Media Watch: the (storied) history of "Owner"

Published almost on the anniversary of OoaLH charting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 is this article from Guitar Player regarding the creation of said hit single.  I'm assuming it was originally a part of the main interview published last month.

https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/yes-how-i-wrote-owner-of-a-lonely-heart

And...it's a story long-time fans know very well.  Or at least one of many stories.  Just for perspective's sake I found this article which is from 2021 featuring Jon's point of view.

https://www.rhino.com/article/deep-dive-yes-owner-of-a-lonely-heart

And then another article from 2021 also featuring other perspectives...

https://www.loudersound.com/features/yes-story-behind-owner-of-a-lonely-heat

Given the 40th anniversary of 90125 a few months back there's been a lot of coverage about the album and the song published of late (as example, one posted on the BraveWords website last month).  But one thing which stuck out for me in this latest one was this bit:

He learned it had reached number one while vacationing in Miami. As he celebrated with a glass of champagne by the hotel pool, a woman whisking down a water slide slammed into him and ruptured his spleen. 

Trevor told the story of the accident (and Shelley's heroic effort to pull him out of the pool all on her own) during his Guitar Center in-store appearance in 2012.  He stated it happened on his birthday, January 13th.  The day "Owner" hit number one was January 21st (which is one helluva belated bday present).  But it certainly makes for a dramatic scene, right?  Trevor's greatest career triumph followed by a life-threatening accident, how fortunes can change from one minute to the next.  Heck, even just a freak accident happening on your birthday is enough drama for anyone.

All that to say...I think this is an interesting example of how - when a cultural artifact is so revered, so famous - there are always going to be differing perspectives regarding how and why it is special, how it was created, and the truth likely lies somewhere in between.

Media Watch: PROG issue 145

This month's cover story in PROG focuses on the 1983 release 90125, an anniversary-minded look back at the making of the album and its' enduring place in Yesstory, music history, and pop culture.

The band's groundbreaking 1983 album 90125 is 40 years old and Prog celebrates by bringing you the inside story of the album, via brand new interviews with those involved. It's a journey from an attempt to form XYZ with Jimmy Page to finding themselves topping the US singles charts - a first for a prog band!

Media Watch: a review of Blast from the Past

Note: this entry contains SPOILERS! for the novel Blast from the Past.  If you want to read it (Would I recommend it?  No.  But I've read it so you don't have to.) then you might want to refrain from reading most of my review.

***

In addition to the overall cultural influence which "Owner of a Lonely Heart" has exhibited for the past 40 years, it's also been used as the title of three different books.  Two of them were published this year and they are both romance novels.  It's a perfect title to be sure.  One of them is even set in 1985.  But what about, I wonder, the novel yet-to-be which pays tribute to those who gifted us that catchy inspiration in the first place?  Well, it turns out there is one...sorta.

Last year Jeb Wright, former owner/proprietor of the Classic Rock Revisted website, self-published a novel which strikes me as a cross between a time-travel fantasy and the movie Detroit Rock City.  That novel is Blast from the Past and why am I reviewing it here, you ask?  It's because the concert which is the lynchpin of the story is one of the dates on the 1984 9012Live tour, taking place on March 14th at Myriad Arena in Oklahoma City.

Over the years Wright interviewed Steve Howe and Alan White for his website several times, and he also spoke with Trevor during the Jacaranda promotional cycle in 2012 - here is the link to that interview.

https://www.classicrockrevisited.com/show_interview.php?id=157

Blast from the Past begins thus: Miles Goodwin, age 55, resident of Arkansas City, Kansas, has a life which might be a long time away from his youthful hijinks but is pretty good, all things considered (while in the midst of the pandemic).  Happily married and with a adult daughter, he's looking forward to having time to himself as his wife and mother-in-law depart on an all-day shopping trip.  Present day is October 2020 and he's about to have an encounter which will change everything.

But one of the first things we learn is that his favorite album is 90125:

For over thirty-five years, this music had remained close to my heart.  On this album, they were the best they'd ever been.  They combined their musical virtuosity with pop sensibility.  Each song on the album was perfect.  When I listened to 90125, I felt better about myself and about life.  It brought back memories of a different era.  Music had always been my higher power, and this album was one of my most sacred listening experiences.

Miles is a GenXer, and this tracks for me in terms of 90125 being the album which probably resonates most with that generation (which is also my own), especially those who might have been Yesfans before or after this point in time.  It was Yes' biggest moment in the cultural zeitgeist and I believe the work continues to resonate on more than a few levels.

With the album blasting through his empty house, Miles does the typical old guy things one would expect: making a grilled-cheese sandwich and opening a beer, looking forward to a nap after this indulgence.  After a minor accident (he receives a bump on the head), there is a summons at the door, which reveals...a dead man.  Or his ghost, at any rate.  Miles is confused and amazed, but also seems to accept the situation fairly quickly.  Soon they are drinking and smoking and reminiscing, as old friends do.  Ashley may be some kind of supernatural phenomenon, but he seems to appear as an actual corporeal being to Miles.

To my mind, this story isn't so much about the possible terror of being visited by your past mistakes...but the wonder of being allowed to escape back into your youth.  For Generation X, it's often been said that we were somewhat "feral" in terms of what kids were allowed to do (or got away with doing) and it makes sense in that GenX also invented Helicopter Parenting as a course correction for our own chaotic childhoods.  This story means to echo classics such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused, Licorice Pizza and Heavy Metal Parking Lot which evoke the nostalgia of being young enough to do what you want with few if any of the attendant responsibilities - adolescence/young adulthood as the last bastion of true freedom.

The reason I state this is because the ghost of Miles' friend Ashley (whom he then named his daughter for) comes to offer Miles an opportunity: go back to the past to witness the events leading up to the dissolution of their friendship and Ashley's untimely death, and understand that he doesn't need to blame himself for any of it...because apparently Miles' life isn't as fulfilling as we might perceive it to be.  He carries the weight of those events with him always, even though there is no inkling of this in the initial assessment of his life at the beginning of the novel.  It would seem Miles believes his best days are far behind him.

So are we meant to think that this could be merely Miles' imagination brought on by his head injury?  Perhaps, given that the time-travel aspect is laughingly simple: Ashley sends Miles back in time to a specific day and when Miles wants to return to the present, all he has to do is say the code word, which is 90125.  In the industry they call this a "handwavium" - meaning an impossible situation/occurrence which is not going to be explained in any rational way.  Because, as I say, the novel is not about time-travel, that is only the device which allows the story to unfold as it will.

A few chapters in, after Miles returns to the year 1983, it is revealed that he is a Yesfan.  This may prove to be controversial with some people, given the line in the sand which the greater fandom considers 90125 to be.  However, plenty of people were fans, and continued to be fans after YesWest debuted.  And there were certainly Yesfans in Kansas (as example, Tool drummer Danny Carey, who hails from Paola)!  

There is a lot of what I would classify as "period-typical attitudes" in this story, the way in which people spoke and acted and thought in the early 1980s.  And that verisimilitude is no doubt why many readers have stated on Amazon and Goodreads that it was wholly enjoyable, as the nostalgia aspect is the focus.  I can't see any GenZers being into it, however.

Back in 1983 at the last kegger of the summer before Senior Year, we witness an encounter between Miles and his future wife Danielle bonding over relationship woes and my first strike is that the author uses clicks as well as cliques.  Unfortunately, shoddy editing is often the hallmark of a self-published work.  We learn that Ashley is Miles' best friend and has a girlfriend who might be a little too wild.  Ashley recently lost his mom to pancreatic cancer and Miles is worried about his state of mind.  In typical male repressive fashion, Ashley deflects and gives Miles grief for chasing after a girl who will never fully commit to him.

But as these events unfold, we are reminded that Miles is both in the moment and out of it, because he is cognizant enough to call out the code word and return to the present day.  He does this several times throughout the novel.  Apparently Ashley is a ghost and an actual physical being.  At this point I'm ready to just throw up my hands and say "Well okay then!"  But Miles is grateful for being able to revisit his hedonistic teenage years, and who wouldn't be?  There are timeskips, and Ashley tells Miles this will be the way in which the time-travelling will occur, reminiscent (I suppose) of A Christmas Carol.  Next we jump ahead a couple months, it is October 29th and Miles and Ashley hear "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on the radio.  Miles enthuses to his friend about the song:

"I love this song man.  I can't wait till the album comes out.  When I heard Yes was getting together without Steve Howe I thought 'no way this is gonna suck ass,' but dude, this song rocks."

The friends are introduced to an older guy at a local street fair who seems the very definition of sketchy, but there's a toga party happening later that night and naturally that's the most important thing!  There's a reviewer on Goodreads who characterized the book as basically about a group of teenagers doing drugs and going to a Yes concert and at this point I kind of have to agree.  Miles is candid regarding how he and his friends spend most of their time drunk and stoned.  And that was the '80s for a fair number of adolescents.  I can't help but wonder if Miles stating that the era was better because people used that for time displacement rather than other forms of entertainment is a truly convincing assertion.

There is drama at the party but Miles reiterates that he wants to be there for his friend, as Ashley seems to be traveling a downward trajectory of sorts, even as he is the one with a future full of promise.  And this is a familiar narrative trope: the star and the fuck-up are best friends and their bond will be tested by this very fact.  And in this journey through the past, both Miles and Ashley are reliving these events - sometimes together, sometimes separately.

At this point during their present day post-mortem (a strange choice of phrase, perhaps), Ashley reveals that they will also be going back in time to the YesWest concert they attended together, but there's more things to relive along the way.  Next, it's November 12th, and Miles' friend Zeke gifts him with a cassette copy of 90125 (strike two: Zeke states it had been released on the 9th but actually it was the 11th).  Miles then infodumps regarding how the album came to have that designation, and the history of YesWest entire, as he is the designated "music nerd" which in those days meant reading music magazines, listening to radio interviews, and watching MTV (which was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world in August of 1981) as well as other music-related television programs, to be in the know regarding one's favorite artists.  Miles learns that he needs to be careful about speaking the title of the album while back in the past.

While listening to the album, the boys get pinched by the cops for underaged drinking in a public park, but luckily not arrested.  It is revealed that the sketchy older guy is a drug dealer on the run, hiding out in the relatively small town of Arkansas City.  And he brings hard drugs into their circle, but it's presented as something relatively innocuous to these inveterate partiers.

He tells them: "Be good.  If you can't be good, then be good at being bad."

Now that is foreshadowing.

We are treated to a number of scenes which show how the guys are royally fucking up their chances to get the hell out of Arkansas City and move on with their lives after graduation as well as various emotional revelations and secrets.  The one I thought was most interesting was another present-day discussion between Miles and Ashley which appears to reveal the bromance I knew was there all along.

"To think...Ash just THINK about this.  We only knew each other for two years before it was over.  That's it, two fucking years.  I fell in love with you man...in the non-gay way.  You were the best thing I had in my life."

So this explains to me the real reason why Miles considers that time the best part of his life, despite the turmoil he experienced in regards to the breakup of his family and having to move to a place where he knew no one, which is always hard for kids to go through.  This is a love story, of sorts.  But of course Miles has to continue to proclaim No Homo bro, which I suppose was normal in the '80s.

It's also revealed that Danielle had children which then Miles helped to raise once they were married.  Ashley was the father of one of them.  But it's weird to me that at this point in the story he only mentions one of them by name, the namesake of his best friend.

The day before the concert the sketchy dealer scores some magic mushrooms for the show and I'm thinking this is not really the vibe for YesWest, but whatever.  They hear a radio ad and I call strike three because Sparkomatic is not mentioned as the sponsor of the tour.  Also, one of the characters describes how one would buy concert tickets via Ticketron in those days but the specific store mentioned was not the same as was advertised, and that information is available online.  But what I will say is valid both historically and emotionally is the importance teenagers would give to concerts, like, there would be nothing better in a year than one particular show.  We get some more lore in the chapter which chronicles the drive to the venue, about the creation of the videos for "Leave It."  But, this is yet another strike because the mini-documentary on the making of those videos was broadcast on MTV in April of 1984, and as noted they are going to the March 14th concert.  One of the characters is the only Black male in the friend group and he discusses how he believes he will be the only POC at the show, and this reminds me of Trevor's enthusiasm for 90125's cultural reach in that he was seeing Black fans in the audience, quite a different situation to his career in the South African years.

Finally, I've reached the section of the book about the concert itself, which is almost halfway through the text.  Naturally, Miles and his friend Zeke are wandering around the venue before the show and somehow manage to get into a backstage area.  After getting chewed out and chased by Security, they continue to miss the beginning of the concert but then manage to get into a restricted area to the right of the stage.  Eventually they get kicked out of there as well and return to their seats.  In the next chapter is an overall summation of the show which seems somewhat accurate.  The part I would disagree with is his observation that Jon was the only one who moved around the stage, which is not true - Chris and Trevor did their share, especially in regards to their bromantic antics.  As well, he notes that the album cover lighting rig came down during "Roundabout" (the encore) which is also incorrect.  It was the big finish of set closer "Starship Trooper."  Speaking of, I was disappointed that the narrative didn't at least include a description of how transcendent a moment the performance of ST was within the show entire.

When the show was over, everyone was on their feet.  The concert had lived up to our expectations.  Yes mixed the past with the present perfectly, both visually and musically.  This was the beginning to a three to four year run for the new pop friendly version of the band.

Things start to go from weird to bad thereafter, and I take it that the concert is meant to be the demarcation point in regards to the trajectory of that year, and their lives in a larger sense.  Each scene is meant to evoke that ever-present nostalgia, as if to underscore how bad the good times are about to get.  The remaining chapters set in the past cover a two-month period, right up to Graduation.  The last five chapters return to the present day.

There is one moment where the Steve vs. Trevor debate is addressed, and this is where Miles comes down on the side of YesWest as I expected him to...

"Well, that's a tough one, Kerry.  I mean, you were there at the concert.  That was a hell of a show.  Trevor played those Yes songs really well.  And he played the ones off the new album good too.  Take one of the classic Yes tunes 'Starship Trooper.'  That solo at the end had my blood pumping.  And that intro to 'Roundabout' was pretty creative."

...but then he walks it back a little.

"[...]Technically, Howe is the more accomplished guitarist.  I just think Trevor has more tricks in his toolbox, that's all." 

By this point in the story I think we're supposed to care about the characters.  We are told why, all the trauma they've been through, particularly Miles and Ashley.  But we're not really shown, or shown in a way which makes us care - and this is the primary failing of the novel.  I think one of the reasons has to do with the first-person POV which means we only know what Miles thinks is important between the two timelines.  The appearance of Ashley is significant in part because it provides more information that we likely would never know otherwise.  It's not that Miles is unlikeable, but he's not really interesting either.  I don't have to like a character, but I do have to find them interesting in order to care about what happens to them.  And this book does deal with some heavy subjects: depression, grief, isolation, heartbreak, substance abuse, suicide.  But it makes clichés of these things in that the emotional devastation is not nuanced nor articulated in an impactful fashion.

For example, we come to understand that Miles has been forever traumatized by having to witness his best friend commit suicide.  But what Ashley tells him before pulling the trigger - it's a callback but also incredibly corny.

"Miles...it's like the song.  Your heart's not broken.  It's lonely.  You're the owner of a lonely heart.  When Melissa dumps you, you're heart isn't broken...it's just lonely.[...]"I'm the owner of a broken heart, Miles.  Just like the song says...that's bad...really bad.  There's nothing left to say.  I'm just fucking tired of living this way."

In the final part of the story, Miles goes back in time on his own to observe the aftermath of Ashley's suicide.  And speaking of clichés..."Free Bird" is played at the funeral (this kind of thing happens so often in pop culture it has become an example of the Iconic Song Request trope), as well as "It Can Happen."  This reminds me that I have thought about how I'd like "Würm" played at my funeral.

And then what happens is another trope, this time Sex for Solace.  Miles and the femme fatale Desiree snort coke and have sex.  The next chapter is about Graduation, and finally Miles' family makes an appearance but again, this isn't that unusual regarding narratives about kids in trouble - normally the parents, as well-meaning as they might be, are in the background and the kids seemingly exist in a world of their own making.  After the ceremony, Miles goes to visit Ashley's grave and tells him this:

"I want you to make me a promise, okay?[...]I want you to promise me that if there's any way you can come back and see me that you'll do it.  If I get to Heaven and find out that all along you could have come to see me and you didn't, then I'm going to kick your angel ass!  No excuses, motherfucker!"

So it appears this "haunting" wasn't Ashley's idea so much as his preordained destiny, of sorts.

Once Miles leaves the past for the last time, in the present day he and Ashley continue their dialogue, but it seems as though Miles could have chosen to stay in the past and continue to relive it, which just seems very strange to me.  Even though many Xers would like to go back to the '80s and just stay there, for Miles, having to face that trauma again, no matter the era, it seems too overwhelming.

Miles' family returns with daughter Ashley in tow and it is revealed that not only is Ashley named for his best friend, but she also is Ashley's daughter.

All along I've been wondering what happened to the sandwich Miles had been making and remember when I said that this could all be a hallucination because Miles suffered a head injury?  Yep, he's dying, and Ashley tells Miles he had to convince him to let go of the past so Miles could move on to whatever Eternity he was meant for.  To be a ghost is to remain tethered to the Earth, and in best friend fashion, Ashley wanted to save Miles from that fate.  And so enabled his soul to travel back to the past to relive the best and the worst of their friendship.  But...Miles doesn't die after all.  His recovery is termed a miracle, because of course it is.

The best part of all this was learning that when you go to Heaven, you're on a shuttle like at the airport.  Funniest shit ever.

During his recovery at home, Miles finds proof that he was indeed visited by a ghost, or whatever Ashley was supposed to be.  He is visited one last night and it is a bittersweet goodbye.  And then receives a call from their mutual friend Zeke who says Ashley appeared to him in a dream and then Miles begins to tell Zeke his side of the story.

And that's where it ends.

What do I dislike about this novel?  The writing is pretty amateurish (but again, what I expect from a self-published work) in that it had potential to be something insightful, humorous, absurd, and emotionally moving but the clunkiness of the prose prevents any of that from happening.  Coming of age stories are always interesting both for what they can remind us of and reveal to us.  But there's no heft to this text at all.  Plus, I feel that - for all the mentions throughout the story - the use of YesWest and 90125 in the novel is just a device and not truly resonant.  An example of how this kind of thing can be wonderfully achieved is in Paul Tremblay's novel The Pallbearers' Club in which the protagonist is a big fan of '80s indie rock band Hüsker Dü.  So yeah, I'm disappointed that a novel which does feature my favorite version of Yes isn't really worthy, or takes full advantage, of their inclusion to produce an interesting well-crafted story of a time when a revamped Yes brought excitement to a generation in their glory years.

But I can certainly understand why people would enjoy this story if they did.  So I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to read it for yourself.

A Guide to Field Recordings: Around the World in 80 Dates (part four: Opening Night)

A series examining recordings from the Around the World in 80 Dates tour of 1991-92 in relation to the Union Live 30th Anniversary reissue.

Preface

Before discussing the first show of this tour (as well as the first show included in the Union 30 set), I wanted to touch on Jon Kirkman's recent appearance on The Prog Report podcast. I cannot help but think this was in response to fandom commentary on social media regarding the nature of the boxset contents, as well as - perhaps - direct inquiries to the distributor since the release had been announced. This is not the first time, by a long shot, that Kirkman has served in a promotional capacity for Gonzo Multimedia and its' associated enterprises. But Kirkman did do something he did not do when attempting to engage with fandom ten years ago, which was explain why there is very little professionally-produced media in either of the Union Live boxsets. Context which should have been provided at the outset, but perhaps was now necessary in the wake of pushback from consumers. Appearing in a friendly/sympathetic environment was no doubt the ultimate motivator for this action. And as it turns out, I was correct about the rights to live recordings belonging to Larry Magid. More interesting, perhaps, is the caveat that despite retaining the rights, Magid did not have the right to commercially release any of the material without a full consensus from all other involved parties: band, management, record label, production companies. This likely explains why there was never a worldwide release of live material in the 1990s. As well, Kirkman stated that if any of the professionally-produced media was used in any form, whatever was unused had to be destroyed. From this I suppose one could assume that whatever material was originally produced is no longer extant save for that which ended up either in an associated release or fandom circulation. I find this a very strange detail for a contract, but he appears to infer that such arrangements were standard in that era. However, we saw a few years back the upload to YouTube of b-roll footage from the rehearsals in Pensacola (filmed for the YesYears: A Retrospective documentary by A*Vision Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) indicating that there might still be material available in private collections if not artist and/or corporate archives.

Despite what Kirkman states about the boxset being spearheaded by Larry Magid, I believe I have discovered who is really driving both this project and the recent ARW storefront, and that is Rick Wakeman. One might rightfully point out this is not a surprise, given how Rick has been involved in the promotional efforts, but Rick is one of the actual individuals behind these projects because they are both administered by RRAW Enterprises Ltd. which is a company wholly owned by Rob Ayling and Rick Wakeman. I'm assuming that is meant to provide at least a sliver of legitimacy re: the Union Eight but I would assert that in fact there doesn't need to be a consensus because the material itself is not actually official, though Kirkman states that the organization(s) gave the okay. The sticky wicket in this case might be the inclusion of the Denver and Mountain View shows which were professionally-produced, but as both were originally licensed for broadcast/distribution, it may be a circumstance which is ultimately allowable in this era (especially since both shows are likely sourced from existing bootlegs rather than the original media). There's something inherently humorous/ridiculous about the rights holder having to give permission for a third party to sell bootlegs of recordings of which he (allegedly) does not possess original sources.

I can certainly understand the desire to monetize certain elements of the legacy which - due to various circumstances - have lain dormant and are perhaps being taken advantage of by others in regards to turning a profit. However, I would assert that economic logic dictates you need to offer something better than what fans can already obtain in the greater marketplace. The idea of reselling things which might have already been sold and/or traded, or offering merchandise which isn't actually any more attractive than what was previously available is a business model which I find extremely lacking. Despite whatever motivation is driving such efforts, it's not enough to sustain the scheme in the long run. I would state that if you cannot afford to offer anything better because you're running a shoestring operation, then you don't deserve to attempt to profit yourself despite whatever legal right or permission you may possess to do so.

*~*~*~*

Note: I will be discussing each show in chronological order (which may not be how it is sequenced in the boxset).

April 9th, 1991
Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL, USA

Setlist
Firebird Suite (intro)/Yours Is No Disgrace/Rhythm of Love/City Of Love/Heart of the Sunrise/Leaves Of Green/Concerto in D-Clap/Make It Easy-Owner of a Lonely Heart/And You And I/Drum Duet/Hold On/Shock to the System/Solly's Beard/Changes/Take The Water to the Mountain-Soon/Long Distance Runaround-Whitefish-Amazing Grace/Lift Me Up/Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII/Awaken

Encore: Roundabout, Starship Trooper

There's definitely something of the typical fan VOIO in First Union, but because this is a video created by The TooleMan it means there's also a definite professional aura about the way in which it was shot and edited and mixed, using a two-camera setup and upgraded to surround audio when it reappeared in trading circles in 2010. Originally filmed in 8mm and then transferred to VHS, what we have now is the VHS transfer to DVD (as the original source was lost in 2005), so there is some degradation of quality but overall this version is quite good for an artifact from 30 years ago.

If there's no credit to the source in the packaging, shame on them, but give copious thanks to TooleManTV, which has provided a number of quality Yes bootlegs over the years. And I don't think it's okay to appropriate his work in this fashion, but that's a whole other rant so I'll comment no further on this point, except to say that I don't believe there's been any attempt to profit from this recording by anyone other than those involved in the Union Live boxsets.

One detail of this video which I find both amusing and morbidly fascinating is that it reveals there's a cemetery directly next door to the Pensacola Civic Center, and I wonder if those who have gone on to their final rest are entertained or disturbed by all the goings-on of their neighborhood entertainment venue.

A gentlemen's agreement: getting ready to hit the stage in Pensacola.

Due to the in-the-round setup of the stage, the band has to come out from the backstage area and walk through the crowd to the stage, which I think actually adds to the "drama" one might say, of the event, their entrance announced - as is tradition - by the strains of Stravinsky's The Firebird suite. We see a bit of this in the video for "Lift Me Up' though it's not clear to me where it was filmed. It is an incredibly thrilling introduction, having experienced my own version of it I can attest to that. We get a good shot of how the "wedding cake" stage (as Bill Bruford described it) was set up, not wholly dissimilar to the last time Yes toured in-the-round in 1978. Jon is at the top of the construction and the rest of the band ring the circumference with Alan and Bill across from each other, Chris next to Alan, then Rick, then Steve, and on the other side of Bill is Tony and then Trevor. So even with the inclusive staging there is still a delineation between Classic Yes and YesWest. However, everyone with a stringed instrument could move about as they pleased. The stage itself rotated slowly throughout the show so that the audience perspective would eventually encompass all involved participants.

They opened the show with "Yours Is No Disgrace" which was a warhorse of both lineups in performance and therefore the easiest route to (seeming) harmony. But immediately battle lines are drawn in fandom with the direct contrast between the solo spots, as Steve and Trevor had each performed the section according to their own style (and Steve sticking primarily to the way he had played it for the original recording) and that difference was glaringly apparent. Personally I think it was quite interesting that they did this for both YIND and "Starship Trooper" and while Trevor's brashness in the arena rock setting was perceived to be disrespectful, I think maybe some Classic fans forget that Yes was an arena rock band, and therefore required to be entertaining on some level. Did he want to piss all over Steve's carpet (in a manner of speaking)? I don't believe so, Trevor is a well-mannered individual overall. I think he desired - rightfully, logically - to be Trevor Rabin and despite what some fans thought of that, it wasn't a crime.

And the reaction to his pyrotechnics was always a loud roar of approval, according to all the bootlegs I've watched/listened to.

Opening night jitters manifest themselves in a flub Jon then makes, but this is such a spectacle I imagine no one is particularly disappointed. Nearly the first twenty minutes have passed in a blink of an eye, and Steve was a lot more energetic than I remember him being.

After this the setlist is constructed such that we take a breather between epics, with shorter songs and instrumental interludes spaced between the beloved behemoths. "Rhythm of Love" remains in the tour but "City Of Love" was dropped after this performance and as much as I enjoyed it during the 9012Live tour, I can certainly understand why it wasn't a good fit for the Union Eight, although it was likely considered simply because it hadn't been performed since that time. It is certainly fortuitous that the stage had revolved to a spot so Trevor could be zoomed in on for his big solo in RoL. Hearing the song again in this context reminded me of ARW's version, especially Rick's solo. But playing "City" so early in the set is not quite the vibe it should be. "Shock To The System" was moved up after "City" was cut, and that was a good decision overall to keep the energy flowing. Part of the reason "City" comes off rather stiff is because we don't get the Bromance choreography which we're used to. But they do keep it like the record, which reminds me of Trevor's rant in Access All Areas, but that doesn't really work, in my opinion, because the glorious ridiculous excess of those performances was the point of having such a song in the set.

At this point I can comment that the sound is pretty average for this kind of arena-based audience recording, and I would say the value of this kind of VOIO is more about witnessing the show. It appears to me that all ROIO versions of this concert are also taken from First Union in one form or another unless there were other audience-sourced recordings, but it's not clearly documented if that is the case. To get a better sense of how the band sounded you would have to listen to other shows, as Yes is notorious for not being well-rehearsed in any case, hence the first week of shows tends to be rather fast-and-loose.

It's onto the next epic, and Jon yields the floor to Chris for his signature bass vamp in "Heart of the Sunrise." There's a bit of interaction with Steve and Trevor centerstage, it's all feeling very friendly. 

I appreciate that even though the zooms are a little shaky the person filming this part of the show knows when to zoom in for the most part. So it's a fairly nice combination of close-ups and medium shots from what I would presume to be mid-level upper deck, perhaps even loge or mezzanine-level. Given the layout of the stage I feel this presents a better overall view.

A quiet interlude follows, with Jon, Steve and Rick spotlighted on the "Leaves of Green" section of "The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun)" from Tales from Topographic Oceans, and as we know ARW also performed this on their opening night, also in Florida, as a duet with Jon and Rick. Strangely this song never seems to make it past the first night in any era which involves YesWest, which is a shame because I think it's quite beautiful. We then go into the first of the solo sections, featuring Steve having a moment with a bit of Vivaldi and his own acoustic alchemy. You can see Trevor clapping for him as Steve comes back up to centerstage to take a bow. Again, friendly diplomacy is the mood of the evening. Bill and Steve then take a break as the band moves into "Take It Easy/Owner of a Lonely Heart" and Rick solos on this one as well, then Bill comes back after Trevor's solo. It could be considered that Tony was quite generous with assenting to Rick having a few more turns even on YesWest material, but I suspect that wasn't a decision for him to make but rather an indicator of how well Trevor and Rick were getting on, an almost instantaneous chemistry.

Time for another epic!  "And You And I" is another warhorse for both sides, but deservedly so.  And both lineups were by that point renowned for their respective versions, however different their interpretations.  But an interesting aspect of watching this is to consider that the stage is set up so that nearly everyone is performing with their back to everyone else (save the four points of the compass - so to speak - on drums and keyboards), because Steve chooses to face the center of the stage for the introduction rather than the crowd.  I imagine any number of people thought it was great to hear the Moog again, I will always be in favor of a version of AYAI featuring Rick.  But of course what makes any version of the song transcendent is that "Eclipse" transition at the end of "The Preacher, The Teacher" leading into "Apocalypse" which on a good night can levitate the roof right off the venue.  I think the combination of Steve on pedal steel and Trevor on his Strat works really well in those sections, building tones together to create that expressive gravitas.  And just as they did once more in ARW, Rick and Trevor provide a nice dramatic moment playing off of each other in the climax.

The band then takes a well-deserved set break...it's amazing to think there used to be three-hour shows, back when we all possessed more stamina.

The second half of the show opens with Bill and Alan's "duet" (with Tony on supporting keyboards) which is a lot of fun, unfortunately the recording does cut in after it's already begun so we don't get much of it.  This segues right into "Hold On" but boy, that vamp goes on forever!  I assume that's because Trevor was late making it back to the stage, as we see him hurrying to plug in after Alan has already started his intro.  There's two things which I wonder about:

-a- Is it just my imagination, or is this the fastest version of "Hold On" ever?

-b- Steve on acoustic is...kinda weird?  Especially that little flourish during the last instrumental section.  I certainly respect the spirit of (apparent) cooperation going on, but there are a few spots in the show where it does seem like people are just doing things to do things.

During this song the filmer captures one of the other cameramen, in support of my assertion that the entire show was pro-shot.  In stage blacks and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, of course.

There's a cut-out where I'm assuming a tape change took place and "Shock To The System" is already underway when we come back. Jon is really hitting it like he's a hair metal frontman, which is totally adorkable.  I think one of the reasons "Shock" sounds better live is because it's not so stiff and attempting to appropriate a style it doesn't quite manage.  It's played by an actual rock band and they are rocking the eff out!  It makes the studio version sound odd by comparison.  "Shock" contains my favorite Epic Bromance moment and if Trevor is not enjoying himself, he certainly had me fooled.

But now The Cheese stands alone...just kidding.  It's time for my favorite part of the show!  I wrote an entire essay about the evolution of "Solly's Beard" in performance - it had already begun to mutate during Trevor's club tour in 1989, and now with 80 Dates it was going to progress further into numerous stylistic quotations in order that he should make his mark upon the Eight-Headed Monster.  Moving into the center with his stool and his white Yairi, it begins much as any previous version.  Trevor then segues into "Etoile Noir" but that's the only detour he takes in this first outing.  Within a month, however, it would be quite a different beast.

This small part of the show belongs to Trevor, as "Solly's Beard" and "Changes" continue to be paired in the setlist, at least in the first North American run.  During the TPR episode I was previously discussing, Geoff Bailie asks Jon Kirkman about The Game, and as we know from Rick Wakeman's comments in the ARW profile in PROG back in 2017, it actually began during the 80 Dates tour, and the song had to be either "Changes" or "Lift Me Up" because those were the only ones featuring Trevor on co-lead vocals.  The intro seems rather extended, but I like it that way.  Jon and Trevor switch places, which I find a bit shocking, but also appropriate.  And Trevor holds that money note for a good eight seconds, which is very good for him.  But it doesn't appear he's playing the game, although there is a flub in the latter half of the song when Jon and Chris are singing two different refrains.

Time for a new song, and it's Union's closer - "Take The Water to the Mountain" - which I actually like somewhat.  In this tour opener they played three songs from the album they were ostensibly promoting, and while it would seem strange for that time, we're already well aware of why the setlist was always going to be skewed towards the weight of Yesstory as opposed to current concerns.  But I will say that like a lot of Union, this song doesn't sound any more Yes-sy than what people say about "Lift Me Up," for example.  It really sounds like a leftover from one of Jon's solo projects.  This is one of the other causalities of Opening Night; a few dates later they add in "I've Seen All Good People" a little earlier in the set, but they don't include anything else from Union for the rest of the initial dates.  "Saving My Heart" isn't added until the Summer run of shows.  But it does make a nice transition for "Soon" which was then and still remains Jon's signature solo piece, a moment of emotive beauty.  Trevor returns to play acoustic along with Steve's pedal steel, again a lovely combination of textures.

After a bit of a corny intro by Jon, Classic Yes convenes to perform "Long Distance Runaround." Seeing this beloved lineup play together once more is as much a pleasure as is the scheme entire, I would say.  The YesWest contingent returns to the stage as "The Fish" begins, which eventually leads into Chris' extended solo spot, featuring the "Whitefish" duet with Alan and his rendition of "Amazing Grace."  It's always fun observing Chris' outsize stage persona become the life of the party.

(There's a fade which occurs at this point which might indicate an edit to another camera position.)

"Lift Me Up" is a highlight of the show overall, I'd say, and while that is inherent bias it's also a shot of energy which I think is necessary to keep this enterprise afloat in their three-hour tour (See what I did there?).  I really wish Bill's vamp on his Simmons pads could have gone on a bit longer, it's a real groove.  Unfortunately at this angle we can't really see Trevor, but - again - we do see one of the cameramen over by Steve.  There are many shows yet to watch/listen to in this series, but I do wonder if this is the only time Trevor got the lyrics right!  I mean, you all know I love him but...bless his heart.  And the original live ending, which has the quieter section with the refrain and then the instrumental climax - that is the way to play "Lift Me Up" and you all know I'm right.

Next is Rick's solo spot, which normally consisted of him playing various pieces from his 1973 album The Six Wives of Henry VIII.  I enjoy watching Rick solo, I always will, even as some may find his "I have nine keyboards up here and I'm going to play them ALL" routine to be rather cheesy.  Trevor then appears for a bit of who can play the fastest fun, and again, their performance chemistry was instantaneous from Opening Night.  Again I spy a cameraman capturing it all (but thanks to this cameraman the view of Trevor's jeans in this section is *chef's kiss*).

Can we just talk about how this was such A LOOK?!

And now the rest of the evening is devoted to the quintessential Yes pursuit: the epic.

Many fans find the 80 Dates take on "Awaken" to be one of the best, adhering to tradition but also containing a bit of something new.  Steve is again full of energy, hopping about, and Jon is in fine voice, even given the inherent limitations of the recording.  The instrumental section spotlighting Jon, Rick and Trevor seems very much like foreshadowing now, given recent history.  I love the way it builds in the traditional way, it does feel very magical in the moment.  Even as it's not one of my favorite epics, "Awaken" does embody the ethereal grace which represents Yes at its' very best, and it is entirely fitting to conclude the show.

Hugs all around...well what do you know?  They actually pulled it off!

Another fade out/in as the band returns to the stage for the encore.  The image quality is the best in this section of the VOIO, I find it looks much more first-generation than the rest of the transfer.

What's nice about the eight-man band performing "Roundabout" is that Steve can concentrate on his acoustic flourishes which, to me, are essential for the song.  And a touch of whimsy to see Broof grooving as he bangs a tambourine at several points in the song.  It retains both the classic feel and the arena rock intensity with its' rendering.  

And then...my favorite, and it's thrilling to me to see them play "Starship Trooper" as it represents the most Yes that Yes has ever Yes-ed, no matter which lineup plays it.  But it doesn't appear at first that they planned to play it (and dropped it the next night), and I can understand why - the entire show is a marathon and even in their prime it must have been difficult to maintain the stamina to get through it all.  Interestingly, Trevor uses his Pantera on this song, whereas previously he had always played it on his Strat.  He actually comes over to Steve's side of the stage during "Würm" and though I know it's wholly performative it still makes me smile.  As I noted before, both Steve and Trevor play solos during this part and I love it, Steve is actually being rather Guitar Hero at this point (although his devotees will swear he's always tasteful) and I wish this could go on for, like, an hour.  Trevor has travelled all over the stage by the time they get to the speeded-up part and then a truly climatic finish.

Despite all the baggage of this scheme, that is what made it transcendent.

*~*~*~*

As I've noted above, I spied a cameraman/cameramen throughout the show, so I believe my assertion about the entire Pensacola show being pro-shot is correct.  And I suppose we're now supposed to believe that this footage no longer exists, having been destroyed after excerpts were used in YesYears: A Retrospective and (possibly) the video for "Lift Me Up."  If that is true, what a damn shame.  Pensacola is special in terms of the setlist but also for being the first of the tour and a unique moment in time.  I believe, ten years ago same as now, as this recording - which I would assert doesn't belong to anyone save the people involved in creating it, much less Larry Magid - was and is being sold to people who absolutely do not need to buy it and we should have been given an explanation as to why we would be expected to buy a bootleg instead of the actual professionally-shot and recorded performance.

It's definitely a decent bootleg for what it is and an enjoyable experience in terms of getting to view that unique moment in time for a variety of reasons.  I've had a copy ever since it was originally re-seeded for DVD but I've never really studied it as I've done for this review, and it does hold up to repeat viewing, I think, in that the quality is good given the inherent limitations of the source.

But you still absolutely do not need to buy it, because we were never meant to in the first place.

As for considerations of the artists receiving their perceived financial compensation, think of this: were it not the existence of audience recordings used in this manner, the band would have never seen any money from live recordings because there weren't any to be sold, save for the Japan-only release which was a contractual obligation to the promoters in Japan.  So in terms of the "we might as well profit from this too" attitude, I wonder how much they think bootleggers are making from having sold copies of the Mountain View show, for example.  Certainly not as much as the band got paid to perform it in the first place.  I think it's rather disingenuous to make it appear as if Yes is being financially slighted for this when they wouldn't have stood to profit at all originally.  If, on the other hand, a taper had presented someone with a recording which had never been circulated and had the agreement of Magid to sell it, that would have been a legitimate reason to put together a lavish collectible to tempt the fans.

It's just unfortunate that for those professional sources we do have the benefit of enjoying via bootlegs, we (in the rest of the world) never received an actual consumer-grade release which would have been worth paying for.  I think it speaks not only to those who would prey upon fans' loyalty, but also an organization who would agree that it's better to take the easy way out and sell bootlegs to fans who can obtain the exact same material online for free rather than try to search out something better and unique means that they have ceased caring about the goodwill of that loyal fanbase at all.

Time-travel Tuesday: out in front

Courtesy of an article this week in the Worcester Telegram, a moment from Yes' performance at the Worcester Centrum on May 12, 1984.  It's always nice to see Trevor in a different stage outfit from the usual of that particular era.  According to accounts on Forgotten Yesterdays, this show was particularly memorable because Jon fell through one of the access grates in the stage during "It Can Happen" but luckily was not seriously injured.

This date in Yesstory: a rare unity

Spotted on Instagram: a great nod to yesterday's 28th anniversary of Union, the Yes album and tour which featured members from the Classic Yes and YesWest lineups.  This shot - from the filming of the video for "Lift Me Up" - is a nice grouping of that once-in-a-lifetime lineup.

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Yes released Union 28 years ago today . #yes #union #stevehowe #trevorrabin #alanwhite #jonanderson #billbruford #rickwakeman #tonykaye #chrissquire #1991 #prog #progressiverock #progrock

A post shared by Britannia (@dawnofthedancingcrimsonlake) on Apr 30, 2019 at 4:21pm PDT

And because now is always a good time to watch the video...

#tbt: one rockin' November night

Of the various postings I see from fans online, I wanted to give a shoutout to Karen Smith who has shared on her Instagram account some of her photos of various Yes shows she attended over the years, specifically the YesWest Pittsburgh show on November 27, 1987.  Sometimes it feels like the BigGen era isn't quite as well-documented as other tours and I always enjoy seeing fan images of the particular gigs.  Many thanks for these fond memories!

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#yes. #trevorrabin. #chrissquire. #jonanderson Pittsburgh Pa #imagesbykiki #biggenerator

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Nov 19, 2018 at 4:24pm PST

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#jonanderson. #yes Pittsburgh Pa

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Nov 17, 2018 at 4:45pm PST

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#trevorrabin. #yes #imagesbykiki Pittsburgh Pa

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Nov 3, 2018 at 5:32am PDT

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#yes. #chrissquire. #trevorrabin Pittsburgh Pa. #imagesbykiki

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Oct 22, 2018 at 2:34pm PDT

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#trevorrabin #yes Pittsburg I Pa. #imagesbykiki

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Sep 29, 2018 at 7:37pm PDT

As an added bonus I believe these two photos are from their May 1st, 1984 show.

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#yes #jonanderson #chrissquire #imagesbykiki

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Nov 24, 2018 at 4:34pm PST

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#chrissquire #yes Pittsburgh Pa. #imagesbykiki

A post shared by Karen Smith (@kiki1baby) on Sep 25, 2018 at 5:41pm PDT