| The
Review |
J After recording one of their classic albums, 1977's
Going For The One, in Montreux, Switzerland, Yes finally graced
the stage of that city's famous Jazz Festival in the summer
of 2003. Back in 2002, legendary keyboardist Rick Wakeman
had returned to the band to join them on a well received world
tour. Along with this Montreux gig, Yes also celebrated their
35th anniversary in grand fashion with a magnificent world
tour of 2004 that featured the classic lineup of Jon Anderson,
Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White, which
was also captured on the excellent Songs From Tsongas DVD.
Yes is, by far, the most reviewed band on my website.
It seems like every year they force me to spend my hard earned
money on at least one or two new concert DVDs, whether it
be something new like Tsongas, or something older like 9012Live.
So we may ask ourselves, do we really need this Live At Montreux
2003 concert DVD, when we already have the Symphonic Live
DVD from the previous tour, and the Tsongas DVD from the following
tour? Well of course we do. For one it's Yes, one of my all
time favorite bands in the world, and two, because each of
these performances provide a very different look at the band
and their amazing music.
Symphonic Live featured the European Festival Orchestra,
instead of Rick Wakeman, and focused on the new Magnification
material along with such monstrous epics as "Close To The
Edge", "Gates of Delirium", and "Ritual". Tsongas featured
the same classic lineup as you see on this Montreux video,
performing under an overwhelming Roger Dean-designed stage
show, which featured giant inflatable alien beings and choral
reefs - or whatever the hell it was supposed to be. You also
got to hear such rarely played gems as "Sweet Dreams", "Mind
Drive", and "Rhythm Of Love". The Montreux performance offers
a more stripped down, intimate performance by the band, and
sticks mainly to the essential Yes classics.
Live at Montreux 2003 was recorded on July 14th, 2003
at the Montreux Jazz Festival during Yes' Full Circle tour,
which was billed as "Together Again...Classic Yes". Classic
Yes is certainly what you get here too - there would be no
90125 crap this night. Just kidding, I love that one as much
as the classic stuff. If you worship the Fragile album as
much as I do, then you are going to be in hog heaven watching
this baby, because every song except Bill Bruford's "Five
Per Cent For Nothing" is showcased here. I'm not sure if Wakeman's
"Cans and Brahms" was covered during his extended keyboard
solo, but damn near everything else was. Two of the best songs
from Yes' excellent 2001 Magnification album, the title track,
and the epic "In The Presence Of", are also performed and
offer a more stripped-down, soulful account of the songs than
what you got on the Symphonic Live performances.
After a brief band member introduction from festival
founder Claude Nobs, the performance kicks off with a dazzling
rendition of "Siberian Khatru". The band is performing without
any of the enormous stage props that would accompany them
on the following year's tour, and the light show is very minimal.
Steve Howe immediately steals the show with his amazing fretwork,
reminding the crowd that he is easily one of the worlds greatest
guitarists. "Don't Kill the Whale", from the much maligned
1978 Yes album Tormato, is also dusted off this night and,
although it certainly proves that that album wasn't a complete
throwaway, it pales in comparison to the songs that will soon
follow. Right after the song you get one of many priceless
Jon Anderson-isms when he enlightens us with "Don't kill the
bees, don't kill the butterflies, because without them, we
are nothing." God I love that guy.
After a soaring performance of their most recent epic
"In The Presence Of", in which Howe gives a virtual pedal
steel clinic, the evening's first highlight gets underway
as Anderson takes on his Fragile vocal piece "We Have Heaven",
with the aid of some recorded vocal accompanyment. Just like
on the album it segues directly into a prolific performance
of "South Side Of The Sky", which was intensified by an extended
jam ending with Howe and Wakeman trading monster riffs in
an effort to one up each other. This was nearly outdone by
the epic "And You And I", where the underrated Alan White
really shines on the incredible drum work that was originally
laid down by Bill Bruford.
For some reason, Howe decided to forgo his Fragile solo
masterpiece "Mood For A Day" in favor of his Yes Album solo
number "Clap", or as Jon Anderson likes to call it "The Clap".
Although "Clap" is certainly a stunner, with Howe's dazzling
bluegrass fingerwork paving the way, I would have much preferred
that he honored the evening's Fragile theme with "Mood". Other
highlights of the show were the majestic "Heart Of The Sunrise",
where Chris Squire finally takes center stage with his virtuoso
bass riffs that propel the song, which only warmed him up
for his incredible bass tour de force "The Fish". Anderson
adds some nice percussion to the mix, and White again shines
on the drums.
As with most of the recent Yes concert DVDs, the overall
production quality is again magnificent. The DTS and Dolby
Digital 5.1 surround audio tracks were nearly flawless, and
both provided a crystal clear mix that let you hear every
note from every instrument, yet provided an authentic live
atmosphere. The high-definition video recording looked sharp
and colorful and the camera work captured the show brilliantly.
There were no extra features included, but, hell, you can
get them from the many other recent Yes DVDs.
Yes has added yet another superb concert DVD to their
catalog that should not be overlooked by any Yes fan. The
Magnification album gave me hope that these guys were still
capable of putting out some great new material, but it has
now been six long years since that fine release. Let's hope
that there is still more where that one came from, but in
the mean time, I'll settle for a new tour. The clock is ticking.
Reviewed by - Paul
M. Roy - May 2007
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