| The
Review |
The new DVD from Mr. Anderson- the voice of YES- has its
strong and weak points, but ultimately is a decent package
full of some fine new songs and classic YES and solo songs.
This was recorded live at XM Radio during 2004, I believe,
and presents Anderson in a one-man show live enviroment where
he handles various guitars, keys and harp in addition to his
trademark clear & cosmic vocals. Other Yes men have done the
one-man concert thang, including Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman
and Patrick Moraz. Though Anderson isn't a technical wizard
on any instrument like his Yes comrades, he does possess a
certain naive and creative approach and actually aquits himself
rather well. His playing is minimalistic and basic, yet holds
the songs together well enough. Ever seeking the role of New
Age guru, Anderson fills his DVD up with more nature imagery,
native culture, animals, bird sounds and cosmic talk than
you can shake a stick at. The DVD isn't a flowing concert
program, unfortunately, as there is camcorder-like footage
and brief snatches of interview dialogue breaking up the sequence
between tracks, which is a little annoying. All in all, though,
there is some great tunes.***
A major feature here is eleven new tracks which can't
be found on any Jon Anderson or Yes album yet, which in some
way frustrating, as some of them are quite decent. Anderson
seems to have a thing for stockpiling songs for future albums
which often don't come into fruition. With no new Yes album
in years, surely some of these could have made some fine additions
to the vast body of either Yes or solo songs. Of these, the
spacey HARMONY, the dreamy and almost 'Christmasy' SET SAIL,
FATHER SKY, and a reggae song YOU LIFT ME UP are great pleasant
tracks, and could use possible further developement. Of course,
Anderson's voice has held up well over the years, and is in
fine form. He sounds as great now as he ever did. As for instrumentation,
he plays strange-looking guitars, some harp, piano(to dreamy,expressionistic
effect), along with tapes(including one featuring Rick Wakeman),
and in the case of O'ER from 1998's THE PROMISE RING, acapella.
It was different hearing Jon Anderson's unaccompanied, naked
voice on this. The piano section is dreamy and stream-of-conscience-like.
***
As for the Yes songs, no solo Yes member's set would
be complete without something, and Anderson is generous in
that respect. Stripped-down versions of classics AND YOU AND
I, bits of TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS, YOUR MOVE, and LONG
DISTANCE RUNAROUND are omnipresent. One effectively different
rendition is a stripped-down and reconstructed YOURS IS NO
DISGRACE, which takes on new life as an acoustic track. Anderson
also performs SHOW ME, in which he plays along with a recordingof
the unmistakable piano textures of Rick Wakeman.***
As far as for the downsides, some of the footage which
interrupts the flow of songs is rather mundane and pointless,
and comes off like commercials for XM Radio. I like XM Radio,
but there are too many spots plugging XM Radio, which goes
on quite often through the course of the DVD. You almost get
the feeling of one of those public broadcast stations or telethons
in which they might interrupt the flow of the program to ask
you to make a pledge to the station. I think I actually saw
an OLIAS mug once. Make a pledge.***
Another thing which might not appeal to everyone is the
special features. 'THE GOLDEN MEAN', and 'GOLDEN MUSIC' are
completely unfathomable and not exactly interesting. On these
two features, a scholarly type goes into detail about how
the Golden Mean geometry and mathematics are the center of
the cosmos and about everything is connected by the Golden
Mean, without giving your average schmoe on the street any
idea of what he's talking about. He goes as far as dissecting
fruit. At that point, you may be forgiven if you may think
that Anderson or the commentator are bordering on either genius
or acid casualty. Anderson himself describes the Golden Mean
as a way to interdimensional gateways. Hmmm. The other feature,
THE GOLDEN MUSIC, puts all this into musical terms, implying
that music can be used to unlock untold secrets of the Golden
Mean. This feature isn't for everybody, and may only appeal
to mathematicians and music theorists. Again, without all
the mumbo jumbo, there is always the music. There are some
fine Yes classics and new songs which hopefully may see release
on CD some day soon.***
There is also a lyrics section, which you can enjoy listening
to the music without all the dialogue in between tracks and
read the lyrics. In general, this DVD grows on you after a
while, and is ultimately rewarding despite a few weak points.***
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