Cheap Vol. 1-2-Keys to Ascension (Music) (Yes) Price

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Customer Reviews of Vol. 1-2-Keys to Ascension

Five-star 1996 live show, three-star studio tracks
In late 1995-early 1996, the classic Yes lineup -- Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, White -- got together to record an album in the Yesworld Studio in San Luis Obispo, California. In March 1996, they played three straight nights of shows in that city. The live performances and studio tracks were divvied up, with half of each appearing on each 2-CD volume of "Keys of Ascension". This package includes both of the albums.

The live cuts on the 1st album would be worth it just for the first live recordings of the epics "The Revealing Science of God" and "Awaken". Both are fantastic renditions. (Wakeman's pipe organ solo on "Awaken" is unfocused compared to the studio version; if you get bored, listen for Anderson plucking a harp in the background.) There is also a take on "Siberian Khatru" that rivals the "Yessongs" version. The Yes arrangement of Paul Simon's "America" has never been a favorite of mine; the unease of the lyrics conflicts with the brash instrumental passages between the verses. But the take here is almost enough to make a believer out of me. I can't picture the song being performed any better than this. One of the last songs I ever expected on a Yes live album was "Onward", a sweet-nothing love song by Squire from the "Tormato" album. It's about the most simple, straightforward song Yes has ever done, and it works here just BECAUSE of that. In between the long, convoluted songs, the simplicity of "Onward" allows the listeners to rest and cleanse their aural palates before diving into "Awaken". The second CD includes the encores: a solid reading of "Roundabout" and a version of "Starship Trooper" that may be better than the one on "Yessongs", with Howe and Wakeman swapping solos during an extended ending. The sound quality on the live tracks is great, much better than was possible on Yes' earlier live albums.

The "A" material went on Volume 1 of "Keys of Ascension". The cuts that were released on Volume 2 aren't as good, with a few clunker notes here, a sluggish performance of a song there. "Close to the Edge" and "And You and I" are two of Yes' best songs ever, and if you don't have a recording of them yet your life is sadly incomplete, but the versions here sound a bit logy compared to those on "Yessongs". On the other hand, "Going for the One" and "Time and a Word" sound better here than on "Yesshows". I'm not a "Time and a Word" fan, but if I was, this version, with a nice Wakeman piano intro, is the one I'd want to listen to. The high point of Volume 2 is "Turn of the Century", a ballad from the "Going for the One" album that tells a "Pygmalion" tale, with fine acoustic work by Howe.

The studio tracks aren't of the same high standard. They're pleasant, but none will ever appear on any Yes best-of collection. The best is the 10-minute "Be the One", with a soaring melody and Anderson's uplifting chorus "Be the one giving in to love/Never let the good in life desert you". "That, That Is" starts with a lovely Howe acoustic guitar theme, but is too uneven a song to sustain its 19-minute length. By the same token, "Mind Games" might be great at half its 18-minute length, but is too padded to maintain interest. "Foot Prints" and "Bring to the Power" are good but not great tracks. The closer "Sign Language" and the second half of "Children of the Light" are Howe-Wakeman duets -- they're okay, but anyone who's honestly a Yes fan knows that the two could walk into a studio on any day of their lives and record something at least this good.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

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The beginning of the resurrection
The two albums combined here were the logical successors to the "Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe" album. The ABWH lineup (with journeyman Tony Levin in the Chris Squire role) were a gift to those of us who felt the "90125/ Big Generator" Yes were more about being an '80s band than about being Yes, but it was clear from the ABWH effort that Wakeman and Howe had been away from the fold for long enough to lose the rapport. Plus, Anderson and Squire had gotten used to writing Reagan '80s pop. They still knew how to play the really big numbers--but only the oldies in live concerts. And not too many of those, mind you--audiences couldn't very well do the Stadium Wave to "Close To the Edge", could they? By the time these "Ascension" albums came along, though, the rust had been wirebrushed off. We see a Yes here that shows that they still have it. Not only do you get the old epics played in concert a la "Yessongs"--they've also recaptured the ability to come up with worthy successors to such material. And as we see by today's lineup with younger members Sherwood and Khoroshev, this wasn't the '80s anymore. With bands like Dream Theater and Spock's Beard around, the repudiation of progressive is over and done with.