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| Yes - House Of Yes: Live From The House Of Blues |
 Released: 2000 Label: Beyond Music Cat. No.: 63985-78084 Total Time: 108:01 | |
Reviewed by: David Cisco, October 2000 If you missed the PBS special earlier this year, Yes' latest live offering provides the opportunity to catch up on just what you missed, albeit without the video. For those who caught the special or one of the Ladder tour shows, this set will either be a friendly reminder or a pointless rehash. I missed the special and the tour, so I jumped on House of Yes to hear how the Ladder-era line-up sounded. After repeated listenings, I am ambivalent. Bad news first: The production is terrible. The sound is a mid-range mire in which instruments and voices merge to create a flat, grating sonic assault that occasionally hurts the ears. Keys, Sherwood's guitar, background vocals, and even Squire's bass - where is the bottom? - get caught up in the stew, often cancel each other out, giving some songs the appearance of white noise. The only exceptions are Anderson's voice and Howe's guitar, which dominate the mix. No producer is listed, which means - to me, at least - "Produced by Yes," which also means (again, to me) that the production was overseen by Jon Anderson, possibly with the help of Steve Howe. A strong producer would certainly have made House of Yes a more pleasant listening experience. [Though the credits note that Mike Plotnikoff mixed and Biff Dawes engineered it - which doesn't negate David's comments, of course. -ed] Now the good news: This is Yes, and the excitement of yore occasionally surfaces to remind us just how good Yes can be. Fittingly, the five tracks from The Ladder fare the best, showcasing the chemistry of the expanded line-up. The best moments come during "The Messenger"; the neo-reggae groove versus straight-ahead rock makes this one my favorite of the newer material. The classics are well-represented, with a couple of Rabin-era tracks thrown in for good measure. "Awaken" and "And You And I" are given the epic treatment, with mixed results. "Awaken" falls victim to the uneven production, as Khoroshev's masterful keys disappear into the mix during the climax. Conversely, "And You And I" is stately and powerful, propelled by Khoroshev and Squire's timing (Perfectionist pulsebeat, indeed!). "Your Move/All Good People" kicks out the jams, reminding us that progressive is rock, after all, and sets up a rollicking version of "Cinema," during which Steve Howe apparently leaves the stage! The rest is classic Yes, sure to please dedicated fans the world over. [Word was Howe felt uncomfortable playing Rabin's stuff - or it could be he just refused to - ed.] In a nutshell, House of Yes nicely documents the group that made The Ladder, and probably will be the only official live set to include the now-departed Billy Sherwood. Definitely worth a listen, if only for the historical value. A re-mix would be nice, though.... More about House Of Yes: Live At The House Of Blues: Track Listing: Disc One: Yours Is No Disgrace (13:03) / Time And A Word (0:58) / Homeworld (The Ladder) (9:44) / Perpetual Change (10:48) / Lightning Strikes (5:07) / The Messenger (6:39) / Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soliel (0:59) / And You And I (11:22) Musicians: Contact: Website: yesworld.com Discography
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