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Yes: Progeny-Highlights From Seventy Two

We all know the classic Yes live album Yessongs inside out, and have been listening to it and loving it for nearly 40 years. Documenting the bands 1972 tour of Close to the Edge, it's a landmark live album and considered one of the best ever in the genre of progressive rock. Problem is, Yessongs always had somewhat of a muddy sound, a problem even the remastered edition didn't really rectify, but considering the time and conditions it was recorded under, there's not been a lot that can be done to clean it up. Fast forward now many years, and a box of reel-to-reel tapes have been found of 7 shows from the same tour, all recorded at concerts in North America virtually a few days apart in 1972, each with very strong audio quality made even better by using modern day 'clean up' and restoration techniques. There is a 14CD box set that includes all 7 full shows available for completists to have to hear every available concert, but this particular 2 disc version contains the best performances from those shows. The sound quality is amazing, crystal clear so you can hear every little nuance being played by Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, and Alan White, which is not something you could always say about Yessongs. In many ways, Progeny can now almost be looked at as the ultimate live Yes album from that era, except, and of course there's always an 'except', that a few tunes from Yessongs, namely "Starship Trooper", "Long Distance Runaround", and "Perpetual Change" are nowhere to be found here, nor on the larger box sets, so either they didn't play them on the US part of the tour or the decision was made to leave them off these collections.

That aside, what is on display here is magical, vintage Yes at the height of their powers. I won't go into the virtues of classic songs like "And You and I", "Heart of the Sunrise", "Roundabout", "I've Seen All Good People", "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Close to the Edge", and my personal favorite "Siberian Khatru", as we are all aware of just how great these tunes are, but the clarity of these recordings and the powerful performances are what makes them exceptional. The late Chris Squire looms tall with his thudding, muscular, and quite elastic Rickenbacker bass, as Howe's virtuoso guitar lines and Wakeman's majestic keyboards dazzle and dart around each other, but the real surprise here is just how clear & powerful White's drums sound. Remember, he was the brand new guy for this tour, and literally had to learn the entire set list in a matter of days, so his outstanding performances on these recordings is astounding. And, what more can you say about Howe & Wakeman, who get their little moments to shine solo on "Clap/Mood For a Day" and "Excerpts From 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII"...these guys are just masters of their craft. The always solid Anderson just floats over the top of all these grandiose sounds, but he's especially wondrous on the always engaging "And You and I" and an aggressive take on "Yours Is No Disgrace".

Of course, a brand new, stunning Roger Dean work of art adorns the lovely digipack, and a booklet filled with information on these recordings and their history slots in nicely inside. Like I mentioned earlier, if you have to have the complete concerts (which would really give you something that rivals and even surpasses Yessongs) then go for the full-blown 14 disc box set. Many will probably be happy enough with this 'highlights' set, but I'll leave that up to you to decide.

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!


Track Listing
1. Opening (Excerpt From Firebird Suite) / Siberian Khatru (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York November 20, 1972)
2. I've Seen All Good People: Your Move / All Good People (Live at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN November 15, 1972)
3. Heart of the Sunrise (Live at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, Tennessee November 15, 1972)
4. Clap/Mood For A Day (Live at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina November 12, 1972)
5. And You And I [I. Cord Of Life, II. Eclipse, III. The Preacher The Teacher, IV. Apocalypse] (Live at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina November 11, 1972)


Disc: 2
1. Close To The Edge (I. The Solid Time Of Change, II. Total Mass Retain, III. I Get Up I Get Down, IV.(Live at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina November 11, 1972)
2. Excerpts From "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (Live at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina November 12, 1972)
3. Roundabout (Live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario October 31, 1972)
4. Yours is No Disgrace (Live at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina November 12, 1972)

Added: July 16th 2015
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 3028
Language: english

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