Yesshows
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Yesshows'' is the second live album by the English
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
. It was released in November 1980 on
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
as the final album before the group disbanded in early 1981. Their first live album in seven years, it is compiled of recordings from their 1976, 1977, and 1978 tours from dates in North America and Europe with its mixing supervised by bassist
Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...
. ''Yesshows'' was remastered and expanded in 2009 by Isao Kikuchi, and published by Warner Music Japan as part of their "Yes SHM-CD Papersleeve" series.


Background and production

In June 1979, the Yes line-up of singer
Jon Anderson John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...
, bassist
Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...
, guitarist
Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...
, keyboardist
Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...
, and drummer Alan White, finished their 1978–1979 tour in support of the band's ninth studio album, ''
Tormato ''Tormato'' is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 22 September 1978 on Atlantic Records, and is their last album with singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman before their departure from the ...
'' (1978). Their label
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
had approached the group about the possibility of putting out a live album as a follow-up to their first, ''
Yessongs ''Yessongs'' is the first live album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released as a triple album in May 1973 on Atlantic Records. After completing their Close to the Edge Tour in April 1973, the band selected live recordings between ...
'' (1973), and Squire had the task of sifting through hours of tapes of concerts recorded since then and select the best cuts. He also undertook mixing duties, and prepared a selection of tracks from the 1976, 1977, and 1978 tours across five dates from his studio, Sun Park Studios. The band commissioned longtime cover artist Roger Dean to produce artwork for the album, which was completed using acrylic paints and collage. A release date of Christmas 1979 was set, but it was shelved following disagreements from other band members regarding Squire's choice of performances and the quality of his mixes. Howe was glad that production had halted and "strongly objected" to some of the production edits that Squire had done. He expressed the rest of the band's wish to refine the recordings further and to add more tracks to expand the set from a double to a
triple album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
. By mid-1980, Yes had a change in personnel following the departures of Anderson and Wakeman, and the remaining members recruited
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
and
Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London ...
of
The Buggles The Buggles were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which topped the UK Singles Chart ...
as replacements on vocals and keyboards, respectively. The five recorded ''
Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
'' (1980), and toured the album from August to December 1980. Towards the end of that year, Atlantic Records wished to release a live album and used the cuts and mixes that Squire had prepared as the final release. Mastering was completed at Strawberry Mastering.


Songs

''Yesshows'' comprises seven songs taken from five concerts. "The Gates of Delirium" and "Ritual" are from 17 August 1976 at
Cobo Hall Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...
in Detroit, Michigan, during the band's 1976 North American tour. "Parallels", "Going for the One", and "Wonderous Stories" were recorded on 24 November 1977 at Ahoy-Hal in Rotterdam during the 1977 tour in support of ''
Going for the One ''Going for the One'' is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 15 July 1977 by Atlantic Records. After taking a break in activity in 1975 for each member to release a solo album, and their 1976 tour of the Un ...
'' (1977). "Time and a Word" and "Don't Kill the Whale" are from the
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
in Wembley, London from the ''Tormato'' tour. The latter was recorded by the BBC using the Manor Mobile studio for a live radio broadcast of 28 October 1978 concert.


Release

''Yesshows'' was released in November 1980; it was released in the US on 24 November 1980. It did not enter the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
until 10 January 1981 when it reached No. 29. In its third week, it reached its peak at No. 22, and remained on the chart for five more weeks. In the US, the album peaked at No. 43 on the ''Billboard'' 200 on 31 January 1981, during a 12-week stay on the chart.


Reception

Band opinion of this second live album by Yes was divided, at least up to the 1990s. As reported by author David Watkinson, the label did not inform everyone of events. Wakeman, who was not in the group at the time of release, said that Squire's mixes were "good but nothing exciting. The next thing I know was that somebody gave me a copy". While he, Anderson, and Howe did not care for the final release, Moraz, White, and Squire gave it more approval. Writing for Sounds magazine in late 1980, John Gill recommended, "For Delirium and Ritual alone, I'd buy it". The
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Daily Bruin The ''Daily Bruin'' is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles. It began publishing in 1919, the year UCLA was founded. The ''Daily Bruin'' distributes about 6,000 copies across campus each school day. It also publis ...
perhaps spoke for many fans of the time when it stated, "The inclusion of 'Gates of Delirium' and 'Ritual' are enough to justify the existence of Yesshows" but the review also noted that with Anderson and Wakeman recently exiting the group (and the Buggles merging in), an opportunity was missed to include old high-rated classics. It called the inclusion of "Don't Kill The Whale" a "worthy message, but not a particularly good Yes song".Hoard, Chris (1 December 1980). "Yes: Yesshows. Atlantic". UCLA Daily Bruin. Retrieved 20 February 2019 via YesInThePress.com, a former website archived at http://zenponies.com/yitp/1980/dec/dec01_80.html.


Reissues


Track listing


2009 CD


Personnel

Credits are taken from the 1980 and 1994 liner notes. Yes *
Jon Anderson John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...
– lead vocals, guitar, keyboards on "Don't Kill the Whale" *
Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...
– electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals *
Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals, percussion on "Ritual" *
Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...
– keyboards on "The Gates of Delirium" and "Ritual" *
Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...
– keyboards on all other tracks * Alan White – drums, percussion Production *Chris Squire – production, mixing *Mike Dunne – live recording *Nigel Luby – live recording engineer *Geoff Young – engineer *Sean Davis – engineer on "Time and a Word" *Barry Ainsworth – engineer on "Time and a Word" *Tony Wilson – production on "Don't Kill the Whale" *Bill Aitken – engineer on "Don't Kill the Whale" *Neil Burn – engineer on "Don't Kill the Whale" * Roger Dean – cover painting *Magnetic Storm Ltd. – cover design *Sean Davis – lacquer cut *Lisa Tanner – photography


Chart performance


Certifications


References

Sources * * * {{Authority control Yes (band) live albums Albums with cover art by Roger Dean (artist) 1980 live albums Atlantic Records live albums