Disco de Yes: “Keystudio”

...they go and release the new stuff without the live filler, the way I would have preferred it. Let's face it, gang--any bona fide Yes fan has a lot of live versions of classic songs in his collection in the "Yessongs" and "Yesshows" releases, and "House Of Yes" was later to add to that. But come on already--you buy those releases and other live albums because they're just that--live albums. The two "Keys" releases had enough original material between them to be a REAL new Yes album, and it was a low blow to make us buy it twice. This album makes it possible for future buyers of the music to buy it ONCE. If it wasn't for the fact that you can't unring a bell, the real title of this should be "Keys To Ascension"--period. If you haven't already stuffed your collection with the other two in the impulsive haste that proved my undoing, THIS is the real one--grab it!

(Update: since this album is out of print and insanely inexpensive, purchase Keys to Ascension I and II instead. All tracks from this album are included)

Folks, this is the long lost classic Yes album.

Recorded in 1996 by the classic line-up of Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White, Yes triumphantly returned to its peak form of the early 70s: rich and complex song structures, extreme musicianship and soaring harmonies.

With its Beatles-like choruses and dizzying instrumentals, the 20-minute "Mind Drive" is one of Yes' best-ever epics, easily beating anything on Topographic Oceans. The other 20-minute epic, "That That Is," is equally excellent, featuring a giddy positivity and superb musicianship that builds and builds to a frenzied climax.

"Footprints" sounds like a distant cousin of "Roundabout", seething with emotion and strong instrumention. "This Train" is a crazy, mood-shifting prog workout that delights. The powerful "Children of Light" has a rap-like verse that merges into heavenly Steve Howe slide guitar solo. The only misstep is "Be The One," a bland, melancholy ballad that sounds like a song by lonely Greek fishermen soused on Metaxa.

Unfortunately, this music never received proper promotion. Befuddled management, befuddled record labels, and befuddled band members originally buried these great recordings under totally unnecessary live tracks and then abandoned them like an unwanted puppy. Most Yes fans missed the best Yes album in 20 years. Fortunately Yes finally performed "Mind Drive" on its 2004 tour; since most fans had never heard the track before, it blew quite a few minds...

If you love early Yes, you'll dig this album.

Recorded at the Office Studios, California, between 1995 and 1996, the Yes album 'Keystudio' was issued in 2001 as a compilation of bonus tracks already released inside the 1996-1997 double-CD-live 'Keys To Ascension'(with a slight touch-up on the initial bars of the track 'Children Of The Light').

It consists of a highly ambitious, monumental work, lasting up to 75 minutes; an authentic masterpiece, almost perfect, showing at last what the Anderson-Squire-Howe-Wakeman-White 'line up' can achieve, even in the studio (notwithstanding 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' and 'Going For The One'), the exceptional levels of that line-up can be compared to what is without doubt the best ever set up by Yes: Anderson-Squire-Howe-Wakeman-Bruford ('Fragile', 1971-72; 'Close To The Edge', 1972), better than their other line-ups, however excellent, of:Anderson-Squire-Howe-Moraz-White ('Relayer',1974)and: Anderson-Squire-Howe-Kaye-Bruford ('The Yes Album, 1970-71).

There are seven tracks - each one seeming better than the other - ('Foot Prints', 9:09//Be The One, 9:51//Mind Drive, 18:38//Bring Me To The Power, 7:25//Sign Language, 3:29//That, That Is, 19:15//Children Of The Light, 6:35, one charming atmosphere leading to another. Once again the typical, unique merits and qualities of this historic English band are displayed and confirmed: width and complexity of composition, stylistic subtleties and melodic sensitivity (texts included), greatly valuable technical importance and extremely careful virtuosity; Jon Anderson's voice, epic, cosmic, delicate and always sweet, yet at the same time mainly and re-assuring; Chris Squire's Rickenbecker Bass (one of the most exceptional creations in the whole contemporary music scene)endowed with a titanic, higly powerful sound, but also with an ever-varied, versatile, flexible phrasing; the magic, now archaizing now futuristic, of Steve Howe's electro-acoustic guitar;the classic sound of Rick Wakeman's impressing and architectural keyboard, Alan White's vigorous and muscular drumming (but not lacking in syncopated rhythm and offbeat).

It is particulary with this work, 'Keystudio' (but also the good and recently released 'The Ladder', 1999 and 'Magnification', 2001 should not be forgotten, as well as the extraordinary DVD 'Symphonic Live'), that the Yes have proved yet again to be at the top of the international music world and - in my opinion - with the King Crimson as their only possible rivals, the most serious, skillful and impressive band in the whole 'sympho-prog-rock' scene from the end of the Sixties up to now.

[English version revisited by Luisa Bertolini]

I've never heard the Keys To Ascention CDs. I came across this CD at Circuit City, on sale. I asked a few people at another website about it and they wholeheartedly recommended it to me. I also read the reviews at this site. You were all right. I can't remember the last time I sat and listened to an album four or five times through in one day. I have to say this is a godsend, not just for Yes fans, but for progressive rock fans in general. I won't repeat everything already pointed out about why this album is so good, I will add that there is an economy of production to this CD that isn't present on most modern Yes albums. You actually hear the individual musicians, and that is what makes this album so reminisent of the early '70s output from this band. Not that this album is a rehash of that era, it isn't. This is a collection of mature songs, as well as being focused musically, and not over produced like so much of there '80s and '90s releases.

Too bad it wasn't released as an album back when they first recorded these songs, instead of being tacked onto the end of redundant live Yes compilations. Had this CD been released as an album of new songs, it may have been another hit. Instead, its an anomally. Its recieved no promotion. Its very cheesily packaged, with no liner notes, lyrics, or anything (except maybe some poorly chosen pics). Diehard completists already own these songs from KTA, and no radio station will ever buy this CD and introduce these songs to the general public and that's a shame, because these are the first truly worthy collection of songs in the tradition of classic Yes since 1977's Going For The One. Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 20 years for the next one like this.

A few years ago when they Keys To Acension Parts I and II were released, I kept listening to just the studio tracks. I would describe the music as having the more progressive approach of the old Yes, but still resembling their more current style. I especially loved the the tracks from part II, notably "Mind Drive".

I would actually rate this 4 1/2 stars since "part I"'s tracks here are really 4 stars, "part II"'s 5 stars.

They have not recorded anything since there "classic" days as good as these tracks. Now they are on one CD, as they should have been originally.

None of the "Key" related releases seems to have ever been promoted much, certainly not as well as the other recent, inferior releases. So if you are not familiar with these tracks and wondered if Yes could produce anything as adventourous as their 70's output, buy this without hesitation.