Posts by Progatron

    One of my favourite Italian albums, I bought the Japanese SHM-CD edition in the mini-LP sleeve. Beautiful!

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    I absolutely love And Then There Were Three. It's a very moody album, dark at times with just enough light-hearted moments peppered throughout. There's really no other album in their whole catalogue that sounds quite like this one IMO.


    I agree that Down And Out is one of the strongest album openers they did, as mentioned above. And I know that it has some very strong competition, but man, that's a super energetic track that really announces the album beautifully to my ears. Banks and Rutherford all just ALL OVER this album, and of their solo-written pieces, Burning Rope, The Lady Lies and Deep In The Motherlode are incredibly strong tracks. I still listen to them often. Those are all pure Genesis IMO. One example I always think of is the middle section of Motherlode (where Phil is singing "All along the wagons, all along the dusty trail...") while the three of them play semi-restrained underneath before launching back into the main theme, and Mike slides into the chorus again. Brilliant! Makes me want to put it on right now.


    The only change I would have liked to see would be to swap out Ballad Of Big, which has never really done it for me, and replace it with The Day The Light Went Out (which I love). Oh, and perhaps move Follow You Follow Me to somewhere else in the album so that it ended with The Lady Lies.


    But yeah... big fan of this album, and I always will be! 8)

    Im in the US not sure where cherry reed is but i hope to get this set the day its released. Have you bought stuff from this company before or know anything about them? Amazon is very well know I've never herd of this company.

    Cherry Red is a part of Esoteric recordings, and yes I've purchased many titles from them, they are a very good company, you can order without worry. But they are in the U.K., so it may arrive a couple of days after release date depending on when they ship them.

    Progatron , in your post above quoting my last one, well, you proved that you haven't really followed the band closely for at bit. Jay Schellen has been part of the touring bad for Yes for over three years, and frankly his playing is phenomenal. Why was he asked to join in the first place? Because Alan had back problems that were so severe that he finally had to have surgery on his back, which led to his missing the 2016 tour and accepting a supporting role for the years since.

    Yes, I'm fully aware of all of that, as I do indeed follow the band closely. I just don't see them live in person anymore. My comment "who?" still stands - you say that if Steve Howe left, you would no longer acccept them as authentic. So we all have our breaking points, it seems. If some guitarist you'd never heard of came along and played with them for three years, could I just say the same thing you've said about Alan/Jay? My point there was that after Squire's death, we were down to just Howe & White as the only longstanding members, and then a few years back we even lost most of White's performance too, to be largely taken over by Jay Schellen. Is he a great drummer? Yes. Can Jon Davison sort of sound like Jon Anderson? Debatable, but he hits the notes at least. Is Billy Sherwood a good replacement for Chris? Well, he does his job with the utmost respect to his friend and mentor, and I like him, but there is no replacement for Chris. Is Geoff Downes a solid keyboardist for Yes? Well, I think he's great at what he does, and some of those epic tracks are a tall order, so my hat is off to the guy for soldiering through them every night. He is a completely different kind of player from the Wakemans and Moraz's of the world though. My point is that for me, Howe/Downes/Sherwood/Schellen/Davison (with a pinch of White) is just not Yes. If it is for other people, great! Enjoy. I'll continue to buy the live CDs to at least support the band in that small way, even though I play them once and on the shelf they go: In The Present, Like It Is: Bristol, Like It Is: Mesa, Topographic Drama, etc.

    People's tastes are people's tastes. If you can't abide them anymore for whatever reason, then don't go. It's just the tone of many of those who leap to criticize them now seems to suggest that anyone else with any "sense" ought to feel the same way. (Let me further point out that I'm NOT directly accusing anyone here of that same narrow-mindedness - I mention here more as an explanation for the length of this post. I've been hearing these shots taken at the band for quite a while, and I think it's time the opposing viewpoint got a proper airing.)

    Well I'm glad this isn't aimed at anyone here. If you read my post, I think you'll find that I was respectful to the band while also offering my honest take on them in 2019. There is no 'leap' to criticize, my points are all made after careful consideration. I don't go anymore, I happily offer my seat to someone else who will be more appreciative of the show. I saw my shows, now it's someone else's turn - maybe a new, young fan who didn't get to see what I did, but at least they get to see this lineup, which is better than nothing. But me? I will stick with my own personal Yes memories of Anderson/Squire/Howe/Wakeman/White.

    That was the last time I saw them as well (perhaps you were at the same show, Kingswood in Toronto). I recall Chris milking every bit of that bass solo in the middle of Heart of the Sunrise, and I loved it. Every thing Rick Wakeman added seemed magical. I have very fond memories of that show.


    I also totally agree with your latter point.

    Whenever I've read comments suggesting certain bands or musicians shouldn't tour or record anymore because it's ruining their legacy, I think, what a load of baloney.

    Great albums like Close To The Edge don't depreciate or rest on a band's legacy, they are valued on their own merits.

    It was the Molson Amphitheatre (now called the Budweiser Stage) at Ontario Place actually, you may be confusing it with Kingswood which is at Canada's Wonderland. But yes, it was a spectacular concert. We were in the fourth row on the Squire/Wakeman side, and Squire absolutely stole the show. Awaken was transcendent, and stuff like Revealing Science, America, Siberian Khatru etc. was just amazing. Nothing can erase those treasured memories! :)

    That is a very good video!


    They did actually play "The Gates Of Delirium"! :huh: And they played it very well! I'm glad they dipped into the back catalogue: they also played "No Opportunity Necessary", "America", "Going ForThe One", "Siberian Khatru", "Onward", "Tempus Fugit", "Rhythm Of Love", and a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" (Yes' drummer Alan White played on the original and last night).


    Just a great show! 8)

    I watched Gates and Imagine, there are very good quality videos on YT.

    That's a good set list, and Steve Howe still gives it his all, but man, in every video I've seen of them in the last few years, the songs are just so plodding and lifeless. Alan White is just kind of... there, adding essentially nothing, barely keeping up during Gates, while Jay Schellen (who?) does all the actual drumming. Jon Davison is a rather pale imitation of the lead vocal spot. He can reach the notes, but the soul and richness of Jon Anderson's voice just isn't there, it's so thin in comparison. Sherwood and Downes are good players, and I know Squire wanted Sherwood to help the band continue on... but to me it just isn't Yes. I want it to be, but I just can't feel that way when we are now missing so many of the original musicians. It's one thing to replace a key member, but to replace three or four key members in a five piece band?

    The last time I saw them live was in 2002. An absolutely amazing, transcendent concert where they played Awaken, Revealing Science, etc. - and that wasn't even their golden age. But even at that later stage of their career they still had Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe and Alan White. The guys who wrote and recorded those tunes. Now, three of those are gone, and a fourth, Alan, is barely there for most of the show - basically only there to add a bit of credibility, I think.

    I don't begrudge the guys for going out there and earning their living. More power to them, and if people go and enjoy the show - great! I just can't do it anymore personally. I'm so disheartened whenever I watch these modern videos. In the end, it's only a band name, it's not the end of the world and I am not one of those people who thinks they are "ruining a legacy" or any such nonsense. It's just that, to me, some bands have members that are irreplaceable.

    Great Norwegian band Shamblemaths, I bought the CD directly from their website three years ago and they included a nice thank you note with it! Highly recommended stuff!

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    ...listening to my #1 album of 2018: Infernal - the third part of Phideaux's amazing trilogy that began with The Great Leap and Doomsday Afternoon. Absolutely fantastic band, I have the entire CD catalogue including the hard to find early albums! 8)

    I have to admit, I love Le Orme but their last couple have been big disappointments, so I haven't been in a hurry to get this new one. The "Classic Orme" album was particularly bad, especially in comparison with the excellent classical album PFM came out with several years back.


    NP: Chick Corea - Return To Forever (beautiful album)

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    New solo album from Nightwish's Marko Hietala - really excellent! I ordered the CD directly from Finland. He's also doing an English version later this year.

    Glad you're digging the Shylock. One of my favourite lesser-known bands!


    Re: D97 - I have the live disc they made with Wetton, all KC covers. Great stuff! Any fan of the band will love this new CD, I haven't been able to get it out of the player all day...

    I'm currently listening to the new District 97 CD "Screens" - it's their best one yet! It's not out worldwide until the fall of this year, but I got the CD at the merch table from a show on their current tour. I'm so glad they made it available. This is excellent.