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FROM THE ARCHIVES
MUSIC NEWS |
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Following the acclaim of their latest release, The Ladder (Beyond), the Yes group rolled into NYC for three shows at the Beacon Theater on December 7, 8 & 9. A number of the 20th Century Guitar crew were on hand for the December 9th show and the general consensus was that the night was an absolute success. Kicking off with The Yes Album evergreen “Perpetual Change”, Yes took the crowd by storm with their 21st Century progressive rock spirit. As great as the new live versions of “And You And I” (from Close To The Edge) and “Awaken” (from ‘77s Going For The One) were, it was the newer numbers from The Ladder that provided the evidence that the men of Yes have even further evolved as master musicians. It was a tad disappointing that nothing was performed from recent albums like Open Your Eyes, Talk and Keys To Ascension, yet it was abundantly clear that the fervent fans on hand that night would go bonkers no matter what the group played. Perhaps the best thing about The Ladder, and about the Yes of the late ‘90s in general is the returning of guitarist Steve Howe to the creative fold. With and without Howe, Yes have always been a formidable sonic force emitting enough power to fuel a small planet, and with Howe regaining the lead and acoustic guitar chores, the band once again revitalize, this time with high-tech accuracy, the early ‘70s guitar-based orchestral prog-rock sound that first brought them such amazing acclaim. In addition to his fine guitar work on late 97’s Open Your Eyes and The Ladder, Howe has also pleased his fans with several fine solo albums in the ‘90s with a special mention going to Pulling Strings, released earlier in ‘99. In the spirit of his ‘94 album Not Necessarily Acoustic, which chronicled his ‘93 American one man concert tour, Pulling Strings is an audio souvenir culled from two dates on Steve’s late ‘94/early ‘95 Pulling Strings tour of the U.S. Released by the U.K.-based Resurgence Records in 1999, Pulling Strings brings back memories of earlier works with Yes (including acoustic excerpts from Close To The Edge and Relayer) and his days with Tomorrow (“My White Bicycle”). Other highlights include innovative Howe takes of the vintage instro chestnuts “Misty” and “Classical Gas” (backing tracks and all!) and a moving cover of the controversial “Blinded By Science” from his mid ‘90s album classic The Grand Scheme Of Things. An essential companion CD to Not Necessarily Acoustic, Pulling Strings boasts good audio, color photos of the master in action and valuable web and guitar tech info. www.nfte.org/Steve.Howe |
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