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NSNO2021 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:33 am Yard Act have just released the debut album. Its an album full of commentary on modern life. Hopefully I will get to see them in the near future.

I've enjoyed the tracks that R6 have been playing from this...

Fretless wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:22 am Yes 'Magnification' (2001)



In the new millenium, Yes found themselves as a 4-piece unit with no keyboard player. So they decided to fill out their sound by incorporating a complete symphony orchestra in the next project. The result is, quite literally, 'magnificent' and a sadly overlooked entry in their catalogue.

Anderson, Howe, Squire and White here discard the Modern-Rock trappings of 'The Ladder' and return to the melodic subtlety of their 70's heyday. There do not appear to be any clashing ego's on 'Magnification', harmony is the order of the day - and when these talents combine, as they do here, then the results are really special.

This would be Jon Anderson's final studio album as a member of Yes (health reasons after the following tour) - but he went on a high-point.

For the audiophiles among us: this album is gorgeously recorded and the orchestra / band mix is sensitively done. I managed to get the HDCD edition of 'Magnification' but the recent 3-sided LP has a phenomenal SQ that the digital version cannot equal.

A masterpiece.

This was off my radar and as I like orchestras backing bands I gave it a play. Quite impressed.

Yes 'Union' (1991)



A difficult one this. After major internal disagreements, Yes had split into two separate factions - on the one side was the '90125' group of Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire, Alan White and Tony Kaye. On the other was a reformed classic line-up with Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe, calling themselves 'ABWH'.

Yes were halfway through recording the follow-up to 'Big Generator' (without Anderson, Billy Sherwood was considered as a replacement lead singer) and ABWH were also busy with their second album and needed some extra songs, so Jon Anderson asked Trevor Rabin if he had any spare. Thus the 2 halves came into contact and the record company decided to combine the two units' tracks into a single release.

In the mixing studio the decision was made for session musicians to re-record some of Howe and Wakeman's parts and the whole was released to a mixed reception. The trouble with 'Union' is that neither group really got to present a 'unified' work, so it is a collection of Yes-style tracks played by Yes musicians (mainly) - but it doesn't gel.

There are good numbers to be found on 'Union', it is just lacklustre overall. A tour followed with all 8 band-members and (as usual) Yes fell apart afterwards with Bruford, Howe and Wakeman all departing. Another strange chapter in the lengthy and complicated Yes saga.

I saw Yes on the Union tour at the NEC. They had a revolving stage which I thought was gimmiky and OTT.

Tangerine Dream - Alpha Centauri (1971)
Birthday pressie yesterday from our Ant.
This was one of the casualties of the regrettable LP purge I did in the late 70s, along with Zeit and Atem.
Nice to have it back.
This reissue is on clear vinyl, on the Tiger Bay label and seems to sound better than did my original version, but it’s 40 odd years since I heard it, so I may be wrong.

Kaelidoscope - Tangerine Dream

Fairport Convention - What we did on our holidays
Jethro Tull - The zealot gene
Magnum - The monster roars
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Brain salad surgery
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
Whitesnake -. Restless Heart

Disintegration, just amazing.