YES FT. ARW: LIVE AT THE APOLLO

I'll have to admit, that although Yes has been one of my favorite bands for about half a century, I haven't been too interested in seeing the recent incarnations of the band in concert. The band that has been touring consistently since (it seems) the beginning of time, has been, since the great Chris Squire's passing, without any original members. Even with Squire, their last studio albums were somewhat tired sounding and disappointing, if you wanted the majesty of the classic, or even a few of the later albums.

In 2016 & 2017, Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman got together to bring their version of Yes music back to us. It was heaven. It only could have been better if the two simultaneously touring Yesses would have resolved their differences and gotten together for a Yes-off, to prove who were the kings of symphonic prog.

I suspect this group, who originally were going to use the moniker ARW as their group name (WAR was already taken) would have won that contest easily.

Anderson's voice is as clear and steady as ever. Wakeman, the "grumpy old rock star", still proves that he is the greatest living multi-keyboardist, and Rabin is spectacular on guitar, even when covering the unique Steve Howe riffs.

They do not play anything outside of the Yes catalog, so I won't go into too much detail of each track, but a few things stand out.

The band plays everything with joy and energy, with a power that goes beyond what the other Yes seems to be able to create.

Wakeman seems especially elevated. Adding depth and substance to the arrangements of the 80's Rabin era tracks, and more. His elevated performance in "Long Distance Runaround" is especially enjoyable.

The absolute highlight is a 22 minute rendition of "Awaken". Everyone in the group, including bassist Lee Pomeroy (who is previously known for covering Yes classics in a group with Adam Wakeman) and drummer Louis Molino III. With Wakeman & Rabin's soaring performance, and Molino's thundering drums, this has become my favorite rendition of this piece.

I know, we already have far too many live versions of many of these songs, but this album has enough new elements to make it a worthy purchase.