And it is all to the good for fans and also for those who appreciate the effort taken to restore and enhance the artistic legacy of Classic Yes. But where is our champion to curate the history of YesWest?
(At this point I would like to acknowledge Ryan Rabin as a one-man walking museum of YesWest tour t-shirts - I believe he has been photographed wearing one from every tour at this point - as well as the iconic colorful shirt his dad wore in the 9012Live concert film; and I appreciate Ryan's tribute.)
As much a crucial and incredibly popular era of the band's history, within this decade there has been only one official release dedicated to an aspect of that particular time: the release of Union Live in 2011, a set which presents the long-circulated in fandom pro-shot footage of the end-of-tour performance in Mountain View, California as well as the accompanying audio. The Limited Edition version includes tracks recorded in London and Pennsylvania as well as the bootleg known as "First Union," an audience-filmed VOIO of the first performance of the Around the World in Eighty Dates tour in Pensacola, Florida, and the pro-shot footage of the Denver, Colorado performance. However, the organizers behind the project were unable to secure release of the professionally-filmed footage from Pensacola, some of which can be seen in the 1991 "rockumentary" YesYears as well as the Greatest Video Hits home video.
Not to necessarily deride the work which went into that particular release, but...for its' target audience, it's nothing we haven't seen before. All of the performances included were already available in trading circles and gray-market release for years. I've stated this previously in fandom discussion but YesWest fans are so incredibly fortunate to have access to footage from every tour of that lineup, even if most of it has been - up to this point - bootlegged. Rabinites can enjoy a decade, more or less, of Trevor's performing prowess via these sources, and given that the window of his time as a touring musician was relatively small (for those of us in the rest of the world, though of course fans in South Africa and the UK have their own unique memories and evidence) it's an absolute treasure trove, one which has sustained many of us over the years in terms of our continuing devotion and enjoyment.
I don't wish to venture into a detailed discussion of what is available on video - as that is an entry for another time - but simply to state that YesWest is criminally under-represented from an official release standpoint when it comes to both live footage and live audio. Prior to the appearance of Union Live there was only 9012Live: The Solos, a collection of the solo setpieces from the 9012Live tour in addition to the songs "Hold On" and "Changes," three tracks on the 1991 YesYears retrospective boxset, and four tracks on The Word Is Live, a career-spanning compilation of Yes live performances released in 2005. And Union Live, even with the bonus tracks which are included with the Limited Edition version, does not represent a complete performance. I do acknowledge that is what made the inclusion of the Denver and Pensacola shows a (mostly) solid bonus, as the audio/video from Mountain View features little more than half of the actual setlist.
For example, one of the songs which didn't make the running order from the Mountain View show is "Changes" and thanks to a collector here it is (although it's missing the introduction). But Trevor's vocal is really strong on this version - he holds that long note for about 10 seconds.
The Union lineup was both a highly-successful tour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans, therefore it strains credulity - even with all of the accompanying dysfunction of the situation at large - not to have gone through with a worldwide official live release at the time, especially since so much recording and filming was done in Pensacola and Denver for the YesYears documentary. And as the numerous soundboard and broadcast bootlegs available attest, there was also professional recording of several dates over the span of the entire touring cycle.
Speaking of another video (even though I said I wouldn't), the official release of 9012Live also does not feature an entire setlist. Naturally it emphasizes the songs included from 90125 but the setlist strategy over the length of the tour was split evenly between Classic Yes and YesWest and the experience entire also deserved a full-length album release, as there are wonderful performances of such Yessong stalwarts as "I've Seen All Good People," "Roundabout" (the full version, not the truncated one which was cut from the film due to the continuity error of Trevor's pants) as well as "And You and I." In performances of the latter song along with "Starship Trooper," Trevor made them his own in his masterful interpretations.
Beyond what has been offered in the 9012Live releases, the only other live recording which was made available from that time was a version of "It Can Happen" from Atlanta, which appeared on the b-side of the single for that song. Trevor previously spoke with author/radio presenter Jon Kirkman regarding why a full-length live album was not released at the time.
The 9012Live tour was a major event in the overall history of the band, and certainly a landmark occurrence in the life of YesWest. It would only be to the benefit of that legacy to finally put out a live album, even if it had to source more than one performance, as 9012Live: The Solos did. A deluxe edition could also include the full performance from Houston for 1988's The BIG Tour, some of which can be heard on the YesYears boxset and The Word Is Live.
And I haven't even discussed what has happened with Talk in regards to professional recording and broadcast of the tour. Again, gray market and bootleg sources have assisted fans with capturing the memories of those performances. But when one considers that Talk is the only YesWest studio release not to have been licensed for digital distribution, and which has only just been reissued on vinyl within the last year, as well as the fact that the original release has been long out of print - forcing those who want a copy of the CD to utilize secondary markets - the legacy of the final period of YesWest is sadly lacking and that is unacceptable for an album which is not only a technological landmark, but also features some of the very best playing, singing, songwriting, arranging and production of Trevor's rock music career.
The span of what constitutes the history of YesWest encompasses thirteen years, five albums, four tours, and music which gratified audiences, performances which were vibrant, engaging, entertaining and audacious. And I believe the legacy of this era of Yes deserves as much care and passion in its' curating as any other. I may be a lone voice in the wilderness, I may represent just one fan of many, but I hope someone with influence hears me, and attempts to redress this imbalance before it's too late.
