch of the DVD. It starts excellently with a futuristic and heavy repetitive riff and explodes in a great chorus. Unfortunately, the rest is very incoherent and uncomfortable to listen to. "South Side of the Sky" redeems the first disc. While it lacks a bit of energy in the verses/choruses, it makes up for them in the piano solo and the outro solo duet between Steve Howe and Wakeman which is amusing. "Turn of the Century" is a bit too mellow for a concert, but after Anderson sings 'I'm sure we knoooooooooow", there is a classical instrumental section that is one of the big highlight moments of the concert: The piano and the electric guitar meld beautifully and Squire does a beautiful ascending bass riff. "My Eyes" is kinda forgettable, but fun to listen to with Wakeman's voice keyboards. "Mind Drive Part 3" finishes the mediocre epic well. Finally "Yours is no Disgrace" is well performed and Steve Howe plays a breathtaking extended guitar solo that would leave you in awe from the musical virtuosity of Howe.

Disc 2 (85:14) 1. "The meeting room/The meeting" is a nice melodic piano-led song with pretty singing. The piano playing is excellent here. " Long distance runaround" is the good pop song that we all know played acoustically. "Wonderous Stories" is another beautiful melodic song featuring a portuguese guitar. "Time is time" is not very exciting but has good slide-guitar playing from Howe. "Roundabout" is really interesting!!! This time, it is played as a groovy-blues piece, and it amazes me that Wakeman can play blues so well (hear the piano solo). "Show me" is a vocal-led melodic track that is not very interesting. "Owner of a lonely heart" is yet on another concert! This time, it sounds better acoustically (the orchestra sounds replaced by piano chords) and the piano solo is nice. "Second initial" is a good guitar solo piece in the vein of The Clap. "Rhythm of Love" is a forgettable pop song. However, it is fun to see Anderson meeting the crowd. "And You And I" is great as always (Althrough Chris has to stop playing that harmonica!). "Ritual" ... why again? I don't like this song very much ... fortunately, it has the 'we love when we play' section and the drumming section which I both love. "Every little thing" is a fun beatles song with good riffing. Lastly, Starship trooper closes the show and does not disappoint! The 'Wurm' buildup is as intense and enjoyable as the studio version and contains a wild synth solo.

In conclusion, this is an excellent DVD. Despite its flaws, I think any prog fan with a casual interest in Yes should consider getting it and any diehard can't go without this.

My Rating : B+

It wasn't what I expected at first, but once I realized it was better than I could have hoped for I sat back and watched elated! It's sort of "unplugged" Yes in the second half, and it was a nice change of pace. I smiled throughout and occasionally got chills from this excellent concert video. In fact, I watched the beginning of disc 2 with my 80 year old Mother in the room, and she was curious what these guys I always loved so much were all about, and after Rick Wakeman started things off on the piano she was enthralled! "Well I can see what you like about them so much, these men are really talented!" She even like acoustic Roundabout!

I recommend it to any fan that has other live dvds and isn't expecting the all-out in your face Yes of other all electric videos. My alltime favorite is the Symponic Yes video, but that might be due to the presence of so many beautiful young girls in the orchestra!

Anyway... 5 stars for this one. I loved it.

a Yes fan for the past 34 years...

This is the first DVD I ever bought...and actually i dodnt want to buy it. At first I wanted to buy either Led Zeppelin´s doble DVD or Yes´s Symphonic Live...but Zeppelin´s was way to expensive and I couldn´t find Symphonic...so I said to myself "Well, Tsongas can´t be that bad...why not?". I must say if Symphonic is better than Tsongas then...I don´t know I must be beyond brilliant, because this one is excellent! Outstanding performance, great scenarium (thanks to Roger Dean), great sound and high visual quality. Howe: AMAZING! He shines thrue out the two whole show. But what really surprised me was to find the five of them such good shape and playing so good, and really enjoying it! A lot of songs are played wonderully, Yours is no disgrace...outstanding! Mind drive, what a pleasent surprise!!! Excellent! And you and I...this song always comes out great live. But maybe the realy jewel of the DVD is Ritual...I dont usually find live versions of a song to be better than the original...but this is the big exception! I always liked the song...but this version is one of my favorite Yes epics!!! Excellent DVD...the classic Yes seems to be better than ever on stage!!!

For me it was very pleasant to watch these senior gents performing their classic songs at an excellent show designed by - who else but Roger Dean! Keeping in mind that after their lousy 1983 album I practically stopped following their career. I even thought they were no more, before I joined ProgArchives 2 years ago. Boy, how wrong was I. This video is impeccable performance of nearly 3 hrs that should please all YES fans - both old and novices. Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White - they all must be congratulated. Squire is particularly attractive on stage. Highly recommended to all.

I bought this DVD with a few other recent video releases, and I was pretty impressed. It features again, the classic lineup (Howe, Anderson, White, Squire & Wakeman) playing bare bones, a regular, filmed concert without the visual effects of Keys to Ascension, and without the sometimes annoying orchestra of Symphonic live.

The image and video are excellent quality, I can pick out each hair on Howe's large facial mole. The performances are quite good too, though Wakeman largely looks like a lobotomy patient outside the few smiles. The two disc DVD largely features classic songs, and well picked ones. The condensed Mind Drive is a big highlight.

One of the band's essential DVDs, like Yessongs or QPR. Recommended.

I wished for a certain book about Avant-Garde music as a Christmas gift. My mother ordered it but it never got delivered so I got some money instead to buy something I wanted. So I headed down to the local department store to look if they had any interesting DVDs. They had this.

Recorded as I understand in Boston during their 35th year anniversary tour 2004, it's a double DVD with nearly three hours of music.

I'm not that into Yes so around half of the songs they're doing are new to me. The show can be divided into three parts. The first disc covers the whole first part before a pause, the second disk covers the rest of the show after the pause. The first half is acoustic while the second is electric.

The second disc is generally the better one but a highlight from the first is "South Side of the Sky". Highlights from the acoustic part are "Roundabout" and "Owner of A Lonely Heart" maybe is better than the original.

The last part, second half of the second disc, is the best. "And You And I2 is an amazing song and it's amazing how the crowds can't stop cheering during it and especially afterwards. Directly after comes "Ritual" of Tales of Topographic Oceans infame. The song is new to be but I must say that I, like all the journalists who loathe it, find it quite boring. That is, until the bass solo and then drum solo kicks in and the song becomes quite mighty. "Starship Trooper", the song which ends it all is another high point.

An ambitious and cool stage design by Roger Dean and a small documentary/interview with the man about it is also featured. Chris Squire stands for the showmanship with different poses now and then (especially during mentioned bass solo in "Ritual") while Steve Howe looks like a confused statue. All in all well worth the money, a great show by a great band which I have to discover more of.

This DVD is probably one of the greatest in my collection. I range in progressive DVD's from Evergrey's A Night to Remember, to Dream Theater's Score, to Peter Gabriel's, Growing Up and Secret World.

YES is up there in my top three.

Such a massive setlist to witness. I was able to attend that tour in 2004 when Dream Theater opened for them in London. The London show was much different than this DVD, showing me that YES still has the power to do absolutely anything.

Opening up with Firebird Suite and Going For the One even had me going in my seat at home. The energy which YES gives off draws you right into the show, making you feel as if you are there. The classics progress with Sweet Dreams (wow), Mind Drive, and a moderately slowed down South Side of the Sky (which actually plays out better slower.)

The second disc begins with the acoustic set, where YES performs Roundabout, Owner of a Lonely Heart and others, in a new light. A swing set changes up previous recordings and performances by the band and gives the average YES fan a new pace to these songs.

The conclusion of the show involves the WONDERFUL And You and I, which the audience falls completely in love with. It was mezmerizing. The Beatles Cover of Every Little Thing was well appreciated, and of course, Starship Trooper was a great end to the over two-hour performance.

As for the performances, knowing Jon Anderson was sick during this tour, he did not crack once during the performance. Vocal melodies were strong with the band, as both Squire and Howe each sung along with Anderson.

The sound is wonderful, as everything is almost mixed properly. The lapsteel guitar and Wakeman's keys sometimes are too powerful or too quiet, but are rarely recognized when viewing.

The concert quality is fantastic. We get an equal viewing of all musicians, albeit, I think White was a bit hindered behind the kit.

But overall, it is a classic DVD which I think is essential for not just all YES fans, but ALL FANS of the progressive music genre.

This DVD shows the movements of progressive rock from the 70's to today, and it is a magnificant experience which everyone should watch.

I had great expectations for this DVD. The only part of it that lived up to those expectations is the acoustic set on the second disc. Here the band seems happy performing their songs, and what a great collection of songs they choose to do acoustically! Even Owner Of A Lonely Heart, a song I usually don't like very much, is great here. My only complaint about the acoustic part of this show is that Jon Anderson speaks too much inbetween the songs (even the other band members seems to be annoyed by this). Apart from that, the acoustic set is perfect and it is worth buying the DVD just for this!

The rest, however, did not impress me that much. As a huge Rick Wakeman fan I was particulary disapointed, since Rick does not seem to be enjoying himself as usual (on the electric part of the show, that is) and also he has some technical problems with his moog. None of the performances are uninspired, but they do not shine as they do on the excellent House Of Yes DVD.

The setlist has some interesting surprises like Sweet Dreams from the 60's and Rythm Of Love from the 80's, both of which are much better here than they were in their original versions. Wakeman was not in the band when these two songs were originally recorded, but here Rick adds brand new keyboard solos to these songs! Amazing! These additions makes these versions far better than they ever were before!

Not the best Yes DVD but well worth having.

From the outstanding production beginning with the trademark 'Intro/Firebird suite' to the awesome power of 'Starship trooper', this DVD is a treasure. Every moment of this groundbreaking stage show is captured in crystal clear visuals and glorious sound. The best lineup of Yes play their greatest songs and it is a truly wonderful and remarkable achievement that they can sing and play so well at this late stage of their exceptional career.

There are so many highlights it is difficult to mention them all but of note are the tracks on CD1 'Going for the one', 'Your move/Iâ??ve seen all good people', 'Mind drive Part 1 and 2', 'South side of the sky' and 'Yours is no disgrace.'

CD 2 features the acoustic set and we see Howe playing to perfection in 'The meeting room/The meeting'. The acoustic versions of 'Long distance runaround', 'Wonderous stories' and 'Roundabout' are interesting, but I prefer the original arrangements. I do like the acoustic version of 'Owner of a lonely heart' as a change of pace.

They strap back on their electric equipment for the next tracks, 'Rhythm of love', and my personal favourite of the DVD, 'And you and I'. This track is a show stopper and features beautiful lighting that strikes Roger Dean's amazing set with a sense of timelessness and majesty. 'Ritual' is the 19 minute epic from 'Topographic' and is a crowd pleaser, and then they play the early classic, 'Every little thing'. As mentioned it ends with the brilliant 'Starship Trooper'.

No need to go into the bonus features, though they are excellent. These tracks alone are worth the purchase price. An absolute masterpiece from the masters of prog.

Buy it? In a Word, Yes!

Yes - Songs From Tsongas DVD

Review by ProgKidJoel

Yes' 35th Anniversary DVD, Songs from Tsongas, is a great collection of a two live sets - One electric and the other acoustic. The latter is by far the most exciting, energizing, and its what makes this 2DVD live show worth a purchase. In addition to some great renditions, there's some great conversation between tracks by Jon Anderson. The first disc is also near-perfect, featuring a great set played with an amazing energy to send chills down the spine of any YES or prog fan, especially in MIND DRIVE. TURN OF THE CENTURY is also particularly amazing in this recording, and this track really shines live.

The members were all evidently well-rehearsed before this show, and this is visible through their onslaught of brutal renditions and consistent musicianship on both of the sets, which is nothing less than a spectacular show, which any band should be proud of on their 35th Anniversary.

Sonically, this is a fantastic live recording, features good camera angles and great video quality. My only complaint is the occasional use of inappropriate cameras - That is to say, shots of thing which aren't necessary to be shown at the time, for example, during a keyboard solo we have a shot of Steve Howe playing guitar chords... Good none the less, but it seems the cameras are sometimes away from the action, which is a little unsatisfactory. As a backdrop to this live show, we have a great Roger Dean projection show, which is tailor-made to fit every song perfectly, and it does exactly that. This adds massively to the atmosphere of the show.

A great DVD, and compulsory watching for any Yes fan for the live version of Mind Drive alone!

Enjoy, and grab it when you can.

-Joel

For a band that once had a serious dearth of live material, we've had to wait quite some time before the sudden deluge happened, and even after the duff production of Yessongs and the rather mixed bag that was Yesshows, we've had some strange misfires amongst the gems.

However, with Tsongas, they've nailed it. The mix of material is as strange as the disk format, or the irritating song titles that serve no purpose. It's a delight to finally see Sweet Dreams and Every Little Thing, just as it is frustrating to not have Awaken, and something from Relayer would have been nice. Maybe they just wanted to have a bit of fun. That would explain the content of the acoustic set in the middle - Owner of a Lonely Heart translates better than you'd expect, and the amazing blues version of Roundabout is a real show stopper!

Other than Steve Howe's solo spot, which really is more of a filler while the set is taken down, there are none of the customary solo sets - and that's a real pity. Rick Wakeman contents himself with the odd flurry on his MiniMoog, and Alan White has a workout in the tail end of Ritual, where the percussion section is extended, but Chris Squire and Jon Anderson simply don't bother. Yes, the classic solos sequence in Starship Trooper is there, but they've always done that anyway. Its more a matter that The Clap and The Fish are not in the set list than anything else.

For all the oddities, this is a fantastic set, from a band who have been around as long as any, and share a pantheon with very few others for their achievements. Splitting the concert to 2 DVDs, when it clear fits on a single (dual layer) one, is very strange, since the extras and fillers could have easily sat on the second DVD alone. For my own amusement, I created a single DVD combining the two volumes of the concert. Nearly three hours straight through!