Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks
2023-04-16
NJ Performing Arts Center
Newark, NJ
Audience recording (A Kitty Lickin' Discs Production), very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAV) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions
The current lineup of legendary progressive rock band Yes (consisting of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Billy Sherwood, Jon Davidson, and Jay Schellen) has recently released a new album, Mirror to the Sky, and has received positive reviews as their best album in many years. However, founding member and original longtime vocalist Jon Anderson, considered to be one of the all-time great prog vocalists, has not been a part of the group Yes for nearly 20 years now. But in the hearts and minds of Yes fans the world over, Jon Anderson will always be THE vocalist for Yes. And Jon is still very much interested in carrying on the music of Yes, and now he has teamed up with a talented group of accomplished musicians known as The Band Geeks, and he is currently on tour with them with a show called Yes Epics and Classics featuring Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks. And wow, what a show! Jon has still got it, even at 78 yrs old, his voice sounds great, and the Band Geeks admirably replicate the musical virtuosity of Yes at their peek. And the setlist is spectacular, filled with the band's greatest songs from their peak 70's period, including nearly all of the epic and classic tracks you would want to hear Yes play in concert. It is the greatest setlist ever for a Yes show, and comes in at amazing 2.5 hours They are all here, Yours is No Disgrace, Starship Trooper, Roundabout, Heart of the Sunrise, Close to the Edge, And You and I, Awaken, and one of my personal faves, Perpetual Change. And there are 2 further epic tracks that were played on alternating nights (rest of setlist same each night), Riual from Tales from Topographic Oceans, and The Gates of Delirium from Relayer. Just sensational. And if you are thinking, yeah, well it's still not the Real Yes, hey, it's pretty darn close, as close as you will get in 2023, and with Jon Anderson fronting, well it's got just as much a claim to the Yes name as the current incarnation of the band. So, the current yes band has a pretty good album out currently, but it doesn't hold a candle to the classics in this show, and it all sounds great. This show is from last month (4/16/23) in New Jersey, and it is a good audience recording. Ritual was the latter part of the shpow epiv played that night, but have included a bonus track of a recording of Gates of Delirium from the Reading PA show the following week, so that all of the songs they play are represented here (with the addition of the bonus track, the show is nearly 3 hrs long!). Although it is impossible to get a full real reunion of the classic lineup of Yes ever again (Chris Squire and Alan White have died, Bill Bruford has retired from drumming), this may just be the next best thing, at least for dynamite versions of the classic songs.
Tracklist:
Set One
1. Firebird Suite
2. Yours Is No Disgrace
3. Perpetual Change
4. Close To The Edge
5. Heart Of The Sunrise
6. Starship Trooper
7. Awaken
Set Two
8. And You And I
9. I've Seen All Good People
10. Ritual
11. Owner Of A Lonely Heart
12. Roundabout
Bonus Track (2023-04-23 - Reading, PA)
13. The Gates of Delirium
Jon Anderson - vocals, guitar, percussion, harp
Richie Castellano - bass, guitar, vocals
Andy Graziano - guitar, bass, vocals
Chris Clark - keyboards, vocals
Robert Kipp - keyboards, guitar, vocals
Andy Ascolese - drums
Ann Marie Nacchio - backing vocals on 9, 11 & 12
Rob Schmoll - acoustic guitar on 8 & 9
Simplemente espectacular, Jon Anderson muy a pesar de los años, sigue siendo una de las mejores voces del Rock Sinfonico !!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMuy agradecido amigo. Saludos y buen fin de semana.
ReplyDeleteBB -the MP3 second part is the same as the first! Can you correct things cheers?
ReplyDeleteHi BB - sorry to be a pain but the FLAC seem to be the same and both parts are part one only!
ReplyDeleteAny chance of uploading both or either of the part Twos FLAC and MP3?
Andy,
ReplyDeleteNo, the links are correct. If you have downloaded both parts you have the full concert (for either mp3 or FLAC). The problem is probably how you extracted them. Make sure both files are in the same folder and extract part1, then part2 will automatically extract with it. That is the whole thing. Do not try to extract them separately, they must be extracted together. If you use Winrar, 7Zip or other primary extraction programs, there are no issues, but I don't know how well some other extraction programs work, since I have not used them. But the files are correct in the links. I re-downloaded them and checked them and all worked fine.
Thanks BB you are SO kind! I am using a Mac and the apps I use will not do that unpacking of both items linked as one. I tried it all over again and Stuffit Expander and my favourite, Keka, won’t unpack it in any other format than one at a time giving two versions of the same vol 1. Unless I try finding another app that can handle Winrar for a Mac then I am stuck with vol 1 on its own
ReplyDeleteNever mind and sorry for appearing dumb as a stick!
Ta, BB! A mate of mine will really get off on this! I haven't listened to it yet (just about to)...
ReplyDeleteRegarding the extracted files, there seems to be no time info associated with any of the FLACs, save the last one that begins "2023.04.23... ". Any one else find that to be the case?
@ Andy - The 2 parts of the file are linked interdependently, so they are not simply separate, stand-alone volumes of the album, but one big conglomeration of code! LOL In all seriousness, you may have to turn to a Windows machine to properly extract the compressed files (I use 7Zip).
Thanks Fred (sorry Bled!) I have given up now . . . . . . thanks for the concern mind. Just make do with the one part (which you pal will love its great!). Have tried everything Mac now and you are right think it would only work with a PC! Ho Hum . . . . . . will find it elsewhere I guess Shame as I was going to post links to this version but hey, whatcha gonna do!?
ReplyDeletebestests all
Peace out
Thanks for this - it should be a good one - love a bit of classic YES. Cheers DD
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for this show! I love YES!
ReplyDelete