Disco de Yes: “35th Anniversary Concert: Songs from Tsongas”

If you are a big YES fan, your eyes will be crossed after going into trance mode with this incredible dvd. The production is top notch and the sound is excellent for a live setting. Play guitar, play drums, bass or sing the hell out of these songs or just meditate and don't move a muscle (okay, even keyboards or a bouzouki will do), you will NOT BELIEVE the incredible level of musicianship these old friends achieve. If ever anyone had a doubt, even after YES Symphonic - which was great, that YES could ever bring back the magic...you've been far too stingy with your appreciation!

This concert disk is a YES-power-totem frisbee soaring to the stratosphere...WE HAVE HEAVEN! Parts that thrilled me: South Side of the Sky, a deep cut from my favorite album (Fragile)...how great to see this rocked out again (not acoustic), they do a superb job! Turn of the Century, the lost cut from Going for the One...unbelievably true to the original and played with total finesse and loving care...VERY BEAUTIFUL! Long Distance Runaround (acoustic) - seeing the classic line-up play this with a playful but powerful tone and spirit - far @#^& out!! Wouldn't it be nice to sit down with a few friends and play like that so effortlessly? Wonderous Stories is a melodic, musical magic bell of a composition that Jon channels like a lost hymn. And You & I is done very sweetly, I love this song, as do most YES fans...INSPIRED - and the set by Roger Dean is really majestic for the atmosphere here. Ritual, the Topographic favorite of many (Pt. 1 - Revealing Science of God/Dance of the Dawn would be nice) is one of the main highlights for sure, they take this song to the limit! How do they perform every nuance with such total recall, while still adding 30 years of musical growth? WOW! Yours is no Disgrace rivals the Yessongs version - this is one of the jam breaks for Steve. For me, the huge surprise is this Starship Trooper (Symphonic's version is outstanding too) in the finale, already one of my favorite songs - they sound like Jehovas favorite choir doing this song (delivered with joy by all of them, but Jon particularly), and get a HUGE standing ovation afterwords...UNREAL! It is a great opportunity to get a good look at great new material like Mind Drive and revisit early works like Sweet Dreams & Every Little Thing.

They are so tuned into the magic of the music they have created it is a sight and sound to behold, the audience obviously thinks so! If only all bands with a great songbook could pull together for a concert gift of this magnitude so many years later! This line-up of classic members are clearly back on the bus with the music and their relationships, they appear to be getting on very well together which is wonderful (and all healthy and happy). Having Rick Wakeman back for this concert is reason enough to get it, he effortlessly rocks the house and plays his parts with precision.

I see that there IS HOPE for getting older, even into your 60's and beyond, to seem ageless, timeless and plain old KICK ASS as you dance your way to oblivion...and they hopefully will be doing this for a long time to come! THANK YOU YES for inspiring us all in so many ways!

if some are skeptical of YES ravers like me who enjoy this so much...take into account how much of a YES fan you are before you buy because of opinions like mine, although this is a very nice package and a great place to experience the magic of YES! PEACE YES FANS...ENJOY!

P.S. Steve Howe fans...the new Howe solo piece played here, Second Initial, is really cool - He has a new album out (Spectrum - don't have it yet) and a new concert dvd (Remedy Live - I bought it recently and IT IS GREAT).

One of my fondest Yes memories is watching from the 14th row at Madison Square Garden circa 1977 (it was the Going For the One tour) as the band rocked out. And back then they truly were all about rock...albeit prog rock, but indeed it was about rock. Jon Anderson sang like an angel. Rick Wakeman returned to his rightful place in the band (replacing a fair Patrick Moraz) and hid behind long flowing blonde hair as he literally almost rocked his keyboards off the stage at one point. And Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White pumped out their intricate, precisely played melodies. All woven together to absolutely knock The Garden audience out of their seats. Literally. Everyone stood on their seats throughout the whole show.

Flash forward to May 2004 where the boys are together to shoot a DVD during their 35th Anniversary tour. Well, seems that the guys have aged a bit from 1977 to 2004 (almost 30 years!!!), but certainly you'd never know it from listening to the musical performances in Songs from Tsongas. Jon Anderson's vocals sound superb. He hits every note (in the '77 show that I saw he had an unforgettable mis-step in Roundabout); Howe and Squire play their instruments precisely and their back up vocals sound as if you're listening to the studio versions; Wakeman and White are also as precise as the studio versions of their setlist. And that setlist is as follows:

Disc 1 (65:17)

1. Intro/Firebird suite

2. Going for the one

3. Sweet dreams

4. Your move/I've seen all good people

5. Mind drive Part 1 and 2

6. South side of the sky

7. Turn of the century

8. My eyes/Mind drive part 3

9. Yours is no disgrace

Disc 2 (85:14)

1. The meeting room/The meeting

2. Long distance runaround

3. Wonderous stories

4. Time is time

5. Rounabout

6. Show me

7. Owner of a lonely heart

8. Second initial

9. Rhythm of love

10. And you and I

11. Ritual

12. Every little thing

13. Starship trooper

Total Time: 150:31. Now that's a nice dose! The picture is crystal clear, and you have a choice between Dolby or DTS 5.1; it sounded very, very good. The DVD quality lends a nice effect of being in the front row of the show instead of simply sitting in front of the TV.

It took away from the live effect a bit for me, but I skipped around to the pre-1980s stuff first, then I watched the whole show again the next evening. I was really glad that I did that, because there was a lot of material that (I couldn't believe that) I didn't even know from the 1980 forward period. The new and newer stuff is a nice bonus and "nice to have", but the pre-1980 stuff is why I bought the disk, it's performed precisely and it's "need to have" for Yes fans of that era.

Yes fans need to hit the buy button now!

P.S. - Warning: For those fans that were teenagers or older in the 70s, this DVD will make you feel your age! The Yes in my mind were the Yes from 1977. Silly, I know. But it was a shock in this DVD for me to see Steve Howe looking like the Cryptkeeper (he still rocked though). And an aged Rick Wakeman literally just stood there behind his keyboards like a zombie completely, emotionlessly still through each song (didn't take away from his awesome renditions).

It figures. With all the recent DVD's released by Yes, all of which are somewhat unexciting and released promptly, they have to keep pushing back the release date of one of the most hotly anticipated ones.

This is hands down the best Yes concert I've ever seen. Mainly, the fact that the order and song choice were not the most predictable.

They've been pulling some serious punches with their setlists over the last 15 years, either resorting to predictable "greatest hits" sets or completely wild sets like the one displayed at the Masterworks show. This one was a perfect mixture of the shorts and the longs, and features one that I NEVER thought would see the light of day onstage, which is the stunning, recent (1996) epic piece "Mind Drive" which I love just as much as the classic material. Here, it is bookended by South Side Of The Sky and Turn Of The Century, and just when you thought they had abandoned Mind Drive altogether they come around and blast you with its stunning finale.

It was also incredible that they had managed to pull out a couple from the first two albums which they haven't done in quite some time. The one-two-three punch of the openers was the best I had ever seen them open with.

The band were in fine form and although the Roger Dean stage was most definately on a budget it was the most visually pleasing Yes stage I got to witness in person.

The vibe at the show was amazing (never seen a Philly Yes show and it wont be my last now that I'm a resident) and I can't wait to see the DVD. I know it will be good.

Will they f*uckin' put it out already!??!?!?!?!!?

On May 1st 2004, I was treated to an incredible Evening in Tampa. I had Floor Seats, and as this Concert was held in an Ice Arena, many of us were Freezing! Jon even mentioned how Cold it was while he was blowing his Hands, as was Rick. So Today I bought the 35th Anniversary Concert DVD, not knowing what to expect. If you read the Postings on Yesworld about this final Night at Tsongas, there were many complaints because of the Heat. This DVD is Special, Magical, Wonderful, and perhaps the best produced YES DVD ever. Right off you notice the Video quality is Crystal Clear!. No puzzle like images that you see from Film transferred DVD's. And none of that "artistic" crap that just destroys a Concert DVD. The Sound was fantastic! This was pure Yes at their Finest, and it might just be their last Concert we will ever see?. I loved when Jon said he forgot the words to "Time is Time", and turned away from the Mic and said "let's do Roundabout instead". The whole group busted up, Rick was amazed! Isn't it Rick who has always played with Sheet Music, yet used none on this Tour! And no Prompter for Jon either! If I only had one wish, which is now just half a wish after seeing this great DVD, it would have been Yes releasing a DVD from their "Classic Yes 2002 Tour". I saw them playing on a dormant Volcano at Konocti in California. It was their second show back with Rick, and it was awesome!. Mistakes, yes there were a few, but it was a Classic Show & a Classic Tour. Unfortunately I went back for their final Show in Las Vegas almost 2 Months later, and Jon had lost his voice, and the band was very tired. That's why I think so highly of this final show at Tsongas in the sweltering heat. Funny thing though, they didn't look too hot, I bet their were some portable A/C Units on stage, just for them?. Another observation, Jon did "Rhythm of Love" differently then in Tampa. There he started up on the Stage & then just appeared walking the Floor, I actually got to touch Jon, Isle Seats do have their advantage! And that the Tsongas Concert closed with "Starship Trooper", rather than "Soon" made this concert even more special. And I did get chills when Jon said, "we're going to play our last song now", Imagine if this truly was their last song we will ever see or hear from the World's Greatest bunch of Musicians. As another poster so eloquently said, woo!

Having enjoyed the concert in person (despite the heat it was superb) - we were wondering how well the DVD would be produced Their diligence and the delays are worth it. True to form - Yes has created a classic rock DVD that we'll watch again and again....and again.