Search - Yes :: BBC Recording 1969-70 Deluxe Edition

If all contained herein were Sweet Dreams

Johann Cat | 02/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This exciting double CD captures all the passion, emotion, innovation, and general grooviness of the Early Yes era. 'Yes' and 'Time and a Word' were, unfortunately, the only Yes studio albums in which Peter Banks plays guitar. I prefer this album to Time and A Word (which contains largely the same material) because Peter Banks and Tony Kaye play the original parts which were later to be replaced by orchestra on the Time and A Word album. The guitar solos on 'Sweet Dreams' (BBC version) and 'Astral Traveller' are examples of beautifully arranged, uncluttered, and finely blended compositions that do not distract one from the essence of the tracks themselves. Unfortunately, I cannot always say this about the style of the guitarist who was to replace Peter...
I would love to see Peter Banks and Tony Kaye be asked to rejoin Yes for some sort of reunion tour (and album!) to recapture some of that early feel-good spirit that were early Yes. 'Close to the Edge' and 'Fragile' are masterpieces but there never would have been those albums without the firm foundation built by the adventurous, bold, innovative and creative original line-up of Yes as exemplified in this BBC collection! +"

Bad sound but nice packaging

kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 06/27/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"YES SOUNDS LIKE EARLY PINK FLOYD



This is a 2 CD set consisting of Yes appearances on BBC shows in 1969 and 1970. There are 4 different shows represented. The total time is 95 minutes.



The sound quality is so bad on this CD set, that it is not a very pleasant experience. People who like this will put up with a lot just to hear these rare recordings. The sound quality is worse than many bootlegs and worse than old live blues recordings from the fifties.



The sound is very flat with absolutely no dynamic range. There is a bunch of hissing, static and other background noise. The mix is horrible and vocals are truly stange sounding. The only plus side is that there isn't much audience noise.



This is the original Yes, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Bill Buford, Tony Kaye and Peter Banks. This band put out 2 ablums ("Yes" and "Time and a Word"). The sound was interesting but different than the trademark "classic" sound that would start on with the third album "The Yes Album".



The band is more rock oriented. The band is starting to show a progressive rock trend, but there is none of the bombastic art rock type music that would come later. They remind me of some of the early progressive rock pioneers, like Deep Purple or Uriah Heep before they went hard.



On these live recordings, the group sounds a bit different than on the studio albums. It is really interesting how they play around and rearrange the music. They sound very much like Pink Floyd did during this time, driven by a heavy organ rhythm.



The packaging is very nice. Not what you would expect with such horrible sound. There are extensive liner notes from Peter Banks. Apparently, he really hates Steve Howe.



This would be a great CD to buy if the sound quality wasn't so poor. I think the bad sound eliminates any chance of being able to enjoy the music. Instead of this, I would suggest getting the Doors, Live In Detroit. Now there is an album from the same time period, but with very good sound quality. And talk about wonderful guitar and keyboard solos. Plus, the Doors go on to play another hour after the schedule closing time. I have always been miffed at Yes, since one time when I saw them, they didn't play Ritual because they ran up against Tucson's curfew. The curfew didn't bother the Allman Brothers. They played Mountain Jam with house lights on.



Banks and Kaye departed from Yes and formed Flash, which sounded just like early Yes. They had one good album and Kaye left. Both did some solo material. Kaye rejoined Yes for their most popular "Owner of a Lonely Heart" period."

Great rock & roll

Bob Wettig | Wichita | 06/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One can only imagine what kind of great rock this lineup (Anderson/Squire/Banks/Kaye/Bruford) would have put out if they had stayed together a couple years longer. IMHO, these are some of the best live tracks from this period that I've heard. Banks/Kaye/Bruford are simply unbelievable!"